Winter Olympics: What to watch/stream

By OlympicTalkFeb 15, 2018, 12:15 PM EST

Getty Images

Nathan Chen is back in action tonight, as the men’s figure skating short program features on NBC’s prime time coverage. The American, who stumbled in his team skate routine in his first appearance, is keen to turn his fortunes around. The day after his fall, Chen took to the practice rink again to practice his routine.

Chen isn’t the only one looking for redemption. The U.S. men held a 2-0 lead over Slovenia in their hockey opener, only to fall in over time. After dominating for the first 40 minutes, the Americans were bullied around by a team they should have handily beaten. They next play against another surprise winner in Slovakia, who upset OAR the same day.

Mikaela Shiffrin also returns to action tonight in the women’s slalom, the day after winning gold in the giant slalom.

Figure Skating

Big names highlight the men’s short program: Nathan Chen, Adam Rippon, and Vincent Zhou will all be representing Team USA in a stacked field. We’ll get our first look at Zhou tonight, the youngest member representing Team USA.

For a full in-depth preview of the men’s short program, click here

Men’s Short Program Stream Live Here 8:00p.m. EST / 5:00p.m. PST

Alpine Skiing

This could be a big Olympic Games for Shiffrin. The American was spectacular in the giant slalom yesterday, and won gold in this event in Sochi. Look out for her to be one of the few multiple winning gold medalists this year.

Women’s Slalom Run 1 Stream Live Here 8:00p.m. EST / 5:00p.m. PST

Women’s Slalom Run 2 Stream Live Here 11:15p.m. EST / 8:15p.m. PST

Men’s Super-G Stream Live Here 9:00p.m. EST / 6:00p.m. PST

Snowboard

After watching the men compete, it’s tine for Lindsey Jacobellis to begin her quest for Olympic glory. The four-time Olympian has won the most boardercross medals; however, none of them gold. If she is to erase all of her misfortune and heartache from Olympics past, then she’ll have to beat reigning champion Eva Samkova.

Full preview of women’s boardercross here

Women’s Boardercross Qualifying Stream Live Here 8:00p.m. EST / 5:00p.m. PST

Women’s BoardercrossCross Heats Stream Live Here 10:15p.m. EST / 7:15p.m. PST

Skeleton

Yun Sung-Bin has taken the skeleton field by storm in his first two tuns, putting himself in great shape to become South Korea’s first-ever medalist (and probably gold medalist) in a sliding sport. Though Team USA’s Matt Antoine and John Daly are essentially eliminated from medal contention, plenty of intrigue surrounds the track as Yun will make his final two runs.

Men’s Runs 3-4 Stream Live Here 7:30p.m. EST / 4:30p.m. PST

Curling

The U.S. men’s curling woes continued on Wednesday evening, falling to Italy. Things don’t get any easier for them as they take on medal contenders Sweden.

NOR vs. KOR Stream Live Here 7:05p.m. EST / 4:05p.m. PST

ITA vs. DEN Stream Live Here 7:05p.m. EST / 4:05p.m. PST

USA vs. SWE Stream Live Here 7:05p.m. EST / 4:05p.m. PST

French Open: Novak Djokovic rolls to start Grand Slam record quest

By OlympicTalkMay 29, 2023, 11:11 AM EDT

Getty

Novak Djokovic began his quest for a record-breaking 23rd men’s Grand Slam singles title by beating 114th-ranked American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (1) in the French Open first round on Monday.

Djokovic, seeded third, next gets 83rd-ranked Hungarian Marton Fucsovics. Djokovic could meet top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals. They are the favorites in the absence of 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, whom Djokovic tied for the overall men’s Slam titles record with his 10th Australian Open crown in January.

Earlier Monday, Sloane Stephens looked sharp in her opening match with a 6-0, 6-4 win over two-time major finalist Karolina Pliskova.

While Stephens’ only Grand Slam title came at the 2017 U.S. Open, she’s also had sustained success at Roland Garros, finishing as a runner-up to Simona Halep in 2018 and reaching two quarterfinals on the red clay in Paris — including last year.

“This is my favorite court in the world, so I’m super happy to be back,” Stephens told the crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier. “To start a Slam on your favorite court, your favorite surface, is always incredible.”

She helped American women go 4-0 through the first few hours of play on Day 2 of the tournament after a 1-4 start on Sunday, when the only U.S. victory came in a match between two players from the country: Jessica Pegula beat Danielle Collins.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Madison Keys, the runner-up to Stephens in New York six years ago and a semifinalist at Roland Garros in 2018, beat Kaia Kanepi 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 on Monday to improve her career record in the first round of majors to 35-5.

Keys next plays American qualifier Kayla Day, who eliminated French wild-card entry Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 6-1.

Also, Croatian-born American Bernarda Pera beat former No. 2-ranked Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (6), 6-2.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a finalist in Paris in 2021, breezed past Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2, 6-2; and 22nd-seeded Donna Vekic beat qualifier Dayana Yastremska 6-2, 7-5.

Stephens was down a break in the second set against Pliskova but then won three straight games to close it out.

Stephens had a 19-16 edge in winners and committed only 10 unforced errors to 31 by Pliskova, who lost in the finals of the U.S. Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2021.

“This court is a bit tricky. You have to play on it a lot to understand when the wind is blowing and where it’s coming,” Stephens said. “The more you play on it, the more you understand it. But it’s a very complicated court. But that’s what makes it so amazing.”

Stephens won a small clay-court tournament in Saint Malo, France, at the start of the month and also reached the semifinals of the Morocco Open last week after only playing a total of three matches at bigger clay events in Madrid and Rome.

“Last year, my clay season wasn’t great, but I played amazing at Roland Garros last year,” Stephens said, “and this year, I really wanted to get matches and play a lot and to see where that got me.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

Follow @nbcolympictalk

Canada wins men’s hockey world title; Latvia wins first medal

Associated PressMay 28, 2023, 8:00 PM EDT

Getty

TAMPERE, Finland — Samuel Blais scored two goals to rally Canada to a 5-2 victory over Germany in the final of the world men’s hockey championship on Sunday.

It’s a record 28th world title for Canada, and its second in three years. Russia has 27 while Germany has never won the trophy.

Blais netted with a backhand 4:51 into the final period for a 3-2 lead for Canada, which was playing in its fourth straight final.

“It feels really good,” Blais said. “We’ve been in Europe for a month and we’ve all waited for that moment to play for the gold medal game. And we’re lucky enough to have won it.”

Lawson Crouse, Tyler Toffoli and Scott Laughton also scored for Canada, Peyton Krebs had two assists and goaltender Samuel Montembeault stopped 21 shots.

Toffoli stretched the lead to 4-2 from the left circle with 8:09 remaining and Laughton made it 5-2 with an empty net goal.

Adam Fantilli became only the second Canadian player after Jonathan Toews to win gold at the world juniors and world championship the same year.

Canada had to come back twice in the final.

John Peterka wristed a shot past Montembeault from the left circle 7:44 into the game. It was the sixth goal for the Buffalo Sabres forward at the tournament.

Blais was fed by Krebs to beat goaltender Mathias Niederberger and tie it 1-1 at 10:47.

Daniel Fischbuch put the Germans ahead again with a one-timer with 6:13 to go in the middle period.

Crouse equalized on a power play with 2:32 remaining in the frame.

It was the first medal for Germany since 1953 when it was second behind Sweden.

The two previously met just once in the final with Canada winning 6-1 in 1930.

LATVIA GETS BRONZE

Defenseman Kristian Rubins scored his second goal 1:22 into overtime to lead Latvia to a 4-3 victory over the United States and earn a bronze medal earlier Sunday.

It’s the first top-three finish for Latvia at the tournament. Its previous best was a seventh place it managed three times.

The U.S. lost in the bronze medal game for the second straight year. The U.S. team was cruising through the tournament with eight straight wins until it was defeated by Germany in the semifinal 4-3 in overtime.

Rubins rallied Latvia with his first with 5:39 to go in the final period to tie the game at 3 to force overtime.

Roberts Bukarts and Janis Jaks also scored for Latvia.

Rocco Grimaldi scored twice for the U.S. in the opening period to negate Latvia’s 1-0 and 2-1 leads.

Matt Coronato had put the U.S. 3-2 ahead 6:19 into the final period.

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

Follow @nbcolympictalk

More: Olympics

More: Olympics