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Browning talks about new 'Battle'

Source: Toronto Sun
Date: September 24, 2010
Author: Lindsey Ward
For a man who has spent most of his life on ice, it sure was a change of pace -- make that, temperature -- when Kurt Browning had to watch his house burn down last month.

The world champion figure skater and Battle of the Blades host's 85-year-old Toronto mansion caught fire while he was using a leaf blower to dry the inside of his Porsche -- a $1-million mistake he's not proud of. ("Whoops," he says solemnly.)

On the bright side, most of his skating medals survived the blaze. And he also hasn't lost his enthusiasm for the second season of CBC's Battle of the Blades, which hits the ice Sunday night. Along with Ron McLean, Browning hosts the series in which retired hockey players such as Theo Fleury, Valerie Bure and Georges Laraque learn how to figure skate for charity (and audience votes) with the help of pro partners including Jamie Sale and Isabelle Brasseur. Browning was happy to take time out from renovating last week to chat about it:

How does this year's cast compare to last year's?

Hopefully no one beats me up, but they seem to be faster. I think that, generally speaking, the age of the cast is young this year. And they seem to be taking advantage of the fact that they saw it on TV last year. Last year the guys were Vikings in their ships going somewhere no one's ever been ... Nobody knew coming in if they were going to be respected. For hockey players, if you look vulnerable in any way, the hockey society, they don't let you forget it. They're so hard on each other it's incredible.

Do any of the guys stand out to you?

I'm predicting very advanced skating levels from these guys ... But maybe not from (ex-Edmonton Oilers enforcer) George (Laraque). George is all about picking up the girl and lifting her up. (In French accent) 'I just wanna lift the girl. I just wanna carry her because it's fun. I like carrying da girl.' He was doing one-arm star lifts -- off ice, not on ice -- on the very first day. He is three times (his partner's) weight!

What is the first thing hockey players need to learn about figure skating?

How to fall. When they fall on TV, they're still watching the play as they're falling. When these guys fall and it's a toe-pick fall ... It just seems like you're doing nothing and then you're plunging face-first toward the ice. And they're 200-and-some-odd pounds, crashing down on cartilage. Oh, man. The falls are hard.

What's the scariest move they'll be attempting?

I'm going to tell you some of the lifts are going to look really scary. But the scariest move will probably be their dancing.

Scary for them, or for us?

For everybody. It will be horrifying. I was trying to psych them up and I said, 'You guys go to bars when you travel and after a game you dance at the clubs, right?' And nothing. And I look around the room, and go, 'None of you have ever danced in the bars?' And Kelly Chase goes, 'We're not allowed.' And so for them to go out and move to music I think is one of the biggest hurdles that they have to overcome. The figure skates are hard, and over time they get much better on skates. But dancing to music -- that's a huge leap of faith to these guys.