ST. PAUL, Minn. - The more Evan Lysacek tries to downplay his rivalry with Johnny Weir, the bigger it gets.

They're the two best male skaters the United States has, and two of the best in the world. They're chasing the same medals and the same titles, glories that can't be shared. And at a time when the United States is searching for new stars, their back-and-forth on the podium is the best thing going.

But getting one of them to acknowledge it, Lysacek in particular, is tougher than a quadruple jump.

"(Coach Frank Carroll) says, `Mind your own business in every respect of word,''' Lysacek said. "Don't think about anybody else. The less energy I spend thinking about somebody else is more energy I can put into my own skating, and that's where I want my energy to be.

"The media can say what they want,'' he added. "That's their freedom, they can say anything they want. About me, about Johnny Weir, about any other competitor. My focus is on me.''

Sorry, Evan. Ignore it all you want, but at this week's U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the latest installment of "Ice Wars: Johnny vs. Evan'' is the main event.

Competition begins Wednesday with compulsory dance and the pairs short program. The men's short program is Friday, and the final is Jan. 27. The women begin Thursday.

"We have a great rivalry developing here in the men in both Evan and Johnny,'' said David Raith, executive director of U.S. Figure Skating. "I think that's very exciting.''

Figure skating is oh, so pretty, as much art as athleticism, and fans love graceful, lyrical skaters like Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen. But for those folks who don't know a lutz from a loop, it's rivalries that get their attention. That Tonya-Nancy dustup may have taken things to the extreme, but get a couple of skaters pushing each other for those precious spots on the podium, and you've got yourself a show.

The 1988 Olympics had the "Battle of the Brians'' and "dueling Carmens.'' Kwan was at her best when Tara Lipinski and Cohen were nipping at her skates. And Alexei Yagudin's competition with fellow Russian Evgeni Plushenko made for great theater — on and off the ice.

Now there's Lysacek and Weir.

While Weir was winning three straight from 2004-06, Lysacek was winning two bronze medals at the world championships. Both skated at the Turin Olympics, Weir finishing second in the short program and Lysacek finishing fourth overall.

After Lysacek won the short program at Cup of China in November, Weir rallied to take the free skate — and the title. And when Lysacek won the bronze medal at last month's Grand Prix Final, take a guess who was fourth.

"I really don't pay attention to men's figure skating unless my friends are competing somewhere,'' Weir said. "But the rivalry with Evan, I think it's very good for the business of figure skating. I think it's exciting for the fans, and it's exciting for the skating community.''

The two have very different styles, and it's not just because one has the brashness of the East Coast and the other is California cool.

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Weir, who moved to New Jersey this year to train with Galina Zmievskaya, Viktor Petrenko's old coach, is one of the most beautiful skaters in the world. His lines and grace are more typical of a Russian skater, and he can make simple stroking look like a work of art. Throw in his "unusual'' taste in costumes and penchant for saying whatever's on his mind, and he's become one of the biggest personalities in the sport.

The 6-foot-1 Lysacek is tall for a skater, and that height gives him a unique look. While he's committed to pushing himself athletically — he's doing quads in both the short and long programs — it's his expression that really makes him stand out. He can sell a program like few others, and it's no surprise that he's thought about giving nearby Hollywood a try when he's through with skating.

While there's no animosity between the two — "I'm not going to beat anyone up or hit someone in the knee,'' Weir said - neither wants to say or do anything that might give the other an edge, either. So ask either about the other, and you'll get a lot of talk about how they're only focused on their own skating. Lysacek barely even mentions Weir's name.

But be assured, both are well aware the other is out there.

"Just knowing that he's out there and he's probably training as hard as he can to beat me, it lights a fire under me to work,'' Weir allowed, "to know I have a chief rival out there in my same country.''

Get ready, the rivalry is about to resume.