HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Nick Holdsworth reports Russian-American broadcaster Vladimir Pozner will "join Bob Costas on NBC's late news show" throughout the '14 Sochi Games. It will mark "the first time" that Ponzer will cover the Olympics for a U.S. network. His job will be to "give U.S. viewers insight into the Russian perspective on the social and political events surrounding the games." Pozner said of Russia's anti-gay laws, "My job is to comment on the way the games are seen by the Russians. ... My role is not to support the Russian viewpoint, but to explain it -- not to advocate it" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 12/11).
THE BIG SHOW: Radio host Dan Patrick is featured in the January issue of ESQUIRE magazine, and touches on his time at ESPN alongside Keith Olbermann. Patrick said, "I think Keith and I invented having fun with highlights. We weren’t afraid to get in trouble. ... We’d show up and say, "'Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver.' You know, say hello to management. ... And then we’d go upstairs and have some fun." He added, "Sometimes I thought Keith liked friction. He almost liked it when he was not happy. Comedians and artists, they always seem conflicted. Keith falls in that camp in that there’s that edge, that rawness to him. You almost want him a little angry and irritable" (ESQUIRE, 1/ '14 issue).
SECOND STRING: In Buffalo, Alan Pergament writes it was "nice to hear" CBS' Don Criqui back on TV this past Sunday, "calling the New England Patriots' improbable last-minute win over the Cleveland Browns." Criqui "wasn't expected to do any CBS games this season, but he was brought in to do the game after play-by-play man Bill Macatee couldn't do his assignment" when weather problems prevented him from getting out of Dallas (BUFFALO NEWS, 12/11).
WHATCHA COOKIN'? In Boston, Shanahan & Goldstein report NESN "will announce any day that Billy Costa and Jenny Johnson will cohost a new weekly show starting in February." The show "will combine food and sports, and will air on Saturdays" at 11:30am ET. It will include "restaurant reviews and cooking demonstrations, as well as occasional sports-related segments, such as athletes' favorite places to eat" (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 12/11).
