We’ve reached the final day of the Winter Olympics. This means the last Olympic press releases are rolling into the Fang’s Bites inbox.
We have Saturday’ daytime quotage which included an interview with Team USA men’s hockey General Manger Brian Burke.
DAY 16 DAYTIME HIGHLIGHTS OF NBC WINTER OLYMPICS COVERAGE
“It’s an inspiration to a whole generation of young athletes.” –Premier of British Columbia Gordon Campbell on Vancouver as an Olympic host city
“It’s like getting even with your big brother.” – NBC’s Mike Milbury on Team USA facing CanadaVANCOUVER - February 27, 2010 - Daytime coverage of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games continued today on NBC with live coverage of the women’s speed skating pursuit gold medal final, women’s cross-country 30km mass start gold medal final and men’s snowboard parallel competition. Live on USA Network, the men’s curling bronze medal match between Switzerland and Sweden.
Daytime host Al Michaels sat down with the Premier of British Columbia Gordon Campbell to recap the Olympics in Vancouver and USA Hockey GM Brian Burke.
NBC News’ Tom Brokaw presented a 30-minute piece on the town of Gander, Newfoundland where on September 11, 2001 38 jumbo jets carrying 7,000 passengers were diverted. In September 2009, Brokaw traveled to Gander with several of the grateful Americans, including parents of a New York City firefighter who was an emergency responder at the World Trade Center; a retired Ohio State administrator who was so inspired by the hospitality she experienced in Newfoundland she helped organize a scholarship fund for local students; and a Texas lady and a British gentleman who found true love during that fateful week in September 2001.
NBC’s Jimmy Roberts and Cris Collinsworth stopped by the studio to report on Canada and its fans. NBC’s Mike Milbury previewed the men’s ice hockey gold medal final between USA and Canada.
NBC
CAMPBELL ON THE IMPACT THE OLYMPICS HAS ON VANCOUVER: “It’s just been phenomenal. That electricity and energy that’s come into the city.”
“It couldn’t have been better, from my perspective, in terms of how people have felt about the Games.”
CAMPBELL ON VANCOUVER’S OLYMPIC LEGACY: “It’s an inspiration to a whole generation of young athletes. It’s how the athletes perform. It’s the dedication. It’s the athletes that finish when they fall. It’s the athletes that act with grace and confidence and a commitment to themselves to being the best they can. That’s the real long term legacy.”
BURKE ON THE USA-CANADA MEN’S HOCKEY GAME SUNDAY: From our perspective, this is our chief rival. Whatever cliché you want to use. This is David and Goliath. In Canada, people think it’s their game. It would be huge for us to be able to do this and that’s what we intend to do.”
“Nothing is going to change on our team. We’re the youngest team in the tournament. We rely on that youthful enthusiasm and foot speed and we rely on our goaltender. We’re not going to change our game. Playing with Canada, they’ve got the best defense in the tournament and quality goaltending, but I think they concentrate on getting the puck out of the ring quickly. It’s going to be a dynamite game. I’m not going to enjoy it, because I don’t enjoy when my teams play, but everyone watching on TV is.”
BURKE ON TEAM USA: “In the preliminary round, even though we went 3-0, I thought we played with ten guys carrying the team and Ryan Miller. I blasted the team after the first three games and said that we need all hands on deck and we’ve gotten that in the two games since then. All the players have chipped in and we played our best hockey the last game and I think you’ll see our best tomorrow.”
BURKE ON CHOOSING RYAN MILLER TO START IN GOAL: “That’s the only decision that we didn’t have fist-fight over. Putting the team together was a natural. We have a young team. He’s calm, and he’s mechanical and methodical and economical. That translates to our young players well, so that was an easy one.”
BURKE ON HIS SONS DEATH IN A CAR ACCIDENT DAYS BEFORE THE OPENING CEREMONY: “It’s been difficult. It’s really been helpful to have this tournament so there’s a reason to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving on. You try to cry a little bit less everyday. My wife’s been great, my kids have been great, my siblings have been great and that’s helped. I think really, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and try to cry a little bit less everyday.”
MILBURY ON THE CANADA-USA RIVALRY: “It’s like getting even with your big brother. There’s a feeling of entitlement when it comes to the Canadians and hockey. They are a little bit nervous about the Americans, because the little guy came to play.”
MILBURY ON USA’S GOALTENDER RYAN MILLER: “Miller’s been completely composed. He had 42 saves against the Canadians the last time out. If he’s not standing on top of his head then they don’t win that hockey game.”
ROBERTS ON HOCKEY IN CANADA: “You know the old axiom. There are two things that matter in Texas, right? There’s football and there’s spring football. That’s the kind of the way it is in Canada with hockey. Tomorrow they’ll get a shot at what they feel is the single most important prize of these Games.”
COLLINSWORTH ON CANADA’S HOSPITALITY: “It’s like they’re hosting you in their house.”
“We’re all very lucky to have the Canadians around. They’ve been a great host.”
WOMEN’S SPEED SKATING PURSUIT GOLD MEDAL FINAL
Dan Hicks (Play-By-Play), Dan Jansen (Analyst), Andrea Kremer (Reporter)
Gold: Germany
Silver: Japan
Bronze: Poland
HICKS ON THE SPEED SKATING PURSUIT: “It just takes one skater to lag behind and it all comes tumbling down.”
JANSEN ON GERMANY ADVANCING TO THE GOLD MEDAL FINAL: “They are able to survive as Friesinger slides across!”
HICKS ON GERMANY’S ANNA FRIESINGER: “Friesinger falling, actually swimming across the ice!
“Just when you think you have seen it all, we see something else.”
“What a way to go o ut for Anni Friesinger’s storied Olympic career.”
JANSEN ON POLAND WINNING BRONZE: “Very surprising bronze medal for the Polish team, but well earned.”
WOMEN’S CROSS-COUNTRY 30KM MASS START GOLD MEDAL FINAL
Al Trautwig (Play-By-Play), Chad Salmela (Analyst)
Gold: Justyna Kowalczyk, Poland
Silver: Marit Bjoergen, Norway
Bronze: Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, Finland
TRAUTWIG ON NORWAY’S MARIT BJOERGEN: “We may have already had a coronation. Marit Bjoergen has three goals and a bronze. Today she goes to make it four.”
“Bjoergen is on her way to setting a mark that Norwegians and all female cross-country skiers will chase for quite some time.”
TRAUTWIG ON POLAND’S JUSTYNA KOWLCZYK: “She’s reminding everyone why she’s wearing number one.”
“Kowalczyk is going to blaze a trail for Polish gold. That’s as good as it gets.”
“Kowalczyk is going to leave here with the perfect set of souvenirs. A bronze, a silver, and a gold.”
TRAUTWIG ON BJOERGEN VS. KOWLCZYK: “We’ve got the best female cross-country skier on the planet during this Olympics, versus the best female cross-country skier on the planet coming into the Winter Olympics.”
MEN’S SNOWBOARD PARALLEL GIANT SLALOM COMPETITION:
Pat Parnell (Play-By-Play), Todd Richards (Analyst), Tina Dixon (Reporter)
RICHARDS ON THE COMPETITION: “These guys are simply carving to the max here.”
“Smooth and confident is going to be the name of the game today.”
PARNELL ON THE CROWD: “A huge American fan base. Family and friends in the crowd, definitely keeping spirits high.”
RICHARDS ON THE TRACK CONDITIONS: “Picture these racers, they’re like cars. It’s like an Indy Car race. They want to have a smooth surface, not a dirt road.”
PARNELL ON USA’S CHRIS KLUG FANS IN THE RAIN:“Soggy foam fingers, they approve!”
USA NETWORK
MEN’S CURLING BRONZE MEDAL GAME: SWITZERLAND VS. SWEDEN
Fred Roggin (Host), Andrew Catalon (Play-by-Play), Colleen Jones (Analyst), Don Duguid (Analyst), Elfi Schlegel (Reporter)
Switzerland: 5 Sweden: 4
JONES: “What I am marveled at though was the composure of Switzerland. When Sweden was throwing all of those incredible shots at them, they never got flustered, they stayed within themselves and just kept making shot after shot.”
CATALON ON TEAM SWEDEN: “The Swedish played their hearts out, the team of 24-year-olds. You can expect to see them again.”
DUGUID ON TEAM SWEDEN: “For a young team to be that high up in the percentages is remarkable. Absolutely remarkable.”
And to the primetime quotage which included the men’s hockey bronze medal game which turned out to be an exciting affair and the very last curling match of the Olympics. I never thought I would say this, but I’ll miss curling. I really picked up a lot of the nuances this year.
USA RIDES NIGHT TRAIN TO FIRST BOBSLED GOLD IN 62 YEARS; CANADA WINS MEN’S CURLING GOLD; US MEN EARN SILVER IN TEAM PURSUIT“They were superior the whole way.” – NBC’s John Morgan on USA-1
“Nothing was going to keep Chad Hedrick out of this gold medal final.” – NBC’s Dan Jansen
VANCOUVER - Feb. 27, 2010 - For the first time in 62 years, the United States won a gold medal in bobsled, when Steve Holcomb piloted USA-1 - a.k.a. ‘Night Train’ - to victory in four-man on the penultimate night of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. The last bobsled gold medal for the US was piloted by Francis Tyler in 1948 in St. Moritz.
The US earned silver in men’s speed skating team pursuit, narrowly losing gold to Canada. For US speed skater Chad Hendrick, it was his fifth career Olympic medal. The women’s team finished fourth. It was a strong day all around for the host nation. In men’s curling on CNBC, Canada, described by curling host Fred Roggin as ‘curling crazed,’ defeated Norway, 6-3. The host nation also captured gold in men’s parallel giant slalom when Canada’s Jasey Jay Anderson won the event.
Heading into the final day of competition, Canada leads the gold medal count with 13, Germany is second with 10 and the US is third with nine. The US leads the total medal count with 36 and is guaranteed one more medal with the men’s hockey team playing Canada in the gold medal game on Sunday. With at least 37 medals, the US will break the record for most medals at a Winter Olympics set by Germany with 36 in 2002 in Salt Lake.
Figure skating presented its exhibition gala, which included gold medalists Kim Yu-Na and Evan Lysacek. On MSNBC, Finland defeated Slovakia, 5-3, with a four-goal third period to win the bronze medal in men’s hockey.
Lindsey Vonn joined primetime host Bob Costas in studio to discuss her Olympic experience.
Vonn: “It’s been definitely an interesting and wild ride for me. Despite everything that’s happened, I’m so thrilled with everything I’ve been able to accomplish in these games. It’s been a lot to take in. But I can finally breathe and I feel a lot more relaxed now.”
Vonn on her injury: “When I first got on snow, it was really painful. Because of all the weather delays, that helped enormously. I got four or five extra days that I wouldn’t normally have to heal. That, I think, was the time I needed to be able to compete at the level that I wanted to. It was definitely a struggle day-to-day but it got better progressively throughout the Games.”
Vonn on her gold medal race: “I was so nervous but so determined at the same time. I knew exactly what I had to do. Some of the other girls had really good runs and I wanted to go down and give it my all. I don’t think anyone felt or looked perfect but this course was technically challenging.”
Vonn on her celebration after her gold medal race: “I just collapsed, I was so happy. I knew that if I came to the finish and I was in the lead, that position would stay. Like you said, I had a big exhale and I collapsed. I was just so happy.”
Vonn on her bronze medal race: “I gave it everything I had. I know I was prepared for that race and I was really happy with my bronze medal.”
Vonn on whether or not she plans to compete in Sochi: “Oh yeah. I definitely still love what I do. I’m so happy and I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
Costas then surprised Vonn with the news that she had been cast as a jury foreman on her favorite show Law and Order. The two ran her lines together for practice.
Costas to Vonn: Ok, la st thing. I hear you’re obsessed with Law and Order. Even to the point where you said you’d do anything to be in the show. You’d be a corpse, a stiff?”
Vonn: “I would, totally. I would totally do it.”
Costas: “Before you came in here, we spoke to Dick Wolf, the executive producer. He has cast you.”
Vonn: “No way.”
Costas: “Yes, I’ve got your lines and we’re going to run your lines right now. Can you play a jury foreman?”
Vonn: “Oh, I could.”
Costas: “I’m going to ask if you’ve reached a verdict and your line is ‘We have, your honor.’ And then, ‘we find the defendant guilty.’ Has the jury reached a verdict?”
Vonn: “We have, your honor. We find the defendant guilty.”
Costas: “First take - Emmy nominated. Thanks, Lindsey.”
BOBSLED:
Play-by-Play: Bob Papa
Analyst: John Morgan
Reporter: Lewis Johnson
Holcomb after their third run: “We just have to put one more together. Another great push, another decent drive and we’ll be on top.”
Morgan on Germany’s Andre Lange: “I don’t think he has confidence in his sled or his equipment.”
Morgan after Lange’s final run: “The last run of a legend.”
Papa before Holcomb’s last run: “Steve Holcomb is about 51 seconds away from erasing 62 years of frustration for USA bobsledding.”
Papa as Holcomb crossed the finish line on his final run: “Steve Holcomb has raced for gold.”
Papa: “And let the record show, after 62 years, it’s Holcomb, Olsen, Mesler and Tomasevicz that are golden for USA bobsled.”
Morgan: “They were superior the whole way.”
Holcomb after the race: “It’s just huge. We’ve been working so hard for this. It’s been four years, a tough four years, but we came together today as a team and worked hard. It’s huge and it’s really going to take our country and our program to the next level. It just means so much to all of us. We’ve all been working hard so it’s awesome.
“Back then I definitely didn’t expect this. I pretty much was retired and had come to terms with that. But this just shows you that you never give up and keep going and keep fighting.”
Costas on the team doing the “Holcy” dance after their win: “Lewis Johnson doing his best to disguise his abject horror as he gets a look at the ‘Holcy’ firsthand.”
SPEED SKATING:
Play-by-Play: Dan Hicks
Analyst: Dan Jansen
Reporter: Andrea Kremer
Jansen on Hendrick, who skated injured Saturday: “Nothing was going to keep Chad Hedrick out of this gold medal final.”
Hicks on the team pursuit being unpredictable: “Things can fall apart quickly in the team pursuit.”
Jansen on the closeness of the race: “On paper, this doesn’t get much closer.”
Hicks on Canada’s close win: “Just by two tenths. That close.”
SNOWBOARDING:
Play-by-Play: Pat Parnell
Analyst: Todd Richards
Reporter: Tina Dixon
Pat Parnell on Russia’s Stanislov Detkov jumping the gate prematurely to be knocked out of bronze medal contention: “That is disastrous.”
Parnell on France’s Mathieu Bozzetto, who goes on to win silver: “The culmination of perseverance.”
Parnell on Canada’s Jasey Jay Anderson, who won gold: “Jasey Jay Anderson, at 34, he’s at his finest.”
“For the fourth time on Cypress Mountain, Canada grabs gold.”
“You could not pick a better day to retire.”
ALPINE SKIING:
Play-by-Play: Tim Ryan
Analysts: Todd Brooker
Reporter: Steve Porino
Brooker on silver medalist Ivica Kostelic from Croatia: “Kostelic is skiing out of his head but not out of control.”
Brooker on Italy’s Giuliano Razzoli: “They call him a rocket for good reason.”
Brooker on Kostelic: “His experience is second to none.”
Brooker on Razzoli: “I can’t believe he’s only 25. He’s skiing with so much maturity.”
Brooker on Alberto Tomba’s reaction to Rozzoli winning gold: “That brings a tear to my eye, seeing a guy like Tomba cry over this.”
Rozzoli on winning gold: “This is unbelievable. It was my dream and now it comes true -a gold medal.”
Rozzoli on his idol, Tomba: “Alberto is my friend. It is impossible to be like Alberto Tomba.”
Brooker on Bode Miller skiing off the course: “Less than seven seconds into the course and Bode Miller is already standing there wondering what might have been.”
Miller on if he’s happy with his Olympics: “Yeah, 100%. I couldn’t be happier. Like I said, it looks all good when you’re three for three. It looks like, this dude’s really good. He’s got it all in hand.’ But the risk I was taking to get those three medals, the risk I was taking to ski that way, it’s maximum risk. If you want to ski that way, and you know you’re going to do it, you’re going to have to accept these results. The GS and the slalom, it does happen. You can do everything right and still be out.”
Miller on being able to enjoy skiing: “That was the real exciting conclusion to the season for me. You do all the grind work coming up to it, and then you really don’t know if any of that stuff is going to come together. Like I said, results are results but to really have that kind of intensity and be able to push it when you get here is a whole other story. I was super psyched to be able to do that and to get the results was even better. It was a real perfect ending for me.”
FIGURE SKATING:
Play-by-Play: Tom Hammond
Analysts: Scott Hamilton, Sandra Bezic and Tracy Wilson
Reporter: Andrea Joyce
Hamilton on Joannie Rochette: “Only the truly great skaters have something to say in the exhibition and she just spoke to all of us.”
Hammond on Evgeni Plushenko’s song choice, “Je suis malade”, which translates to ‘I am sick.’: “Do you think he’s trying to send a message?”
Hammond on Kim Yu-Na: “Two of the best performances anybody had ever seen - short program and free skate, here in Vancouver.”
Hamilton on Kim Yu-Na’s exhibition performance: “This should make it number three.”
Hamilton on Lysacek’s gold medal: “He earned it the best way possible. He worked harder than anybody else.”
Bezic on Virtue and Moir’s 13-year skating career together: “Theirs seems like a fairytale story doesn’t it?”
CNBC, Men’s Curling Gold Medal Game:
Canada 6 vs. Norway 3
Fred Roggin (Host), Andrew Catalon (Play-By-Play), Don Duguid (Analyst), Elfi Schlegel (Reporter)
Roggin: “Imagine waiting eight years for one moment. The chance for a do-over. Another shot at the one that got away. Kevin Martin had that chance today and made the most of it. Haunted by memories of a miss in Salt Lake, Martin and his team brought curling crazy Canada to their feet. A day of redemption for Kevin Martin and a gold medal for Canada.”
Catalon: “Let the party begin. Canada wins gold.”
“Standing ovation inside of the Vancouver Olympic Centre.”
“The Canadians prevail in front of their home fans.”
Jones on Canada: “You can only imagine for the four athletes on the ice what that moment feels like to have worked so hard the last four years of preparing for the Olympic trials and then to get here in Vancouver. It’s icing on the cake. It was such an incredi ble moment to witness.”
“The joy you could see on all of their faces, especially for Kevin Martin, was just inspiring.”
“They were on fire.”
Jones: “The crowd. The energy. To complete it, it’s amazing.”
Duguid: “This place is electric.”
Canada’s Kevin Martin on winning the gold medal: “Winning at home in curling is awesome.”
“It will be pretty nice tonight when it all sinks in.”
Jones on Canada’s Martin: “Under this pressure and in this arena and on home ice to win; that’s a thrill for him!”
Roggin on Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud: “This by far is the biggest stage he has been on in curling.”
Duguid on Norway: “This team has consistently gotten better with every game.”
Jones: “There’s nothing like the pressure of an Olympics. I’ll tell you, it does funny things.”
Catalon: “Nergaard is the only member of this Norwegian team who has Olympic experience prior to these Games in Vancouver, and he won a gold in 2002 as Norway’s alternate so if he wins today he would be the first men’s curler in Olympic history to win two gold medals.”
Jones: “It’s amazing how quickly a curling game can swing.”
Jones on Norway: “The inability to make those big shots is huge.”
Catalon on Norway’s Christoffer Svae and his team’s uniforms: “He said everyone where’s black, so he wanted to spice things up.”
“They’ve become an instant hit.”
Catalon: “The Norwegians have drawn a lot of attention because of their pants, but their play has also stood out.”
MSNBC, Men’s Ice Hockey Bronze Medal Game:
Finland 5 vs. Slovakia 3
Bill Patrick (Host), Mike Milbury (Studio Analyst), Jeremy Roenick (Studio Analyst), Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst)
Patrick on Finland’s comeback in the game: “The first two-goal deficit overcome in these Olympics.”
Roenick on the end of the game: “It really woke me up.”
Albert: “A four-goal, third period for the Finns.”
Micheletti on Finland: “It was a tremendous comeback.”
Albert on Finland’s Teemu Selanne: “He will go home with a third medal.”
“The all-time leading scorer in Olympic ice hockey with 37 points.”
Micheletti on Finland’s Teemu Selanne: “One of the great ambassadors of hockey throughout the world in his career. He has been one of the faces of not only hockey, but Finnish athletics.”
“We are going to miss him at the Olympics.”
Micheletti on Slovakia: “They wanted that medal so badly.”
“This is a team that showed a lot of guts and a lot of determination.”
Albert: “Slovakia, although they are hanging their heads right now, it was their best-ever finish at the Olympics in men’s ice hockey.”
Micheletti on Finland and Slovakia: “Hockey is No. 1 in both countries.”
Our last Olympics quotage post should be up late Sunday night/early Monday morning.
