Hockey’s dynamic duo of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin will continue their quest for gold and last night’s star Lindsey Vonn will try to add to her medal collection tonight.
BC’s Thursday primetime coverage of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games begins tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET/PT. With only .55 of a point separating USA’s Evan Lysacek and Russia’s Yevgeny Plushenko at the end of the men’s short program and .05 of a point separating Lysacek and Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi, the gold medal final is shaping up to be a clash of the figure skating titans.
Lindsey Vonn competes in her second of five alpine events in hopes to take home a gold medal in the super combined gold medal final.
Team USA’s Hannah Teter looks to defend her Olympic gold medal in the women’s snowboard halfpipe gold medal final, live. Other medal contenders include USA’s 2006 Torino Olympic silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler and 2002 Olympic gold medalist Kelly Clark.
NBC DAYTIME:
Daytime coverage includes live women’s snowboard halfpipe competition. Also in daytime, the women’s biathlon 15km individual gold medal final.
NBC LATENIGHT:
Latenight coverage includes the men’s biathlon 20km individual gold medal final and men’s and women’s skeleton competition. Also, medal presentations and musical performances from the medal ceremonies.
CABLE:
Crosby, Ovechkin and Team USA all skate in men’s hockey on USA Network and CNBC. On USA Network, live coverage of men’s hockey includes undefeated Team USA facing off against Norway. Also live, men’s curling with Team USA taking on Denmark. Two of the NHL’s biggest stars compete live on CNBC as Team Canada, led by Sidney Crosby, takes on Switzerland, and Alex Ovechkin leads Russia against Slovakia. Both Canada and Russia are undefeated in the tournament thus far. Also live on CNBC, USA’s women’s curling team goes up against Denmark. MSNBC’s live coverage includes women’s hockey with undefeated Team USA facing Finland.
Highlights for Thursday, February 18 include:
Thursday, February 18 (DAY 7)
NBC
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Women’s Snowboard – Halfpipe Competition (LIVE)
Women’s Biathlon – 15km Individual Gold Medal Final
8:00 p.m. – Midnight
Men’s Figure Skating – Free Skate Gold Medal Final (LIVE)
Women’s Snowboard – Halfpipe Gold Medal Final (LIVE)
Women’s Alpine Skiing – Super Combined Gold Medal Final
Women’s Speed Skating – 1000m Gold Medal Final
12:35 a.m. – 2:00 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Skeleton – Competition
Men’s Biathlon – 20km Individual Gold Medal Final
Medals Plaza – Award Ceremonies
2:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m.
Primetime Replay
Cable
USA
Noon – 5:30 p.m.
Men’s Ice Hockey – USA vs. Norway (LIVE)
Men’s Curling – USA vs. Denmark (LIVE)
CNBC
5:00 p.m. – 5:00 a.m.
Women’s Curling – USA vs. Denmark (LIVE)
Men’s Ice Hockey – Canada vs. Switzerland (LIVE)
Slovakia vs. Russia (LIVE)
Women’s Ice Hockey – Russia vs. China (LIVE)
Men’s Curling – France vs. Canada
MSNBC
5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Women’s Ice Hockey – USA vs. Finland (LIVE)
3:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m.
Women’s Curling – Canada vs. Germany
NBC HIGHLIGHTS (Primetime):
Men’s Figure Skating: Free Skate Gold Medal Final – The medals are determined LIVE in the men’s figure skating competition, which boasts the deepest Olympic field in memory. Will reigning world champion Evan Lysacek’s (Naperville, Ill.) consistency and flair earn him a coveted Olympic medal following his world title last year, or will Russian Yevgeny Plushenko become the first man to win back-to-back Olympic golds since Dick Button in 1948 and 1952? Their challengers could include Team USA’s Johnny Weir (Quarryville, Pa.), Canada’s Patrick Chan, and Switzerland’s Stephane Lambiel. A strong Japanese contingent, led by Daisuke Takahashi and Nobunari Oda, could also land on the podium.
Women’s Snowboarding: Halfpipe Gold Medal Final -Team USA features a trio of talented medal favorites in this LIVE event. Hannah Teter, the maple-syrup making 23-year old from Vermont, returns to defend her 2006 Torino gold medal. The 26-year-old Vermonter Kelly Clark, who won Olympic gold in Salt Lake City in 2002, is still considered the most daring and innovative women’s rider in the world. And don’t dismiss Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, Colo.), the 2006 silver medalist who, with her own fashion line, is the face of the women’s sport.
Women’s Speed Skating: 1000m Gold Medal Final: This should be a special night for the host country. The Richmond Oval is the signature venue of the Games, and the 1000m is the premier event for 24-year-old Canadian Christine Nesbitt, a geography student at the University of Calgary who was born in Melbourne, Australia and is a threat to win multiple medals in Vancouver.
NBC HIGHLIGHTS (Daytime):
Women’s Snowboarding: Halfpipe Competition – Team USA features a trio of talented medal favorites who will all compete LIVE as they try to advance to tonight’s LIVE Gold Medal Final. Hannah Teter, the maple-syrup making 23-year old from Vermont, returns to defending her 2006 Olympic gold. The 26-year-old Vermonter Kelly Clark, who won gold in Salt Lake City, is still considered the most daring and innovative women’s rider in the world. And don’t dismiss Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, Colo.), the 2006 silver medalist who, with her own fashion line, is the face of the women’s sport.
NBC HIGHLIGHTS (Latenight):
Men’s and Women’s Skeleton: Competition – The world’s top skeleton riders rocket down the fastest track in the world headfirst and face down at speeds exceeding 80 mph. Watch for Katie Uhlaender (Breckenridge, Colo.), daughter of late Major League Baseball outfielder Ted Uhlaender, who succumbed to cancer last winter, and Noelle Pikus-Pace, a Utah mom who won the 2007 world championship and makes her deferred Olympic debut after a broken leg kept her from competing four years ago at the Torino Games.
USA HIGHLIGHTS:
Men’s Ice Hockey: USA vs. Norway – The most anticipated international tournament in the sport – men’s hockey at a Canadian Olympics – continues as Team USA takes on Norway, LIVE.
Men’s Curling: USA vs. Denmark – Team USA skip John Shuster (Chisholm, Minn.) was a member of the bronze medal winning team in 2006. Now Shuster, whose “day jobs” include managing the bar at the Duluth curling club and mowing lawns at a Minnesota golf course, leads Team USA into competition in curling-crazed Canada. Today’s challenge, Denmark, LIVE.
CNBC HIGHLIGHTS:
Women’s Curling: USA vs. Denmark – Team USA skip Debbie McCormick (Rio, Wisc.) was born in Canada and now makes her third Olympic appearance in search of her first medal. McCormick’s Team USA squad takes on Denmark, LIVE.
Men’s Ice Hockey: Canada vs. Switzerland – One of the faces of the Games, hockey superstar Sidney Crosby, leads the Canadians in their drive for gold LIVE against Switzerland. “Sid the Kid” was controversially left off the 2006 Canadian Olympic Team roster. Now, he’s arguably the tournament’s best player. No medal means more to the host country than gold in men’s ice hockey and the atmosphere will be electric.
MSNBC HIGHLIGHTS:
Women’s Ice Hockey: USA vs. Finland – Coached by 1980 “Miracle on Ice” hero Mark Johnson, the USA women’s hockey team is favored to meet Canada in the Gold Medal Final. Today they place their third game and toughest test yet of Vancouver tournament, LIVE vs. Finland, the team that Team USA beat for bronze in Torino.
Highlights for Friday, February 19 include:
Friday, February 19 (DAY 8)
NBC
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Women’s Cross Country – 15km Pursuit Gold Medal Final (LIVE)
Men’s Figure Skating – Gold Medal Final Analysis
8:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Figure Skating – Compulsory Dance (LIVE)
Men’s and Women’s Skeleton – Gold Medal Final (LIVE)
Men’s Alpine Skiing – Super G Gold Medal Final
Ski Jumping – Individual K125 Large Hill Competition
12:05 a.m. – 1:30 a.m.
Medals Plaza – Award Ceremonies
1:30 a.m. – 5:00 a.m.
Primetime Replay
Cable
USA
Noon – 3:00 p.m.
Women’s Curling – USA vs. Russia (LIVE)
MSNBC
3:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Men’s Ice Hockey – Belarus vs. Sweden (LIVE)
Midnight – 3:00 a.m.
Men’s Ice Hockey – Finland vs. Germany (LIVE)
3:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m.
Men’s Curling – Denmark vs. Canada
CNBC
5:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.
Men’s Curling – USA vs. France (LIVE)
Men’s Ice Hockey – Czech Republic vs. Latvia (LIVE)
Women’s Curling – Denmark vs. Canada (LIVE)
NBC HIGHLIGHTS (Primetime):
Figure Skating: Ice Dancing, Compulsory Dance – The figure skating competition continues LIVE with the elegance and artistry of ice dancing. Two USA teams are in medal contention – 2006 Olympic silver medalists Tanith Belbin (Detroit, Mich.) & Ben Agosto (Chicago, Ill.) and two-time U.S. champions Meryl Davis (West Bloomfield, Mich.) & Charlie White (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.).
Men’s Alpine Skiing: Super-G Gold Medal Final – You don’t want to miss the speed event where all of the world’s best skiers are expected to collide in one super-heated showdown. Team USA’s Bode Miller (Franconia, N.H.) and Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) should both contend in this event and will attempt to outrace Austrian stars Michael Walchhofer and Benni Raich, Switzerland’s Carlo Janka, and Norway’s 27-year-old sensation Aksel Lund Svindal, an extremely sociable and popular champion who won Norway’s Sports Role Model of the Year Award in 2009.
Men’s and Women’s Skeleton: Gold Medal Finals – The world’s top skeleton riders rocket down the world’s fastest track headfirst and face down LIVE at speeds exceeding 80 mph. Watch for Katie Uhlaender (Breckenridge, Colo.), daughter of late Major League Baseball outfielder Ted Uhlaender, who succumbed to cancer last winter, and Noelle Pikus-Pace, a Utah mom who won the 2007 world championship and makes her deferred Olympic debut after a broken leg kept her from competing four years ago.
Ski Jumping: K125 Large Hill Competition – Ski Jumping moves to the large hill, where skiers reach speeds near 60 mph and can soar more than 400 feet. Swiss star Simon Ammann, a Harry Potter lookalike whose raw emotion captivated millions after his victories in Salt Lake and who also won gold on the small hill, and 20-year-old Austrian sensation Gregor Schlierenzauer, already the most popular athlete in Austria, are top contenders.
NBC HIGHLIGHTS (Daytime):
Women’s Cross-Country: Pursuit Gold Medal Final – LIVE coverage of the ultimate test of the all-around cross-country skier, requiring the athlete to master both the classical and freestyle techniques in one continuous race. Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk called the Whistler course “very, very easy, like for tourists” after winning an event there last January. Thirty-year-old Italian Marianna Longa, a mom whose best results have come only since giving birth, leads a strong international field looking to show Kowalczyk that this tough competition is not designed for tourists.
NBC HIGHLIGHTS (Latenight):
Medals Plaza – Award Ceremonies: Nothing captures the intimate excitement of the Winter Olympics quite like the nightly medal ceremony, when athletes from several sports receive their coveted medals, accompanied by live musical entertainment.
USA HIGHLIGHTS:
Women’s Curling: USA vs. Russia – Team USA skip Debbie McCormick (Rio, Wisc.) was born in Canada and now makes her third Olympic appearance in search of her first medal. McCormick’s Team USA squad takes on Russia, LIVE.
MSNBC HIGHLIGHTS:
Men’s Ice Hockey: The men’s tournament continues with LIVE action featuring the teams that met for gold in 2006; the defending Olympic gold medalists from Sweden take on Belarus while defending silver medalist Finland clashes with Germany.
CNBC HIGHLIGHTS:
Men’s Curling – USA vs. France: Team USA skip John Shuster (Chisholm, Minn.) was a member of the bronze medal winning team in 2006. Now Shuster, whose “day jobs” include managing the bar at the Duluth curling club and mowing lawns at a Minnesota golf course, leads the Team USA men into competition in curling-crazed Canada. Today’s challenge, France, LIVE.
