Archive for US Speedskating
Speedskating “sugar daddy” Stephen Colbert ready to report from Richmond Oval
Posted by: | CommentsHonestly, I think I would have enjoyed blogging this article even if it had contained nothing but that reference to Stephen as Speedskating’s “sugar daddy”, but the extra info about his NBC commenting gig is a nice little bonus. From the Windsor Star:
Stephen Colbert set to join NBC speedskating coverage
By Alex Strachan, Canwest News Service
February 16, 2010 2:03 PMSir Dr. Stephen T. Colbert DFA, host of the recurring segment Cheating Death on his eponymous late-night, faux-news comedy show The Colbert Report, can now add a new title to his portfolio: assistant sports psychologist for the U.S. speedskating team.
Colbert’s not only the team’s sugar daddy; he’s now the team’s assistant head shrinker and motivator-in-chief. Or one of them, anyway.
But wait, there’s more. Thanks to a standing invitation by Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Sports and executive producer of NBC’s Olympics coverage, Colbert is now a fully accredited member of NBC’s broadcast team.
If The Colbert Report is to be believed – and it isn’t always – Colbert will shadow the U.S. speedskating team at Wednesday’s competition at the Richmond Oval, where he will puff out his skinny chest and stand tall for truth, justice and the American way, and cheer for a gold medal for U.S. speedskating star Shani Davis in Davis’s key event, the men’s 1,000-metre final.
. . .
No offense to you Canadians looking to see Stephen’s Creekside Park tapings tomorrow morning (note that they now suggest you arrive by 9:15 am), but I’m more than ready for it to be tomorrow night. Can’t wait to see this!
EDITED TO ADD: I had just posted this entry when I noticed a couple of lines at the end of this new article:
Colbert has also taken his psychologist role to heart.
“He keeps us light-hearted,” US long tracker Lauren Cholewinski said. “We get these funny messages from him that make us laugh.”
That? Is nine kinds of awesome.
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Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – February 15, 2010
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Greetings, Zoners, and happy President’s Day! I hope most of you are having a relaxing day off. Everyone’s been watching the Olympics, right? I’ve been enjoying them a lot so far, and since the Colbert Nation is sponsoring the U.S. speedskating team, I’m much more excited about these games than I was the last time around. This is going to be a tough week for watching TV, with the Olympics on every night, and then Stephen competing against himself on Wednesday with his appearance on NBC and the next episode of Faces of America airing at the same time. I think the Olympics will win out, and I’ll just have to watch Faces of America online the next day. There’s been a lot going on in the newsoblogosphere, so it’s time to catch up on some Colbert news items. Today we have a few articles related to the Olympics, more on Faces of America, a final word on the Grammys, and a few odds and ends.
Vancouver ‘010
- Speedskating’s Olympic Rewards Fail to Pay the Bills – New York Times – This article discussing the financial difficulties that Olympic speedskaters often face gives some real perspective on just how much it meant to them to have Stephen step in with the Colbert Nation sponsorship: “[Stephen Colbert] said he could relate to the speedskaters’ circumstances. ‘Believe me, I spent 20 years racking up huge debts pursuing comedy,’ Colbert wrote in an e-mail message… With the exception of Davis, who initially took umbrage with Colbert’s barbs at Canadians, speedskaters have seemed delighted to have Colbert in their corner. They are grateful for the spotlight he has trained on their sport, and for a subsequent deal U.S. Speedskating signed with Verizon Wireless, a sponsor of Colbert’s show.”
- Stephen Colbert has a rapport with the games – Los Angeles Times – “Stephen Colbert, whose deadpan punditry on Comedy Central has become a force of nature, has an honest appreciation for speedskating. No joke… But he is truly intrigued by curling too… This fascination with speedskating and curling, Colbert said, is evidence of his abiding love of the Winter Games. ‘Maybe because you can comprehend the scope of the Winter Games,’ he said. ‘The summer is so enormous, but in the winter you have a pretty good shot of following everything.’”
- Olympic Parents – NBC15.com (Madison, Wisconsin) – A brief article about Tucker Fredricks’ parents: “Not too long ago, it was Tucker’s mom Shawn that was in the spotlight. She wasn’t going for gold, but she was taking on Stephen Colbert… She says, ‘I was so nervous that my legs were kind of shaking. The adrenaline was pumping.’ Shawn didn’t get a medal for her victory. But Dan says it was still great watching her beat Colbert.”
- Dosanjh to appear on Canadian taping of Colbert Report – CTV News British Columbia – “Vancouver Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh is going to be a guest on Stephen Colbert’s comedy show later this month as part of Colbert’s coverage of the Olympics. Dosanjh will appear in a segment called ‘Better Know a Riding,’ based on Colbert’s interviews with American politicians from different constituencies.”
Faces of America
- ‘Faces of America’ reveals family ties – Los Angeles Times – There’s nothing specifically about Stephen in this article, but it gives some fascinating background on the Faces of America series, and it includes a nice picture of Stephen with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
- ‘Faces of America’ with Henry Louis Gates Jr. – NY Daily News – A review of the series, with another picture of Stephen and Professor Gates.
- Stephen Colbert’s truthiness: we Irish hate the English – IrishCentral.com – “Colbert and Gates talked about the effect of British colonialism in Ireland, with Colbert saying that the Irish in America will never forget the British driving their ancestors off their land. ‘Part of being Irish even to this day is not liking the English,’ said Colbert with a laugh. ‘Absolutely no doubt.’
Grammy Awards
- GRAMMY Camp Journalist Nick Arnold – Grammy Week Review – This is pretty cool: a blog by a fifteen-year-old high school journalist who spoke to Stephen during the rehearsal for the awards show and was called on to ask a question in the media room after Stephen won his Grammy. If you scroll down and read his entry for Saturday, January 20, you’ll get the details of the story. His entry for Sunday includes his question for Stephen and the answer: “…Stephen Colbert remembered having met me, so after he won and came back stage and called on me, I asked him if he had been influenced at all by fellow comedy nominees Spinal Tap and Weird Al. He answered, ‘Yeah, sure, absolutely. I’ve listened to them for years. I’ve been listening to Spinal Tap for 25 years. I think March 2 is the anniversary. I’m a little bit of a fan.’”
Random acts of news
- 10 Best New York City TV Shows to Be an Audience Member – NYC10BEST.com – #8. The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert: The hardest show to get tickets right now. (TDS also made the list at #3.)
- Note to politicians: Colbert always gets the last laugh – NJ.com – “…[Harold] Ford’s communication skills were seriously tested on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report last week. Stephen Colbert has been making professionals of all stripes look bad for years… Consider that Colbert is playing a character, but the character actually has impressive research and relevant facts to back up his questions, follow-ups and quips. Colbert is a comedian and writer who is playing a TV talker who’s a lot better informed than most people who do it for real.”
- Will Jerry Seinfeld’s New Reality Show Live Up to the Hype? – Gather.com – Jerry Seinfeld’s wish list of “refs” for his new reality show, The Marriage Ref, includes both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. If he can persuade them to appear, especially on the same episode, I might watch it. Otherwise… eh, probably not.
And finally…
Proof that the Colbert Nation is in the house to watch speedskating! (Via ESPN.com)
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Stephen Colbert heads to Vancouver, talks about Olympics and his Canadian roots
Posted by: | CommentsHey, gang! The Winter Olympics are finally upon us, and CTV’s Olympics site has a great article on Stephen posted to really kick things off:
Colbert goes for the cold
The Globe and Mail By Marsha Lederman, The Globe and Mail
Posted Friday, February 12, 2010 4:15 PM ET. . .
In a rare out-of-character moment, Colbert is speaking to me in advance of his first trip to Vancouver, next week, where he will tape segments for The Colbert Report, and also have face time with the U.S. speed skating team that he sponsors (or, more accurately, that the Colbert Nation sponsors). “It’s a great feeling to be able to support the team,” he says. “And it’s given us something to talk about [on the show] that is both nationalistic and not violent – and too often nationalism leads to guns.”
. . .
He calls speed skating “the most Summer Olympic Winter Olympic sport. It’s running. Basically it’s a track-and-field event. But you go way faster.” And he now knows that personally – after “racing” against U.S. speed-skating sensation Shani Davis for a segment on The Colbert Report.
At the end of the televised segment, Colbert was named the team’s assistant sports psychologist. He’s promising (and now we’re pretty sure he’s joking) to follow through in Vancouver on that assignment. “I’ll be getting in their noodles and helping them work through some of their issues. They’ve all made a lot of sacrifice to get to this moment, and I’ll just remind them of the amazing amount of pressure that’s on them and just to never forget that. [There'll be] a lot of yelling. A lot of suck it up and go. Be a man. Stop crying. Stuff like that.”
. . .
Although it’s not in the part I excerpted, I think my favorite bit in this whole article is where the author notes: “Even out of character, [Stephen] is deadpan funny, hilarious really, sometimes cracking a joke he likes so much he has to stop and laugh.” I *love* that Stephen still has so much joy in life that he’ll take the time to savor his own jokes in that way.
The article is also full of teasers on upcoming segments, a bit on the Canadian portion of Stephen’s family tree, and the usual high level of Colbert-generated charm. So what are you waiting for? Get reading, already!
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Shani Davis opens up about his ‘Colbert Report’ race
Posted by: | CommentsWe’re all glad that the hatchet has been buried so amicably — and hilariously! — between Shani Davis and Stephen Colbert. Shani has now shared a little more on the experience, and it sounds like the taping was every bit as much fun as the finished product looked.
From the New York Times:
Davis, Colbert Can Laugh Together Now
February 11, 2010, 12:43 pm
By KAREN CROUSE. . .
There is perhaps no speedskater who is more of a purist than Davis, who has declined the support of U.S. Speedskating and chooses to train alone and without a full-time coach. He would seem to be the last person who would engage in a made-for-television race in which everything was for show, from the Ford sport utility vehicle Davis drove to the “Break My Stride” ringtone on his cell phone to the sequins on Colbert’s bodysuit.
“The ringtone wasn’t mine. I don’t even know how to download a ringtone,” Davis said, laughing. “They had a car that had the cameras all rigged up. It was a big Ford S.U.V. I drive a little Volkswagen.”
Davis said it was worth it to make Colbert’s acquaintance. “That was really cool to actually meet Colbert and get a chance to get to know him a little better as a person and understand what he does as a comedian on the television,” Davis said. “I’m happy that he chose me to do that with him.”
. . .
Make sure you read the rest of the entry, including Stephen’s quote about the Teflon coating on the inseam of the skating skinsuits; the man is always good for a laugh.
And since there’s no reason not to enjoy this segment again, here’s the epic “Fire on Ice” race:
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Skate Expectations – Speedskating Race – Shani Davis | ||||
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Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – February 6, 2010
Posted by: | CommentsSo is everybody excited about watching the Super Bowl tomorrow? Yeah, me neither. But hey, the Olympics are less than a week away, the speedskaters are all in Vancouver, and Stephen and Team Colbert should be up to their collective eyebrows in preparation for their own trip to Vancouver. I’m eager to see what kind of silliness they have planned for us! In the meantime, I’ve got the wrap-up of news from the past week or so, including a couple of items related to the upcoming Faces of America series, a few leftover Grammy Award bits, and even a quick visit to the International Space Station.
Faces of America
- Reality isn’t funny for Stephen Colbert; ‘Faces of America’ reveals his family history – NY Daily News – A somewhat spoilerish article about Stephen’s appearance on Faces of America, although some of the information revealed was also discussed during the interview with Henry Louis Gates Jr. on Thursday’s TCR.
- Local knowledge helps track down US satirist Stephen Colbert’s Limerick roots – Limerick (Ireland) Leader – “Local historian Tony Browne and parish priest Fr Donough O’Malley have helped track down the Limerick great-great-grandfather of America’s top satirist Stephen Colbert… [A]fter being contacted by researchers working on a genealogy programme for PBS, Mr Browne helped them find details of Colbert’s ancestors in St Mary’s parish records in the city.” (Fract: There’s a train station in Limerick city called Colbert Station, named after Conn Colbert, one of the executed leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916. Stephen has jokingly claimed to be related to this particular Colbert.)
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U.S. Speedskating consultant Nicole Detling Miller on her ‘Colbert Report’ taping
Posted by: | CommentsHee hee! I love it when the people featured in Colbert Report segments talk about what happened at their tapings. Here’s a piece on the taping that sports psychology consultant Nicole Detling Miller did with Stephen:
Utah doctor wants a do-over with Stephen Colbert
February 3rd, 2010 @ 7:07am
By Paul Nelson. . .
Miller says she loved her time on “The Colbert Report,” but she’d like a do-over of something that didn’t make it on the air. She led him through a visualization exercise to help him shoot a wad of paper into a basket about 20 feet away. She had him visualize making the shot before he made a real attempt.
Miller explains, “I kind of made fun of him a little bit because he just haphazardly threw his hand. I told him that was terrible form and he might want to improve that next time. But he says he made the shot in his mind, so that was what was important.”When Colbert took his actual shot, the paper bounced off the rim.
“In Stephen Colbert fashion, he looked at me and yelled, ‘You failed!’” Miller says.
. . .
I think my favorite line is one I didn’t actually include in the excerpt: “Miller thinks Colbert might say she’s lying about him being nice, but she’s a psychologist. She can read personalities.” I don’t know why, but that puts a big ol’ smile on my face. She’s onto your game, Colbert!
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Episode 6011 (1/20/2010)
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EPISODE NUMBER: 6011 (January 20, 2010)
GUESTS: Dick Ebersol
SEGMENTS: Stephen Colbert’s Skate Expectations: Kicking Ice and Taking Donations on the Slippery Slope Down the Icy Path to the Frozen Road Up to Vancouver ‘010 – Shani Davis Showdown
VIDEOS: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Can I just quickly say that I adored the return of “The Ass Sac Smut” anagram? I think it’s fantastic that Stephen *finally* made the US Olympic Team as the Assistant Sports Psychologist for the US Speedskating team. Yay Stephen!
I wasn’t really sure what to expect in this interview. Despite Dick Ebersol’s extreme fight to suck up to Stephen as smarmily as possible, I found it to be a very good segment. The potshot Stephen took at Ebersol about the Tonight Show and NBC, and asking for a response was the line we were waiting on since we heard that Ebersol was going to be on the show, and Stephen didn’t disappoint. Having Stephen being welcomed as part of the NBC news team with Stephen’s exclamation of “I feel like actual press” was just adorable (as was that sweater vest). And it was very special to see the real Stephen appear just for a moment in the interview to talk about racing with Shani Davis. Even Stephen’s “Thanks, Mom” comment was unexpected and delightful. I think what made the interview so great was that somehow Ebersol managed to pull out so many different elements of Stephen’s personality.
What did you all enjoy most about the episode? And did Stephen’s skating outfit, complete with poofy shirt, make you all snicker as much as it did me?
- It was Morning in America, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Gettysburg and the all-you-can-eat wing night at Chili’s rolled up into one.
- The best part of this, folks, is that Senate republicans now have an unstoppable 41 seat super minority. Up until now, the only super Minority Republicans had seen was Aguaman.
- No, no, you’re insurance doesn’t cover it.
- It’s gotten so bad that NBC’s saving money on the olympic torch by just setting fire to Conan O’Brien. Or that could be his hair, it’s hard to tell.
- If we get to $200 million, I am confident Bob Costas will be holding interviews with the Colbert Nation logo tattooed on his forehead. Or, if we raise a little bit more, maybe a tramp stamp. I’m going to have to check that out when I’m in Vancouver.
- Sponsored by Dr Pepper – It will get you laid.
- Shani Vs Stephen: Faceoff on Ice. But not the hockey kind. We’ll come up with another name.
- Shani Vs Stephen: Fire On Ice. But not actual fire. You’ll see.
- So first, he got a cape. Because what Stephen lacked in speed, dedication and athletic ability he was determined to make up in style.
- Let me ask you this, is Shani Davis wearing sequins.
- Whoo! Eat it, lifetime of dedication!
- It just goes to show that if you put your mind to it, there is nothing that you and $300,000 of other people’s money can’t achieve.
- Do you have a title in mind? Because I kind of like the host of the Tonight Show. It’s like next week there’s going to be no pope, you know? When is the smoke going to come out of NBC to let us know what is going on?
- Alright, thanks Mom.
- I feel like actual press. That’s never happened before.
- Absolutely, and I’ll show him my tramp stamp. And let’s just say it’s something like a peacock.
- Truth be told, I had a 1400 foot head start, in a 1600 foot race. And he smoked me like a Virginia ham. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. It was like watching a cheetah on skates.
- Mine is called the Panicky Flail. And not everyone can do that.
- Show him how much we’ve raised for NBC [ding ding ding] … $1.89! Please accept this on behalf of the Colbert Nation. Veronica doesn’t come with the check, Dick.
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Episode 6010 (1/19/2010)
Posted by: | CommentsEPISODE NUMBER: 6010 (January 19, 2010)
GUESTS: Amb. Stephen Bosworth
SEGMENTS: Stephen Colbert’s Skate Expectations: Kicking Ice and Taking Donations on the Slippery Slope Down the Icy Path to the Frozen Road Up to Vancouver ‘010
VIDEOS: Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Normally I don’t put the Toss in the daily poll because, quite honestly, I watch the show on Hulu and don’t know that there is one until someone mentions it in the comments. But a little birdy (okay, MsInterpreted) sent me an e-mail making sure that I watched the GFF toss, and it didn’t disappoint. There’s just something adorkable about when Jon and Stephen quarrel like an old married couple.
It’s fantastic that the Nation actually made the $300,000 goal! Go us! Stephen’s awkward rendition of The Candyman was just delightful! But Stephen actually on the ice, and enjoying the speedsuit, was an absolutely brilliant piece of physical comedy. I had tears coming out of my eyes when Tucker Fredrick’s mom beat him in the speed race. Is it wrong of me to enjoyed “Tucker’s Mom” in Comic Sans font as much as I did? It was just so … typographically goofy. I enjoyed the skating segment so much I watched it twice, and I laughed harder at “Be right back, be right back, be right back.” the second time than the first.
Is anyone else’s stomach hurting as much as mine this morning from laughing so hard?
- In the words of George Washington at Valley Forge, “Cop a squat.”
- Technically, Jesus rifles aren’t a holy war. They’re more like an armor piercing Sunday school.
- And I assume the full verse ends in Eat Hot Lead, Haji. Obviously, that’s just in my translation.
- That’s why I am proud to introduce the new Hand Gra-bible. Just hold that, pull the pin, and lob it into a cave. [BOOM!] That had a delayed fuse on it, I think.
- Next, the bobsled. Again I didn’t make the team, because apparently people are too precious to get vomit on their lycra.
- Verizon Wireless – Wires are for pussies
- I’m sorry, it’s the thigh, that’s one point off.
- My understanding is that that’s what the ladies love. Just get it over with, please.
- Who’s better, Shani Davis or Sammy Davis?
- On average, how much chest hair do the other speedskaters show?
- Should this feel this good right here? Should I be enjoying this this much?
- Do you have anything with more of a lower heel than this? Because I’m more of a Charlotte. You don’t watch Sex in the City?
- Be right back, be right back, be right back.
- Stephen: Ever seen someone skate that fast? Tucker: My mom.
- How do you talk to a madman, I mean, other than right now?
- By the way, how do the Koreans see us? Do they think of all of us as Alan Alda?
- I’m going to say something about [Kim Jong Il] and I want you to handle it as diplomatically as possible. He looks like an old woman.
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