1,500 reasons to watch

TURIN, Italy (AP) -- After all the jawing, all the intrigue, all the hard feelings -- not to mention one gold medal for each -- it's time for Chad Hedrick vs. Shani Davis, Part Tre.
This will be the deciding race in their smoldering Olympic rivalry, the only fair fight between them, the one that Hedrick says "will settle everything."
"I haven't been to an event I wasn't competing in since I got here," U.S. teammate Casey FitzRandolph said. "But that's one race I'll be getting to."
Hedrick and Davis are the overwhelming favorites in today's 1,500-meter speedskating event, the world record holder (Hedrick) taking on the guy who used to have the mark (Davis). Adding to the buildup, each skater already has gold hanging around his neck and the potential to be remembered as the biggest U.S. star of these games. If that's not enough, they're not all that crazy about each other.
Head to head
Both guys did their best to stifle talk of this being a head-to-head showdown, without being all that convincing. Clearly, neither wants to be looking up at the other on the top rung of the medals podium.
"I'm not buying into the Chad vs. Shani situation," said Hedrick. "I don't know much about him at all. We have different opinions about doing different things. At the same time, we're both fierce competitors. That's all it boils down to."
The 1,500 is a good place to settle the score. It's the middle race on the Olympic program, requiring both a sprinter's speed and the endurance of a long-distance specialist. It might just be the toughest event of all.
"That's a man's race," FitzRandolph said.
Hedrick won the 5,000 with a dominating performance, while Davis finished seventh. Davis came back to capture gold in the 1,000, becoming the first black athlete to win an individual gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Hedrick finished sixth.
Those results weren't surprising. Davis isn't that strong in the 5,000, while Hedrick has been a world record holder. Davis holds the mark at 1,000, while Hedrick had skated that race only a half-dozen times before he got to Turin.
There is no such disparity in the 1,500. Davis set a world record in January 2005, only to have Hedrick take the time even lower a couple of months ago.
"I don't care about beating Chad," Davis said. "What if it turns out that he's not the person to beat? I'm not putting pressure on myself to beat one person. I want to beat everybody."
Rubbed wrong way
Hedrick and Davis have never been close, and any hopes of developing a friendship likely were snuffed out when Davis skipped the team pursuit so he could focus on his individual events. The Hedrick-led U.S. squad was upset by Italy in the quarterfinals.
In a none-too-subtle jab at the guy who wasn't there, Hedrick said he wanted to be a good teammate and would never pass up a chance to skate for his country. In response, Davis pointed out that he had never skated the pursuit and had no intention of changing his routine at the Olympics.
There are potential spoilers who could disrupt the expected 1-2 American finish.
FitzRandolph predicts a two-man race, but believes it will be between Hedrick and Italy's Enrico Fabris, who won bronze in the 5,000 and has the home-country advantage. The slow ice will make those 1,500 meters seem more like 1,800 -- an advantage for those who thrive at the longer distances.