CBS SKATES INTO PRIME TIME AS OLAY PRESENTS "ICE WARS 2006: USA VS. THE WORLD" ON FRIDAY, DEC. 1

Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton Returns to the Booth with CBS Sports' Verne Lundquist and Tracy Wolfson

OLAY PRESENTS ICE WARS 2006: USA VS. THE WORLD on Friday, Dec. 1 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT). The 13th edition of ICE WARS on the CBS Television Network features the top U.S. and international professional figure skaters. The team competition is headlined by Olympic gold medalists Brian Boitano, Alexei Yagudin, Oksana Baiul and Shizuka Arakawa. Each team features four skaters per team: two women and two men. The USA team is led by 13-year "Ice Wars" veteran and 1988 Olympic gold medalist Boitano, three-time U.S. National Champion Michael Weiss, 1995 U.S Open Champion Rory Flack Burghart, and two time U.S Championship Bronze Medalist Angela Nikodinov Competing for the World team will be 2002 Olympic gold medalist Yagudin (RUS), four-time world champion Kurt Browning (CAN), 1994 Olympic gold medalist Baiul (UKR), and 2006 Olympic gold medalist Arakawa (JPN).

Each team member skates two artistic programs. A panel of professional judges award the marks with the individual scores being added together for a team total. Each skater's first program is marked as an individual event and their second program is marked as head-to-head competition within the pairings. Each score from Program Two is doubled and added to the score from Program One. The team with the highest score is the winner.

Verne Lundquist and Scott Hamilton provide commentary with Tracy Wolfson reporting. Ken Mack serves as producer, Bob Fishman directs. The event was taped on Nov. 2 at the Sears Centre in Peoria, Ill.

Angela Nikodinov, two time U.S. Championship Bronze Medalist skated for the first time after a two-year layoff, following the death of her mother who died in a car accident, in which Nikodinov was a passenger. Nikodinov skated head-to-head against Oksana Baiul, and dedicated the performance to her mother. In an emotional interview with CBS Sports' Tracy Wolfson, both Nikodinov and Baiul comment on the performance:

Baiul: But actually�really I'm speechless because, I know how hard it is to lose your mom. Actually, she made me cry when she skated. I loved her performance.

Wolfson: Well Angela, as she said an emotional one for you, how much does this performance mean?

Nikodinov: I didn't think it would get to me before I took the ice. But when I watched that I kind of held back tears. I just knew that this program was for my mom and I just wanted to go out and skate freely.