Kelli Lawrence - Skating on Air: The Broadcast History of an Olympic Marquee Sport

foreword by Verne Lundquist

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

e-ISBN: 978-0-7864-8544-4

2011 Kelli Lawrence. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Cover image 2011 Shutterstock

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com

For Alixandra Lee and James Gilbert Lawrence
Skatings on Are you still watching?

Theres not enough room here to thank everyone as thoroughly as Id like, so Ill do my best just to get everyone mentioned in some capacity.

To my husband Dan, and our kids Lucas and Lexie, thank you from the bottom of my heart for believing in me, believing in my work, and patiently waiting out the times youd rather have me to yourselves! I love you fiercely.

Doug Wilson, it was shortly after we started talking that I knew for sure that I was on the right track with the idea for this book. Youve been extraordinarily kind and helpful over the past couple of years. Thank you for everything youve donefor me, but most importantly, for the sport of figure skating.

David Michaels and Rick Gentile, Im so glad I found each of you early on! Your respective contributions to this sport are massive, and I deeply appreciate your input.

Verne Lundquist, you are a prince among sportscasting men. Thanks for your unique insight, as well as the time you took to write a very thoughtful foreword.

Scott Hamilton, I still cant believe you gave me a couple hours of your time. And gave so much in that time! Thanks for the effort.

Tracy Wilson and Sandra Bezic, how did I get so lucky to talk with both of you? Still shaking my head in disbelief. For what youve done both on the ice and off, I thank you. (And Sandra, my taste buds thank you for introducing me to Nanaimo Bars. My waistline is another story...)

Meg Streeter and Jirina Ribbens, your passion for skating and all that goes with it is crystal clear, even if neither of you is involved with the networks anymore (maybe because of that fact!). Thanks so much for your time, your thoughts, your theories... and for knowing so many of the right people for me to talk to.

Carol Heiss Jenkins, you contributed on so many levels to this sportathlete, actress, commentator, coachwhew! Thanks for all of it! And grazie to Sonia Bianchetti for the unique voice and perspective you brought as well!

Janet Lynn, what a gift to have you as a part of this project. I hope you know how much the talents and stories youve shared continue to fortify and inspire the world of skating. I wish many blessings and send much gratitude to you and your family!

To those who have graciously contributed photos to this bookwhich includes some of the names already listed, as well as Jack Morris, Kirk Hepburn, Dick Buffinton, Dianne Cates, David C. Kimmel, Harriet Hochberg, and Kim DejnoI cannot thank you enough.

Dick Button and Peggy Fleming, Im sorry I wasnt able to include direct input from either of you in this book. It certainly wasnt for lack of trying. Nonetheless, I hope you find I represented each of you fairly and honestly. You are both legends in your own time; your contributions to this sport are vast and endless. Thank you.

Also thanks to Joe Aceti, Dennis Lewin, Jim Spence, Bob Fishman, Rob Dustin, Ken Woo, Peter Carruthers, Terry Gannon, Susie Wynne, Kurt Browning, Curt Gowdy, Jr., Patricia Lowry, Lydia Stephans, Dennis Swanson, Tom Hammond, Tami Mickle, Yvonne Gomez, Lana Sherman, David Raith, Karen Cover, Pat, Paul and Marie Koko, Linda and Larry Branan, Marina and Matt Savoie, Mark Hebbeln, Travis Life, and Lawyers for Creative Arts.

Special thanks to Kathy Hayevsky, Lyn Pilolla, and Lori Cates Hand. I couldnt have completed this without your love, support, and sometimes savagely funny emails.

Extra special thanks to Dorothy Hamill, for it was watching her in Innsbruck 1976 on ABC that sent this awkward and shy kid to the rink to learn how to skate backwards... and has kept her there (in spirit if not always in body) ever since.

My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him. Psalm 62:5

Heres how it came about that I got involved in figure skating. In the summer of 1988, our CBS NFL broadcast group, play-by-play announcers, analysts, producers, directors, and assorted executives, were enjoying a pre-season symposium at Pebble Beach, California. It was John Maddens idea: Lets get our gang together for a little football talk and golf. The networks had the money to do that sort of thing back then.

In the midst of lunch one afternoon, we were informed that CBS Sports had acquired the rights to both the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, and the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

I was ecstatic. My wife, Nancy, and I live in the wonderful mountain resort town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Weve produced more winter Olympians from this area than any other community in the United States. Billy Kidd has been our Director of Skiing since 1970, shortly after he won the World Cup, and was our CBS alpine skiing analyst. He is a really close friend of mine. Ergo, I thought I was destined to be the play-by-play announcer for the alpine events in Albertville, working side by side with my friend, Billy Kidd, toiling away in the crisp mountain air of the Savoy.

Then, I got the phone call from New York City with my assignment: figure skating?!

Go figure. Or, to borrow a phrase from John McEnroe: You cannot be serious.

Let me tell you about the first time I ever saw a figure skating event in my life. Scott Hamilton and I were assigned to televise the World Junior Championships from the World Arena at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs in December 1989. It was to serve as my introduction to the sport and to give Scott and me a chance to work together for the first time. It is a partnership that evolved over the years into one which I treasure above almost all others to this very day.

We walked into that venerable, historic old rink for a mens practice session early one afternoon. We paused behind the boards in one of the corners and considered a young man skating backward toward us at a high rate of speed. When he was no more than ten feet away, he planted his toe pick in the ice, launched himself with great strength, spun quickly three times, landed, and sped off in a different direction. I was dazzled.

Who was that and what was that? I hollered at Scott.

That was Elvis Stojko, and that was a triple lutz, Scott laughed in reply.

I was hooked. I covered Elvis Stojko for the next decade. Same thing with the lovely Yuka Sato, who won the junior ladies that year and captured my heart.

Now let me tell you about my first three months of exposure to the world of skating. In January 1990, Scott and I were in Leningrad for the European Championships. They were held in antiquated, rusty old Yubileni Stadium, but it mattered not. Everything seemed new and fresh to me, since I was experiencing a new sport and meeting the people who were such a prominent part of it. Scott introduced me to Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, later to win their second Olympic pairs gold medal in Lillehammer. I met Natalia Mishkutenok and Artur Dmitriev, destined to win their gold in Albertville, and I began a friendship with the incomparable coach Tamara Moskvina, she of the seven languages spoken.