FLASH! Dick Button to do Olympics ; daily show on USA Channel! | Golden Skate

FLASH! Dick Button to do Olympics ; daily show on USA Channel!

Frau Muller

Frau Muller

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
I'll repost this on the Olympics thread but, knowing that Dick Button is a favorite topic (pro & con) here, I thought I'd place it here first. I happen to be an admirer of 'Uncle Dick,' so this is great news, IMO. :rock:

YES!!!! Dick Button has signed-on to be part of the NBC figure-skating team, so we'll be seeing & hearing a lot from this 'grand old sage' of skating, come February! According to Heather's TV site, which I've confirmed on the USA Network page, Dick will be hosting a daily (yes - DAILY!) one-hour show titled 'Olympic Ice,' between 6 - 7 pm, EST, on the NBC-affiliate cable network, USA. The show will run daily, Feb 11/26. WOW -- that's 16 hours of Dick Button!

Don't be surprised if Dick also makes appearances during the NBC prime-time coverage, too. What an early Christmas present for fans. :clap: :clap: :clap:
 
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dwiggin3

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 16, 2005
This is good news! I know a lot of folks don't like Dick and yes, he fumbles his words and gushes about things that aren't that great (for example, gushing about how secure Sasha’s edges are right as the TV shows her on wobbly edges, or talking about how Kwan doesn’t flutz and then the TV shows her changing edges) - BUT he has a tremendous knowledge base and frankly, what would a major skating event be WITHOUT Dick falling all over himself! :rofl:

I like the idea of a 1 hour show…I know a lot of folks don’t like the fluff pieces, but I do. Maybe this hour will chronicle the journey of a few skaters to the Olympics, any trials they’ve overcome etc. as well as, paying attention to topics such as proper technique. I suspect that a lot of time will be devoted to trying to educate views on COP…which I’m not sure will work….Those of us that are devoted fans have a hard enough time figuring it out – so I would assume the casual fan will be totally baffled. Hmmmm…

I don't mind Terry Gannon as a side kick either nor do I mind Peggy Fleming. Paul Wylie has been commentating on the GP this year and I like him a lot...He's able to comment more reliably on the technical aspects of skating and I think his presentation is better than most...plus, I think he's usually much more accurate in his summaries and fair (i.e. he will point out poor technique on any skater, regardless of their fame and will point out good technique regardless of their anonymity)

I LOVE Susie Wynn for the dance.:clap:

I was watching some old tapes of salt lake, and man, the commentary was BAD!!!! Hopefully, Turino will be better :biggrin:

Darby
 
antmanb

antmanb

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
What's the betting you get two million replays of Tot&Mar's Skate America fall during the shows?

Maybe you could start sweep stakes?!

Ant
 
CDMM1991

CDMM1991

Medalist
Joined
Jun 3, 2005
I didn't have time to read your post thoroughly, so maybe you already mentioned this, but in addition to the daily show, is Dick doign the commentary for the actual skating?
 
Frau Muller

Frau Muller

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
CDMM - My post is about Dick's one-hour daily show on USA, 6-7pm, which is confirmed.

My understanding is that Scott Hamilton will be the anchor of the in-the-rink, blow-by-blow commentary, as he has done in past NBC and CBS Olympics. Others have already posted this fact. Nonetheless, one can't help but think that Dick will be standing by to do previews or recaps of the competitions, especially since USA network is an affiliate of NBC. In other words: UNCLE DICK WILL BE IN DA HOUSE & working for the NBC family of stations!

antmanb wrote, above: "What's the betting you get two million replays of Tot&Mar's Skate America fall during the shows?
Maybe you could start sweep stakes?!"

Ha-ha. Of course that will be shown over & over. And Sasha's falls...and Mao Asada ('thank heaven for little girls')...and Tanith in Congress or whatever!!! I can see it now. The old 'Dick Button Drinking Game' -- taking a swig of our favorite poison whenever Dick utters one of his classic 'Buttonisms' -- will commence each evening at 6 pm, so we'll be plastered by the time the actual competitions are shown on prime time. Yikes! I'll have to remember to pre-time my VCR for the competitions & not rely on my manual recording; otherwise, I'm sure to miss a lot...maybe will fall asleep too soon. LOL!
 
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chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
I like and admire Dick. He says what he thinks, and most of the time he is right, even if he isn't very diplomatic. I'm glad he's being given an Olympics commentary role, even if it isn't play-by-play.
 
Joesitz (RIP)

Joesitz (RIP)

Joined
Jul 11, 2003
I think it is kinda like Sarah doing her thing on Channel 2 for the Summer Olys.

In America Dick is a big name in figure skating, and this may get some of the casual fans back to watching figure skating after the SLC scandal and the Tonya/Kerrigan debacle.

He won't say anything nasty during that hour. He may bring up names of bygone eras which most of the posters here will never know who they were (pre-TV era).

This is good news. Whether I will tune in or not is not important. I don't need to be assured that skating is legitimate. But I'll be watching the judges and scores. Unlike most GS posters, I am skeptical - not of out and out collusion but of cultural preferences.

Joe
 
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SkateFan4Life

Guest
Let the multitudes of figure skating fans rejoice - Dick returns to Olympic figure skating commentating!! :clap: :clap:

You go, Dick!! :rock:
 
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BronzeisGolden

Medalist
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
I'm glad to see other people like Dick. I think he is charming and very knowledgable. He says what he thinks, and I agree with him almost 90% of the time. He reminds me of that crotchety old man that sneers on his bar stool at the restaurant where I have lunch......he may seem rough around the edges and a bit "out of touch", but if you spend any time talking with him you soon see that isn't the case at all.
 
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SkateFan4Life

Guest
IMHO, Dick is a class act of the first order. I agree with him nearly all of the time, and the rest of the time, well, that's OK, as far as I'm concerned.

He is truly "the voice" of figure skating, at least in the United States. Nobody else has been around as long as he has been, been "the first" to perform so many moves (double axel, flying camel - which he invented, and triple loop), and no other American has won two Olympic gold medals. Dick also won seven US titles, five World titles, and even the European Championship.

I once wrote to Dick to express my concern over the demise of the school figures, and I expressed my concern that figure skating would dissolve into a
"jumping jack" competition. I received the most charming, sweet letter in return. Whether or not Dick actually wrote the letter, I don't know, but it sounded just like him. What a wonderful guy! :biggrin:
 
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Peggy

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 13, 2004
I will be watching Dick every time he is on the air--I almost always agree with what he says and he is by far the best commentator we have. He is enthusiastic and enhances skating in a way that no one else can, or at least no one I've seen commentate in my old life time. I'm thrilled he has his own show and I get that channel. It will be a sad day for skating when we lose Dick and his insight into a competition.
 
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