In opening CBS's primetime Olympic broadcast last
night, Jim Nantz said, "The U.S. Women's hockey team has a
new place in the record books, and new roles as America's
sports heroes." CBS's Bryant Gumbel then featured the
team's gold medal win against Canada and later interviewed
the entire squad. CBS devoted the first 30 minutes of its
broadcast to the women's team (CBS, 2/17). In Chicago, Jay
Mariotti calls the women's gold medal win yesterday "the
moment of the Nagano Games." Mariotti: "Maybe it isn't the
Miracle on Ice, but in its way, the victory of the U.S.
women's hockey team is a triumph of historic magnitude. ...
Never has a women's team in any sport captivated America
like this team" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 2/18). NEWSDAY's Mark
Herrmann: "[W]hat made this so historic is that it couldn't
really remind anybody of anything. That was the whole
point" (NEWSDAY, 2/18). In Philadelphia, Diane Pucin calls
the win "a truly Olympic moment" (PHILA. INQUIRER, 2/18).
WHAT'S NEXT? In S.F., C.W. Nevius: "This was the coming
of age for women's hockey, and it happened in such a rush
that it may take months to sort out" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/18).
In Atlanta, Steve Hummer: "No one is exactly sure where the
idea of women's hockey goes from here" (ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 2/18). In St. Paul, Tom Powers: "The game
against Canada should mark a turning point for women's
hockey ... [in areas of the country] where folks still frown
or look puzzled at the notion of girls participating in the
sport" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 2/18). Team USA's Angela
Ruggiero: "This is going to be all over the States now, and
people are going to know women can play hockey" (Jason La
Canfora, DETROIT FREE PRESS, 2/18). In K.C., Jason
Whitlock: "[I]f there's never a women's professional hockey
league, we should never forget the way they made us feel
Tuesday morning" (K.C. STAR, 2/18). In L.A., Helene
Elliott, who writes that she may never pay to see a women's
pro league, adds, "It was a victory for whatever innocence
remains in sports. ... It doesn't matter if their gold-medal
triumph spurs the start of a women's professional league"
(L.A. TIMES, 2/18). In Seattle, Ron Judd: "Women's hockey
was born on this night" (SEATTLE TIMES, 2/17). Team USA
coach Ben Smith, asked whether he foresees a women's pro
league: "I think right now, the pool of players is a little
bit limited and I don't know how many teams we could
actually put together in that type of a format" (TNT, 2/17).
BETTMAN'S RESPONSE: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman
called the win "a very special night for hockey, not just
women's hockey." Asked by TNT's Jim Lampley if the NHL
would "participate directly in the future development of
women's hockey with a possible eye toward a pro league,"
Bettman said, "If we were as mature as some of the other
sports leagues in North America, that might be something ...
that we would focus on, but now we're really focusing on
building hockey and building the NHL as well, and I think
that might be something further down the road" (TNT, 2/17).
MASS APPEAL? In reviewing the marketing prospects for
the women's team, Millsport President Bob Basche said, "It's
going to be difficult for individuals to take advantage of a
gold medal won by a team -- it always is." Ray Clark, GM of
The Marketing Arm, said the lack of a pro league and
constant exposure will hinder marketing opportunities for
the team members (N.Y. POST, 2/18). But one player with
"star breakout potential" is Cammi Granato, who has been
featured in ads for Nike and AT&T. AT&T spokesperson Burke
Stinson: "She struck gold twice today, once on the ice and
second in her speaking fees and general appeal to
advertisers." Steiner Sports Marketing's Brandon Steiner:
"She's already become a real icon for women and hockey.
We'll be contacting her" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/18). AT&T took
out a full-page ad in USA TODAY featuring a photo of Granato
practicing at the age of ten (USA TODAY, 2/18).
WHERE FORE ART THOU? In Denver, Bob Kravitz called the
women's team the American "hockey team that cares." Kravitz
reported that the U.S. men's team had a meal/meeting
scheduled during the women's game, while the Canadian men's
team supported their women counterparts. Kravitz: "It's a
terrible shame most of the U.S. men missed the women's gold-
medal effort because that's as close as the American guys
will get to a hockey gold" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 2/18).
Michael Wilbon in DC and Helene Elliott in L.A. also noted
the men's absence in their columns (2/18).
COVERAGE: The women's win was noted on the CBS, NBC and
ABC nightly news on Tuesday and garnered front-page
attention from the Washington Post, Hartford Courant, N.Y.
Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and S.F. Chronicle (THE DAILY).
CBS REVIEWS: CBS covered the game during "CBS This
Morning" and recapped the action with Bryant Gumbel during
its primetime broadcast. In K.C., Greg Hall writes that CBS
"told viewers a classic story that most knew the ending to
but were eager to experience. CBS did it very well" (K.C.
STAR, 2/18). The WALL STREET JOURNAL gives CBS a "gold
medal" for putting the game on air "as near to real time as
possible" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/18). In N.Y., Richard
Sandomir writes that CBS "served its audience far better
than NBC did two years ago ... when it gave embarrassingly
short shrift to the break-out" women's sports (N.Y. TIMES,
2/18). But in Philadelphia, Lynn Zinser writes CBS "tried
to hack" the game "to death" by "whacking huge chunks of
action out of the early morning showing" and having a "lame
recap" in primetime (DAILY NEWS, 2/18). CBS execs are
"expecting" ratings for the women's win "to be higher than
those generated by the men's games" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/18).
FUN WITH DAVE: On the "Late Show," David Letterman's
"Top Ten Cool Things About Winning A Gold Medal" was read,
via satellite, by members of the U.S. Women's team. No. 6)
Now that you've proven you're the best, you can sit on your
ass and watch T.V.; No. 3) Get to take slap shots at the
Spice Girls; No. 2) The Canadian Snowboarding team sends
over some delicious homemade brownies ("Late Show," 2/17).
