“So I can’t say Olympics, or Vancouver, or winter or show geometric shapes of any size or color?”

(Stephen Colbert 2/22/10)

“These are not sports, these are drunken dares. Hey go down that hill on a sled. Oh, now try it on two sticks. Now do it with a rifle. I mean, you’re over thinking it.”

(John Hodgman, 2/24/10)

We knew the USA-Canada hockey game would deliver big ratings for MSNBC – but it was only a matter of how big.

Last night’s game average 8.22 million total viewers last night, which made it just slightly the 2nd highest rated program of all time. But it also kind of won.

NBC was smart to put the nailbiting, whirlwind Canada-USA men’s hockey game on MSNBC last night. It was good for the network, good for the cable channel — and good for hockey fans.

While NBC was airing Ice Dancing, their sister network MSNBC was airing one of the most exciting hockey games in recent history. It didn’t take a genius to figure the matching of the home host Canadian team taking on a surging USA team would be a compelling match-up. NBC realized the error of their ways, cutting off the two-man bobsled to capture the final moments of the match, but by then they already missed a golden opportunity.

after tonight’s goosebumps-inducing USA/Canada hockey game, I think I might be a hockey fan. In a game marked by a break-neck pace and a final two minutes that was full of “most exciting sports moment of 2010″ candidates, the U.S. hockey team emerged victorious over Canada 5-3.

But why was it on MSNBC?

“We’re very proud Canadians up here and I know the Vancouver people and the Canadians in general, in British Columbia, we really rallied around the (Olympic) Games and so that was sort of the moment to show people, that even though they weren’t in the stadium, they are part of the Olympic Games in Vancouver.”

(Wayne Gretzky – 2/13/10)

“Not everyone up there is happy about the Winter Olympics because putting on the games is expensive. Its costing Canadians like a billion dollars. A billion Canadian dollars, it’s like 40 bucks.”

(Craig Ferguson – 2/15/10)

Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn, Shani Davis…your new American Idols!

For the first time in six years, American Idol did not finish #1 in the ratings – losing last night to NBC’s Olympics coverage that featured some big name Americans winning gold. The win had NBCU President Jeff Zucker bragging early this morning.

Make no mistake, this Sports Illustrated photo spread of Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn is definitely supposed to make you think of sex. Earlier this week there was some controversy over whether Vonn’s SI cover – she was fully clothed, in a downhill skiing position — was overly sexual. No need to guess this time!

I mean more so than you normally would upon seeing an attractive, fully clothed, woman on the cover of a popular magazine. That’s what sports blogger Nicole M. LaVoi apparently feels is the message here. Anyone else?

Seven years ago, NBC certainly didn’t anticipate (a) being the fourth place network, (b) the scattering of audiences across myriad cable and Internet channels and (c) the decreasing, perceived valued of television advertising. As valid as those reasons are, NBC still can’t pin everything on the media and economic climate.