NBC Sports and Universal Sports Will Broadcast Paralympic Winter Games Coverage

We spent more than three weeks lambasting NBC for the way it handled the Winter Olympics coverage, so it's only fair to laud them for their decision to broadcast highlights of the Paralympic Winter Games on their multitude of media platforms. Per the network's release:

NBC Sports and Universal Sports announced today the multiplatform broadcast coverage of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games presented by GE. Coverage on NBC Sports will include a one-hour program recapping the Opening Ceremony on Saturday, March 13 (1-2 p.m. ET) and a two-hour highlights program on Saturday, April 10 (3-5 p.m. ET).

In addition to the coverage on NBC Sports, Universal Sports will broadcast a nightly two-hour show for nine straight nights dedicated to the daily competition of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games starting on Monday, March 15 at 6 p.m. ET (re-air at 11 p.m. ET) and continuing nightly through Tuesday, March 23.

The official site of the U.S. Paralympic team – www.usparalympics.org – will also have daily video highlights of the competition in Vancouver. We've known for a long time that NBC views the Olympics as far more human interest than sports, so it's great to see the network showcase athletes who have had to face some real adversity in their lives. And let's face it, while fans of curling gave so much attention to John Shuster's performance that his last name became a trending topic – and a derisive term to illustrate choking under pressure – we now have the opportunity to do the same for the likes of Augusto "Goose" Perez, a former college soccer player who lost his leg after three different bouts with cancer. He may no longer have that leg, but he's definitely still an athlete.
 

Perez is one of a host of U.S. Paralympians competing in Vancouver (for a full list, click here). The NBC release indicates that 600 athletes from approximately 40 countries will compete in the five Paralympic Winter sports: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross country skiing, sled hockey and wheelchair curling. A report in Canadian publication The Providence states that Vancouver will be host to around 1,350 athletes from 43 different countries this week. Perhaps a metric conversion?

Regardless of the number of athletes, much like Vancouver was for the Olympic Winter Games, the city seems fully behind the Paralympic Games as well. The sled hockey games – for team Canada, at least – have sold out the 6,000-seat arena at University of B.C. The curling final is also sold out. And the athletes seem to feel more a part of these games than in previous Games, too.

"I've been to two Paralympics and you always get that feeling of being part of the [Olympic] aftermath," says Billy Bridges, the 25-year-old sledge hockey forward. "We're the hangover after the Olympics. But here it doesn't feel like that. The entire city is booming with Canada pride and it's great to see. Everyone here knows about the Paralympics. I'm excited to see how it will turn around and be different from the past."

The event begins this weekend with a recap of the Opening Ceremonies to be broadcast by NBC on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.