Northern Lights

Where do Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Bennett, athletic grace and Olympic splendor meet? Throw in a singular machine called a ''Zamboni'' if you need a further clue. It's the 17th annual ''Stars on Ice,'' gliding into the Gund Arena next Friday, Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m.

Olympic gold medalists Jamie Sale and David Pelletier lead the star-studded lineup. Of course, Russian gold medalists Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze share the rink. World, U.S. National pair and dance champs grace the ice to the eclectic tunes of Elvis, Ozzy, Leonard Cohen, Bon Jovi, Tony Bennett and Will Smith. Producer-director-choreographer Sandra Bezic brings her elite production crew, along with the theme of power -- the athletic, star and dream variety.

Speaking of power and power struggles, it's been almost one year since ''Skategate,'' from which the Sale-Pelletier pair emerged as gold medalists, after a French judge was accused of adjusting her rankings to ensure the Olympic gold medal would go to the Russian team of Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze. In an unprecedented solution, both teams were given the gold. But to this day, the Canadian duo say they have some bitter feelings over the belated gold medal of last year's Winter Olympics. ''Everybody wants to be awarded on the night of the performance, because its so emotional, and it's about your whole career, said Sale in and interview earlier this week with Pelletier at the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland. ''That moment is like a flashback of your whole life -- how hard you've worked.''

But the gold medal was by no means the couple's first hard-won battle. Lots of extra practice went into testing their mettle well before last year's bittersweet triumph.

Their story begins simply enough: She knew what she wanted by age 7. He chose figure skating over hockey. But when the duo paired up, icy rough patches formed. Under coach Richard Gauthier's discipline, Sale lost more than two months training time due to Achilles tendon surgery. In 1999, Pelletier injured his lower back before the Canadian Nationals. His unrelenting muscle spasms precluded them from competing in both the 1999 Four Continents and the 1999 Worlds. Considering all the time lost to injuries -- the couple skated together a total of just one year -- they returned with an startling 1999 Skate America victory.

Things kept getting better. The pair won their first of three Canadian Championships in 2000. With a first-ever five perfect 6.0 scoring and a fourth placement in the 2000 World Championships, they felt determined to bring home a medal in the 2001 Worlds.

But several weeks before the Vancouver Championships, Pelletier's car was stolen and his house damaged by fire. He was temporarily homeless. Adding to their misfortune, Sale was unable to practice for days because of a bad burn to the hand. And then a bad omen: She lost her lucky talisman -- a necklace from her former choreographer. But when the going gets tough ... Sale and Pelletier once again reclaimed their destiny, placing third after a short program. As in the 2000 Worlds, Sale and Pelletier were poised to win a free-skate medal. And the rest is history.

Sale and Pelletier have put last year's Olympic fiasco behind. They are intent on the hard work of touring and the business of life. As far as the roller coaster that culminated in last year's spectacle, Pelletier believes it's all been worth it, if not quite difficult. ''One question I had a few days before the Olympics was, 'What does it take to win a gold medal?' You know, I could write a book on it. It takes about 20 years to get here,'' he said.

That may seem incredible, considering that Pelletier and Sale are just 28 and 25. But starting young is the norm in this business. Olympic wannabes take note of Sale's formula for success: "It's very simple," she explained. "You must surround yourself with good people and good things will happen. Some people might want a gold medal at the Olympics, but they're either not willing to put in the effort, or they don't visualize it. You have to see it, want it and be willing to do anything physically and mentally to get there."

But they probably hadn't bargained for last February's mayhem, when the behind-the-scenes "games" went public. "I remember skating off the ice and I couldn't even contain myself. I looked at my coach, whom I've taken from for 12 years and he was just so proud. And I felt like 'I did it!'" She emphasized the pressure and stress the entire year leading up to the event is unbelievable, that the focus to do it ''cleanly'' is very difficult.

But pressure isn't the only factor in the Games. ''Anytime you've got a judge or whatever, there's going to be subjectivity,'' said Sale. But when you've got nine different judges from different countries, it happens. Even if it is fixed, the reality is that it's about personal taste. I'm not saying that's what the case was, but everybody likes their own style.''

Their Web site, http://www.Sale-Pelletier.com, followed suit with rough beginnings. ''People were saying that Sale.Pelletier.com was our official Web site, and they were writing on our behalf,'' said Sale. ''So we had to put a disclaimer on our site about it. Everybody wants to jump on the bandwagon. It's normal.''

But it's not all Sale and Pelletier at ''Stars on Ice.'' In fact the Russian gold medalists Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze will be at the Gund Arena as well. Also, Alexei Yagudin, whose phenomenal performance in Salt Lake City not only earned him an Olympic Gold medal, but the highest marks ever received by a single skater in Olympic history, makes his debut.

Singles Katarina Witt, Todd Eldredge and Kurt Browning will spin their magic. Making a return visit are the skating pairs Jenni Meno and Todd Sand and Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman. Also in the show are U.S. National Dance Champions Rene Roca and Gorsha Sur. (Tara Lipinski and Steven Cousins, originally scheduled to appear, are out with injuries, though Lipinski will join the tour at a later date).