2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships schedule on NBC and NBC Universal

Quick! Name the top U.S. women’s figure skater … No, I can’t either. It’s not like it used to be when Kristi Yamaguchi, Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen were household names. I’m told that’s Rachel Flatt we’ve got pictured here, but I couldn’t pick her out of a two-person lineup. Anyway, the only way for the new batch of unknown skaters to get some real recognition is by skating in major events in front of a national TV audience. NBC and Universal Sports have coverage of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships from Greensboro, N.C.,  Jan. 29-30. With there being no real football on (the Pro Bowl doesn’t count), it might be nice to surrender the remote to the wife or GF and score some sensitivity points. Here’s the schedule and release from NBC, including comments from analyst Scott Hamilton:

NBC SPORTS PRESENTS 7 HOURS OF LIVE COVERAGE OF THE 2011 U.S. FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
NBC to Broadcast 7 Hours Live Including Saturday Primetime Coverage of Ladies Free Skate
Universal Sports To Reair NBC Sports Programs
NBC Sports presents seven hours of live coverage of the 2011 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships this Saturday (3-6 p.m., ET and 9-11 p.m., ET) and Sunday (4-6 p.m., ET) from Greensboro, N.C. All of the defending U.S. champions – Rachel Flatt (Ladies), Jeremy Abbott (Men’s), Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett (Pairs) and Meryl Davis and Charlie White (Dance) – are among nine athletes from the 2010 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating team that will compete.

The U.S. Figure Skating Championships, held annually since 1914, is the nation’s most prestigious figure skating event. Coverage of the event will include seven live hours of senior-level competition in the ladies and men’s singles, pairs and ice dancing, with two hours in primetime plus the two-hour Smuckers Skating Spectacular, an exhibition of champions on Saturday, Feb. 5. The championships will in part serve to select the 2011 U.S. team for the World Championships taking place in March, 2011 in Japan.

NBC’s Olympic figure skating broadcast team of Tom Hammond (play-by-play), Scott Hamilton (analyst), Sandra Bezic (analyst), Tracy Wilson (analyst) and Andrea Joyce (reporter) will call the action from the Greensboro Coliseum.

COVERAGE ON NBC SPORTS:
Saturday, 3-6 p.m. ET – Pairs Free Skate (Live), Free Dance (Live), Ladies Short (Tape)
Saturday, 9-11 p.m. ET – Ladies Free Skate (Live)
Sunday, 4-6 p.m. ET – Men’s Free Skate (Live), Men’s Short (Tape)
Saturday, Feb. 5, 2:30-4:30 p.m. ET – Smuckers Skating Spectacular – U.S. Figure Skating Exhibition

UNIVERSAL SPORTS COVERAGE: Universal Sports, will rebroadcast the NBC Sports programs (all times ET):
Saturday, 6-9 p.m. ET – Pairs Free Skate, Ladies Short, Free Dance
Saturday, 11 p.m.-1:00 a.m. ET- Ladies Free Skate
Sunday, 6-8 p.m. ET – Men’s Free Skate

HAMILTON ON WINNING THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: “To win your national championship is gigantic. You are the representative of your country and No. 1 in your field. The only thing that compares is winning a World Championship or an Olympic gold medal.”

HAMILTON ON THE COMPETITION
LADIES: “My goodness, the ladies competition is going to be fun to watch. The last three national champions are going head-to-head with Rachel Flatt defending her title, Alissa Czisny, the 2009 champion who is having an outstanding season, and Mirai Nagasu, the 2008 champion who finished second last year.”
MEN: “The men’s event will be cool to see who will line up and challenge two-time defending champion Jeremy Abbott. There are a lot of up-and-coming skaters like Brandon Mroz, who took second last year, Adam Rippon and Ryan Bradley.”
PAIRS: “Caydee and Jeremy have switched pros. They are with (former U.S. champion) John Zimmerman now so it will be very interesting to see how different they are skating in defending their title.”
DANCE: “The veterans are coming back. Two-time champions Charlie and Meryl are going to have a great year. They should win here and go into the World Championships as a heavy favorite.”