NNEW YORK- On the eve of the opening ceremonies, Dick Ebersol, Chairman of NBC Universal Sports, was stunned today during a press conference when a German reporter asked him if the network would be covering the Men’s Giant Slalom in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

“The what?”, Ebersol asked, following the question of Hans Dieterman of the Frankfurt Zeitung, showing a look that witnesses described as a combination of disgust and shock.

Apparently, Ebersol was not only caught off guard with the question, but experts say that his body language indicated he really had no clue as to what the skiing event actually was.

“His facial express

Skiing as an Olympic Event? Apparently NBC has other ideas.

ions, coupled with the coloring of his cheeks indicate to me that he was dumbfounded”, claimed Susan-Cater-Martin Smith, clinical psychologist with Columbia University and a nationally renowned expert on body language. Carter-Martin Smith also stated that “We often see the same symptoms with defendants in court when they are confronted with facts they are unaware of. It’s just a natural human reaction.”

This publication contacted other executives at NBC Universal Sports to get their answers to Dieterman’s question, only to find out that to the person, none of them were aware of any events taking place in the 21st Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver other than Men’s and Women’s Figure Skating.

Jennifer Colins-Alvarez, Director of Primetime Programming at NBC, never actually answered the question, preferring to tout the accolades of famous skaters such as Michelle Kwan and Katarina Witt instead. “These women really put the sport on the map”, Colins-Alvarez added. “If it weren’t for them, our ratings for broadcasting the games would have never been what they were.”

When asked to name a skier, Colins-Alvarez got defensive and explained that, while she had been skiing before, she didn’t “consider such activities to be worthy of an Olympic event.”

A follow-up call to Ebersol’s office was met with a promise by his assistant to relay our message to him. When asked why Ebersol was not available to take our call, the unnamed assistant claimed that he was watching video footage of the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and did not want to be disturbed.

Originally posted 2010-02-12 09:24:56. Republished by Blog Post Promoter