Mikaela Shiffrin Hits the Slopes in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Taking Place Feb
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2018 WINTER OLYMPICS Mikaela Shiffrin hits the slopes in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics taking place Feb. 9-25 Week-Week, 2014 COURTESY OF GRACENOTE 2018 WINTER OLYMPICS VIEWER’S GUIDE ith football firmly in our rearview mirrors, it’s Wnow time for more than 2,400 hours of skiing, skating, bobsledding, ice hockey and more as NBC and its broadcast partners carry the 2018 Winter Olympics Centre from PyeongChang, South Korea. Airing Feb. 8-25 on NBC, NBC Alpensia Biathlon Sports Network, CNBC, USA Network, NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app, these games OYLYMPIC VENUES will see nearly 3,000 athletes from 88 nations (plus Russian athletes) PyeongChang competing in seven sports for 102 Mountain Cluster medals, among them Lindsey Vonn, • Alpensia Biathlon Centre Shaun White, David Wise, Elana • Alpensia Cross-Country Meyers-Taylor, Mikaela Shiffrin, BY GEORGE DICKIE Skiing Centre Nathan Chen and Chloe Kim. There • Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre will be four new events – big air the major difference in the coverage a lot of college players involved, • Olympic Sliding Centre snowboarding, freestyle skiing, of these games.” which is the real essence of that • Phoenix Snow Park mass start speed skating and mixed There will be a few glaring ‘Miracle on Ice’ team. So maybe • Jeongseon Alpine Centre doubles curling – and viewers across absences in PyeongChang, there’ll be some new names and • Yongpyong Alpine Centre the nation will get to see prime-time probably the most significant being some amateurs to root for.” and late-night competition live at the Russia, which was banned because As for the athletes themselves, Gangneung same time thanks to South Korea of a doping scandal. Any Russian they’re locked, loaded, qualified Coastal Cluster being 14 hours ahead of New York athletes competing will do so and ready to compete. The 18 • Kwandong Hockey Centre and 17 ahead of Los Angeles. under the aegis “Olympic Athlete days in PyeongChang promise • Gangneung Curling Centre “There’s no spoiler alert with a call From Russia” or O.A.R, which to provide a lifetime of memories • Gangneung Hockey Centre from your aunt on the East Coast if should make the medal ceremonies for all concerned – and probably • Gangneung Ice Arena you live in California, that, ‘Hey, did interesting. even a few surprises, as history has • Gangneung Oval you see this person or that person Also missing in men’s ice hockey taught us. win a medal?’ “ points out Mike are the players from the NHL, which The smart ones learn to expect the unexpected. Non-Competition venues Tirico, who succeeds Bob Costas has opted not to pause its 2017-18 • PyeongChang Olympic Plaza “That’s the biggest thing about as NBC’s Olympics studio host. “… season for the games, thus ending a • PyeongChang Olympic the Olympics,” says Meyers-Taylor, They’ll see it all as it’s happening, run of five consecutive Olympics. Stadium a U.S. bobsledder and two-time it’ll be on live across the country “I think we’ll see perhaps a • Pyeongchang Olympic medalist, “is you never know in the evening and then a little bit return to that magical 1980 feel,” Village what’s going to happen so you later on late night on the East Coast, Tirico says, “if the U.S. team can • Gangneung Olympic Park have to be prepared for all kinds of which is prime time on the West become one that makes a run in • Gangneung Olympic Village Coast. So I think that’s going to be the tournament, because we’ll have possibilities.” •In the NBC Broadcast booth, Mike ...and, what’s not Tirico takes over for Bob Costas as the NHL is not allowing its players to network’s primetime Olympics host. •Russia was banned from compete. With dozens of players participation in the PyeongChang from Russia’s KHL expected to •Is it bobsleigh or bobsled? Olympic participate, ironically the gold terminology refers to an event as winter games for past doping violations. Well, sort of. Certain medal favorite will be the Olympic “bobsleigh” while in North American Athletes from Russia. English it is “bobsled.” You can call it athletes from Russia can compete in PyeongChang, but they must do so what you want, but bobsleigh is starting •The world tensions involving to be used more often. under the “Olympic Athletes from Russia” banner. Their flag will not North Korea are being blamed for sluggish ticket sales to Olympic •Along with live coverage and be flown, their anthem will not be played and Russian government events. That said, South Korean Mike Tirico no tape-delay on NBC, NBCSN, president Moon Jae-in is keeping What’s CNBC, and the USA Network, expect officials are banned from the games. the door open for North Korean an upward trend of streaming via leader Kim Jong Un to send athletes trending in NBCOlympics.com to continue for the to PyeongChang, which is just PyeongChang games. Yes, there’s an •The Men’s Ice Hockey tournament will surely be different because the 80 km (50 miles) from the North PyeongChang... app for that! Korean border. pg 2 2018 WINTER OLYMPICS VIEWER’S GUIDE COURTESY OF GRACENOTE ICEHOCKEY The headline-making story for Olympic Hockey at the PyeongChang Olympics is the fact that the NHL will not send players to these games. This is the result of number of issues, primarily the failure of the IOC and NHL to agree on a number of items. Thus, the men’s hockey team, headed by Wisconsin Badgers hockey coach Tony Granato, consists of former NHL journeymen, college players as well as players active in European leagues, including, at the moment, Russia’s KHL. 2006 Team USA veteran Brian Gionta will serve as Team USA captain. Without the NHL players, the men’s hockey tournament sure will prove interesting. Although Russia is banned from the Olympics, certain athletes will be allowed to play. With the KHL featuring a number of top Russian players, and apparently not standing in the way, this makes the “Olympic Athletes from Russia,” as they are being called, the likely favorite. The women’s hockey tournament is sure to be exciting with the Team USA / Team Canada rivalry as intense as ever. The Canadians, who have won the last four gold medals, beating the U.S. for three of them, defeated the Americans again 3-1 in a pre-Olympic tune-up back in December. Two-time silver medalist Hilary Knight leads Team USA. Dates: Feb. 10-25 Brian Gionta PROFILED Tony Granato Team USA men’s hockey coach Tony Granato Granato is currently in his second season has a long career on the ice and behind the coaching for his college alma-mater, the bench. A stand-out left winger in college for the University of Wisconsin–Madison (Badgers) while Wisconsin Badgers, Granato had already been also handling Team USA. drafted in 1982 by the New York Rangers. After one minor league season in the IHL he Full Name: Anthony Lewis Granato was in New York where he led the team in Born: June 25, 1964 scoring, but was traded in his second season to the Los Angeles Kings. Granato spent 14 Hometown: Downers Grove, Illinois, seasons in the NHL, including his final five years Sport: Hockey - USA Men’s Coach with the San Jose Sharks before taking on a Experience: NHL Player and coach. Currently number of coaching jobs, including nearly three coaches men’s hockey for the Wisconsin years as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche Badgers where he posted a 104-78-17 record. Achievements: NHL All-Star, 1996-97 COURTESY OF GRACENOTE 2018 WINTER OLYMPICS VIEWER’S GUIDE pg 3 Mikaela Shiffrin Alpine skiing and its various disciplines - slalom, giant slalom, super giant slalom (Super G), combined, and downhill - remains one of the more popular winter Olympic sports. Since its debut in 1936 the number of events for both men and women has continued to grow. Alpine skiing has seen it’s finest competitors come from European countries as well as the U.S. Austria holds the record with 114 medals, including 9 at Sochi in 2014. The U.S. Team is pinning some of its hopes on Mikaela Shiffrin, who when just 18 became the youngest slalom champion in Olympic history at Sochi; an honor she holds as World champion as Justine well. Lyndsey Vonn is set to return after missing Sochi in 2014. Dufour- Meanwhile, six-time Olympic medalist Bode Miller will return to the Lapointe Olympics, but this time he’ll be an analyst for NBC. Dates: Feb. 11-15, 17-18, 21-24 Take downhill skiing and add some sports made up of young, daring athletes. For the U.S. Team, David Wise acrobatics to it and you’ve got Freestyle hopes to return to defend his 2014 gold medal in the men’s halfpipe. Skiing. Disciplines include aerials, moguls, An interesting storyline that could develop in PyeongChang is the cross, slopestyle and halfpipe. All are competition between Canada’s Dufour-Lapointe sisters (Maxime, Chloe fairly new Olympic events, with halfpipe and and Justine) who all compete in the moguls. Justine, the youngest at slopestyle being introduced in 2014. age 24, took home a gold medal at Sochi while Chloe grabbed the No doubt, the popularity of the X Games has silver medal. Team Canada sure would love to see the sisters sweep contributed to the surge in popularity in these the podium. Dates: Feb. 9, 11-12, 15-23 PROFILED Mikaela Shiffrin Mikaela Shiffrin is the youngest slalom champion in Olympic alpine history; a feat Although she’s only 22, she has seven she accomplished when she won a gold years experience on the U.S.