US commentators
- Thread starter Manitou
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Scott Hamilton has never commentated ice dance.
In general, I still prefer Hamilton to Tanith. Don't like Tara Lipinski, but I do like NBC's Johnny Weir (don't like Ice Network's Johnny Weir that much though.)
Scott was the commentator on NBC for the ice dance competition at US Nats. I'm sure of it, unless it was just a nightmare.
No, I'm sure, because I recall him sharing his wit and insight several times.
Besides, who will NBC get to blabber during the ice dance in Sochi? Sharapova?
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Yes. I actually like Terry Gannon. It seems he's invested a lot in learning about the sport and title contenders. He's one of the best non-skating-insider commentators.
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One more bit re Sarah Hughes, from a different press release:
Fans who visit the NBC Olympics Page on Facebook will also have the opportunity to ask questions directly to NBC Olympics commentator and Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes during NBC’s primetime coverage of 11 nights of figure skating performances.
http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2...cebook-to-collaborate-on-2014-sochi-olympics/ (Jan 16)
http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2...cebook-to-collaborate-on-2014-sochi-olympics/ (Jan 16)
Not unless Tracy Wilson (as listed above) gets to call Wimbledon.
Thanks for all of your thoughts on this subject, Golden411.
I have a broadcast background and wonder why NBC -- particularly in a tape-delayed setting -- chooses to skip around between events so much. I found it very difficult to watch their prime-time coverage of the Vancouver Olympics ... it was 2 or 3 skaters for a fluff piece and 15 minutes of skating ... then off to alpine skiing for 20 minutes ... then some useless offsite conversation between Bob Costas and Jimmy Roberts ... then back to a couple more figure skaters for 10 minutes .. and on and on.
Particularly in a tape delayed setting ... is it too hard to show all 6 skaters in next to last group, then show another sport for 30 minutes ... then come back and show all 6 skaters in the final group? I think they eventually got it right with the Ladies Final 6 FS at Vancouver but I remember the rest of their coverage was really poorly executed.
I think Tom Hammond does a professional job, but Scott talks over the performances way too much and doesn't understand points of emphasis. I think Sandra has good talents but unfortunately she's too political and it makes her unprofessional.
Does anyone remember when Laura Lepisto skated in 2010 and Scott and Sandra trashed her throughout the entire performance, even though she went mostly clean? She gave a pretty good skate and it was 4 minutes of trashing her, until she left the ice and after 100 negative comments Scott finally said "eh, I think she did a good job".
I have a broadcast background and wonder why NBC -- particularly in a tape-delayed setting -- chooses to skip around between events so much. I found it very difficult to watch their prime-time coverage of the Vancouver Olympics ... it was 2 or 3 skaters for a fluff piece and 15 minutes of skating ... then off to alpine skiing for 20 minutes ... then some useless offsite conversation between Bob Costas and Jimmy Roberts ... then back to a couple more figure skaters for 10 minutes .. and on and on.
Particularly in a tape delayed setting ... is it too hard to show all 6 skaters in next to last group, then show another sport for 30 minutes ... then come back and show all 6 skaters in the final group? I think they eventually got it right with the Ladies Final 6 FS at Vancouver but I remember the rest of their coverage was really poorly executed.
I think Tom Hammond does a professional job, but Scott talks over the performances way too much and doesn't understand points of emphasis. I think Sandra has good talents but unfortunately she's too political and it makes her unprofessional.
Does anyone remember when Laura Lepisto skated in 2010 and Scott and Sandra trashed her throughout the entire performance, even though she went mostly clean? She gave a pretty good skate and it was 4 minutes of trashing her, until she left the ice and after 100 negative comments Scott finally said "eh, I think she did a good job".
It was interesting that NBC did not use Tracy Wilson for its ice dance commentary in Boston. She has been doing dance commentary for years at Nationals, including at NBC. NBC will be using Wilson in Sochi. I have worked with her for several years in the 90s and she is, of course, very knowledgeable about ice dance in general. However, I would prefer someone like Belbin who has actually competed in ice dance under the IJS, but understand that her relationship to White, especially at an Olympic Winter Games where he and Davis are favorites for gold, would be considered a conflict of interest. It’s unfortunate that there doesn’t seem to be a recent ice dancer, now retired from competition, who can do commentary besides Belbin. Belbin is a natural to takeover dance commentary for TV in the future.
None of the single skaters who commentate today are knowledgeable enough about IJS ice dance to do effective, informative commentary and that includes Kwan, Lipinski, Weir, Hamilton, Kerrigan, Hughes or Bezic .
None of the single skaters who commentate today are knowledgeable enough about IJS ice dance to do effective, informative commentary and that includes Kwan, Lipinski, Weir, Hamilton, Kerrigan, Hughes or Bezic .
I really don't understand why NBC decided to bring on such a huge team--now Evan is included too? Sponsors clearly wield a lot of power in these decisions. I don't really care one way or another about having Evan or Sarah Hughes--they are not doing the live commentary, andthat's what I'm most interested in. I am, however, quite irritated by the decision to include Kerrigan. She never skated under IJS, and will be a new, extra wheel in a team that has already established how to make the broadcast work. Johnny, Tanith, and Terry Gannon seem to have developed a nice rapport and they're doing excellent commentary. Why mess up something that is clearly working???
I forget where I saw it, but someone said there was a quid-pro-quo between NBC and Nancy. Basically, she got trial job in exchange for exclusive interview re: Kerrigan/Harding incident.
Well, that's just awful. Bad decision, imo. I doubt it's even financially a good idea for NBC.
I do wish they had Johnny interview skaters too. I would love to see interviews with not just the US skaters, but from all over the world! Johnny actually knows personally a whole lot of skaters competing in Sochi, he even speaks Russian, and he's witty. A girl can dream, right?
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Assume you mean Evan Lysacek. What will his role be? First I am hearing about him as part of the NBC team.
"Lysacek will work as an analyst on NBC's "Today Show" for the men's and team figure skating events. He'll be involved with several of his sponsors, such as Citi with the "Every Step Of The Way" program in which he will raise funds for Figure Skating in Harlem, one of his favorite organizations."
Source: http://www.silive.com/olympics/index.ssf/2014/01/winter_olympics_2014_evan_lysa.html
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Did anyone see Ben Agosto's ice dance commentary for Euros for Universal Sports?
I did not -- do not have access to Universal Sports. But Agosto is as knowledgeable as Belbin (and as pleasant, etc., AFAIK).
Too late for Agosto to replace Wilson on the NBC Sochi team, of course. But Agosto also would be a natural for future ice dance commentary, esp. if(???) Davis/White continue to compete after this season.
Well, that's just awful. Bad decision, imo. I doubt it's even financially a good idea for NBC.
I do wish they had Johnny interview skaters too. I would love to see interviews with not just the US skaters, but from all over the world! Johnny actually knows personally a whole lot of skaters competing in Sochi, he even speaks Russian, and he's witty. A girl can dream, right?
Weir has tweeted about interviewing skaters (interviews that have been "banked" for use during the Games, I assume).
Disclaimer re Kerrigan:
I for one referred to a quid pro quo earlier in this thread -- in the context of making what I believe is a more than reasonable assumption. (My original post clearly said that it was only an assumption, based on putting two and two together.)
But it is very possible that a journalist nailed down the existence of an NBC/Kerrigan quid pro quo, and maybe that is what Ven remembers?
If the quid pro quo was/is real, I doubt that NBC's motivation had anything to do with finances, except in the indirect sense of ratings.
ETA:
Thx, Matilda.
I myself do not have any problem with Lysacek working for NBC in this limited role for Today. And the size of the NBC team is understandable, given the 24/7 news cycle + multi-platform coverage: online, cable, and traditional broadcast.
Media/journalists/analysts are human beings who need to get at least a few hours of sleep per night.
Lysacek's availability to "service" the Today show will lighten the load slightly for those who are responsible for full-blown coverage/commentary of the competitive events (which hopefully means also that they are observing official practices as "homework," schmoozing with skaters/coaches/federation officials/ISU-types to pick up exclusive bits of news, etc.).
Media are not exempt from the logistical hassles of a ginormous event like the Olympics -- such as extensive security procedures, ground transportation issues, etc. A lot of their time gets eaten up by the same stuff that spectators are enduring.
Thx, Matilda.
I myself do not have any problem with Lysacek working for NBC in this limited role for Today. And the size of the NBC team is understandable, given the 24/7 news cycle + multi-platform coverage: online, cable, and traditional broadcast.
Media/journalists/analysts are human beings who need to get at least a few hours of sleep per night.
Lysacek's availability to "service" the Today show will lighten the load slightly for those who are responsible for full-blown coverage/commentary of the competitive events (which hopefully means also that they are observing official practices as "homework," schmoozing with skaters/coaches/federation officials/ISU-types to pick up exclusive bits of news, etc.).
Media are not exempt from the logistical hassles of a ginormous event like the Olympics -- such as extensive security procedures, ground transportation issues, etc. A lot of their time gets eaten up by the same stuff that spectators are enduring.
As I said earlier, I don;t mind Evan's role either. It's the fact that Kerrigan is supposed to work aside Terry, Johnny, and Tara that bugs me. I like the chemistry between the three--and I really can't see what Kerrigan could add to the mix. Maybe I'll be proved wrong...
I'm glad Johnny's done interviews ready for the broadcast. I hope we'll get interviews of international skaters too, once they get to Sochi. Pretty please!!
I'm glad Johnny's done interviews ready for the broadcast. I hope we'll get interviews of international skaters too, once they get to Sochi. Pretty please!!
Per Golden 411 (Did anyone see Ben Agosto's ice dance commentary for Euros for Universal Sports?
I did not -- do not have access to Universal Sports. But Agosto is as knowledgeable as Belbin (and as pleasant, etc., AFAIK).
Too late for Agosto to replace Wilson on the Sochi team, of course. But Agosto also would be a natural for future ice dance commentary, esp. if(???) Davis/White continue to compete after this season.)
Did not know Ben was doing dance commentary as well. He would also be great. Glad to hear we will be getting some new knowledgeable ice dance commentating for the future.
I did not -- do not have access to Universal Sports. But Agosto is as knowledgeable as Belbin (and as pleasant, etc., AFAIK).
Too late for Agosto to replace Wilson on the Sochi team, of course. But Agosto also would be a natural for future ice dance commentary, esp. if(???) Davis/White continue to compete after this season.)
Did not know Ben was doing dance commentary as well. He would also be great. Glad to hear we will be getting some new knowledgeable ice dance commentating for the future.
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- Feb 27, 2012
If anyone is interested in comments from Scott Hamilton (among others) re NBC's Sochi coverage:
Sorry that I overlooked your full comments re Lysacek.
IIRC, among Weir's tweets was one from somewhere overseas about interviewing one or more non-U.S. skaters. Sorry that I don't remember where he was or which skaters.
Just realized that Agosto also provided Four Continents ice dance commentary for Universal Sports.
Perhaps some video/audio of his commentary is available on the Universal Sports site itself or on the YouTube channel for Universal Sports -- I have not checked.
NBC 2014 Olympic Winter Games Conference Call Transcript
I have not read this long transcript, but from a quick scan, I can see that Hamilton answered several questions at length.
Jan. 23, 2014
1 p.m. ET
... Today we’re joined by NBC Olympics Executive Producer Jim Bell, NBCSN Host for the Olympics, Dan Patrick, Olympic Correspondent Mary Carillo and Figure Skating Analyst and Former Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton. In addition, with all the recent news lately, we have also asked NBC Olympics President Gary Zenkel to join us so he’ll be on to talk about logistics, construction and security if those questions arise. ...
http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2014/01/23/2014-olympic-winter-games-conference-call-transcript/
1 p.m. ET
... Today we’re joined by NBC Olympics Executive Producer Jim Bell, NBCSN Host for the Olympics, Dan Patrick, Olympic Correspondent Mary Carillo and Figure Skating Analyst and Former Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton. In addition, with all the recent news lately, we have also asked NBC Olympics President Gary Zenkel to join us so he’ll be on to talk about logistics, construction and security if those questions arise. ...
http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2014/01/23/2014-olympic-winter-games-conference-call-transcript/
I have not read this long transcript, but from a quick scan, I can see that Hamilton answered several questions at length.
As I said earlier, I don;t mind Evan's role either. It's the fact that Kerrigan is supposed to work aside Terry, Johnny, and Tara that bugs me. I like the chemistry between the three--and I really can't see what Kerrigan could add to the mix. Maybe I'll be proved wrong...
I'm glad Johnny's done interviews ready for the broadcast. I hope we'll get interviews of international skaters too, once they get to Sochi. Pretty please!!
Sorry that I overlooked your full comments re Lysacek.
IIRC, among Weir's tweets was one from somewhere overseas about interviewing one or more non-U.S. skaters. Sorry that I don't remember where he was or which skaters.
Just realized that Agosto also provided Four Continents ice dance commentary for Universal Sports.
Perhaps some video/audio of his commentary is available on the Universal Sports site itself or on the YouTube channel for Universal Sports -- I have not checked.
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- Jun 11, 2012
First of all, I would take just about anybody commentating on any of the skating disciplines over Peter Carruthers. He is the worst commentator I've ever, ever heard in figure skating. I watched 4CCs on Universal and it was appalling how he would leave sentences hanging in the air and babble nothingness while a skater was skating. Craig Hummer (who the heck is he anyway) would ask a question and I swear Peter had to look up the answers. He is ill-equipped in this day and age to be commentating figure skating - even the pairs!
Ben Agosto did a credible job with the ice dancing although you could tell he was rather new at it.... but I do prefer Tanith Belbin. I, too, have no problem with her calling the ice dance because of her relationship with Charlie. She has never come off as partial in my mind but then I wasn't dissecting her words, either. She's got great knowledge, pointed out things I would have never noticed, and I do agree with what was quoted about D/W and V/M. And quite frankly, I would be sorely disappointed if the US broadcast wasn't a teensy bit biased toward our skaters.
Ben Agosto did a credible job with the ice dancing although you could tell he was rather new at it.... but I do prefer Tanith Belbin. I, too, have no problem with her calling the ice dance because of her relationship with Charlie. She has never come off as partial in my mind but then I wasn't dissecting her words, either. She's got great knowledge, pointed out things I would have never noticed, and I do agree with what was quoted about D/W and V/M. And quite frankly, I would be sorely disappointed if the US broadcast wasn't a teensy bit biased toward our skaters.
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Also on the morning-show front:
@SashaCohenNYC
Nearly eight years after her Olympic performance, Cohen will be commentating on those of others in the Sochi 2014 Olympics on “Good Morning America,” she said.
My first day on Good Morning America happened to coincide with the Puppy Bowl. @ Times Square Studio http://instagram.com/p/jrTYDAxiVp/
7:02 AM - 27 Jan 2014
https://twitter.com/SashaCohenNYC/status/427818899544215552
7:02 AM - 27 Jan 2014
https://twitter.com/SashaCohenNYC/status/427818899544215552
Nearly eight years after her Olympic performance, Cohen will be commentating on those of others in the Sochi 2014 Olympics on “Good Morning America,” she said.
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I enjoyed Agosto's commentary & found him to be quite knowledgeable (duh!) & unbiased.
