FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, July 30th, 2012
2012 LONDON OLYMPICS – DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS
Women’s Gymnastics – Team Qualifying
Men’s Swimming – 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay
Women’s Swimming – 100 Butterfly Final
Women’s – 400 Freestyle
Women’s Diving – Women’s 3-Meter
Bob Costas Interview with Bela Karolyi
“As you mentioned a minute ago, this is the ‘All-Around Final’, the final, best gymnasts in the world should be lined up over there. Now, how can you explain to me that the 3rd or 4th ranked gymnast on that order is eliminated because she is accidently from the same country? This is absolutely unacceptable. It is an Olympic final. The first 24 [gymnasts] should be in the final and no one else.”
-Bela Karolyi on the Olympic and International Gymnastics Federation “three-up, three-count” rule that in the finals limits teams to three participants on each apparatus.
“To put it in context compared to another sport, it would be as if in the NCAA Basketball tournament the third best team in the ACC or the third best team in the Big 10 couldn’t go even though obviously they would be better than most of the teams in the field. Dozens and dozens of young women compete; Jordyn Wieber is going to be amongst the top four or five but not among the final 24.”
-Bob Costas on the Olympic and International Gymnastics Federation “three-up, three-count” rule that in the finals limits teams to three participants on each apparatus
Women’s 100 Meter Butterfly
“She’s got to be very careful not to over swim that first 25 meters. As you said Dan, the stars are aligned for her to win gold right here.”
-Rowdy Gaines on Dana Vollmer
“She has done absolutely everything you can possibly do to set herself up for her first individual Olympic gold.”
-Dan Hicks on Dana Vollmer
“Dana Vollmer about to win her first Olympic gold medal and trying to make it a world record as well. First, women, ever, under 56 seconds. That will complete your Olympic dream.”
-Dan Hicks about Dana Vollmer winning the Women’s 100 Meter Butterfly and breaking the world record. Vollmer won with a time of 55.98.
“I’m just so excited right now. I felt good during the first 50…actually lost a swim cap in the pool. It’s in there somewhere. It’s just so exciting about the whole thing.”
-Dana Vollmer on winning the Women’s 100 Meter Butterfly and losing her swim cap in the process.
100 Meter Breaststroke
“You would think that Hansen, being in lane eight, he would have no shot at a medal. But this field is so tightly bunched from two to seven…It’s unbelievable when you only have 3/10ths of a second separating those swimmers.”
-Rowdy Gaines on Brendan Hansen swimming in lane eight. Hansen went on to earn Bronze.
“This is the shiniest bronze medal you will ever see, ever.”
-Brendan Hansen to Andrea Kramer on the possibility that it might be the last Olympic medal of his career.
“Captain Hansen, Captain Comeback and it was well worth it. Bronze for Hansen!”
-Dan Hicks on Brandon Hansen
“It is Cameron van der Burgh who is close to a world record. He’s got the Olympic gold, and you can throw the record in with it!”
-Dan Hicks on Cameron van der Burgh
“And look at this guy (Van der Burgh) Did he just swim huge? And what a world record. What an amazing world record. Unbelievable!
Rowdy Gaines on Cameron can der Burgh’s world record
4×100 Freestyle Relay
NBC cameras captured all the emotion of the 4X100-meter relay as Ryan Lochte couldn’t hold the lead as the U.S. took silver and the French, redeeming their 2008 loss to the U.S., came from behind to win gold. Shots of Michael Phelps rooting on his teammates and the disappointment on the face of Lochte showed the emotion.
BRAVO
Olympic Tennis Coverage
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Ryan Harrison interview – (Harrison’s Olympic debut ended with a mangled racket on Saturday, when he lost to Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 7-5, 6-3)
“Ryan has always been known as ‘the great next American hope in tennis.’ Well, so tell us—you lost control of your temper a little bit; threw your racquet. I trashed you; a lot of people trashed you.”
– Pat O’Brien
“Obviously, the way I handled myself after the match was completely unacceptable. I felt like the situation, when I handled it, it was something that I knew instantly I should not have done. Obviously, playing on such a big stage and representing the country, you’re playing for more than yourself. You have to think about what it means to everyone you’re representing.”
“I hope to move forth but I’m so embarrassed. My actions in no way were intended to represent those of our country. Trying to play the best that I can on such a huge stage, I lost it—and I don’t want to lose any matches because of my emotions. It happened; I wish I could take it back and I feel terrible.”
“I am sorry again to everyone who I offended. I hope you can see the improvements in the future and I’m going to my best to represent the country and everything it stands for better in the future.”
– Ryan Harrison
NBC SPORTS NETWORK
USA Men’s Basketball vs. France
“This team is fantastic. You know they have the top six scorers in the NBA and they are all on this basketball team. They can score. They are smaller, obviously, than the original Dream Team. Coach K (Michael Krzyzewski) has done a great job. He didn’t just go out and look at the best 12 players in the NBA, even though it looks like that’s who is on there. He went for fit; he went for guys who wanted to play together, who he thought he could put together and fit. And I think that they have done a sensational job.”
– Doc Rivers on the 2012 Men’s Basketball Team
“The original Dream Team, people just wanted to meet them. Now, they want to beat them. And I think that’s the biggest difference.”
– Doc Rivers on comparing the 1992 Dream Team to the 2012 Team
“Lebron is the man for Team USA.”
– Bob Fitzgerald on Lebron James
“You walk in, you feel his maturity, you feel his voice, you feel his energy. He’s the alpha male. He’s the undisputed leader of this team.”
– Doug Collins on Lebron James
“They feel nerves in every single game they play in. And this is big. They have to win. It’s not like they’re trying to win a gold medal. They have to win a gold medal, and that’s the pressure they feel.”
– Doc Rivers on the pre-game nerves of the USA Team
“I’m going to go out on the line and say Team USA.”
– Doc Rivers prediction of who would win the game
“LeBron, offensively, defensively, creating the loudest voice, the biggest player. Kobe is still a factor, but LeBron, he’s really been the guy, the focal point of Team USA.”
– Bob Fitzgerald on LeBron James
“It felt good to get it out of the way. I thought we played well on the defensive end and that allowed us to get the win against France.”
– Kevin Love on Team USA’s win
“They asked me who I wanted and I said, ‘I want the scrub guy, the guy that came off the bench and scored all those buckets.’”
– Doc’s Rivers reaction to Kevin Love on set
“It is a little different. Playing time is well distributed throughout the whole team and whatever the team needs we have different guys that do different things. Whether I’m checking in for Tyson or for Lebron or Melo, or any of those guys, I know I can go in and get the job done.”
– Kevin Love on not being a starter while playing for Team USA
“This is just too much swag right here from Carmelo. He has the shades over the face and the eye blockers and plus a neck pillow. I guess you go to New York and people change.”
– Kevin Love on his constant Twitter feed, featuring team pictures including one of Carmelo Anthony sleeping with a lot ‘gear’ on
