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Richard1211

Phelps' Historic Night Gives NBC a Golden Boost

Aug 17, 2008 08:12 PM ET

by Richard1211

Michael Phelps by Phil Walter/Getty Images

Nearly 40 million people tuned in Saturday night to watch Michael Phelps make Olympic history with his eighth gold medal NBCs prime-time coverage from 730 pm to midnightET averaged 3159 million viewers making it the networks most watched Saturday night program in more than 18 years An episode of the sitcom Empty Nest averaged 314 million on Feb 24 1990 From 11 to 1130 pmET as Phelps and his teammates were winning the 4x100-meter medley relay the audience peaked to 399 million Thanks in large part to Phelps NBC is averaging 301 million prime-time viewers through the first nine days of the Beijing Games Now that live swimming is over and track and field will be almost entirely tape-delayed it remains to be seen if NBC can sustain this momentum read more

Women's Steeplechase Breaks Barrier With Olympic Debut

Aug 17, 2008 04:00 PM ET

by Richard1211

Women' s 3000m Steeplechase heats by Stu Forster/Getty Images

The womens 3000-meter steeplechase makes its inaugural Olympic appearance in Beijing tonight A mens event since the 1900 Games the 19-mile race around the track includes 28 sturdy barriers and seven potentially perilous water jumps in which runners leap over a pool that slopes up from a depth of more than 2 feet The barriers are 2 feet 6 inches the mens are 3 feet high Look for the Russians to set a blistering pace as they did in all three of Fridays heats Gulnara Samitova-Galkina holds the world record 9 minutes 1 59 seconds and Yekaterina Volkova is the reigning world champion Two Americans Anna Willard and Jenny Barringer made the final Theyve been swapping US records for the past two seasons and could be in the hunt for a medalA nasty spill involving several runners in one of the heats shows that the event is still developing The New York Times plastered a photo of the pile-up on Saturdays front page Although the read more

Eight for Eight: Phelps Makes Olympic History

Aug 17, 2008 01:10 PM ET

by Richard1211

Michael Phelps, Brendan Hansen, Jason Lezak and Aaron Piersol by Al Bello/Getty Images

Usain Bolt was crowned the worlds fastest man and Dara Torres picked up two more silver medals at age 41 but without a doubt the day belonged to Michael Phelps The king of the Water Cube contributed a sizzling 5015 butterfly split historys fastest to the USs world-record setting 4x100-meter medley relay earning his eighth gold medal in Beijing and leaving Mark Spitz venerable 1972 record in his proverbial wake The sport of swimming will never be the same NBCs Rowdy Gaines said The name Michael Phelps will be synonymous with perfectionAs Phelps was quick to point out dont forget the names of his teammates either Aaron Peirsol Brendan Hansen salvaging an otherwise disappointing Olympics and Jason Lezak the hero of the 4x100 freestyle relay swam the backstroke breaststroke and freestyle legs respectively And as if feeling responsible for Phelps historic run wasnt enough Lezak jokingly told NBCs read more

American Hammon Pursues Olympic Dream in Russian Uniform

Aug 16, 2008 08:16 PM ET

by Richard1211

Becky Hammon by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

Russia and Australia are both 4-0 heading into their womens basketball showdown Sunday morning in Beijing airing live Saturday night midnightET on CNBC The winner will take Group A thus avoiding a potential meeting with the United States the three-time defending champion and Group B leader before the gold-medal game As added motivation the Russians are out to avenge its loss to the Aussies in the 2006 world championships title game Theyve gone to great lengths bolster their roster most notably adding American Becky Hammon Yes thats right American Becky Hammon The San Antonio Silver Stars point guard is suiting up for the Russians in Beijing after failing to attract any serious attention from USA Basketball Hammon a native of Rapid City South Dakota has no Russian heritage but she plays for CSKA Moscow during the WNBA off-season which helped her qualify for a Russian passport Some have questioned her patriotism most notably US coac read more

At 41 Dara Torres Has 50 Free Gold in Sight

Aug 16, 2008 06:54 PM ET

by Richard1211

Dara Torres by Harry How/Getty Images

Dara Torres just might be the story of the Water Cube tonight no small feat when Michael Phelps is going for his eighth gold medal The 41-year-old athletic marvel is on track to win a medal possibly gold in the womens 50-meter freestyle airing at 1003 pmET on NBC Torres is on her fifth Olympic team a record for a US swimmer and shes the oldest Olympic swimmer in history a mark she actually first made in Sydney at age 33 The 50 could bring her eleventh career medal No 10 was the silver she won last weekend on the 4x100 freestyle relayMany of Torres teammates werent even born when she competed in her first Olympic Games in 1984 at the tender age of 17 I feel like a lot of times Im one of the kids here on the team Torres says but in reality shes a middle-aged mama With her 2-year-old daughter Tessa Grace cheering from the stands Torres won both the 50- and 100-meter freestyles at the US Olympic tri read more

Phelps Matches Spitz With Thrilling Seventh Gold

Aug 16, 2008 02:13 PM ET

by Richard1211

Michael Phelps by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Michael Phelps made history Saturday morning Friday night in the US in dramatic fashion coming from way back to out-touch Serbian Milorad Cavic for gold in the 100-meter butterfly With Cavics fingertips seemingly millimeters away from the wall Phelps final stroke whipped around and the man with the magic as NBCs Rowdy Gaines called him did it again Phelps clocked in with an Olympic record and personal best 5058 one-hundreth of a second ahead of Cavic It was Phelps first gold of the Games that didnt come with a world record but it seemed to be the one he savored the mostThe Baltimore native now has seven victories in Beijing tying Mark Spitz 36-year-old Olympic record for most gold medals in a single Games This is taking on the feeling of a coronation rather than a competition studio host Bob Costas noted Later in a thee-way interview with Costas and Spitz via remote from the States Phelps said Im just happy read more

Who Will be the World's Fastest Man?

Aug 16, 2008 01:58 AM ET

by Richard1211

Tyson Gay by Stu Forster/Getty Images; Usain Bolt by Stu Forster/Getty Images; Asafa Powell by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images

Whoever sprints off with the title Worlds Fastest Man has less than 10 seconds to make his case Saturday nights Birds Nest showdown in the 100-meter dash pits world champion Tyson Gay of the United States against Jamaicans Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt the two most recent world-record holders I think it might be the most exciting 100 meters ever says NBCs Ato Boldon whos been in their shoes winning silver in 2000 and bronze in 1996 for Trinidad and Tobago The race will be featured in prime-time Aug 16 730 11 pmET NBCPowell is the best starter of the trio though Boldon says he has gotten the label now of someone who does not show up when the race is really on the line most notably at last years world championships where he faded to third as Gay won easily In Fridays opening rounds Gay showed that hes recovered from the injury he suffered at the US Olympic trials in July If 100 percent read more

Phenom Phinney Hopes to Pedal to a Medal

Aug 15, 2008 09:10 PM ET

by Richard1211

Taylor Phinney by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Taylor Phinney has only been cycling competitively since 2006 but hes already a contender for an Olympic medal Thats not as surprising as it sounds given his pedigree mom Connie Carpenter-Phinney was the gold medalist in the inaugural Olympic womens road race at the LA Games in 1984 Dad Davis won a bronze at those Games in the team time trial and two years later became the first American to win a Tour de France stageStill just 18 the Boulder Colorado native has had a meteoric rise in track cyclings individual pursuit a tricky event in which two athletes start on opposite sides of the track and attempt to either catch each other or record the fastest time over a 4000-meter 25-mile distance Phinney picked up a World Cup victory in January finished eighth at the world championships in March set a world junior record in June and won the world junior title in July Im living in the moment he says and the moment is good read more

Track and Field Begins and Phelps Goes for No. 7 Friday

Aug 15, 2008 04:46 PM ET

by Richard1211

Hyleas Fountain by Michael Steele/Getty Images Sport

Friday nights prime-time coverage includes the opening day of track and field The US mens shot put team Reese Hoffa 2007 world champion Adam Nelson bronze medalist in Sydney and Athens and Christian Cantwell this years world indoor champion could sweep the event for the first time since 1960 The womens heptathlon seven events in one kicks off with the 100-meter hurdles high jump shot put and 200-meter dash Defending champion Carolina Kluft of Sweden isnt competing in the event shes sticking to the long jump and triple jump in Beijing which leaves the field wide open Britains Kelly Sotherton bronze medalist in Athens has the most experience but American Hyleas Fountain looked phenomenal at the US trials earlier this summer She scored 6667 points there the best in the world so far this yearSwimmings penultimate session will be headlined by Michael Phelps in his final individual race read more

Nastia Liukin Makes an All-Around Golden Statement

Aug 15, 2008 01:36 PM ET

by Richard1211

Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin and Yang Yillin by Jeff Gross/Getty Images Sport

Nastia Liuikin and Ryan Lochte are both world champion athletes who have long lived in the shadows of their more decorated teammates Thursday night Friday morning in Beijing they finally stepped out of the shadows on the worlds biggest stage Liukin captured the womens gymnastics individual all-around title over Shawn Johnson and Lochte upset defending Olympic champion Aaron Perisol in the 200-meter backstrokeThe Russian-bornTexas-raised Liukin was near flawless at the National Indoor Stadium compiling 63325 points in an event NBCs gymnastics narrator Al Trautwig called an individual medley of sorts that Michael Phelps cannot do Johnson the 2007 world champion had a few wobbles including another crossover step on her vault landing and collected 62725 points just edging out bronze-medalist Yang Lilin of China with 62650Because the event ended so late just before 1 amET NBC will air a special recap on Friday night during read more