A Very TODAY Show Valentine

If you're an American at the Olympics, you might as well be leaving your patriotism at passport control if you don't make it at least once to the NBC TODAY Show set in Olympic Park.

Been there, done that in Atlanta, Athens, Torino (they brought Al Roker to my P.R. client's B.C. Canada Place log cabin pavilion), Beijing (we took client, the Premiere of British Columbia, to sit with Matt Lauer), London and Sochi.

Wednesday night (Tuesday morning stateside) brought the first opportunity to check this five-ringed ritual off the list, and it turned out to be an exciting night to be there!

I stuck around for the first hour of the show with about 200 fellow Team USA fans and a few curious South Koreans.

Behind the scenes, members of the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team awaited their national TV spotlight and conversation with Al Roker to preview their competitions.

Cute to see Olympic silver medalist Devin Logan meet briefly with her boyfriend. Gotta hand it to her for gently stroking his beard with her Trump-size pretend mitts!

Roker's main updates were about the strong winds that temporarily shut down much of Olympic Park.

Other news du jour concerned four-time Olympian, three-time medalist and No. 100 U.S. Winter Olympic medalist Shaun White's triumphant return to the gold medal podium.

White, who earlier in the day got flustered when reporters asked about past #MeToo-relevant choices, took time to apologize in his TODAY interview that focused mostly on his big day in competition.

White addressed questions from co-hosts Koda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie.

"I've grown as a person over the years and it's amazing how life works, and twists and turns and lessons learned," said White. "Every experience in my life I feel like it's taught me a lesson and I definitely feel like I'm a much more changed person than I was when I was younger."

Way to stay on P.R. message.

I was delighted when Kotb later worked the crowd and responded to my offer of an Olympic blog pin, which she complimented while posing for selfies.

We had previously talked hours before the 2016 Olympic opening ceremony (in front of the Rio Marriott) and, as always, she was all smiles and so friendly to each of the fans on site.

Not sure when there might be another late night at Olympic Park (the live broadcasts to the States start at 9 p.m. in Korea), but it will be fun to discover TODAY sets in Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022 and beyond.

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

Sochi 2014 in 365



Where will we be one year from today?

For this guy, there's hope of blogging near the banks of the Black Sea, as the waterfront city Sochi beckons for the 2014 Winter Games. The opening ceremony is set for Friday, February 7, 2014, and I will work toward acquiring a seat at Fisht Olympic Stadium.

This time yesterday I was confused -- why did the U.S. Olympic Committee, NBC and other Olympic Movement organizations eagerly declare today (Feb. 6) as the one year to go milestone?

At last, clarity arrived today via the New York Times report noting the XXIIth Winter Olympic Games include some pre-Opening Ceremony competitions that stretch the event to 18 not 16 days. Mark your calendars for NBC's Winter Olympic broadcast launching on this night (Feb. 6) in one year.

Though work hours prevented tuning in live this morning, a TODAY Show segment showcased a good array of Sochi facts and figures. It makes me smile that there are palm trees in Sochi (sort of looks like Savannah, Ga.); with that said, a quick spin of the globe shows Russia's seaside resort is as far north as past Winter Olympic sites Torino, Italy; Nagano, Japan; and even Lake Placid, N.Y. (a few clicks west of Vermont ski resorts). Rest assured, there will be snow.

The U.S.O.C. Road To Sochi site features an array of 2014 details and links to Team USA athletes on deck for next year.

Bring on the Games of Sochi!

Photo via Sochi2014.ru

The Shalit Just Hit The Fan (er, the door, leaving The TODAY Show)

My eyebrows ascended upon reading that longtime TODAY Show film critic Gene Shalit is leaving the program later this week to continue film reviews online.

I'll never forget meeting Shalit in New York. During the fall of 1996, I had a brief apartment-sitting gig on the way-upper West Side (north of the George Washington Bridge), and a great friend of mine was working at Au Bon Pain beneath Radio City Music Hall.

I had just slipped in to the restaurant to surprise my pal Meg, who was working the counter, and undetected by yours truly, Mr. Shalit stepped in line behind me during the surprise, so my friend reacted both to Shalit and my appearance simultaneously.

Its fair to say Shalit was as surprised as Meg and I were with the gleeful exchange that ensued (Shalit was a regular at this location, if memory serves me, and Meg and I had not seen each other in months, so the retail reunion was boisterous). Shalit was a nice guy and really cheerful for our brief exchange, and as Meg and I later finally got to chat, Shalit waved goodbye and wished us well. Nice guy.

Shalit did a memorable review of an Olympic film when I was in grade school, stating "'Chariots of Fire' will lift you with exultation and hold you there." Agreed!

During the Vancouver Olympics, Shalit even took to the slopes of the Eastern U.S. for a ski-clad review of "Shutter Island." Well done!

Here's hoping Shalit's great work continues for years to come. Long live the puns!

Photo via this site

T-Minus 100

Today marks just 100 days until the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Excitement is building ... just watched Team USA interviews and winter sport stunts in Rockefeller Center on NBC's TODAY Show.

I have yet to really start hunting for Vancouver tickets -- opening and closing ceremony are top priority, with snowboarding on the wish list, too (anyone out there already got their tickets?). I suppose after The Colbert Report announced sponsorship of U.S. Speedskating, tickets for the Oval will be on the hot ticket list, too.

Hope to see you in British Columbia in just 100 days!

Photo via Vancouver 2010.