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Tonya Harding Vrs Nancy Kerrigan
February 16, 2014 on NBC Don't Miss
Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding together interview 20 Years Later And Nancey will talk about her New Book Title "Breaking The Ice" (Why-Me) And Tonya Harding will talk about her New Book as Well Title "Whack Her"
Tonya Harding And Nancy Kerrigan: How The Scandal Changed Olympic Skating.. But the biggest story all over the globe was the hideous attack on Kerrigan, a demure daughter of a Boston welder who, it turns out, was whacked by an associate of Jeff Gillooly, the ex-husband of her arch-rival, Tonya Harding.
Olympics: Connie Chung on Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding and the Whack That Changed TV
Mary Carrillo, Neal Pilson and other television players remember the Winter Games' most engrossing scandal.
Talk about a scandal triple axel: On Jan. 6, 1994, figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed in the knee, rival Tonya Harding and her husband were implicated, and both ladies still managed to compete in the Lillehammer Winter Olympics. Now, 20 years later with the Sochi Games almost underway, the television players of that time recount the madness, comedy and how that incident became the final turning point in TV's tabloidization.
Connie Chung
The CBS News anchor on scoring the first network interview with Harding.
What happened on Jan. 6, 1994, not only changed the pristine fairy-tale world of figure skating -- where pretty little girls twirl, jump and glide to the delight of audiences -- it also changed the American news media.
Nancy Kerrigan, the beautiful Snow White skating princess poised for Olympic gold, was violently clubbed in the knee with a metal bar by a burly thug. It was a shock not only to the dark-haired beauty but to the news media, which saw her as their darling. She screamed and cried, "Why, why, why?" as the goon and his partner ran. One of the hapless pair even used his head (not the metal bar!) to bash a glass door to escape.
We would soon learn the caper was hatched by the husband of Nancy's Olympic gold rival, Tonya Harding. She was the fairy tale's ugly duckling, a frizzy-haired athletic skater from the wrong side of the tracks. Tonya's husband, with the unusual name of Jeff Gillooly, had physically abused her as had, she alleged, her night-shift waitress mother. But Tonya had moxie. She was a feisty, driven toughie fueled by guts, not grace.
What emerged was a sordid tale that played out like a bad TV movie, rife with Shakespearean themes: love, hate, lust and betrayal. Love of skating -- skating was Tonya's life. Hate for Nancy -- the perfect angel in Vera Wang tutus. Lust for fame and fortune -- Tonya's path to a new life. Betrayal of her teammate -- Tonya betrayed the spirit of the Olympics.
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I was just anointed my ultimate dream job: sitting in Walter Cronkite's anchor chair on the CBS Evening News. Actually, I was sitting in half of Uncle Walter's chair: I was the first woman to co-anchor the CBS Evening News, the flagship broadcast.
I had been on the coveted anchor desk for six months, savoring the important stories: anchoring the White House signing ceremony of the historic Israeli-Palestinian (Rabin-Arafat) accord; interviewing President Clinton about NAFTA before it was passed and signed into law; and getting the first interview with U.S. Army Pilot Michael Durant, who survived after he was dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. Two U.S. Black Hawk choppers had been shot down. Almost 100 Americans were killed or wounded in the Battle of Mogadishu.
CBS had bought the 1994 Winter Olympics for a pretty penny. A controversy at the Olympic figure skating competition -- the most-watched sport at the Winter Games -- would be a ratings winner. CBS had a vested interest in covering and hyping the story.
I drew the short straw.
Soon I found myself on a plane to Portland, Ore., to dog Tonya and her ne'er-do-well associates who attempted to sabotage Nancy's path to the gold.
It was not fun being with the hordes of media at the Clackamas Town Center Mall, a shopping mall in Happy Valley, a suburb of Portland. The mall was where Tonya practiced. It was a very public rink. Anyone could watch -- and they did. Cameras from all over the world parachuted into Happy Valley … from Japan and Australia and, of course, the Brits arrived, too. It was a delicious tabloid story. Even the venerable New York Times stood side by side with the National Enquirer. It was then I knew that a dramatic change had shaken the news business: Sensational overtook significant events.
I found myself staring down a steep eight-foot wall to a large rink below me trying to get a word with skating's bad girl as she circled around the rink. "Tonya! Tonya!" I beckoned her to come to my camera. But what swirled in my head was, "Can you imagine Walter Cronkite in his deep, serious voice, 'Tonya, Tonya … come over here, Tonya!' " I don't think so.
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Sure, I had covered many silly stories, but with my new job, I thought those days were over. I was thoroughly embarrassed toddling along with Tonya to the Games in Norway, angling for an interview. She was recalcitrant but finally agreed to a one-on-one in Lillehammer before the competition. During the interview, she handled the questions as deftly as a seasoned politician, refusing to discuss the dastardly act against Nancy. Then, apparently fed up with my repeated attempts to talk about the attack, she suddenly yanked off her microphone and walked out, just like a petulant Capitol Hill insider.
The Harding/Kerrigan saga was one of the first feeding-frenzy stories that would forever change news coverage.
Welcome to the new world of hype and getting the "gets," newsroom parlance for the cutthroat competition for the big interview, the hot celebrity, the tell-all tattler du jour. It's where the supermarket tabloids, morning wake-up programs, afternoon talk shows, tabloid TV shows and even the network news broadcasts collide in a mad scramble for an exclusive that will sell papers and draw viewers.
The feeding frenzy -- glomming on to an unworthy story -- became the diet of the day. Less than five months later, the O.J. Simpson murder story broke, and the news business has never been the same.
The Law & Order showrunner was forced to make the skating saga a "ripped from the headlines" episode.
This came up at the end of the season, which is when you start running out of story ideas. Word had come from on high that the then head of NBC, Don Ohlmeyer, wanted us to do the Harding-Kerrigan story. Not a surprising idea for a guy who came out of the sports division.
It's not a news story we would have naturally drifted to -- it all seemed petty and maladroit. And it had the usual pitfall of episodes about famous athletes, namely, you can't cast the actual famous athlete nor use the famous athlete's name, and whomever you end up casting will be a total klutz at the sport their character is supposed to be known for -- so from the get-go, the story feels false. Unless of course you cast a famous actor, which, for budgetary reasons, wasn't going to happen on this episode.
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But like I said, it was the end of the season, we were tapped out, and after all, this was a request from the head of the network.
So co-writer Michael Chernuchin and I went to work. The first thing we did was relocate the story from the world of diva figure skaters to the world of diva tennis players -- changes urged on us by the legal department and by our budget-conscious line producer. Things went downhill from there.
Michael and I never considered "Doubles" to be one of our finest hours. But the episode has a 7-out-of-10 rating on IMDb, so what do we know?
One thing the episode did teach us: Some headlines are better left unripped.
Verne Lundquist
Tonya Harding Vrs Nancy Kerrigan
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Scott Hamilton & Kristi Yamaguchi talk about Yuna Kim & Mao Asada
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Ariel Helwani confirmed on UFC Tonight that Michelle Waterson ‘The Karate Hottie’ has officially signed with The UFC.
The former Invicta FC 105lbs Champion has a professional record of 12-4. In her last fight Waterson lost the Atomweight belt to Herica Tiburcio via submission at Invicta FC 10.
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The former Invicta FC 105lbs Champion has a professional record of 12-4. In her last fight Waterson lost the Atomweight belt to Herica Tiburcio via submission at Invicta FC 10.
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Alysa Liu, 13, youngest to win U.S. women's figure skating title
DETROIT -- Alysa Liu was already a phenom. Now she's a national champion at age 13.
Liu stole the show Friday night, breezing through a free skate that included two triple axels and dethroning 2018 winner Bradie Tennell at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Liu became the youngest winner of an individual title at this event, and after her score was posted, she put her hands over her face, overcome with emotion .
"I was just happy that I beat my personal record, and I did a clean long program," Liu said.
Liu had already landed a triple axel in the short program Thursday, and she was in second place behind Tennell entering Friday. Tennell fell during her long program, and Liu, skating immediately after, seized the opportunity. Her first triple axel was in combination with a double toe loop. Then she landed another triple axel, and by the time she finished her performance -- set to "Witches of Eastwick" by John Williams -- she was beaming.
Tara Lipinski was the youngest women's champion at nationals after winning at age 14 in 1997, and Scott Allen also was 14 when he won in 1964. Now a commentator with NBC, Lipinski was there Friday when her record fell.
"Records are made to be broken," Lipinski said afterward. "It is quite an honor that she is the one to do it. What a phenomenal talent."
Earlier Friday, Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue took a step toward
defending their ice dancing title, finishing atop the standings after
the rhythm dance. Hubbell and Donohue will compete for their second
straight national championship in the free dance Saturday. Madison Chock and Evan Bates were second after the rhythm dance, followed by Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker. The
ice dancing competition was one of the most anticipated events of the
week, in part because the top teams have plenty of ties to Michigan.
Hubbell was born in Michigan, and she and Donohue used to train there.
Chock and Bates are from Michigan as well. Those two teams now train in Montreal under the same coaches -- with Hawayek and Baker there too. "We're
pretty lucky that we get to train with the best in the world," Donohue
said. "We're pushing each other. ... We've got such a unique, incredible
atmosphere where we all love each other; we all want to beat each
other."
The women's competition was without several big names, with Karen Chen, Mirai Nagasu and Gracie Gold all missing it for various reasons. Now Liu looks like she could provide a boost for American figure skating. The U.S. hasn't won an Olympic medal in women's figure skating since 2006. "To handle the pressure like she did, and to push the technical envelope as far as she's pushing it, at such a young age, is truly mind blowing," Lipinski said. "I think she's the future of U.S. ladies' figure skating." The U.S. nationals are being held in Detroit for the first time in 25 years. The 1994 event is best remembered for the attack on Nancy Kerrigan after a practice, but there was a 13-year-old who shined that year too -- Michelle Kwan, who finished second. The 4-foot, 7-inch Liu had already turned heads in August, when she became the youngest woman to land a triple axel in international competition. On Friday, she showed poise and ability on a big stage, although international stardom might have to wait a bit. Under the current age restriction, she's not even eligible to compete at worlds until 2022.
"I'm not too worried about that part," Liu said. "Because I get more time to work on my jumps, skating skills, spins and just trying to learn more."
Liu received a score of 217.51. Tennell finished second at 213.59, and Mariah Bell was third. Bell was the only skater left after Liu, and she fell during her routine. Tennell stepped out of a triple loop in a combination early in her program, and she fell attempting a triple lutz. "Obviously, it wasn't my best skate, and I'm disappointed," Tennell said. "There's always something to be learned from skates like this, so I'm excited to get back home and work harder than ever to fix what I made mistakes on."
LLC 501C- 4 UCC 1-308.ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WITHOUT PREJUDICE
The women's competition was without several big names, with Karen Chen, Mirai Nagasu and Gracie Gold all missing it for various reasons. Now Liu looks like she could provide a boost for American figure skating. The U.S. hasn't won an Olympic medal in women's figure skating since 2006. "To handle the pressure like she did, and to push the technical envelope as far as she's pushing it, at such a young age, is truly mind blowing," Lipinski said. "I think she's the future of U.S. ladies' figure skating." The U.S. nationals are being held in Detroit for the first time in 25 years. The 1994 event is best remembered for the attack on Nancy Kerrigan after a practice, but there was a 13-year-old who shined that year too -- Michelle Kwan, who finished second. The 4-foot, 7-inch Liu had already turned heads in August, when she became the youngest woman to land a triple axel in international competition. On Friday, she showed poise and ability on a big stage, although international stardom might have to wait a bit. Under the current age restriction, she's not even eligible to compete at worlds until 2022.
"I'm not too worried about that part," Liu said. "Because I get more time to work on my jumps, skating skills, spins and just trying to learn more."
Liu received a score of 217.51. Tennell finished second at 213.59, and Mariah Bell was third. Bell was the only skater left after Liu, and she fell during her routine. Tennell stepped out of a triple loop in a combination early in her program, and she fell attempting a triple lutz. "Obviously, it wasn't my best skate, and I'm disappointed," Tennell said. "There's always something to be learned from skates like this, so I'm excited to get back home and work harder than ever to fix what I made mistakes on."
LLC 501C- 4 UCC 1-308.ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WITHOUT PREJUDICE
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