Less than a week into our latest international nightmare, accidents, mishaps and problems in Sochi continue to fuel theories that this year’s games are some kind of payback for the sins of man.
From the competition’s botched opening ceremonies to dual occupancy for every toilet stall, the 2014 Winter Olympics has become ground zero for all sorts of fail. Now, Sochi has added “benching Bob Costas” and “trapping competitors in an elevator” to its list of meme-worthy topics.
TVMix has the latest from the Hellmouth Russia:
Costas is out, Lauer is in
On Tuesday, The Los Angeles Times reported that NBC is replacing Bob Costas with The Today Show’s Matt Lauer as the network’s on-air commentator for the 2014 Winter Games.
Costas recently became infected with a blight-level case of pink eye – in both eyes – and is now on bed rest.
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In a statement, Costas said: “As a practical matter, I simply couldn’t do my job because my eyes had become so blurry, watery and sensitive to light. I’m hopeful the symptoms will improve in the next couple of days and I can return to the broadcast. Also, the last thing I want is to go through the rest of my life owing Matt Lauer a bunch of favors.”
On Monday, the veteran sports reporter attempted to carry on with his duties despite his infection, but NBC brass decided to send in Lauer to relieve him. Since 1988, Costas has been a cornerstone of NBC’s prime-time coverage of the Olympics. He has covered every single Olympic Games since 2000 without incident. Nevertheless, there’s no word on when or how he ended up living with the characters Jason Segel and Jonah Hill play in Knocked Up, which undoubtedly led to him contracting pink eye.
Meanwhile, for Lauer’s sake, we hoped he packed a carry-on full of epi-pens and one of the suits from Outbreak — although obviously not the one that Dustin Hoffman accidentally ripped.
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Team USA bobsledders now stuck in an elevator
After Hulk-smashing his way out of a locked bathroom last weekend, ABC News reported that bobsledder Johnny Quinn found himself trapped yet again in another confined space on Tuesday.
Via Twitter, Quinn and fellow Team USA member Nick Cunningham chronicled their imprisonment in a busted elevator. Thankfully, both Quinn and Cunningham weren’t trapped for long, and were soon released.
Bobsledders seem to be a primary target for Sochi’s dubious living accommodations. Last Sunday, UK Olympic hopeful Rebekah Wilson tweeted that she almost fell down an open elevator shaft.
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That said, photos of journalists’ broken, rundown and just plain unfinished quarters continues to stack up, hopefully pointing towards an esprit de corps among those who are suffering in order to compete, or cover, the Olympic games. It’s starting to seem as if all of the money of the games’ hefty $50 billion price tag might not have made it into the hands of contractors and builders who were assigned the responsibility of providing modern, livable quarters for visiting athletes and other attendees.
Keep up with all of the latest developments at the 2014 Winter Olympics (including the next internet meme) on Russia’s Rossiya 24 on FilmOn:
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SOURCE: TVMix.com
