2010 Winter Olympics

[SandraC]

Who knows. Although the the torch bearer usually represents the host country as a whole, not just the host city.

Gordie Howe?


Sandra

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Who knows. Although the the torch bearer usually represents the host country as a whole, not just the host city.

 

[HD MM]

Who knows. Although the the torch bearer usually represents the host country as a whole, not just the host city.

 

[HDRoberts]

Well, sad way to start. A Georgian luge athlete was killed in training.

Nodar Kumaritashvili Crash VIDEO: Winter Olympics Luge Crash Life-Threatening (PHOTOS)

Video (as long as it lasts)


Edit: gone already. Really nasty accident. He actually flew out of the course and into a poll alongside the track. Really should have been padded.

 

[Paul Wozniak]

I love everything about the Olympics! I will watch all that I can.

 

[mccoyrj]

I googled those same pics but decided not to post. How did that Southpark song go..."French Canada is the best Canada, the rest of Canada is a Bullsh!t Canada."

 

[mccoyrj]

Well, sad way to start. A Georgian luge athlete was killed in training.

Nodar Kumaritashvili Crash VIDEO: Winter Olympics Luge Crash Life-Threatening (PHOTOS)

Video (as long as it lasts)
YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.

Edit: gone already. Really nasty accident. He actually flew out of the course and into a poll alongside the track. Really should have been padded.

That's too bad. I feel for his family. Someone will be in huge trouble about that unpadded pole.

 

[btharner]

Sad news indeed. We admire athletes because of their ability to make efforts to do what we think is beyond human boundaries and to take the risks necessary to achieve this. Sometimes this can go horribly wrong. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

 

[SabresRule]

Here's what I am interested in following these Olympics:

1. In what sport will Canada finally get a home soil gold?

2. Lindsay Jacobellis or Bode Miller- who's more likely to redeem themselves for what happened in 2006?

3. The hockey tournament. There are 6 teams that I could see winning it all- US, Canada, Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Slovakia

4. Lindsey Vonn. Can she overcome her injury?

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

Anybody else having network difficulties in watching the opening ceremonies? We already had a scroll come across our screen saying that the bad weather is making HD broadcasting impossible & NBC is using a backup satellite. That is when the picture isn't freezing & cutting out. I'm trying to watch on D*,Charter HD,& Charter SD. I've tried everything but OTA antenna(because I don't have one). This is such a major disappointment.

 

[anders5189]

Anybody else having network difficulties in watching the opening ceremonies? We already had a scroll come across our screen saying that the bad weather is making HD broadcasting impossible & NBC is using a backup satellite. That is when the picture isn't freezing & cutting out. I'm trying to watch on D*,Charter HD,& Charter SD. I've tried everything but OTA antenna(because I don't have one). This is such a major disappointment.

Sounds like a local problem.

 

[TMC1982]

Can NBC get big Olympic ratings without a popular figure skater?
There's nobody this year to match the popularity of Michelle Kwan or Nancy Kerrigan. PLUS: Advice for NBC.

Why can't NBC show the Olympics live to West Coasters?
Vancouver, after all, is in the Pacific time zone.

 

[Pepper]

Anybody else having network difficulties in watching the opening ceremonies? We already had a scroll come across our screen saying that the bad weather is making HD broadcasting impossible & NBC is using a backup satellite. That is when the picture isn't freezing & cutting out. I'm trying to watch on D*,Charter HD,& Charter SD. I've tried everything but OTA antenna(because I don't have one). This is such a major disappointment.

Looks like they'll be repeating the whole thing overnight, maybe you can catch it then.

 

[televisionarchives]

As much as I'm enjoying the opening , the announcers need to shut up . We don't need to be told how everything is done and how much it cost etc. And Brian Adams forgot to start singing to his own song. It had be be prerecorded. Did anyone else catch that?

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I am impressed by the use of projectors and light in the show. Its very well done.

 

[anders5189]

As much as I'm enjoying the opening , the announcers need to shut up . We don't need to be told how everything is done and how much it cost etc. And Brian Adams forgot to start singing to his own song. It had be be prerecorded. Did anyone else catch that?

So far it's pretty good, but the Bryan Adams song was dumb as was the tap dancing.

 

[EatMyVolts]

As much as I'm enjoying the opening , the announcers need to shut up . We don't need to be told how everything is done and how much it cost etc.

AMEN! The announcers are acting like hack writers - paid by the word. At least they kept quiet during the minute of silence for the fallen luger.

I'd be willing to pay if dish would offer the CBC's coverage.

 

[skysurfer]

Edit: gone already. Really nasty accident. He actually flew out of the course and into a poll alongside the track. Really should have been padded.

I really doubt padding the poles would have helped. It's still a hard, immovable object even with padding -- just ask any MiLB/MLB'er and they'll say padding doesn't help prevent injury.

What would have helped is netting along the channel edges to keep him in the channel - at least he would have had a chance to live if he just slid along the channel. Maybe there needs to be netting put across the top of the channel to keep lugers and skeletoners and bobsledders inside the channel. Netting set up like NASCAR put up to work on preventing cars and auto parts from flying into the stands. I think it could be done such that it woudn't hinder too much the visibility of the athlete participating.

I think they should cancel luge and other events until they can install netting in key areas. I don't have problems with speed or channel design other than wall height since it's now obvious one could flip outside of the channel and quick fixes need to be taken to avoid another athlete's death during these games.

as for the accident, it was cool footage until one realizes that was his last moments on earth so it turns sad. Just imagine if he was a skeletoner - it might have been instant death with a headfirst slam into the pole.

 

[TMC1982]

Dick Ebersol: More than 80% of West Coasters want tape-delayed Olympics
"They want to get home and watch them, and that's why there's a delay on the West Coast," says the NBC exec.

NBC's Familiar Formula For Olympics Opening Ceremony Works Some of The Time

As NBC goes into its 9th Olympics since 1988, it has a tried and true formula for the Opening Ceremony. Give a background on the host city and country, show plenty of glamor shots of the countryside, pretty mountains and city skyline, and also use Bob Costas to set the scene. Usually, there's no mention of bad news, except in 2002 in Salt Lake City when NBC looked briefly at the bribery scandal that beset the early preparation of the Games.

Right before the Opening Ceremony, NBC had to deal with the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. Tapping the night's co-host Matt Lauer of the Today show and NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, they both set a somber tone with a ten minute report on the fast luge track, the short wall and the metal posts that are outside the track. In addition, NBC showed Kumaritashvili hitting the post as he crashed. Other posts obscured the impact and it did show the crash once again in slow motion, but I felt it was a news story and had to be shown. The network also showed a picture of the luger on the ground, being treated by paramedics on the scene. I felt it was all appropriate, however, NBC should have informed viewers it was going to show the video as children were most likely watching the Opening Ceremony as NBC signed on at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Following the report, NBC went back to its formula for the Opening Ceremony using a very tired-looking Tom Brokaw to voice an educational report on Canada which appeared to be talking down to viewers. I do believe most Americans are aware that Canada borders the United States to the north and has been an ally of the U.S. for many years.

But the most unfortunate timing came during a local ad for WJAR, the Providence NBC affiliate, which twice ran an ad from a local furniture chain, Cardi's Furniture, showing animation of the three sibling owners, Nick, Ron and Pete Cardi, sitting in a bobsled which eventually crashed. It showed the animated owners falling over the edge of the bobsled track, just as Kumaritashvili did on the practice run of the luge. Only, the Cardi's fell onto a mattress, but there was no humor. This ad ran right after the NBC report on the luger, and then again in another segment, but as far as I could tell, stopped running after that. Apparently someone either at Cardi's or the TV station came to his/her senses, but not before the damage was done.

As far as NBC's coverage was concerned, Bob Costas is Bob Costas. He's America's Olympic host and for good reason. He finds excellent tidbits like Denmark having won only one gold medal in its history at the Olympics or informing us that Jamaica's bobsled team did not qualify for the Games. All this coming during the Parade of Nations. However, Matt Lauer who worked well with Costas during the 2008 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony seemed too comfortable and talked too much. He made this Opening Ceremony feel like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade which he also hosts.

But Costas and Lauer set the right tone by keeping the talking to a minimum when Georgia entered the stadium and let the pictures show the sadness of the delegation as they certainly had heavy hearts thinking about Kumaritashvili.

During the last part of the Parade of Nations, NBC focused too much on shots of the US athletes and totally missed the entrance of Uzbekistan.

When Costas and Lauer took a breath, the festivities seemed to flow. However, when they talked a lot, it was as if they were in a contest to be the wittiest or make the most obscure reference.

There were times when the Opening Ceremony dragged, but that's no fault to NBC. They're at the mercy of the organizers.

However, Costas and Lauer filled time expertly when it became apparent that an indoor cauldron had mulfunctioned, leaving Wayne Gretzky, Catriona LeMay Doan, Steve Nash and Barbara Greene hanging until only three of four legs rose from the floor.

In the first part of NBC's program, Al Michaels showed he's better at play-by-play and ad libbing than reading from a prepared script at the anchor desk. This being his first Olympics hosting job, he showed why Jim Lampley will be missed at this Winter Games. Michaels still has 16 days to go to winning me over.

Interviews of the US athletes by Cris Collinsworth and Dan Patrick were mostly a waste of time. But an interview of Vice President Joe Biden and his wife by NBC News' Lester Holt proved to be entertaining only for the foot-in-mouth potential.

I did hear some Twitter tidbits from those watching CTV's coverage in Canada. Tweeters said that hosts Brian Williams and Lloyd Robertson kept their talking to a minimum. And CTV was caught in commercial when Canada appeared from the tunnel during the Parade of Nations. How does that happen?

I give NBC's coverage a B. There were times when NBC overgushed on Canada, but then again, it's the Olympics. I do give lots of credit for NBC's tackling of the Kumaritashvili story and mentioning him throughout the Opening Ceremony.

Here's hoping I can find a way to watch some of CTV's coverage during the Olympics.

 

[Derwin0]

I'd be willing to pay if dish would offer the CBC's coverage.

No CBC coverage anymore, CTV snagged the Olympics coverage for Canada.