Browning shuns ligament surgery, will skate hurt

Kurt Browning has ligament damage in his right ankle that can be corrected only by surgery but scalpels are not in the plans of the world figure skating champion from Caroline, Alta. Browning can endure the discomfort and normal skating will not make the problem any more severe. Because compulsory figures vanish from singles skating this year, an upswing in difficult moves in the long programs is anticipated and Browning, an extraordinary athlete, will lead the way. The new long program he will show at Skate Canada in Lethbridge Oct. 25 to 28 doesn't include a quadruple jump, the Browning trademark, but has three triple-triple combination jumps plus two other triples and an assortment of doubles . . . A major change in Canadian ice dancing sees the top two duos distilled into one. Joanne Borlase of Toronto, who teamed with Martin Smith of Woodstock to win the 1990 Canadian championship, retired. Smith's new partner is Michelle McDonald of Abbotsford, B.C. McDonald and Mark Mitchell of Halifax were second in Canada. The Smith-McDonald duo must progress through the regional level to qualify for the Canadian championship (Saskatoon, Feb. 6 to 10), stepping-stone to the worlds (Munich, March 11 to 17) . . . Christopher Bowman, the loose cannon of U.S. skating, now is coached by another blade iconoclast, Toller Cranston of Toronto. Bowman, a hotdog of epic proportions, was coached by Frank Carroll, who finally had enough of the skater's lack of devotion. In the '90 worlds at Halifax, Bowman junked his long program and ad-libbed a new one, throwing Carroll into shock. After a puny Bowman effort in the Goodwill Games in August, the partnership dissolved . . . Apparently, the Cranston-Bowman relationship got away to a rocky start during summer training sessions here. Rumbles are that Cranston packed Bowman's bags and placed them on the front porch a couple of times . . . Browning had the definitive assessment of Bowman. "We're all lucky Chris doesn't know how to train properly because he has the most natural talent of anyone," the world champ said.

Skate America: While Browning faces ordinary competition in Skate Canada, Elvis Stojko of Richmond Hill meets a tough field in Skate America in Buffalo this week (Thursday to Saturday). Stojko pushed Browning to the limit in the '90 Canadian championship, then was No. 9 in his first worlds with a sixth-place finish in the long program. Victor Petrenko of the U.S.S.R. and Bowman, silver and bronze medalists in the '90 worlds, are in the field. "Elvis just turned 18 so we're allowing his career to evolve slowly," said coach Doug Leigh of the Mariposa club in Barrie. "We looked closely at what the top five skaters in the division were doing and adjusted Elvis' program to keep pace." Stojko, who had eight triple jumps in his program last season, is working on the artistic side of his routines . . . Midori Ito of Japan and Kristi Yamaguchi of the U.S. head the ladies' field at the Buffalo competition, which offers a splendid day for skating enthusiasts on Oct. 20 with the free skates in all four events (men's, ladies', ice dance and pairs) starting at 12:30 p.m. at Memorial Auditorium . . . This should bring Saddam Hussein to his knees very quickly. Iraq will be booted out of Davis Cup tennis competition if its occupation of Kuwait isn't ended this year. The only worse threat would be banishment from the book-of-the-month club.