Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview upcoming events to mark your calendars for. I was surprised that Johnny Weir wasn’t included in the 2010 Smucker’s Stars on Ice Tour, which visits the St. Pete Times Forum this Sunday. The openly gay American ice skater was a virtual star of the Winter Olympics, even if he didn’t take home a medal. But then I realized his longtime rival, American teammate, and this year’s Olympic gold medalist in men’s singles figure skating, Evan Lysacek, was among the featured Stars. The tour would only give Lysacek another opportunity to outshine Weir, since Lysacek skates with more passionate elegance than any man of his size should be capable of – plus, he’s on Dancing with the Stars right now, which raises his level of stardom ever higher. Another highlight on this night of exhibition-style skating is 2010 Olympic pairs champions Shen and Zhao, who put all the love they have for each other into their gorgeous programs, and not only won the medal that coaxed them out of retirement, but became the first Chinese skaters in any figure skating discipline to take home gold. Among the other skaters on the bill are 2010 ice dancing Olympic silver medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White as well as 2006 Olympic gold medalist Sasha Cohen. 4 p.m. Sun., April 4, St. Pete Times Forum, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa, $25-$80, starsonice.com.
This article appears in Mar 24-30, 2010.