ICYMI: Weekend Olympics and Super Bowl Highlights

SATURDAY

NBC Olympics continued its primetime coverage of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China, tonight on NBC and Peacock. Mike Tirico serves as NBC Olympics primetime host and opened coverage from the field of SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Tirico will host tomorrow’s primetime coverage and Super Bowl LVI Pregame Show on NBC and Peacock from SoFi Stadium. He returns to Stamford on Monday where he will anchor the remainder of the Games.

Opening tonight’s primetime show, Tirico said: “Los Angeles, California, on an early Saturday evening out here that feels a little bit like Christmas Eve for sports fans. It’s the eve of Super Bowl Sunday which kicks off tomorrow at magnificent SoFi Stadium…We’re thrilled to be here tonight as the anticipation builds for the game, and also bring you all the action from across the world on this middle weekend of the Olympics in Beijing as a sports weekend like none before it – the Super Bowl and the Olympics, together – continues here on NBC.”

As part of NBC Sports’ “Super Gold Sunday” — when the 2022 Winter Olympics and Super Bowl LVI converge to create the biggest day in sports media history – tomorrow’s Olympics coverage begins live at 8 a.m. ET on NBC and Peacock and continues in primetime following Super Bowl LVI.

NBC Sports’ Feb. 13 Schedule on NBC and Peacock (all times ET):

8 a.m.	2022 Winter Olympics
Noon	Road to the Super Bowl
1 p.m.	Super Bowl LVI Pregame Show
6:30 p.m.	Super Bowl LVI
10:45 p.m.	2022 Winter Olympics Primetime Show
Midnight	Late Local News*
12:30 p.m.	2022 Winter Olympics Prime Plus Show
*NBC only

 

Highlights of upcoming coverage include:

• • As part of NBC Sports’ “Super Gold Sunday,” following the Lombardi Trophy presentation to the Super Bowl champion, live coverage from Beijing continues with the Winter Olympics Primetime Show at approximately 10:45 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, which will feature gold medals awarded in ice dance and monobob
    • Heading into the ice dance finals, Team USA’s Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue are in third place, and Madison Chock and Evan Bates sit in fourth
    • In monobob, Team USA’s Kaillie Humphries is in first place heading into the final heat, and Elana Meyers Taylor is in fourth
  • Live 2022 Winter Olympics coverage will get underway tomorrow at 8 a.m. ET on NBC and Peacock with the men’s speed skating team pursuit quarterfinals
  • The U.S. men’s ice hockey team concludes pool play tomorrow when they face Germany live at 8:10 a.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock (NBC will air a portion of the matchup)

 

Following are highlights from tonight’s primetime coverage of the Winter Olympics on the platforms of NBCUniversal:

FIGURE SKATING – NBC & PEACOCK

Johnny Weir on Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue’s rhythm dance routine: “They skate so big, so eloquently. The depth of edge is just insane…That’s the best I’ve seen them skate that rhythm dance all season. Just so strong, so secure…They just skate in such a difficult, difficult way. They hold nothing back and it just leads to this dream world that we get to watch.”

Tanith White on Hubbell and Donohue: “Such a good program. I mean, that’s how you close a show. The performance level is so high. We saw it in the team event how they brought that energy that fun to the last section, I was so happy to see that come back at the end of this program.”

Weir on Madison Chock and Evan Bates: “Much like the music of Billie Eilish, their skating gets stuck in your head…They have the best lifts in the world…That passion — they’re like strawberries and champagne. They’re bubbly and they’re rich and I just love it.”

White on Chock and Bates: “They really attacked that performance. There was that one little slip, but every moment of this choreography just has these little treasures in it. All of those small details – even just the way that she looks at him, looks at the audience. I mean it’s hypnotic, she’s mesmerizing as a performer…It’s really important to note that there are mistakes that happen outside of the moments that are most closely scrutinized by the technical panel, which are less costly because they occurred in a sort of in-between moment.”

White on Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker: “It is so nice to see them on an Olympic stage. They have absolutely owned this opportunity. They have been the third team in the U.S. for some time, a top-10 team in the world, but they have had to deal with ongoing injuries for a number of years. (It’s) always just kept them slightly from what their ceiling could be from one season to the next, and now they get to capitalize on this opportunity.”

Weir on France’s Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron: “They’ve got angel whispers under their blades, it’s like they’re skating on clouds.”

***

MONOBOB – NBC & PEACOCK

Leigh Diffey on monobob’s Olympic debut: “There is a lot of excitement here at the house of speed, and the reason why is monobob is making its long-awaited and highly-anticipated Olympic debut.”

Bree Schaaf: “Allow us to introduce you to monobob, where the driver becomes the breakman…The women’s monobob is much lighter than the two-women sled. Not only are you missing your breakman, but the sled itself is lighter so it is much harder to control, and you don’t have that weight in the back to give you the glue in the corner.”

Schaaf on what it’s like to try and drive a monobob: “It’s like taking a front-wheel drive car with summer tires out on an icy road. You have so little control, they’re constantly skidding out from under you – it takes a very delicate touch.”

Schaaf on Team USA’s Elana Meyers Taylor recovering from Covid: “When (she) is confident, she is unstoppable. The question is, was she able to get enough practice runs to gain that confidence for this race? … Elana is one of the top starters and one of the strongest women I have ever met in my life…She is an incredible athlete and physical force in this sport.”

Schaaf on Team USA’s Kaillie Humphries’ first run: “Kaillie is one of the best pilots, best drivers in the world, and that was a true testament. To keep this monobob stable on an unstable track is truly impressive.”

Schaaf on Humphries: “She has been up against so many issues leading into these Games. There is no more talented bobsled pilot in the world than Kaillie Humphries.”

***

ALPINE SKIING – NBC & PEACOCK

Ted Ligety on the difficult conditions for the men’s giant slalom: “Watching this, I’m not having FOMO, that’s for sure. Makes me happy when I see a really tight course where guys are struggling to make a clean turn – I’ll leave that for the young guns.”

Lindsey Vonn to Mike Tirico on the snowy conditions: “We’ve been talking about the man-made snow problem the whole Olympic Games, and now we have the opposite problem – too much snow. The combination has led to a really bumpy course, and the visibility is really bad. When you combine those two things, it really feels like a rodeo ride for these athletes. They are struggling to make it down, fighting for every inch that they can.”

Vonn on adjusting to conditions on the mountain: “That’s why it’s so hard in alpine skiing. You wait for four years for the Olympics and your one moment, and it’s a blizzard with a really bad combination of snow conditions. You just have to do the best you can in that moment. I’ve been there many times and whatever hand you’re dealt, you have to do the best you can with it.”

Steve Porino on Team USA’s River Radamus’ first run: “He has that fight. Made a couple of errors, but he continued with that same pattern of skiing — that high-edge angle. That is what is required to make time here…Pretty solid skiing.”

 

SUNDAY

NBC Sports presented ‘Super Gold Sunday’ – the biggest day in sports media history – as the Los Angeles Rams won a thrilling Super Bowl LVI matchup at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, followed by two live gold medal events at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, tonight on NBC and Peacock.

Mike Tirico led NBC Sports’ ‘Super Gold Sunday’ coverage from SoFi Stadium, hosting the Super Bowl LVI Pregame Show, the Lombardi Trophy presentation, and primetime Winter Olympics coverage.

NBC Sports presented live coverage of the women’s monobob and ice dance competition at the Winter Olympics immediately following Super Bowl LVI post-game coverage, as Team USA’s Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor won gold and silver in the monobob and the Team USA pair of Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue earned a bronze medal in ice dance.

Click here for a behind-the-scenes look at sports media history, as the NBC Sports’ Super Bowl LVI post-game team went off the air in Los Angeles and tossed coverage to the NBC Olympics production team at NBC Sports’ International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn.

Highlights of upcoming Olympics coverage include:

• • Live 2022 Winter Olympics coverage will get underway tomorrow, Monday, Feb. 14, at 8 a.m. ET on NBC and Peacock with the men’s speed skating team pursuit quarterfinals
  • The 2018 Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. women’s ice hockey team continues its gold medal defense versus Finland in the semifinals tomorrow live at 8:10 a.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock
  • Two-time Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrinmay compete in the women’s downhill event tomorrow live in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock
  • The women’s snowboarding big air final, expected to feature 2022 Winter Olympics silver medalist Julia Marino, will also air tomorrow in primetime on NBC and Peacock
  • Later in the evening, the men’s snowboarding big air final will be presented live at 12:05 a.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. 2018 Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard and two-time Olympian Chris Corning are expected to lead the American contingent
  • Medals will be handed out in the women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle final Monday at 10:05 p.m. PT/1:05 a.m. ET (Tuesday) on NBC and Peacock. 2018 Olympian Maggie Voisinis expected to vie for a spot on the podium, while Beijing Olympics gold medalist Eileen Gu (China) is also expected to be a medal contender

 

Following are highlights from tonight’s Super Bowl LVI coverage and primetime coverage of the Winter Olympics on the platforms of NBCUniversal:

SUPER BOWL LVI – NBC & PEACOCK

Al Michaels on the Rams winning Super Bowl LVI: “The Rams were built to win the Super Bowl and they have sealed the deal…In the end, all the stars came out.”

Cris Collinsworth on the Rams’ game-winning touchdown drive: “In a pressure situation, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anybody be better than Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp. They had no choice. That was the entirety of their passing game, and they got it done for the go-ahead touchdown…That drive by Matthew Stafford and by Cooper Kupp, to just do it themselves, will go down in my mind as one of the great drives ever in Super Bowl history.”

Collinsworth: “When everything was on the line for the Rams — everything — yes, we know it was Aaron Donald, but we also know it was Cooper Kupp. So, the two superstars on both sides of the ball for the Rams, when everything’s on the line, they are the guys.”

Drew Brees: “When I think about this Rams offense, I think perseverance. They were without Tyler Higbee, they lost Odell Beckham, Jr. early, they couldn’t run the football. They struggled for a while, but they persevered, and that last drive was vintage. Their playmakers came through in the end.”

Michaels on Rams WR Odell Beckham Jr.: “It’s a long way from Cleveland to the Lombardi Trophy.”

Rams QB Matthew Stafford to Kathryn Tappen on WR Cooper Kupp and the final drive: “That’s hard work. That’s hours together. I just thank coach for putting it, ‘Hey, Matthew, you and Cooper are going to get this thing done.’ He kept calling plays for him, kept finding ways to get him the ball. He made unbelievable plays. That’s what he does. I’m just so proud of this team. It’s such a team victory…Such a great game.”

***

MONOBOB – NBC & PEACOCK

Leigh Diffey on Team USA winning gold and silver in monobob’s Olympic debut: “You’re looking at a gold and silver performance from Team USA in the first-ever monobob Olympic competition…The two who have been rivals for so long are now teammates and Olympic medalists in a brand new category…and it’s only just the beginning.”

Diffey on Team USA’s Kaillie Humphries’ gold medal: “In her first Olympics for Team USA, it’s a golden moment!”

Bree Schaaf on Humphries: “Kaillie is not only the best driver in the world, but she is one of the strongest. She’s not as fast as Elana, but her ability to manipulate that sled with as little steering as possible in the exact right spot, that’s what makes her unstoppable.”

Schaaf on Team USA’s Elana Meyers Taylor’s winning silver: “This is the most incredible female athlete I have ever met and had the pleasure of training with in my life.”

Diffey: “Team USA powers in the house of speed…Everything that was against Elana Meyers Taylor, and she has prevailed!”

Meyers Taylor to Lewis Johnson: “It’s really about Team USA and it took every single one of them to get me here. I think this is the first medal for the isolation hotel, so there you go!”

Schaaf on monobob: “This sport is a transition sport, and we recruit athletes from all areas, but we’re looking for explosive speed. These are the running backs of women’s sports – you have to be strong, but you also have to be fast.”

Schaaf on the Yanqing National Sliding Center: “Coming out of corner 13, that section of the track goes up, goes down, it bends away – it’s like a Mario Kart Rainbow Road.”

***

FIGURE SKATING – NBC & PEACOCK

Tanith White on Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue’s bronze-medal winning free skate performance, the final performance of their career: “The point of a dance is not to get to the end of it. Madison and Zach, they’re not even skating to get to the end of their careers. They’re skating in the moment, for the moment, for each other…And most importantly, it’s how they skated this today…Power and precision in perfect combination.”

Johnny Weir on Hubbell and Donohue: “They were exquisite. Both of them.”

White on Madison Chock and Evan Bates: “Madison Chock, in my opinion, is the best performer in the world of ice dance today…I just want to put a split screen of this moment back to 2018. It was tears then after their free dance at the last Olympic Games where they had both fallen…now, it’s a triumph.”

Weir on Chock and Bates: “They have been so stone faced this entire Olympics, and to finally see them put it down, put the stress of the performances down and to have done it so brilliantly is what this is all about. It’s so stressful to compete at the Olympics, but then once it’s over you have the elation of your dreams coming true.”

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SPEED SKATING – NBC & PEACOCK

Bill Spaulding on Team USA’s Erin Jackson’s historic 500m gold medal: “Erin Jackson’s meteoric rise to the top is complete with Olympic gold.”

Joey Cheek on Jackson’s gold: “Erin Jackson needed the race of a lifetime, and it looked like that might just be what she did. Brilliant opener, incredibly fast, exactly where she needed to be.”