NBC is flipping out for more gymnastics: The network and cable partner Universal Sports have inked a deal with USA Gymnastics to carry the sport's biggest events through 2012, the Associated Press reports.
The pact secures the fifth major Olympic sport for NBC, which also has broadcast rights to key events in swimming, skating, track and skiing. The U.S. gymnastics championships, featuring ...
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Smile...You're Under Arrest
7 pm/ET Fox Reality
It's Punk'd for punks — real-life fugitives lured into sting operations, then arrested on TV.
Read on for previews of Summer Olympics A Kiss at Midnight, Meineke Car Care Bowl and MADtv.
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Thought you had heard the last of the Olympics until 2010? Think again.
On Saturday, Dec. 27, NBC will broadcast Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony: TV Event of the Year, a two-hour special hosted by Bob Costas and Matt Lauer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In addition to reliving the breathtaking production that kicked off the games, the special will ...
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Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin is an expert on the gymnastic mats, but she'll be flexing her acting muscles next. The gymnast is set to appear as herself in a "substantial" way on an episode of Gossip Girl later this fall, her agent, Evan Morgenstein, confirmed to TVGuide.com.Morgenstein explained that the story behind Liukin's guest role on the CW series was almost as exciting as her win in the all-around competition in Beijing. Gossip producers contacted the 18-year-old after hearing her tell Ryan Seacrest on his radio program that the show is her favorite. That night, producers ran into her at an L.A. restaurant and set up a meeting to talk shop. The next thing she knew, Liukin was set to shoot on location in New York, most likely in mid-October. Her scenes are currently in development.Gossip's Upper East Side is just the latest TV landing pad for recent Olympians. The Secret Life of the American Teenager got Liukin's teammate, Shawn Johnson, as a guest star for its mid-seas...
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Question: Regarding your item on gay diver Matthew Mitcham, who was quoted as saying, "I just want to be known as the Australian diver who did really well at the Olympics. It's everybody else who thinks it's special when homosexuality and elite sport go together." This is how it should be. What difference does it make if an athlete is gay, straight, black or white? They are athletes and it doesn't matter who or what they are. It's people who make a big deal out of things like this that perpetuate homophobia and racism. Athletes are athletes. Period!
Answer: True enough in principal, but at the Olympics, at least as NBC presents it, it's also a pageant of compelling personal stories, whether presented in feature form or through commentary during the events. Olympians of all types become household names for all kinds of reasons. And in many circles, athletes are also role models, depending on the circumstances of their life and triumphs. As Dennis A. writes in an e-mail: "It's sad tha ...
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