Two Olympic-related Press Releases

I have some press releases I need to clear from the Fang's Bites inbox before continuing this morning.

First, NBC says it will have the announcement of the Team USA Olympic men's ice hockey team during the NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day. I like that.

Announcement to be Made During NBC's Broadcast of NHL's Winter Classic

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - November 3, 2009- USA Hockey, in cooperation with NBC Sports and the National Hockey League, announced today that the 23-man roster for its 2010 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team will be unveiled during NBC's broadcast of the 2010 NHL Winter Classic Jan. 1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Coverage of the game between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers begins at 1 p.m. EST.

The U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team will compete at the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. The men's ice hockey competition begins on Feb. 16 and concludes with the gold-medal game on Feb. 28.

Team USA plays its first game Feb. 16 against Switzerland.

NOTES: The U.S. roster will include 20 skaters and three goaltenders. It is expected that all 23 players will come from the NHL ... Ron Wilson, head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, is the head coach of the 2010 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team, with Scott Gordon, head coach of the New York Islanders, and John Tortorella, head coach of the New York Rangers, serving as assistant coaches ... The 2010 NHL Winter Classic marks the third consecutive year two NHL teams play a Jan. 1 outdoor game. In 2009, the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings faced off at Wrigley Field in Chicago, which was the most watched regular-season NHL game in 34 years, and in 2008, the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Today marks 100 days to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Universal Sports marks the occasion with a one hour special tonight.

Countdown to Vancouver Launches on Universal Sports

One-Hour Special Airs 100 Days Out From the Start of the Winter Olympics

LOS ANGELES – Nov. 3, 2009 – Universal Sports’ full-scale programming efforts as part of the countdown to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games kicks-off Wednesday, exactly 100 days from the start of the Winter Games, with a one-hour Countdown to Vancouver special airing at 8 p.m. ET with an encore presentation at 11 p.m. ET. The show highlights and previews expectations in several key competitions, including alpine skiing, figure skating, short track speed skating, bobsled and skeleton, hockey, snowboarding and ski cross.

Athletes profiled in the special include 2008 and 2009 World Cup alpine skiing champion Lindsey Vonn and two-time Olympic silver medalist Bode Miller; two-time short track speed skating Olympic gold medalist Apolo Ohno and his protégé, J.R. Celski; 2006 Olympic snowboarding gold medalist Shaun White and 2006 women’s silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis; 2009 four-man Bobsled World Champion Steve Holcomb and 2009 Luge World Champion Erin Hamlin, among others.

Vignettes highlighting Olympic hopefuls will continue daily on Universal Sports and UniversalSports.com.

Starting Dec. 1, Universal Sports will present a nightly show—Countdown to Vancouver—that will continue through Feb. 12, 2010, the day of the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver. Airing nightly at 8 p.m. ET, the program will originate from Universal Sports’ Los Angeles studio and will include Winter Olympic sport news and highlights, as well as analysis, features, interviews and guests. The program will provide highlights of the more than 300 Olympic sporting events airing across NBC Sports, Universal Sports and UniversalSports.com from now until the start of the Winter Games in Vancouver.

Another press release post is coming up.