Johnny Weir officially retires + joins NBC as skating analyst

[pangtongfan]

Sadly Scott and Sandra will be doing the Olympics again i'm sure. Johnny isn't ready to take over yet. But if he sticks to it he might be the future color commentator when Scott retires or cuts back. But Terry really needs to take over as lead commentator. Tom Hammond as i said adds nothing and is will be 70 years old next year.

I predict you will be wrong. Johnny, Tara, and Terry will be your Olympic broadcast team. Tom, Sandra, and Scott will be put out to the pasture with the other commentary rejects who were recently fired like Elfi Hellgal.

 

[Jammers]

I predict you will be wrong. Johnny, Tara, and Terry will be your Olympic broadcast team. Tom, Sandra, and Scott will be put out to the pasture with the other commentary rejects who were recently fired like Elfi Hellgal.

No Scott and Sandra were at SA so no way are NBC letting them go that quickly. When a Network makes a change like this they would do it before the skating season began not during it.

 

[pangtongfan]

No Scott and Sandra were at SA so no way are NBC letting them go that quickly. When a Network makes a change like this they would do it before the skating season began not during it.

Well Elfi appeared at some early season event, then was fired.

 

[ManyCairns]

I predict you will be wrong. Johnny, Tara, and Terry will be your Olympic broadcast team. Tom, Sandra, and Scott will be put out to the pasture with the other commentary rejects who were recently fired like Elfi Hellgal.

Boy, I so so strongly hope you are right. Tom is okay but I really don't enjoy listening to Scott and Sandra. Still, I am happy with the Johnny, Tara, Tanith additions however large their roles.

 

[Jammers]

Who the heck is Elfi Hellgal?

 

[SkateFan66]

Who the heck is Elfi Hellgal?

Elfie Schlegel is a former Canadian gymnast that did commentary for NBC's Olympic gymnastic coverage.

 

[ice coverage]

Elfie Schlegel is a former Canadian gymnast that did commentary for NBC's Olympic gymnastic coverage.

During NBC's recent coverage of gymnastics worlds, Schlegel's replacement was Olympic champion Nastia Liukin -- who previously had had a lesser on-air role, AFAIK.

So I think it is reasonable to wonder whether that decision by NBC is any kind of business model that the network will repeat ...

Anyway here's the video of Johnny's segment:http://www.today.com/news/johnny-weir-retires-joins-nbc-olympics-figure-skating-analyst-8C11446723

Belated thanks to Mrs. P for the video link.

 

[karne]

Well, blind Freddie could have seen this one coming. Of course he retires now; saves the embarrassment of what would have happened to him at Nationals.

My biggest question is, what happens to the money that he was begging his fans to donate for his training? They ought to get a refund since he clearly had no intention of trying anymore.

 

[Jammers]

Well, blind Freddie could have seen this one coming. Of course he retires now; saves the embarrassment of what would have happened to him at Nationals.

My biggest question is, what happens to the money that he was begging his fans to donate for his training? They ought to get a refund since he clearly had no intention of trying anymore.

At least Johnny came out and finally made it official unlike some other former US champion who is still hanging on to past glories and doesn't know when to call it a day.

 

[WeakAnkles]

I would love a 10-minute segment like this one CBS did in the 1988 Olympics on school figures:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31-yn9XYq0k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GQwszzIeWo

Or a breakdown of the top three performances, post-facto.

Here's the thing, I get Scott Hamilton's sentiment that it's hard to do a lot of work on the spot. However that is not an excuse. No sports journalist in the US, whether they cover prep football (high school) or the NFL, come into the games empty handed. They know the basic stats of the players and how they performed previously. A lot of these stats are gathered over SEVERAL years.

The work I did on my Nate Silver thread, for example, could have been done prior to the competition. What's Mao's BV on paper and what does she actually execute in the end? What's her triple axel success percentage rate? How often has she won w/o a 3-3? What has been the history as far as levels from these skaters?

The really good ones have kept excel spreadsheets that keep every single stat and they are armed and ready come game time.

The best ones know how to "interview the data" to answer the big questions.

This. By about a quintillion. Why should skating commentators be less prepared than your average baseball commentator? And they have stats from hundreds of games to analyze. NBC should hire you to crunch the season's number and create those spreadsheets Mrs P. It would give them something to talk about other than the usual run of sobfests, US-biased tidbits, and "inspirational" stories NBC shoves at us every single Olympics. I can't tell you how much I miss ABC's coverage of the Olympics.

I'll tell you this--there are lots of angry gay men about Johnny getting this job from the gay chat sites I've read. They think the only way he can redeem himself is to wear a rainbow flag and stand in the middle of the opening ceremonies--preferably atop the Olympic cauldron--and denounce the Russian law in no uncertain terms. I'm all for it though--I think with more experience he can be the new Uncle Dick Button. He's got that combination of sass and knowledge that could make for some VERY colorful commentary.

 

[Jaana]

At least Johnny came out and finally made it official unlike some other former US champion who is still hanging on to past glories and doesn't know when to call it a day.

I don´t think any formal announcements are needed today, did Kwan ever make hers?

 

[seniorita]

I love Johnny's commenting, cant wait!

 

[lcd]

I hope the addition of both Johnny and Tanith will provide voices which will help viewers better understand in a user-friendly way, the IJS system. It is 10 years in use and even the dedicated skating fan struggles (as do - evidently - some of the judges).

 

[Jammers]

I don´t think any formal announcements are needed today, did Kwan ever make hers?

Michelle never kept saying year after year after the 2006 Olympics that she was going to compete then never did.

 

[zschultz1986]

Jammers, are you trying to slight Kwan, or Abbott, or Evan, or who? The consistent thing about champions (usually) is that they don't know when to quit, we've seen that over and over. They LOVE competing, or training, or winning, or something, and it drives them.

Johnny tried to compete last year. It wasn't happening. Let's get past the end of his on-ice career and all enjoy this, hopefully long-lasting, second career in broadcast.

 

[Olympia]

Jammers, are you trying to slight Kwan, or Abbott, or Evan, or who? The consistent thing about champions (usually) is that they don't know when to quit, we've seen that over and over. They LOVE competing, or training, or winning, or something, and it drives them.

Exactly. I can hardly blame them for the very trait that made them persevere, often against the odds, to build their career. And it's not just skaters. Remember when Mark Spitz came back in his forties or something to try for another Olympics? And when Jim Palmer, who I think was already in the Baseball Hall of Fame, joined a team again? Something John McCain once said of politicians may be true of some athletes: the only thing that can stop them from continuing to make the attempt is embalming fluid.

 

[Bluebonnet]

I remember during 2006 Olympics, there was a program called Olympic Ice in cable channel. Weir was one of the stars there and appeared in several episodes. Once, he asked Dick Button who was then a distinctive analyist hosting "Push Dick's Button", "Hay, Mr. Button, can I takeover your position after you retired?" Now Weir's dream came true!

 

[Matilda]

More of Johnny's thoughts about retirement:

Johnny Weir-Voronov ‏@JohnnyGWeir 2h
I hate the idea of retirement meaning to let your belt out a couple notches and going golfing. Off to sweat on the ice. #stayfit

http://instagram.com/p/f2pupVhhWJ/
http://instagram.com/p/f5QK5-hhcn/

:yay:

I really wish we had more ice shows in the US--or a pro circuit--so we could still Johnny, and soon many other top skaters, performing. Whatever happened to the pro competitions ISU was supposed to launch?

 

[wordsworthgirl]

And why Jason is a honey badger, AFAIR

What does honey badger mean??

 

[zschultz1986]

What does honey badger mean??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg