Just three more days for Olympic quotage. We have the stuff from NBC’s networks for the last Thursday of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
As usual, we begin with Universal Sports.
UNIVERSAL SPORTS AT THE VANCOUVER GAMES:NEWS, NOTES AND QUOTES FOR THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2010Thursday, February 25, 2010 — On the fifteenth day of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Universal Sports at the Vancouver Games continues its five-hour programming block, starting at 10 a.m. ET and continuing daily until the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, February 28.Vancouver Olympic News Center and Morning Buzz:News Alerts:· The United States currently has 30 medals.Erben Wennemars, 2006 Olympic Speed Skating Bronze Medalist and former teammate of Sven Kramer (the Dutch speed skater who yielded a gold medal after being disqualified for an improper lane change): “There’s only one topic in The Netherlands right now, and that’s Sven Kramer. He makes such a mistake. The guy who had to win hadn’t lost in 25 races until now. This will not be forgotten anytime soon.”Picabo Street, 1998 Olympic Alpine Skiing Gold Medalist (on the controversy surrounding the women’s giant slalom event) “The first run is under scrutiny. The American team wanted the entire run thrown out, but you can’t take it (the Run 1 results) away from the people that pulled it together.”Street (on the comments between U.S. Ski Team members Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso): “We’re seeing the negative consequences of preparing as a team and winning as an individual.”John Coyle, 1994 Olympic Short Track Speed Skating Silver Medalist (on the South Korean team being disqualified during the women’s 3,000m short track speed skating event): “I don’t know if I would have made that call (a South Korean skater clicked skates with the Chinese skater in front of her), but I’m not a referee. The Americans definitely benefited (winning bronze as a result).Features:Call of the Day: A Czech Republic TV network’s call of the Women’s 5,000m speed skating race yesterday on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010, marked the third time in a row that hosts Terry Gannon, Lindsey Soto, and analyst Kenan Harkin were unable to guess the correct answer. Even guest John Coyle, an Olympic Speed Skater, didn’t identify the call.Summer Sanders, Universal Sports’ Whistler sideline reporter, speaks with Nancy Green, a Canadian Alpine skier who was named “Canadian Female Athlete of the Year.” Green mentioned that she dreamed for “many, many years” that Whistler and Blackcomb ski resorts would one day host the Winter Olympic Games.NBC’s Peter Alexander learns that in order to speak ‘Canadian’ English, he needs to learn to ‘correctly’ pronounce the following words: ‘house,’ ‘sorry,’ ‘out and about,’ and ‘eh?’The Arctic Games 2 premiered with much fanfare. Kenan Harkin and Jeremy Bloom faced off once again, wearing traditional men’s figure skating costumes, and received tips from Olympic champion Kristi Yamaguchi. Harkin was the winner of the competition, although the credibility of the judging is under scrutiny.MEET THE OLYMPIC PRESS:It was the single best day at any Winter Games for Canada: four medals were earned yesterday.Randy Starkman, Toronto Star sports reporter: “This (men’s ice hockey) gold medal is the most important medal for Canadians. People will go to their offices a lot happier – if they go to their offices. One guy told me he called his boss and said ‘I’m not coming in until Monday.'”Starkman (on Clara Hughes, Canadian Olympian with medals in both cycling and speed skating) “She won (women’s 5,000m speed skating), even though it was a bronze. She donated $25,000 to Right to Play. She’s an incredible sportswoman and this was an incredible way for her to go out.”Amy Shipley, Washington Post reporter: “Canada ended the ‘Own the Podium’ program and it took the pressure off (these athletes). And now it’s going to feel like a grand achievement when they do win medals.”John Powers, Boston Globe reporter: “Canada kept saying ‘wait until week 2, that’s when you’ll see the most medals.’ They could possibly finish third in the total medal count.”Shipley (on Julie Mancuso’s re-run in the women’s giant slalom): “Everyone’s heart went out to Julia and she had to go down much, much later, and it was extremely frustrating…but this is sports. We see this all the time. She got another run, she wasn’t disqualified. Her response of ‘woe is me!’ was not a good response.”Jimmy Roberts, host of “Meet the Olympic Press” (on Julia Mancuso’s negative comments in Sports Illustrated about teammate Lindsey Vonn): “There’s a vast difference between thinking something and saying something.”John Powers, Boston Globe reporter: “Lindsey is the queen, but who has the whole ‘Kiss my tiara thing?’ Julia does.”Are Olympic venues (courses and technology) pushing athletes too far?John Morgan, NBC Olympic Sliding Sports Analyst: “They didn’t let athletes on these new courses enough. I wish they had this ‘training’ environment one month in advance.”Starkman: “I don’t think it’s too far. It’s the Olympics. You need to have challenging courses. You need something Olympic-worthy.”Powers: ” ’Faster’ is the first word in the Olympic motto (‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’). We want to separate by the hundredths of a second who the best are. But if (the sliding track) is that fast, we need more access.”Starkman (on injecting ski courses with water): “These athletes are used to it on the World Cup. Talk about equipment and what’s it’s done to push athletes too far. Again, it’s the Olympics, it’s going to be tough—if you can’t take it, then pack your skis up and leave the start gate.”Thumbs up/Thumbs down segment:Amy Shipley: Thumbs up to (U.S. Short Track Speed Skater) Jordan Malone (who fell a few meters before the finish line in his event). He said ‘I’ve been a positive person until now; I’m not going to start complaining. That’s the sport of short track’.”…and the gold medal—despite Amy trying to bribe host Jimmy Roberts with $20—went to John Powers. According to Roberts, “Anyone who quotes ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ (Latin for Faster, Higher, Stronger) gets the gold medal.”VANCOUVER REVIEW/PREVIEW:Peter Carruthers, 1984 Olympic Pairs Figure Skating Silver Medalist (on the mission facing the top figure skaters tonight): “Forget about the podium. What they are here to do is to get through these programs and not have mistakes. The most important thing is to think, ‘Clean program.’ That is, in the end, what gets you up in the standings, not thinking about the medal.”Carruthers: (on the popularity of ladies’ figure skating): “I think it’s because of (three-time Olympic Figure Skating Gold Medalist) Sonja Henie. She had a huge career as a movie star and it started a big interest in ladies’ figure skating.”Picabo Street, 1998 Olympic Alpine Skiing Gold Medalist (on Julia Mancuso’s curtailed Giant Slalom run and second start Wednesday after the Vonn crash): “In her head, she should be thinking ‘I’ve run over the majority of the course today.’ She should be going over mistakes in her head and thinking about how to improve her line. Instead, she got emotionally involved and she was depleted when she got halfway down the run. After waiting four years to do to defend her title, which was also a little shady back in 2006 due to the weather, she was her own worst enemy in this one. “Street: “There’s going to be a dark cloud that surrounds the Giant Slalom at the Vancouver. The jury did the best they could do, made the decisions they could make for the safety of the racers, and this is what we ended up with.”Street (on the effects of poor conditions and visibility): “(Adverse conditions impact) skis, wax, visibility, depth perception. That’s why they have the blue lines on the snow.”Alan Abrahamson, NBC Olympics and Universal Sports reporter (on how the U.S. performance will change winter sports and attention in the United States): “Winter sports are never going to be football which has sucked all the air out of the room. Will their performance inspire the next generation? Yes.”Abrahamson (on Team Canada’s Own the Podium program): “(Own the Podium) was a classic blunder. Peter Ueberroth used to say that you under-promise, and over-del
iver. The Canadians, in a bid to build national pride, have over promised and under delivered.”Figure Skating Review/Preview:Heading into the Ladies’ Long Program, South Korea’s Kim Yu-Na is in first, Japan’s Mao Asada is second, Canada’s Joannie Rochette is third, with Americans Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu in fifth and sixth, respectively.Peggy Fleming, 1968 Olympic Ladies’ Gold Medalist (on South Korean Kim Yu-Na’s ability to perform with Olympic Gold at stake): “I think she really knows how to keep her head and Brian Orser, her coach, has been in that position before, (skating) against Brian Boitano in Calgary (at the 1988 Winter Games).”Fleming (On the challenge posed to Kim by Japan’s Mao Asada): “She’s wonderful but she’s got to give a little more energy, more extension, (and) she doesn’t have the speed Kim Yu-Na has.”Michael Weiss, two-time Olympian, two-time World Championships bronze medalist and professional figure skater (on Kim Yu-Na’s short program effort): “Kim Yu-Na technically had more difficult jumps, she performed the program beautifully, and those points added up. She did what she did well and she gained points.”Weiss (on Kim’s degree of difficulty): “Ask any guy, they’d much rather do a triple-triple combination (than a triple Axel-double toe). … A woman did a triple Axel-double toe (jump combination) in the short program in an Olympic Games! That should be valued higher. But where Yu-Na got (Asada) was she did everything. She had good skating skills, good choreography. The points added up.”Fleming: “Rachael Flatt is a very solid competitor. She can put on a great performance. She’s well-trained, she knows how to focus and has fun out there.”Fleming: “Mirai Nagasu is a joyful skater. She’s very free, there’s lots of flow. When she’s skating, she’s not thinking about her technique, she’s just doing it.”Weiss (on debate about revising scoring value for the difficult triple Axel-double toe): “I think they will take a look at this. The triple Axel and quad toe (performed on the men’s side) are the most difficult jumps to do and should be rewarded.”Weiss (on tonight’s Free Skate) “If history repeats itself somebody in the top three is not going to perform up to their ability, which leaves the door open. Rachael Flatt (now in fifth), as we know, is like a robot.”Dick Button, 1948 & 1952 Olympic Figure Skating Gold Medalist (on the future of skating): “The whole sport of figure skating should really sit down at this point and re-think itself. I have been involved with four or five re-thinkings of this sport. Three or four at any rate. One, right after the second World War when it became much more athletic than it was before that. And then in the ’60s, with the whole subject of television and the reportage of it, and the expansion of it. In the ’70s, with the professional world of it turning it into a professional sport, a professional competitive sport just as (other sports). Then, finally, I think it needs a new re-thinking but, you know something, I’m not going to be part of that. I don’t have the patience. You know why a camel looks like a camel—it was designed by a committee. (Skating) has got to be re-thought again, to retain what is wonderful about skating.”On The Button (questions posed to Dick Button from the audience):Q: Are the US skaters being counted out for medals tonight?A: “I would like to know who it is that has counted them out. I would absolutely dismiss them from any conversation further. No one is counting them out.”Q: What’s the best performance you’ve seen in Vancouver?A: “I’ve seen two amazing performances: Virtue/Moir and Davis/White in the ice dancing final. Two iconic performances that rank with any I have seen over the last half century. Two different ways to approach the love story and they we absolutely gorgeous.”Dorothy Hamill, 1976 Olympic Ladies’ Gold Medalist (on Yu-Na’s and Asada’s celebrity): “That’s insane. It’s hard to imagine how they would stay focused. But they are out there in the middle of the ice so they can stay away from it. … They hear the cameras going click-click-click-click everytime you go by. That’s got to be nerve wracking.”Kristi Yamaguchi, 1992 Olympic Figure Skating Gold Medalist (on the discussion of pressure in skating): Yamaguchi revealed that in 1991, leading to the 1992 Winter Games — in which she would win the gold medal — she was disillusioned. Canadian figure skater Kurt Browning, a top skater of the era, took her aside and asked, ‘Why are you skating?’ “That simple question —’Why are you skating?’ — made
me look inside.”Carruthers (on tonight’s ladies’ Free Skate final): “I think we are going to see the top two (Yu-Na and Asada) pressure each other into two excellent programs.”**Without warm up, Fleming sinks one of two shots in a Nerf basketball challenge with Terry Gannon and Co.**SCHEDULE FOR UNIVERSAL SPORTS NETWORK – FRIDAY, FEB. 26, 2010:10 –11:30 AM Vancouver Olympic News Center and Morning Buzz11:30 AM – 12 PM Behind the Games12 – 12:30 PM Meet The Olympic Press1: 30 – 2 PM Vancouver Review/Preview2 – 3 PM Figure Skating Review/PreviewFUN FACTS AND QUOTES OF THE DAY:· Before competing, Rachael Flatt makes a habit of eating a couple of M&Ms that match the colors of her dress.· Randy Starkman: “Sorry, I’m going to disagree.”Jimmy Roberts, host of “Meet the Olympic Press”: “No one agrees with anyone on this program.”Starkman: “Sorry, I’m Canadian.”
And there’s the Daytime quotage.
DAY 14 DAYTIME HIGHLIGHTS OF NBC WINTER OLYMPICS COVERAGE
“She alone is carrying the pressure of her entire nation on her shoulders.” – NBC’s Sandra Bezic on South Korea’s Kim Yu-Na
“Both of them are going to come out swinging.” – NBC’s Scott Hamilton on USA’s Rachael Flatt & Mirai NagasuVANCOUVER - February 25, 2010 - Daytime coverage of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games continued today on NBC with coverage of the women’s 4x5km relay gold medal final and a figure skating preview of tonight’s ladies’ gold medal final with NBC’s Scott Hamilton, Sandra Bezic and Dick Button.
MSNBC included live coverage of the women’s ice hockey bronze medal game between Finland and Sweden. USA Network featured live coverage of the women’s curling semifinal round between Canada and Switzerland.
NBC
HAMILTON, BEZIC AND BUTTON PREVIEW TONIGHT’S LADIES’ FIGURE SKATING GOLD MEDAL FINAL
DAYTIME HOST AL MICHAELS: “The walking encyclopedia of figure skating, Dick Button.”
BEZIC ON SOUTH KOREA’S KIM YU-NA WINNING GOLD: “She has the lead and if she skates cleanly, it will most likely be hers. For me what is most fascinating is the kind of pressure she’s under, because she alone is carrying the pressure of her entire nation on her shoulders. She lives with that everyday and trains with that everyday. I can’t imagine waking up and being her this morning, knowing what she has to do. Anything less than gold will be a failure.”
BUTTON ON KIM YU-NA: “Most of all is the fact that not only is she wonderfully athletic, but is also elegant and easy to watch. If she skates brilliantly, she’ll have the easiest route to a gold medal.”
HAMILTON ON JAPAN’S MAO ASADA SKATING AFTER KIM YU-NA: “There’s a little pay back here because Kim Yu-Na had to skate after Mao Asada in the short program and Mao just threw it down. Kim gets to put the pressure on her and Mao’s going to have to hit both of her triple axels to have any chance to get enough points to compete with her technically. Artistically is where Kim Yu-Na separates herself from the field. Mao is going to have to be absolutely flawless tonight technically to have any chance to overtake her.”
BUTTON: “Mao Asada is marvelous all-around skater. Her jumps are simply breathtakingly beautiful, but easy. She doesn’t quite have all of the sustaining parts through the rest of the program. Whether she does both triple axels or not is a question. If she does, the point system will be quite generous to her.”
BEZIC ON CANADA’S JOANNIE ROCHETTE AND HER MOTHER’S DEATH A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE SHORT PROGRAM: “It’s so compelling and so heart wrenching, because we all refer it to ourselves in some way and make it personal. We wonder where we would find that kind of strength within ourselves, or whether we even have that. For her to show that to us was an extraordinary gift.”
HAMILTON ON ROCHETTE: “Seeing Joannie and seeing her relationship with her mother and how tight that was. There’s a huge void right there for her and I think she’s filling it with her skating. I was blown away the other night by that s hort program.”
BEZIC ON USA’S RACHAEL FLATT AND MIRAI NAGASU: “What I love about these two American ladies is that they have simply no doubt. They obviously watched Tara Lipinski and Sara Hughes when they were growing up and they just figure, ‘why not me too?’ Why not be in the final flight and why not be in contention for a medal? That’s how they’ve been skating here and it’s just wonderful.”
HAMILTON ON FLATT AND NAGASU: “They’re so different. Rachael, she’s the rock. She’s so dependable. She punches her time clock every day and she always delivers the performance. With Mirai, you just never know what’s going to come out of her mouth. Just so charming and so endearing and she has her own perspective on everything. Underneath both of them is a fighter. Both of them are going to come out swinging. It’s going to be really fun to watch them skate.”
BUTTON ON FLATT AND NAGASU: “They’re wonderful. I really love them both. Rachel Flatt is just as solid as they come in every way. She’s a competitor through and through. It oozes out of her bones the way she can come through under pressure. Mirai Nagasu is just lovely. Mirai Nagasu is certainly someone who will challenge right to the top.”
WOMEN’S CROSS-COUNTRY 4x5KM RELAY GOLD MEDAL FINAL
Al Trautwig (Play-By-Play), Chad Salmela (Analyst)
Gold: Norway
Silver: Germany
Bronze: Finland
TRAUTWIG ON THE EVENT: “It’s a complete test of team depth.”
SALMELA ON THE EVENT: “They have to go from the gun. These athletes are going to charge this course right from the beginning.”
“The athletes are going to try to leave everything they can on the course.”
SALMELA ON NORWAY’S MARIT BJOERGEN ON WINNING ANOTHER GOLD THIS OLYMPICS: “This would put her down in the record books as one of the greatest skiers of all time from Norway.”
“This is becoming the Games of Marit Bjoergen in cross-country skiing.”
MICHAELS ON NORWAY WINNING GOLD: “I’m not sure they can have a ticker-tape parade in Trondheim, Norway this time of year, but I’ll bet you we’re going to find out next week.”
MSNBC
WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY BRONZE MEDAL GAME: SWEDEN VS. FINLAND
Bill Patrick (Host), Cammi Granato (Studio Analyst), Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), AJ Mleczko (Analyst), Joe Micheletti (Reporter)
Finland: 3 Sweden: 2
GRANATO ON FINLAND WINNING BRONZE: “First Olympic medal for Team Finland in 12 years!”
“These two teams are used to playing against each other. A lot of times it’s been Sweden on top. This time its Finland’s turn.”
GRANATO ON THE GAME: “For those of us that are fans of women’s hockey, this is what we wanted to see. We wanted to see a hard fought battle. We wanted to see an emotional battle. We saw some physical play. That’s what you want, a 3-2 overtime final for an Olympic medal. That’s amazing hockey.”
ALBERT ON THE GAME: “It’s no surprise that these teams are playing for the bronze. If you asked any follower of women’s hockey prior to the Olympics, you would have expected U.S. and Canada in the gold medal game, despite the upset by Sweden in 2006, and Sweden and Finland playing for the bronze.”
MLECZKO ON SWEDEN, FINLAND RIVALRY: “People talk about the rivalry between the USA and Canada, but this one is forgotten. Finland and Sweden play each other a lot through the years. With their geography, they are very close to each other. They are often battling for a bronze medal and you can see the physical nature and the intensity.”
GRANATO ON FINLAND’S MICHELLE KARVINEN: “Karvinen is showing why she’s one of the most exciting prospects for Finland these days. She’s young, she’s 19 years old. But she’s showing tonight why she’s been so good for them.”
USA NETWORK
WOMEN’S CURLING SEMIFINAL: CANADA VS. SWITZERLAND
Fred Roggin (Host), Andrew Catalon (Play-by-Play), Colleen Jones (Analyst), Don
Duguid (Analyst), Elfi Schlegel (Reporter)
Canada: 6 Switzerland: 5
JONES ON CURLING IN CANADA: “In Canada, curling is next to hockey like a religion. Now team Canada will play for the gold on home ice tomorrow.”
ROGGIN ON THE GOLD MEDAL MATCH: “The Canadians will take on defending gold medal champion Anette Norberg and Sweden for the gold medal.”
CATALON ON TEAM CANADA: “Team Canada has embraced the energy in this building. They have not run from this pressure.”
JONES ON CANADA’S CHERYL BERNARD: “She is a tough cookie.”
DUGUID ON BERNARD: “Give her the last rock and she’s dynamite with the draw.”
And we have the primetime quotage.
KIM YU-NA CORONATED WITH GOLD; US WINS GOLD & SILVER IN NORDIC COMBINE; SPEEDY RIDES A HURRICANE TO SILVER
“The coronation is complete. Long live the Queen.” – NBC’s Tom Hammond on Kim Yu-Na winning gold
“We’re green light for flight but there’s a hurricane in the forecast.” – NBC’s Todd Harris on Speedy PetersonVANCOUVER - Feb. 25, 2010 - Kim Yu-Na of South Korea, the reigning world champion, won the ladies’ figure skating gold on the 14TH day of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, handily defeating Mao Asada of Japan and Joannie Rochette of Canada. Mirai Nagasu and Rachael Flatt of the US finished fourth and seventh, respectively. The program ended with the medal ceremony and the national anthem of South Korea.
The US increased its historic medal haul in Nordic combined to four. In the individual large hill/10km cross country event, Billy Demong won the first gold in the sport in US history and Johnny Spillane earned his third silver of the Games. Until Vancouver, the US had never medaled in Nordic combined. The medal ceremony and US national anthem were aired during the program.
In men’s freestyle aerials, Jeret ‘Speedy’ Peterson won silver by landing the hurricane - a risky five-twist, three-somersault maneuver. Alexei Grishin of Belarus won gold and Zhongging Liu of China earned bronze. Peterson attempted the hurricane in Torino in 2006 but did not land it cleanly, costing him a medal. Ryan St. Onge from the US finished fourth.
On MSNBC, the host nation Canada defeated the US - the reigning world champions - in the highly anticipated women’s hockey gold medal game by a score of 2-0. It was Canada’s third consecutive Olympic gold. The medal ceremony and Canadian national anthem aired in primetime on NBC. On CNBC, Canada defeated Sweden, 6-3, in the semifinals of men’s curling. The host nation will face Norway in the gold medal final on Saturday.
FIGURE SKATING:
Play-by-Play: Tom Hammond
Analysts: Scott Hamilton, Sandra Bezic
Reporter: Andrea Joyce
Bezic on Flatt during her skate: “She is really doing it.”
Bezic: “She’s had a long season with many great performances but she has saved her best one for the Olympic Games.”
Hamilton: “She is a rock. She is so consistent.”
Hammond: “It’s called rising to the moment and Rachel Flatt has just done it.”
Bezic on Ando: “This is the strongest we’ve seen Miki perform in a long time as well.”
Hamilton as Kim Yu-Na took the ice: “My heart just started beating a little faster.”
Bezic during Yu-Na’s performance: “Oh my goodness, this is glorious. This is one of the greatest Olympic performances I have ever seen.”
Hammond: “And the crowd mesmerized during her skate, leaping to their feet. The coronation is complete. Long live the Queen.”
Hamilton on the pressure: “No one can walk a mile in those shoes.”
Hammond on Kim Yu-Na’s record-setting score of 228.56: “That blasts the old record. That destroyed the old record.”
Hamilton on Asada: “The first woman to do three triple axels in a competition ever.”
Bezic on Asada: “What she has done in the wake of Yu-Na’s ovation is extraordinary.”
Bezic on Joannie Rochette’s performance: “A kiss for her father. A performance for her mom.”
Hamilton on Rochette’s performance: “I’ve never seen such a superhuman amount of courage and determination. What an inspiration.”
Hammond on Rochette’s performance: “It is the stuff of Olympic legend.”
Hammond on Nagasu: “Not intimidated at all by the stage of the Olympics.”
Bezic on Nagasu: “She just made herself her own Olympic moment.”
Hamilton on the final results: “Everybody’s happy.”
NORDIC COMBINED:
CROSS COUNTRY
Play-by-Play: Al Trautwig
Analyst: Chad Salmela
Trautwig on Demong: “And now Billy Demong is having his own little miracle.”
Trautwig on Demong and Spillane: “For the first time in Nordic combined, the United States wins a gold and they’re going to add a silver as well.”
Trautwig on Spillane’s three silver medals: “Let future generations chase that.”
Salmela: “The United States has been waiting for that moment for so long.”
Spillane on strategy: “Bill and I just kept trading off and kept taking turns pushing the pace and relaxing. We knew that eventually he’d break and Bill had a very strong finish on that last hill. I also felt really good and we were able to get clear. To finish 1-2 is awesome.”
Demong on the future: “I know we’re both planning on skiing next year in the world championships. And I don’t think anyone’s thought that far ahead. Right now our commitment is to enjoy these weeks here and do our best. And we’re also going to start laying the groundwork for the next generation.”
FREESTYLE SKIING:
Play-by-Play: Todd Harris
Analyst: Jonny Moseley
Reporter: Tina Dixon
Moseley on Canada’s Warren Shouldice: “He looks like a two-by-four getting flung through the air and the judges love that.”
Harris on Japan’s skiers: “They’re so young, but with so much poise.”
Harris on the hurricane: “We’re green light for flight but there’s a hurricane in the forecast.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a category five hurricane, but that was pretty nice.”
Moseley: “You don’t get extra points for originality but he does it anyway.”
“One of the best I’ve seen him do.”
Harris on Peterson: “And the hurricane is good for silver.”
ALPINE SKIING:
Play-by-Play: Tim Ryan
Analysts: Christin Cooper
Reporter: Steve Porino
Cooper on gold medalist Victoria Rebensburg of Germany: “That was a hard fight from top to bottom. She never gave up.”
Ryan: “And now she’s showing the world she’s a gold medalist in the giant slalom.”
Cooper on the technique of silver medalist Tina Maze of Slovakia: “It’s just a thing of beauty.”
Cooper on the Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso relationship: “These are two characters with polar opposite personalities. They approach their personal lives and their ski careers differently. They have different goals. That’s just the realities of life on the national team. Rivals are not always your best friends. The point is to put that aside and make it work.”
Cooper on Mancuso: “What a fighter she’s been.”
Mancuso on her race: “I’m psyched I was able to lay down a pretty good second run today. It wasn’t enough but I really went out and did my best so I’m really proud of that.”
On her alleged feud with Lindsey Vonn: “It’s been taken out of proportion. It’s really about both of us going out and skiing. I respect her. I said earlier in some interviews that of course she deserved the attention. She really is the greatest female American skier that we’ve had -- two overall titles, numerous Globe. That’s really a huge accomplishment. We’re both very different. We both have gotten here to these Games and gotten our medals in completely opposite ways. I’m sure that fuels the fire even more. But of course it’s always good to see your fellow American on the podium.”
On the death of her friend: “I found out yesterday after my race that my friend C.R. Johnson passed away skiing in Squaw [Valley]. It just really reminds me that skiing is so much fun and I love it. It’s all about the skiing and nothing else.”
MSNBC, Women’s Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game:
Canada 2 vs. United States 0
Bill Patrick (Host), Cammi Granato (Studio Analyst), Mike Emrick (Play-By-Play), AJ Mleczko (Analyst), Pierre McGuire (Analyst), Joe Micheletti (Reporter)
Patrick: “What we saw today was really unique. Before today, no women’s hockey team had ever won Olympic gold on home ice.”
“The party has just begun here at Canada hockey place.”
Patrick on Canada: “Their 15th straight Olympic victory. Their third straight gold medal.”
Granato on Canada: “They have the crowd here supporting them. It can’t be more special.”
“They had a flawless game.”
Mleczko: “It was a battle as expected.”
Emrick on Canada: “What a wonderful feeling it is for them, to not only win, but to win at home.”
McGuire on Canada’s Szabados: “She is the most consistent goaltender Canada has right now.”
Patrick: “The Canadian team has this building behind it and that’s a big factor.”
Canada’s Gillian Apps on playing well under pressure: “It is something that we have worked on all year just making sure that we have a strong, solid penalty kill. Our defense and our goalie are playing great, so it’s a huge help.”
Mleczko on USA and Canada: “These two teams are ‘it’ in terms of rivalries.”
Granato: “This is four years of work coming down to one game.”
McGuire on USA and Canada: “A lot of tension on both benches.”
Granato on USA: “They’re the most together I have seen a team since the 1998 team.”
Granato On USA Head Coach Mark Johnson: “They absolutely love playing for him. This guy is so well decorated. He was the leading scorer of the 1980 Olympic team that won the gold medal. His father was a legendary coach. He just has loads of experience. He has won three NCAA championships with Wisconsin. He knows how to win. He knows how to coach and they follow him.”
Granato: “For the U.S., you can sense the disappointment. You can see the disappointment. Lots of tears. I have been there. I know what that feels like. In time, they will come to appreciate the silver medal. It is hard for them right now, but they will.”
USA’s Natalie Darwitz on the game: “We played hard, but we just didn’t execute.”
“We have a young team and at times I feel we played that way.”
CNBC, Men’s Curling Semifinal:
Canada 6 vs. Sweden 3
Fred Roggin (Host), Andrew Catalon (Play-By-Play), Colleen Jones (Analyst), Don Duguid (Analyst), Elfi Schlegel (Reporter)
Jones: “What a moment for this Canadian team to now be able to play for the gold medal in front of this crowd.”
“This place is going to be absolutely electric.”
Canada’s John Morris: “I think it’s a good energy in the building. We have had that pressure on us for the last couple of years. The Olympics is a whole new ball game.”
“Curling and hockey to Canada is kind of like baseball and basketball to the States. Where the pressure is on to win the gold. We knew that pressure coming in, and we definitely expected it for ourselves. So we are definitely going for that gold.”
On playing Norway in the gold medal final: “We know we will have our hands full, so we expect a good battle on Saturday that’s for sure.”
Duguid: “There’s nobody that knows the angles more than Kevin Martin.”
Jones on Sweden: “Coming in, they thought if they finished middle of the pack that would be good. They have been awesome.”
And we have a bonus press release. This one says NBCOlympics.com is attracting visitors, but I keep hearing Yahoo! and ESPN.com are giving it a run for its money.
“NBCOLYMPICS.COM ON MSN” LEADS ALL COMPETITIONMore Than 706 Million Page Views is 600 Million More Than That of the Nearest Competitor
Engagement Time on NBCOlympics.com is 63% Higher Than Nearest Competitor
VANCOUVER -February 25, 2010 - “NBCOlympics.com on MSN” has generated more than 706 million page views, 600 million more and 587 percent more than the nearest competitor Yahoo’s Olympic site (103 million page views) from Feb. 15-21 according to comScore data released today. And, visitors to NBCOlympics.com spend more time on the site and view more pages than visitors to Yahoo’s Olympics site.
On average, visitors to NBCOlympics.com spend 11.4 minutes per visit, 63 percent more than the seven minutes on average for Yahoo users, and visitors to NBC’s Olympics website average 72.2 pages per visitor, more than 12 times Yahoo’s 5.7 average pages per visitor.
Additional digital highlights include:
- Through 13 days, NBCOlympics.com has seen 28.9 million video streams serving more than 2.5 million hours of video, 20 million more than the total number of video streams from the 2006 Winter Games (8.4 million), according to Omniture Data.
- The USA-Switzerland men’s quarterfinal hockey game on Wednesday, Feb 24, delivered nearly 500,000 live streams on NBCOlympics.com, the most live streams of any event to date. The USA-Finland men’s semifinal hockey game will be streamed live Friday starting at 3 p.m. ET.
- NBCOlympics.com has delivered more than 1,100 highlights through 13 days of the Vancouver Games.
- There have been 9.8 million unique visitors to NBCOlympics.com from Feb. 15 – 21, 2010, according to data released today by comScore.
*NOTE: NBCOlympics.com is an Olympics specific website.
That’s it.
