NBC Sports Staff

Phil Liggett’s ‘Things you might not know about covering the Tour de France’

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For 50 years, Phil Liggett’s coverage of the Tour de France has become synonymous with the event itself. 

Liggett began covering the Tour de France in 1973 and started calling the race on television in 1978. By the end of this year’s competition, he will have covered over 114,500 miles of racing on the Tour de France – the equivalent of making more than four-and-a-half trips around the Earth.

And as with most experienced travelers, Liggett learned a thing or two along the way. Fortunately, he decided to share his knowledge with the rest of us.

The race within the race

“To keep up with the Tour de France, which is about 2,100 miles over three weeks, the TV commentators drive approximately 3,500 miles around the race route, often reaching their hotels at midnight, but ready to call the race from the finishing line the next day.

“In the early days, I started just half a mile ahead of the riders in a group of maybe 500 cars. Before the finish, I had to gain three hours on the riders and jump into the commentary box to pick up the action to the finish line. It was a dangerous existence and I was the happiest guy on TV when the system changed because of the extended coverage of the event due to its popularity. We now travel to the next finish in the evenings.”

Most memorable moments

“During my 50 years, I have been lucky enough to call every English-speaking rider ever to win the Tour de France and also every one of the 34 stage victories of Britain’s Mark Cavendish, which equaled the record of the great Belgian Eddy Merckx in 2021.

“When Greg LeMond became the first (and only) winner of the Tour in 1986, he had to sit with me on top of an open bus waiting for a satellite live cross at midnight into the States. He was amazingly tolerant as all he really wanted to do was celebrate his victory with the team, who had booked a boat on the Seine and were ready to party.”

Changing of the times

“When the Colombian journalists (TV and radio) came to the Tour for the first time in the mid-80s, they produced their radio programmes from the roadside telephone boxes and had their pockets full of French francs to pump into the telephones (no mobile phones, of course) to run a half-hour live show into Bogotá.

“Throughout the ‘70s, walking into the press room, where up to a thousand journalists were banging out the stories on typewriters, was deafening. And, finding a seat through the smoke of so many cigarettes was perhaps not the healthiest existence either. No mobile phones, so always a rush to the telephone operators and then a wait of up to two hours to get your collect call through to the UK or the States.

As the race became more popular and television was producing non-stop live coverage lasting up to six hours, we had to request that the organizers move the toilets to within a one-minute walk from the commentary positions, so a quick visit was possible during the commercial breaks. They still do this now.”

NBC Sports will present three weeks of wall-to-wall live and encore coverage of the 109th Tour de France on Peacock and USA Network. Daily live coverage of the Tour de France, featuring all 21 stages, begins Friday, July 1, at 9:30 a.m. ET on Peacock and USA Network with the Tour de France Pre-Race Show, followed by Stage 1 at 10 a.m. ET on Peacock and USA Network.  

Peacock will provide live streaming coverage of every stage of the 2022 Tour de France, featuring live, start-to-finish coverage of every stage. Peacock’s coverage includes simulstreams from USA Network and NBC shows, as well as commentary from the world feed. Peacock will also feature full-stage replays, highlights, stage recaps and rider interviews.

How to watch Women’s Curling gold medal game: GB vs. Japan Live stream, TV time, 2022 Beijing Olympics

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The women’s curling tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics wraps up on Saturday night with Japan taking on Great Britain for gold. These teams matched up in the round-robin sessions, with Great Britain coming out on top 10-4 in just 8 ends. Check out the full women’s curling standings and men’s curling standings to see how the 2022 Olympics events have gone so far.

Japan Women’s Curling

Japan’s women’s curling team took home bronze at the 2018 Winter Olympics, and this year they are guaranteed a better result by making it to the gold medal game. Japan will be playing for its first Olympic curling gold medal.

Great Britain Women’s Curling

Great Britain’s women’s team is coming off the highest-scoring game of this Olympics so far in their semifinals matchup against Sweden. Great Britain pulled it out in the 11th end for a 12-11 victory. Great Britain won the women’s curling gold in 2002 and the bronze in 2014. The Great Britain men’s team won silver here in Beijing, losing to Sweden 5-4 – that was the first medal for GBR at these Games.

 

What time is the Women’s Curling gold medal game?

The gold medal women’s curling game will be on Sunday morning at 9:05 a.m. in Beijing, which is Saturday 02/19/2022 at 8:05 p.m. ET in the United States.

 

RELATED: 2022 Winter Olympics Medal Count

How to stream the Women’s Curling Gold Medal Match on Peacock:

Peacock has been the streaming home for all of the Beijing Winter Games, offering live stream coverage of every single event–including the big women’s curling match between Great Britain and Japan.

How to watch JPN vs. GBR live on TV, stream online

The gold medal men’s curling match will be on Saturday night at 8:05 a.m., EST on NBC. You can watch the event live on TV, or stream the whole event on NBCOlympics.com by clicking the link below.

 

Check out the full team rosters for both countries below:

Great Britain Women’s Curling Roster

Athletes:

  • Eve Muirhead
  • Vicky Wright
  • Jennifer Dodds
  • Hailey Duff
  • Mili Smith

Team Officials:

  • Kristian Lindstrom (Coach)
  • David Murdoch (National Coach)
  • Kenny More (Team Official)

RELATED: Full Winter Olympics 2022 Curling schedule

Japan Women’s Curling Roster

Athletes:

  • Satsuki Fujisawa
  • Chinami Yoshida
  • Yumi Suzuki
  • Yurika Yoshida
  • Kotomi Ishizaki

Team Officials:

  • J.D. Lind (Coach)
  • Ryoji Onodera (Coach)
  • Hitoshi Yanagi (Team Leader)

RELATED: Everything you need to know about the 2022 Winter Olympics

Women’s Curling Bronze Medal Game

Sweden will face Switzerland in the bronze medal game on Saturday, February 19 at 7:05 a.m. ET on NBC. The bronze medal women’s curling game will be available to stream on NBC Olympics and Peacock.

 

Curling Documentary on Peacock

After the 2022 Olympic curling action finishes, be sure to check Peacock to satisfy your curling needs.  The curling documentary “American Rock Stars” follows the U.S. men’s curling team’s quest to repeat gold.

 

 

Be sure to follow OlympicTalk and NBC Olympics for the latest news and updates about the Beijing Winter Games!

How to watch Finland vs. ROC Men’s Hockey: Gold medal game live stream, TV, time for 2022 Beijing Olympics

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Finland will face ROC in the Olympic hockey gold medal game on Sunday in Beijing (Saturday night EST).

Finland is the only unbeaten team in the Men’s Olympic Hockey tournament and will be looking for its first gold medal, having won silver in both 1988 and 2006. For the second straight Games, athletes from Russia will play in the gold medal game. In 2018, the team of Olympic Athletes from Russia defeated Germany for gold.

RELATED: Everything you need to know about the 2022 Winter Olympics

What time will the Men’s Hockey Gold Medal game start?

The puck drop of the gold medal game will be on Sunday afternoon at 12:10 p.m. in Beijing, which is Saturday 02/19/2022 at 11:10 p.m. ET in the United States.

RELATED: Winter Olympics schedule tonight: Live events today, how to watch online, stream start times, TV channels

How to watch Finland vs. ROC Hockey live on TV, stream online

The gold medal men’s hockey game will be televised on USA Network. You can also watch the event live with the streaming link below.

How to stream the Men’s Hockey Gold medal game on Peacock:

Peacock has been the streaming home for all of the Beijing Winter Games, offering live stream coverage of every single event on the Olympic Hockey schedule–including the big game between Finland and the Russian Olympic Committee.

Check out the full team rosters for both countries below:

Finland Men’s Hockey Roster

  • Ville Pokka
  • Niklas Friman
  • Mikko Lehtonen
  • Marko Anttila
  • Valtteri Kemilainen
  • Miro Aaltonen
  • Niko Ojamaki
  • Hannes Bjorninen
  • Toni Rajala
  • Joonas Nattinen
  • Harri Sateri
  • Frans Tuohimaa
  • Juuso Hietanen
  • Petteri Lindbohm
  • Sami Vatanen
  • Jussi Olkinuora
  • Valtteri Filppula
  • Atte Ohtamaa
  • Markus Granlund
  • Sakari Manninen
  • Teemu Hartikainen
  • Leo Komarov
  • Saku Maenalanen
  • Iiro Pakarinen
  • Harri Pesonen

RELATED: 2022 Winter Olympics Medal Count

ROC Men’s Hockey Roster

  • Alexander Yelesin
  • Sergei Telegin
  • Dmitri Voronkov
  • Sergei Andronov
  • Pavel Karnaukhov
  • Sergei Plotnikov
  • Stanislav Galiev
  • Artur Kayumov
  • Mikhail Grigorenko
  • Vyacheslav Voinov
  • Ivan Fedotov
  • Alexander Samonov
  • Damir Sharipzyanov
  • Yegor Yakovlev
  • Vladimir Tkachyov
  • Alexander Nikishin
  • Anton Slepyshev
  • Artyom Minulin
  • Andrei Chibisov
  • Arseni Gritsyuk
  • Timur Bilyalov
  • Vadim Shipachyov
  • Nikita Nesterov
  • Kirill Semyonov
  • Nikita Gusev

RELATED: 2022 Olympic Women’s Hockey Guide – Full schedule, Team USA roster for Beijing Winter Games

 

Men’s Hockey Bronze Medal Game

Sweden will face Slovakia in the bronze medal game on Saturday, February 19 at 8:10 a.m. ET on CNBC. The bronze medal men’s hockey game will be available to stream on NBC Olympics and Peacock.

 

Be sure to follow OlympicTalk and NBC Olympics for the latest news and updates about the Beijing Winter Games!