Today in sports history

Twenty years ago today, the great Brian Boitano won a gold medal in figure skating at the Winter Olympics in Calgary. This 2005 interview mentions the thing I remember him for the most: the song "What Would Brian Boitano Do?" from the movie "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut." But the interviewer only mentions it in the introduction; he didn't actually ask Boitano about it, which is disappointing.

Also, 10 years ago today, Tara Lipinski took the gold in women's figure skating at Nagano. I don't know of any songs about her, but that doesn't make her accomplishment any less important.

Today in sports history

Forty years ago today, Peggy Fleming won a gold medal for the U.S. in Grenoble, France, in figure skating. Ten years ago today, and 30 years to the day after winning that gold (I know, I'm quick with the math), Fleming underwent breast cancer surgery.

The cancer was detected early, the surgery was successful, and Fleming is by all accounts still quite healthy at age 59. She has become an activist for breast cancer detection, telling women to get screened early and often.

Partners on the ice ...

I don't often watch figure skating, but I couldn't help but take note of John Baldwin Jr.'s proposal to his skating partner, Rena Inoue, yesterday at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota. Baldwin and Inoue skated through their routine, then bowed to the opposite sides of the crowd, and then Inoue turned to see Baldwin on his knee. Neither one of them were miked, but you could see that Baldwin was saying something to Inoue, and she couldn't quite hear him over the din. He repeated himself, and you could see her nodding "yes," and then they kissed. The ice melted beneath them, just a little.

Bob Costas had a nice line: "This is something new for me. In all the sports I usually cover, the only proposal I can recall hearing was that they eliminate the designated hitter."

Whenever I see a public proposal like that, I can't help but think, what if she doesn't want to marry him? Does she break his heart on national television? Does she say yes just to avoid embarrassing him, and then give him the bad news later? Does she change her mind just because he proposed in such a romantic, public way?

In any case, congratulations to John Baldwin Jr. and Rena Inoue. May you stay upright and stick all your landings together.