Jeff Kassouf

NBC to stream all 15 matches of CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying

By Jan 29, 2016, 11:15 AM EST
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All 15 matches of the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament will be streamed live on NBC Sports Live Extra, in addition to up to four matches airing on NBCSN. The eight-team tournament takes place from Feb. 10-21 in Houston and Frisco, Texas, with the top two teams advancing to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The all-important semifinal featuring the United States — assuming the heavily favored U.S. women, who are three-time defending Olympic gold medalists, make the semifinal — will be aired live on NBCSN on Feb. 19. The tournament’s two semifinal winners will advance to this summer’s Olympics on NBC.

NBCSN will also air the United States’ final group-stage match against Puerto Rico on Feb. 15 live at 8:30 p.m. ET. The United States’ group-stage match against Mexico on Feb. 13 will be aired on delay at 9:30 p.m. ET, and the tournament final on Feb. 21 will air at 11 p.m. ET.

CONCACAF approached NBC about broadcasting the tournament just over two weeks before it is set to kick off. Such a quick turnaround made for extremely limited TV windows, which are scheduled months in advance.

The U.S. women will compete in Group A in Frisco, Texas, against Mexico, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. Canada — the other team favored to advance to the Olympics — will compete in Group B in Houston, Texas, against Trididad & Tobago, Guatemala and Guyana.

New Zealand qualified for the Olympics earlier this week, joining hosts Brazil and Colombia from South America, France and Germany from Europe, and South Africa and Zimbabwe from Africa. The final five spots at this summer’s Olympics will be filled by two CONCACAF teams, two teams from Asia and the winner of a four-team playoff in March between Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands to determine the final European bid.

2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship Schedule

Frisco, Texas – Toyota Stadium
Houston, Texas – BBVA Compass Stadium
Times U.S. Central (U.S. Eastern in parentheses)

FIRST ROUND
Group A: USA, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Costa Rica
Group B: Canada, Guatemala, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana

Wednesday, Feb. 10 (Frisco)
Puerto Rico vs. Mexico                                   5 p.m. (6 p.m.)
USA vs. Costa Rica                                    7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m.)

Thursday, Feb. 11 (Houston)
Guatemala vs. Trinidad & Tobago                  5 p.m. (6 p.m.)
Canada vs. Guyana                                           7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m.)

Saturday, Feb. 13 (Frisco)
Costa Rica vs. Puerto Rico                              12:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m.)
USA vs. Mexico                                                 3 p.m. (4 p.m.) NBCSN at 9:30 p.m. ET

Sunday, Feb. 14 (Houston)
Guyana vs. Guatemala                                     12:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m.)
Trinidad vs. Canada                                          3 p.m. (4 p.m.)

Monday, Feb. 15 (Frisco)
Mexico vs. Costa Rica                                       5 p.m. (6 p.m.)
USA vs. Puerto Rico                                          7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m.) LIVE on NBCSN

Tuesday, Feb. 16 (Houston)
Trinidad & Tobago vs. Guyana                         5 p.m. (6 p.m.)
Canada vs. Guatemala                                      7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m.)

SEMIFINALS

Friday, Feb. 19 (Houston)
Group B winner vs. Group A runner-up          4:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m.) ***
Group A winner vs. Group B runner-up          7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m.) ***

FINAL

Sunday, Feb. 21 (Houston)
Semifinal winners                                            4 p.m. (5 p.m.) NBCSN at 11 p.m.

***USA’s semifinal, should the USA advance, will air LIVE on NBCSN

MORE: Sydney Leroux joins long list of World Cup players out of Olympics

Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea win their 1st US pairs title

Associated PressJan 23, 2016, 5:30 PM EST
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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea took the ice last at the U.S. Championships, just needing to skate cleanly to win their first national pairs title.

Cautious but calm, Kayne and O’Shea did what their rivals couldn’t and clinched a lopsided win with a record score Saturday.

They earned 142.04 points for the long program for 211.65 total, the highest mark ever at nationals, to beat defending champs Alexa Scimeca and Christopher Knierim.

Kayne and O’Shea led after the short program, and when Scimeca and Knierim made several mistakes, the title was there for the taking.

Skating to “The Music of the Night” from “The Phantom of the Opera,” Kayne and O’Shea had the day’s only clean program among the contenders.

[MORE: Check out the U.S. Figure Skating Championships All-Access Page]

Knierim fell on their side-by-side triple toe loops, and Scimeca had two feet down on one throw jump and both hands down on the other. They scored 129.45 points in the free skate for 196.80 total.

Marissa Castelli, who won two U.S. titles with former partner Simon Shnapir, was third with Mervin Tran with 179.04 points. The Americans have two spots at the world championships.

Kayne had hip surgery in July 2014, and she and O’Shea had to take off that Grand Prix season. They still managed to finish third at last year’s U.S. Championships, missing out on a spot at worlds.

Kayne recalled that on the day of her surgery, O’Shea told her: “We are one day closer to a clean program.” It came on the biggest day of their careers Saturday. When the scores were announced, Kayne burst into tears, and O’Shea alertly reached over to hand her a box of tissues.

The two have been skating together for under four years, an eternity for American pairs skating. Earlier this season, Scimeca and Knierim became the first U.S. pairs team to qualify for the Grand Prix Final since 2007, offering hope that the fortunes of American pairs skating might finally be reversing.

They struggled there, though, and again at nationals. Scimeca and Knierim completed their signature quadruple twist to open the program, but then the mistakes started coming.

Michael Phelps to enter program after DUI charges

By Oct 5, 2014, 1:54 PM EDT
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Michael Phelps is stepping away from swimming to attend an unspecified program to get “the help I need,” according to posts on his social media pages Sunday.

It’s an in-patient, six-week program, according to reports citing Phelps’ representatives.

“We fully support Michael’s decision to place his health and well-being as the number one priority,” USA Swimming executive director Chuck Wielgus said in a statement, according to Swimming World. “His self-recognition and commitment to get help exhibit how serious he is to learn from this experience.”

Phelps’ decision comes following his arrest on DUI charges early Tuesday morning, when Maryland Transportation Authority police said Phelps was traveling 84mph in a 45mph zone.

He “appeared to be under the influence,” and was unable to perform standard field sobriety tests, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

Phelps had a blood-alcohol level of .14 percent, above the Maryland legal limit of .08, and was “disoriented” and “argumentative,” according to police documents. The officer smelled alcohol in Phelps’ white Land Rover and in his breath. Phelps said he had “three or four drinks,” the last two hours earlier, according to police documents.

In 2004, Phelps was sentenced to 18 months probation after pleading guilty to drunken driving shortly after the Athens Olympics.

Phelps, 29, is six months into a competitive comeback after a 20-month retirement following the London Olympics.