Browning will rely on showmanship during Sears Open

OTTAWA (CP) -- Kurt Browning isn't going to outjump anybody during the Sears Open but that doesn't mean he can't win.

Showmanship is his thing, and he's better at it than most figure skaters. He knows he'll get killed in the short program of technical elements when the two-day figure skating pro-am begins Friday night in the Civic Centre.

"I'm going to make them laugh then stand back and watch the carnage," he said after practice Thursday in predicting what will happen in the first phase of a men's event.

He'll be up against Elvis Stojko, Emmanuel Sandu, Todd Eldredge, Brian Orser and Steven Cousins. Browning (3), Stojko (3), Eldredge (1) and Orser (1) have won a total of eight world titles.

It's a tough assignment for Browning, 35.

"It's a professional guy coming in against the amateurs in their Olympic year," he said of being in the same field as Stojko, Eldredge and Sandhu. "I put together a short program that is going to be a lot of fun but I don't think I'm going to be scaring anybody with my technical prowess.

"It's hard to do Stars On Ice then change gears to do this. I've tried it other years and tried the triple Axel and it hasn't worked so this year I've taken it out.

"When you don't have the big jumps, you want to do it clean."

Rules restrict the number of triple jumps in the long program Saturday to four. As many as eight are allowed in Grand Prix meets and world championships.

"We all know, and I certainly do, that if this was a wide-open event like a Skate Canada or the Canadian championships that I don't think I'd be on the ice competing with Elvis," said Browning, who retired from the world competitive stage seven years ago. "They restrict the number of jumps to make it a level playing field.

"I'm at a disadvantage in the first half but some might say the pro is at an advantage in the second half."

The women's singles field includes Jennifer Robinson, Josee Chouinard, Nicole Watt, Lu Chen, Nicole Bobek and Victoria Volchkova.

It's a big weekend for Browning in more ways than one: the Kurt Browning Gotta Skate television special is on NBC Sunday afternoon (2 p.m. EST). His wife, ballerina Sonia Rodriguez, joins him on the show.

Browning is unsure who will win the men's singles gold medal at the 2002 Olympics. Initially, he was leaning towards reigning world champion Evgeny Plushenko. But he's been impressed with how Alexei Yagudin has been skating this season.