FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, February 9th, 2014

2014 SOCHI WINTER GAMES – FEB. 9 NBCSN AND MSNBC HIGHLIGHTS

Tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBC: Gold Medal Finals in Team Figure Skating, Featuring Meryl Davis and Charlie White, and Men’s Downhill Headlined by Bode Miller

 

Live NBCSN Coverage Tomorrow, Feb. 10, Beginning at 3 a.m. ET, Highlighted by Team USA Women’s Hockey vs. Switzerland & Men’s Speed Skating 500m Final

 

Team USA Curling Coverage Begins on CNBC & USA

 

Stamford, Conn. – February 9, 2014 – Coming up on NBC Olympics’ coverage of the XXII Olympic Winter Games:

  • Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, NBC’s coverage features gold medal finals in the first-ever team figure skating event and the men’s downhill, headlined by U.S. skier Bode Miller. For more information on tonight’s primetime program on NBC, click here.
  • The Team USA women’s hockey game vs. Switzerland airs tomorrow on NBCSN, Feb. 10 at 5 a.m. ET, followed of the men’s speed skating 500m gold medal final. Live coverage on NBCSN begins at 3 a.m. ET.
  • MSNBC presents Finland vs. 2010 Olympic gold medalist Canada in women’s hockey at 10 a.m. ET.
  • CNBC features Team USA vs. Norway in men’s curling at 5 p.m. ET, and Team USA vs. Switzerland in women’s curling at 5 a.m. ET. 

Following are highlights from today’s NBCSN and MSNBC’s coverage of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi:

Analyst and two-time Olympian Johnny Weir on 31-year old Yevgeny Plushenko potentially competing in individual men’s figure skating: “He’s in a class by himself. He’s a legend…a four-time Olympic medalist. If he wants to compete in the individual event, more power to him. He showed that he’s able to do the quad, the triple axels, get through an entire long program, and do it well.”

Play-by-play announcer Terry Gannon on 15-year-old Russian Yulia Lipnitskaya following her ladies’ free skate, which clinched the first gold of the Sochi Games for Russia in the inaugural team figure skating event: “It was a little girl that lifted the curtain on the Opening Ceremony the other night…and [a little girl] who may have just given Russia its first gold of the Games… [Russian President] Vladimir Putin was on his feet at the end of that program.”

Analyst and Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski on Lipnitskaya: “You have to think, not only for the team event will Russia win gold, but are we looking at the next Olympic gold medalist in the individual event? She looks like such a little girl, a porcelain doll out there, but underneath obviously is the mighty, stealth-like competitor. She’s ready – this is her time.”

Weir on Lipnitskaya’s performance: “Goosebumps. Speechless. She was perfect from start to finish.”

Lipinski on the free dance performance in the team event by American skaters Meryl Davis and Charlie White: “They take dance to another level, they push the envelope technically but they also match that with beautiful storytelling.”

Weir on the performance of Meryl Davis and Charlie White: “They were the picture of ice dancing today.”

Weir on Gracie Gold in ladies’ free skate in team figure skating: “She just looked solid throughout the performance. She looked at ease, she looked comfortable…and coming into your first Olympics, that’s not for everybody.”

Analyst and three-time Olympic hockey medalist Natalie Darwitz after the first period on how the Russian fans have helped Russia’s women’s hockey team (Russia beat Germany 4-1 today): “It’s almost given them an extra player on the ice, extra juice. When the puck goes over the red line this crowd goes bananas.”

Play-by-play voice Ted Robinson on the women’s 3000m speed skating Dutch gold medalist Ireen Wust, who now has three career Olympic gold medals and bronze (Wust is expected to compete in the 500m on Tues., Feb.11 live on NBCSN): “She has taken the first step towards being the most successful women’s skater of these Games.”

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–NBC OLYMPICS–