Do you ever watch Deadliest Catch and ask yourself, "How do they stay up for three days straight, pulling pots?" It would be good to know if you are a fan of the Olympics, because NBC is going to have some 3,600 hours of coverage from the games between TV, online, and mobile. The main network alone will have 225 hours over the 17 days.
On TV, there will be seven networks combining for the coverage, including NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Telemundo, Universal HD, and Oxygen. All 34 sports will get airtime, and 75% of that will be live on the east coast. Apparently all that coin they dropped to get the games gave NBC the stroke to get most of the key finals scheduled in the morning in Beijing, which will be prime time on the east coast. That prime time selection will include all 32 finals for swimming, four nights of gymnastics (featuring Alicia Sacramone, pictured), beach volleyball, and the marathons.
According to Time magazine, there are various organizational problems occurring that could lead to the Olympics not being broadcast on television. A series of unworkable conditions are being created for networks including limits on live coverage in Tiananmen Square and allegations that freight shipments of TV broadcasting equipment are being held up in Chinese ports.
The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing are scheduled to begin on August 8th. According to the minutes of a May 29th meeting, procedures which have been used by broadcasters in other Olympics are conflicting with China's authoritarian government. Some plans are months behind schedule, which could force broadcasters to compromise coverage plans.
Long before ESPN was the worldwide leader in sports, ABC sportscaster and newsman Jim McKay was the voice of American sports. ABC sports legend Jim McKay died today at the age of 86; the cause of death was not revealed. In the annals of television history, Jim McKay is among the giants in sports broadcasting: a twelve-time Emmy winner, an iconic presence on The Wide World of Sports, the man who said the words, "the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat." He was the moderator of twelve Olympics and a broadcaster who gave the best he had in every television show in which he was involved, be it the Kentucky Derby, the British Open, or any of the other hundreds of events he covered.
If Jim McKay had just done that, he'd have a great legacy. However, when he was confronted with the task of anchoring the events that unfolded at the 1972 Munich Olympics, when the Israeli athletes were taken hostage by terrorist and killed in a commando raid, Jim McKay rose to the occasion.
(S02E15) "I'm just gonna be a kick-ass single mom. Like Erin Brokovich, or Sarah Connor." - Liz
30 Rock fans looking for laughs, plot twists, and a cliffhanger in the finale are probably happy. You got all that, plus a guest star (more than one, actually) that I didn't even know was going to be in the episode. And if you're one of the people who was wondering "what the heck does the episode title 'Cooter' even mean?," well, he's the secret to that (and Tina Fey has been using the term for a while now).
But some 30 Rock fans - I would go out on a limb and say most of you - weren't happy to find out who the father of Liz's maybe-baby might be.
If you've been having trouble touching yourself recently, it may be because the Pope is in the States. Because he doesn't really have anything better to do, President Bush picked up the Pope from the airport. More coverage has been promised for Wednesday night, so I guess anyone that was expecting some in-depth Popewatch was sorely disappointed.
"House of Pain" (the alternate was "Itty-Bitty Torture Committee", which is so much better): To further creep out the entire country, Bush admitted that six of the top members of his administration have extensively gone through what is considered torture. No wonder CIA Director George Tenet and company have freely and happily repeated that the government does not torture. Their definition probably stops just short of killing the interrogation subject. Asf for Condoleezza Rice's chuckle-inducing evasive maneuvering from that interview clip, it really shouldn't have been so chuckle-inducing. Ha-HA! Sadist government.
Over in Japan, they have some wild game/reality shows. Some of them are just outrageously crazy (really, how many times can we see Japanese guys whacked in the groin or weird food being eaten?), but sometimes you see something so cool, so clever, that it just makes you shake your head.
This is such a video. It's from the show Kinchan and Katori Shingo's All Japan Costume Grand Prix (yes, that's the real title - take that Jerry Seinfeld's Super Colossal Happy Hour!), and it shows a group of people who put on a live Olympic highlight reel. I really can't describe it better than that, but trust me, it's quite amazing. This is the type of show we should import. Video after the jump!
I don't know about you, but I stopped really caring about the Summer Olympics when the Dream Team fell apart. It is long, often boring and flooded with too much commentary. SHUT UP! I just want to watch the athletes do their thing!
Well it turns out I must be the only one complaining, because NBC plans on covering 3,600 hours of Summer Games across multiple networks. That is literally 150 days of continuous coverage. Five months of non-stop Olympic action. Almost half a freakin' year of Olympics? That may be a bit too much.
As we mentioned last winter, NBC will feature an Olympian on the next installment of The Apprentice. The viewers voted and they chose... Angela Ruggiero. In case that name doesn't ring a bell, Ruggiero was on the American women's hockey team. She's a Harvard grad so the girl ain't no dummy. In case that gimmick isn't enough, Trump's also taking his show on the road to Los Angeles.
Of Ruggiero, Trump says, "We'll see if Angela can ice the competition as we take the board room to the West Coast." Barf.
(S05E14) For some reason, Peter
starts writing his own porn stories after finding the writing in a porn book to be lacking. This leads to a truly
bizarre scene involving some sort of rat (dog?) couple who can't afford to pay their landlord, and the landlord (Peter)
says he'll let it go if he can have sex with the rat (dog?) wife.
To be honest, I'm not even sure what the
hell was going on there, it was so disturbing.
I watched this
earlier today and I can't stop thinking about it. I don't know, I just find it funny. It's not every day that you get
references to the Olympics, eye boogers, and Mac computers all in one 30 second clip of a TV show.
You can
also check out preview clips from this week's 24 and Big Love, but they're not as funny.
The Olympics are obviously coming to an
end. NBC is the only channel airing Olympic coverage today and it's devoting much of that coverage to two Olympians who
have been hyped but have yet to win a gold medal.
Apolo Anton Ohno has two sprints, in the 500m and the men's
relay races on the short track. So far during these games, Apolo has won a bronze medal.
Also, we may finally
hear the last of Bode Miller after he races in the slalom:
Whatever will we do now that the
figure skating competition is over? Oh, nevermind. There's the Champions Gala tonight where nobody is expected to fall
(or win).
Actual competition continues on NBC in the form of speed skating, a six-mile marathon race that
features American Chad Hedrick. Also, the women compete in the alpine giant slalom and four men climb into a bobsled
and race down an icy track at break-neck speeds. Plus, more curling!
Tonight is the night that NBC has been waiting for: the gold
medal showdown in ladies' figure skating. American Sasha Cohen enters tonight's free skate on top, but by only .06 of a
point over Russian Irinia Slutskaya. Expect to stay up until midnight for the outcome of that competition (or you can
get the results from any news website).
Also tonight, to fill the time between figure skating competitors,
the women snowboarders compete in the parallel giant slalom. Curling, hockey, bobsledding and marathon speed skating
are also on the schedule:
Do you ever watch Deadliest Catch and ask yourself, "How do they stay up for three days straight, pulling pots?" It would be good to know if you are a fan of the Olympics, because NBC is going to have some 3,600 hours of coverage from the games between TV, online, and mobile. The main network alone will have 225 hours over the 17 days.
According to Time magazine, there are various organizational problems occurring that could lead to the 
Long before ESPN was the worldwide leader in sports, ABC sportscaster and newsman Jim McKay was the voice of American sports. 
(S02E15) "I'm just gonna be a kick-ass single mom. Like Erin Brokovich, or Sarah Connor." - Liz
If you've been having trouble touching yourself recently, it may be because the Pope is in the States. Because he doesn't really have anything better to do, President 
Over in Japan, they have some wild game/reality shows. Some of them are just outrageously crazy (really, how many times can we see Japanese guys whacked in the groin or weird food being eaten?), but sometimes you see something so cool, so clever, that it just makes you shake your head.
I don't know about you, but I stopped really caring about the Summer Olympics when the Dream Team fell apart. It is long, often boring and flooded with too much commentary. SHUT UP! I just want to watch the athletes do their thing!
As 
(S05E14) For some reason, Peter
starts writing his own porn stories after finding the writing in a porn book to be lacking. This leads to a truly
bizarre scene involving some sort of rat (dog?) couple who can't afford to pay their landlord, and the landlord (Peter)
says he'll let it go if he can have sex with the rat (dog?) wife. 
I watched 
1. American Idol - Weds (FOX)
The Olympics are obviously coming to an
end. NBC is the only channel airing Olympic coverage today and it's devoting much of that coverage to two Olympians who
have been hyped but have yet to win a gold medal.
Whatever will we do now that the
figure skating competition is over? Oh, nevermind. There's the Champions Gala tonight where nobody is expected to fall
(or win).
Tonight is the night that NBC has been waiting for: the gold
medal showdown in ladies' figure skating. American Sasha Cohen enters tonight's free skate on top, but by only .06 of a
point over Russian Irinia Slutskaya. Expect to stay up until midnight for the outcome of that competition (or you can
get the results from any news website).
The Cheers episode Ken Levine's still writing in his head
Giveaway Tuesday: Fastlane - The Complete Series
Giveaway Monday: The X-Files: Revelations on DVD
