Posted on 02/11/2006 8:31:09 AM PST by UB355
He's only been NBC's No. 1 anchor for a little more than a year, but viewers know what to expect from Brian Williams in a live event:
Talk. Talk. Talk.
And that's what we got Friday from Williams, as he debuted in the co-host chair alongside Bob Costas for the network's coverage of the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics from Turin, Italy, which aired in prime time, hours after they actually occurred.
His first monologue offered fertile ground for editors looking to slice away superfluous words:
"Thanks for offering a front-row seat here to a news guy for what, I think, is, by any measure, the greatest sporting event in the world. And these games begin at an interesting, some would say dicey, time in our world. There's no getting around that. But we also know that sports can have a huge unifying effect on all of us."
A simple "it's great to be here" would have been enough when you're anchoring a visually stunning night of surreal color and motion, of dancing, skating and singing.
Mercifully, the pair mostly kept quiet for much of the show, with Costas offering brief descriptions of the pageantry.
Then came the parade of nations, oddly underscored by disco music and a strange assortment of oldies.
"Donna Summer will do it for me," said Williams as he and Costas commented on the unusual music.
That's when the trivia started flowing on each of the 85 countries in the games, like Andorra, which is always labeled "tiny" in these events.
"With five major ski resorts, tiny Andorra has more mechanical lifts per inhabitant than any other country, and yet, no winter medals," said Costas, who offered viewers a promise of more of the same.
"You will not miss a single country in this parade of nations even when we break away for commercials. We'll come back and pick it up where we left off, and the graphic at the bottom tells you which nations are coming up."
Among the gems of information from Williams was his description of Madagascar as "the nation known best to children in America as an animated feature."
Of course, that animated feature was shown to children outside the U.S. as well.
And what about the Americans?
"A very warm reception on a chilly night for the squad from the United States," said Costas, noting West Allis' leading role in the procession. "The flag bearer is Chris Witty, the defending Olympic gold medalist in the 1,000-meter speedskating.
"The first lady watching with approval," as the camera cut from the team to Laura Bush.
NO, THERE WAS NO KATIE: For the record, NBC says usual Costas co-host Katie Couric was absent from the games because the "Today" show was originating from elsewhere in Italy this week and she couldn't make it for rehearsals.
Williams was anchoring "NBC Nightly News" from Turin this week and, thus, was available, according to the official story.
I'm glad I chose not to watch.
She sure as hell doesn't represent me.
My biggest objection to Brian Williams was his infusion of so much political junk - like the cartoon debacle.
That is no surprise coming from him.
My objection, besides Susan Sarondon, would be the infustion of Brian Williams.
Thank you for your service. Parts of it were rather entertaining.
The extra guards for the Danes WAS noteworthy, btw, but coming from BW I'm sure extra garbage was added.
Is the BBC coverage available in the USA?
I envy those who can watch it on CBC.
It was not the American Flag, but the Olympic flag.
My thoughts exactly....I was channel surfing and saw the guy dressed in white spandex with white face paint leaping across the stage during the opening ceremonies, I was then reminded why I wasn't watching them.
I think we should be thankful, it was not Cindy Sheehan carrying the flag.
Of course instead of sarandon they could have picked a classy, non political Peggy Fleming.
Dorothy Hamill is a big time republican, by the way.
Doncha know they have to chatter .. you're just too stupid to know what you're seeing .. somebody has to tell you.
These people are so arrogant!
He kept interjecting these political comments about the countries. He seemed as though he was trying to impress himself with each word. What a bore!
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