DAY 5 DAYTIME HIGHLIGHTS OF NBC WINTER OLYMPICS COVERAGE
“No one is better prepared. No one is better trained. No one is more consistent.” –NBC’s Scott Hamilton on USA’s Evan Lysacek
“What he does in the air, what he does with his jumps is sick and twisted.” – Hamilton on Russia’s Yevgeny Plushenko
VANCOUVER – February 16, 2010 – Daytime coverage of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games continued today on NBC and USA Network. On NBC, live gold medal final coverage included the men’s biathlon 12.5km pursuit gold medal final. Also on NBC, coverage of the women’s biathlon 10km pursuit gold medal final. USA Network had a double dose of live USA team sports as men’s hockey made its Olympic debut with Team USA facing off against Switzerland and USA men’s curling took on Germany.
NBC’s figure skating analyst Scott Hamilton previewed the live men’s short program tonight in primetime.
The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore stopped by the studio with Al Michaels to discuss the weather conditions in Vancouver and the surrounding event sites.
Coverage highlights include:
NBC
MICHAELS ON GOLD MEDALIST SETH WESCOTT AND THE AMERICAN FLAG HE CARRIED AFTER HIS VICTORY: “There’s a story behind that flag. It was presented to his family at his grandfather’s funeral. His grandfather was a World War II veteran and Wescott wrapped himself in that flag four years ago when he won the gold in Torino. After yesterday’s race he said that having that flag waiting for him at the finish line motivated him to win again. He got it done.”
MICHAELS ON CANTORE’S WEATHER LESSON: “I feel like I’m back in the second grade in PS 139 after watching Mr. Wizard.”
SCOTT HAMILTON’S PREVIEW OF THE MEN’S SHORT PROGRAM
HAMILTON ON THE STAR TALENT PERFORMING TONIGHT: “So many skaters have come back and so many skaters are at the top of their form. It’s a tall order. This event is so deep. There’s like nine guys who are legitimately in it for medals. It’s just going to come down to how they perform and how the judges sort them out.”
HAMILTON ON USA’S EVAN LYSACEK: “No one is better prepared. No one is better trained. No one is more consistent. This year, he took his triple axle and he put a little more height under it. Coming in as the reigning world champion, there’s a lot of eyes on him.”
HAMILTON ON USA’S JEREMY ABBOTT: “Jeremy Abbott is extraordinary. What he did at the U.S. Nationals was phenomenal. I’ve never in my life seen a skater do two performances like that, two competitions in a row. If he does that here, adding a triple axle to his long program, it’s beyond superhuman what he’s accomplished.”
HAMILTON ON RUSSIA’S YEVGENY PLUSHENKO: “I said it in 2006 in his long program, what he does in the air, what he does with his jumps, is sick and twisted. It is just unbelievable what he can do in the air. It’s phenomenal. He’s consistent and he’s probably the best competitor I think I’ve ever seen in men’s figure skating”
HAMILTON ON CANADA’S PATRICK CHAN: “He’s just an unbelievable talent. What this guy does on the ice is amazing. He’s got the triple axle problems, but I think he has that sorted out. What this guy does on the ice with his footwork, with his spins, with his programs, it’s everything the International Skating Union wants in a skater. He’s a great competitor, he’s tough mentally and I expect him to skate perfectly. Even with all the excitement in the audience. There are a lot of Canadian flags waving in there that can bring the adrenaline up and affect your performance.”
WOMEN’S BIATHLON 10KM PURSUIT GOLD MEDAL FINAL
Al Trautwig (Play-By-Play), Chad Salmela (Analyst)
Gold: Magdalena Neuner, Germany
Silver: Anastazia Kuzmina, Slovakia
Bronze: Marie Laurie Brunet, France
TRAUTWIG ON GERMANY’S MAGDALENA NEUNER: “She’s a five-time world champion, an overall world cup winner. She didn’t have the greatest of seasons last year, but this year she has been rock sharp, and now she is an Olympic gold medalist.”
TRAUTWIG ON BIATHLON IN GERMANY: “Consider that both a male biathlete and a female biathlete in the last few years have been named the German sportsman and sportswoman of the year.”
“The German flags are waving as Magdalena Neuner, who just turned 23, with a silver medal in event one, enters the stadium to a cacophony not often heard in biathlon.”
SALMELA ON THE FRENCH BIATHLETES: “What has gotten into the French? I want some of what they’re having this week!”
MEN’S BIATHLON 12.5KM PURSUIT GOLD MEDAL FINAL
Al Trautwig (Play-By-Play), Chad Salmela (Analyst)
Gold: Bjorn Ferry, Sweden
Silver: Christoph Sumann, Austria
Bronze: Vincent Jay, France
SALMELA ON SWEDEN’S BJORN FERRY: “Nothing heavy about today for Bjorn Ferry as his wings fly him into the finish for his first Olympic medal and it’s gold.”
TRAUTWIG ON FERRY: “Bjorn Ferry of Sweden is having a dreamlike approach to the stadium. The 32-year-old in his third Olympic try with nothing to show for it except for the memories.”
“Bjorn Ferry of Sweden had one miss. One miss in twenty targets.”
“It’s another gold for Sweden here on the slopes of Whistler Olympic Park.”
MICHAELS ON NORWAY’S OLE EINAR BJOERNDALEN: “So far Norway’s big stars have failed to live up to expectations. Back home, they are already calling it a fiasco. Can you imagine what is going on as we speak on sports talk radio in Oslo? They are going crazy. They’re going crazy because they’re biggest star Ole Einar Bjoerndalen will have that added pressure on him today.”
USA
MEN’S HOCKEY: USA vs. SWITZERLAND
USA: 3 Switzerland: 1
Bill Patrick (Host), Mike Emrick (Play-By-Play), Eddie Olczyk (Analyst), Pierre McGuire (Inside The Glass Reporter), Mike Milbury (Studio Analyst), Jeremy Roenick (Studio Analyst)
TEAM USA’S JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER: “We’ve got room to grow, but it’s a good win for us.”
ROENICK ON THE DEDICATION OF TEAM USA:“It speaks volumes on where USA hockey has come over the last 25 years. We have so many people who give 24/7, 365 days a year trying to make the game better.”
ROENICK ON TEAM USA’S ENTHUSIAM: “I really like the attitude that team USA is coming in to this tournament with. There is literally no pressure on them right now because everyone’s talking about Russia and Canada as being the gold medal favorites. They can come in here and use their youth, enthusiasm and speed to give those teams fits and maybe win a gold medal.”
MEN’S CURLING: USA vs. GERMANY
Fred Roggin (Host), Andrew Catalon (Play-by-play), Don Duguid (Analyst),
Elfi Schlegel (Reporter)
USA: 5 Germany: 7
DUGUID ON TEAM USA’S PERFORMANCE:
“I think I’d sit down and talk about maybe checking the ice a little bit, reading the ice. I think they were given a little bit too much room for certain shots or throwing a little bit too much weight. They just off killed it a bit. Either the broom was too much or they had thrown not enough weight, and that’s the key. You have to get those things established.”
DUGUID ON TEAM USA’S JOHN SHUSTER: “John’s a very aggressive player. He likes to win big or lose big.”
CATALON ON TEAM USA’S JASON SMITH AND SHUSTER:
“You could not have a more tight relationship than John Shuster and his vice skip, Jason Smith. They grew up together, they played little league together, and now here they are in the Olympics.”
DUGUID ON COMPARING CURLING TO PLAYING POOL:
“Angles are very important in curling. You have to know your angles. It is like pool.”
BELOW ARE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS MORNING’S MSNBC HOCKEY COVERAGE:
MSNBC:
3:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m.
Bill Patrick (Host), Cammi Granato (Studio Analyst), Kenny Albert (Play-by-Play), AJ Mleczko (Analyst)
WOMEN’S HOCKEY
Sweden 6 vs. Slovakia 2
MLECZKO ON SWEDEN’S PERNILLA WINBERG SETTING OLYMPIC RECORD: “Nobody has scored four goals in one Olympic game before.”
MLECZKO ON FIRST OLYMPIC APPEARANCE FOR SLOVAKIAN TEAM:
“You look at these Slovakians, the Olympics is a big deal, it’s an eye opener.”
GRANATO ON LOOKING AHEAD TO SWEDEN VS. CANADA GAME:
“Their big test is going to be against Canada. They are going to have to bring a lot more than they did tonight.”
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