FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 13th, 2014
2014 SOCHI WINTER GAMES – FEB. 13 NBC PRIMETIME HIGHLIGHTS
Friday in Primetime: Alpine Skiers Bode Miller and Ted Ligety Compete in Super Combined Gold Medal Final
Noelle Pikus-Pace Takes Final Runs in Skeleton; Jason Brown and Jeremy Abbott Compete in Men’s Figure Skating Gold Medal Final
Team Canada Faces Austria in Men’s Hockey at Noon ET on USA Network
All Events Live Streamed on NBCOlympics.com and NBC Sports Live Extra Mobile & Tablet App
Stamford, Conn. – February 13, 2014 – Highlights of Friday’s coverage of the XXII Olympic Winter Games:
- NBC’s primetime presentation – which begins at 8 p.m. ET – highlights the men’s super combined gold medal final featuring five-time Olympic medalist Bode Miller and reigning world champion Ted Ligety — the previous two Olympic gold medalists in the event. Also featured in primetime Friday is the final phase of men’s figure skating – the free skate – which combined with the short program score, determines the Olympic individual men’s figure skating champion. The favorites are reigning world champion Patrick Chan of Canada, and this season’s Grand Prix Final winner Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. Americans Jason Brown, whose score in the short program earned a spot in the final group of skaters, and Jeremy Abbott will compete in the free skate after winning bronze in the team event.
- Also in primetime, Utah native Noelle Pikus-Pace takes her final runs in the women’s skeleton gold medal final, currently sitting in second place while fellow American Katie Uhlaender currently sits in fourth.
- Tomorrow’s live coverage on NBCSN begins at 5 a.m. ET with the 15km classical gold medal final in men’s cross-country, followed by Sweden vs. Switzerland in men’s hockey at 7:30 a.m. ET, and also includes more than four hours of live coverage of the men’s figure skating gold medal final, starting at 10 a.m. ET.
- USA’s live coverage on Friday begins at 5 a.m. ET with Team USA vs. Denmark in women’s curling followed by Team Canada against Austria in men’s hockey at noon ET. Live MSNBC coverage begins at 3 a.m. ET with men’s hockey action between the Czech Republic and Latvia, followed by Norway and Finland at noon ET. CNBC’s men’s curling coverage continues at 5 p.m. ET with Team USA against Russia.
Following are highlights from today’s NBC coverage of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi:
Olympic correspondent and Russian-American journalist Vladimir Pozner on importance of seeing Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Games: “Let’s make it clear that the main television networks in the country are controlled by the government. If they show President Putin, it’s because he wants to be seen. And it is important for the Russian viewer to see that he’s with the athletes, part of what’s going on, cares about it – it’s a picture that he wants.”
Pozner on the pressure on Russia’s men’s hockey team: “Pressure’s going to come on Saturday when they play Team USA…[The Russian team] knows that the entire country wants it to win. [The country is] waiting for a final between Russia and Canada.”
Pozner on Putin’s assessment of the Sochi Games and security: “I think he is very happy, cautiously, you never know what’s going to happen, but happy. I have to tell you, I thought the security blanket would be much more obvious. I thought it would be everywhere, you’d feel it. I’ve been around now, it’s there, but it somehow doesn’t bother you.”
Scott Hamilton on Yevgeny Plushenko’s injury during warmups of men’s short program in figure skating prior to withdrawl: “You can see it in his eyes. We haven’t seen that look of fear and defeat, I don’t think, ever…he’s given us so many great memories. To see him leave the ice this way is so tough.”
Plushenko on his injury: “I feel sorry for my fans, and I feel sorry for everybody. But I tried – I tried until the end…I almost cried there, because it’s hard, believe me. This is the end of my career.”
Hamilton on Jeremy Abbott completing program following fall: “Just amazed at the way he was able to get up. It was almost like a shot of adrenaline just woke him up…I’ve never seen anything like that…that was extraordinary.”
Matt Vasgersian on Joss Christensen, Gus Kenworthy and Nick Goepper winning gold, silver and bronze in Olympic debut of men’s ski slopestyle: “For just the third time in U.S. Winter Olympic history, Americans have swept the podium!”
Luke Van Valin on U.S. sweep in men’s ski slopestyle: “It’s unbelievable that the United States has swept the podium here with such a strong international field.”
Scott Hamilton on Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu: “I’ve never seen a better quad performed by anybody than Yuzuru.”
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