Transcript

Event Date(s): 02/05/2013, 02/06/2013 | Event Location(s): New York City, New York, Schladming, Austria | Description: WILLIE GEIST: Well, we’ve been spending the whole morning looking ahead to the Sochi Winter Games one year from today. Natalie and I up here high at top Mt. Rockefeller— NATALIE MORALES: Yes. WILLIE GEIST: --we’re joined now by Alan Abrahamson of NBC Olympics. Alan, good to see you. Geist and Morales are joined by NBC Olympics’ Alan Abrahamson live at Mount Rockefeller at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, New York. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Hi, guys. WILLIE GEIST: Let’s talk about Lindsey Vonn. A terrible spill. We all saw the video yesterday. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Terrible. WILLIE GEIST: Tore up the knee. What are the odds that she will be back for Sochi, but back at Lindsey Vonn’s strength? ALAN ABRAHAMSON: You know, if you think back to 1998, Picabo Street tore up her knee fourteen months, thirteen months in almost the same way. And that was almost dinosaur years back then when they didn’t know as much as they do now. Think also about Adrian Peterson, the NFL’s MVP. NATALIE MORALES: Yeah. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: He tore up his knee. If you know Lindsey Vonn and you know her fighting spirit, you have to actually think the odds are really, really good that, in fact, she will come back and be back strong. EXT DAY SCHLADMING, AUSTRIA (UNIVERSAL SPORTS) XWS: High-angle shot of professional skier Lindsey Vonn competing in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. MS: Low-angle panning shot of Vonn crashing during the competition. BRIEF CUTS: Brief cuts of slow-motion shots of Vonn crashing. NATALIE MORALES: It was a totally knee, though, ACL, MCL and also the tibia bone, so it’s going to be a long recovery— ALAN ABRAHAMSON: The MCL— NATALIE MORALES: --I mean, six months or so at least, right? ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Yes. For sure six months before she’s back on skis. NATALIE MORALES: Yes. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: The MCL, not so a big deal. NATALIE MORALES: Right. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: The broken bone, not so much a big deal. The ACL, yes, that’s a problem. NATALIE MORALES: Yeah. WILLIE GEIST: We talk about one of the female skiers whose name we maybe haven’t heard yet, a seventeen-year-old named Mikaela Shiffrin. Tell us about her. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Mikaela Shiffrin is a teenage prodigy. Americans are not so good at slalom skiing. You have to go back to the Mahre brothers, Phil and Steve— EXT DAY BRIEF CUTS (NBC SPORTS): Brief cuts of wide panning shots of alpine ski racer competing in a slalom skiing event. NATALIE MORALES: Mm-Hm. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: --to think about two people who’ve been tearing it up on the world cup that only Mikaela Shiffrin has been doing. She’s already got world cup victories under her belt. That’s unheard -- unheard of for an American. But she really is medal threat, a gold medal threat in Sochi next year. NATALIE MORALES: Let’s talk about the guys now. We already had some good news today. We heard Ted Ligety, a name that we got to know very much so in Vancouver. He actually scored today, he did well, he won the Super-G at the World’s- ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Ted won the Super-G. Ted is more of a-- a giant slalom specialist but he actually came out and won the Super-G today at the World Championships in Schladming, Austria. He is-- Bode Miller is the guy most people think of— EXT DAY BRIEF CUTS (NBC SPORTS): Brief cuts of wide panning shots of alpine ski racer Ted Ligety competing in a slalom event. NATALIE MORALES: Yeah. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: --when they think of an American skier right now. But Ted really – Ted is really fantastic. NATALIE MORALES: Of course. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: I mean, he has got to be considered one of the strongest American skiers next year. NATALIE MORALES: Speaking of Bode— WILLIE GEIST: Yeah. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Bode. NATALIE MORALES: --how about his chances? ALAN ABRAHAMSON: The-- the enigma, the riddle, the mystery. NATALIE MORALES: Always an in-- injured-- lately, right? ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Yeah. Bode did a smart thing by taking this year off. Bode has told everybody that he wants to come back and come back strong next year. And-- and for all of us who love alpine racing, there is nothing more exciting than watching Bode Miller ski. EXT DAY BRIEF CUTS (NBC SPORTS): Brief cuts of wide panning shots of alpine ski racer Bode Miller competing in a ski event. NATALIE MORALES: Yeah. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Bode is like wild-- the wild toad’s mystery ride. NATALIE MORALES: Yeah. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: You know, there’s nothing like watching Bode ski. NATALIE MORALES: It’s true. WILLIE GEIST: We can’t talk about the American Olympic Team without talking about Shaun White. Does he go back into sweep again in Sochi? Is he still the favorite? ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Half-pipe-- half-pipe for sure you got to think— EXT DAY MS: Panning shot of professional snowboarder Shaun White competing in a snowboard event. NATALIE MORALES: Yeah. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: --Shaun is the medal favorite. Slope style, there are some people on there in that-- in that discipline who are real competitors. And Shaun is really going to have to step it up to-- to be a gold medalist in Sochi. NATALIE MORALES: Hard to imagine he’d have to step it up after the— ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Crazy, right? NATALIE MORALES: --and all of the things he-- he’s invented. WILLIE GEIST: Yeah. What do you do after that? ALAN ABRAHAMSON: But, you know, there’s a fa-- a famous song that goes time doesn’t wait for anyone and Shaun is not nineteen years old anymore. NATALIE MORALES: That’s true. WILLIE GEIST: And you’ve been to Sochi three times? ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Three times. WILLIE GEIST: What’s the progress report over there? ALAN ABRAHAMSON: It is a work in progress. NATALIE MORALES: Yeah. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: They are still-- they are still very much a heavy construction site. They will get it done. Absolutely. This is not Athens. This is not any place like-- any place you’ve ever been. They will get it done. NATALIE MORALES: All right. Will you take a run with us here down Mt. Rockefeller? ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Absolutely. NATALIE MORALES: All right. Let’s go, do it. WILLIE GEIST: Natalie, you want to lead us here? ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Let’s go. NATALIE MORALES: Okay. Let’s go, boys. WILLIE GEIST: After you, sir. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Ladies first. Morales, Abrahamson, and Geist ski down Mount Rockefeller. NATALIE MORALES: Nice. Alan, good form. We all made it alive. AL ROKER: Yeah. NATALIE MORALES: No injuries to report this time. WILLIE GEIST: Alan, thanks. We look forward to talking to you a lot more over the next year leading up to Sochi. ALAN ABRAHAMSON: Really, really, a pleasure you guys. NATALIE MORALES: Thank you. We can’t wait. All right.