good morning. golden guy. american snow border sage katzenberg riding high today after winning the first gold of these games. >> today is a good day. i'm so stoked. i can't put into words how excited i am. >> breathtaking moves in the first-ever slope style event. this morning he's here to reflect on his life-changing victory. hanna's heart break. >> wanted that gold medal and i skied for it, but i made a huge mistake. >> skier hanna kearney can't

hide her disappointment as two sisters from canada take the gold and silver. we'll talk to all of them live. and eyes on the prize. an all star lineup announced for tonight's olympic team skating competition. gracie gold, jason brown, and charlie white set to take to the ice all hoping that they'll be able to help team usa win a coveted medal. today is sunday, february 9th, 2014. this is a special edition of "today" at the olympic winter games. with lester holt. live from olympic park in sochi, russia. and erica hill live from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza. >> and good morning. welcome to a special split

edition of "today." the olympic flame burning brightly here in sochi. i'm lester holt in sochi. it's been an amazing first few days of events here. have you guys had a chance to watch much of it? >> we were actually just talking about that this morning, and good morning, lester. there was a lot to watch yesterday and it felt like things were kicking off with a bang. we had a couple of great medals, but just fun watching. >> the skating and the biathlon. >> the slope style. that's insane. >> we wouldn't be allowed to try that for insurance purposes. it was so fun to watch though. >> that's so crazy. in a lot of these sports, they don't get a lot of attention except every four years. listen, the medal count is rising thanks to some events that happened this morning. now is our time to tell you we're giving you a spoiler alert. if you want to wait to see all the action in primetime tonight,

turn away and turn down the volume for just a few minutes. here we go. let's bring in keir simmons now to tell us about the exciting day so far. >> how are you doing? putting your hands over your ears and close your eyes if you don't want to know what happened. more drama on the ice for ashley wagner. and a double medal in the slope style. gold for team usa this morning. jamie anderson winning slope style. but bode miller finishing a disappointing eighth. in the women's moguls, competition, a problem for hannah kearney. instead it was a sister act. just teen and chloe winning gold and silver. celebrating together on the podium.

ashley wagner looked visibly tense. nerves that fell away as she danced. an incredible comeback. >> the nerves really hit me. being an olympics, that began to sunk in. >> this was her before and after the mark. and a stunning performance by a 15-year-old russian. >> wow. >> she's a wonder. >> it is slope style. >> the biggest star of these games so far, 20-year-old american snow border sage katzenberg. >> that right there, ladies and gentlemen, is how you do it. >> making high-pressure jumps. >> when i landed, i was just like what just happened? i had no clue. it was like i blacked out when i landed. >> but so laid back. >> he's chewing gum in an olympic final. >> winning the first gold of the

games for team usa. the first time that's happened since 1952. there has been one small little glitch. the men's downhill was delayed by 15 minutes after how can i put this, the gondola got stuck. but there's no stopping the excitement. there's ski jumping, more team figure skating. lots more to come today. >> and there's music that started just as we went on the air at 5:00 russian time. enjoy the music. keir simmons, thanks very much. one more quick spoiler alert. here's where we stand this morning with the medal count. norway in the lead with six medals including two golds. the u.s. is next in line with three medals, two gold as well. and canada and the netherlands have also won three medals a piece so far. now, come back. all right. spoiler alert's over. we can get to bring in the 20-year-old american who will go down in history as the first person to ever win a gold in the slope style event. sage katzenberg had an

incredible run on saturday. even trying out a trick he'd never done before. good to see you. >> good to see you too. >> i saw you two weeks ago and i said do you want a medal. you said no i want to take in the experience. this has to feel cool. >> yeah. this is not a bad token to come home with. all those practices you were giving me in aspen are paying off now. >> you were coaching me on the snow board which now i can say i was coached by an olympian. that is heavy. i want you to take a leap. seen a clip from his brother and his friends as they were watching. take a look at this. . >> here comes the score.

>> you talked to your brother right before the run. >> yeah, actually, i talked to my brother right before the run. i didn't know what tricks i was going to do in the last jump. i said i may do a 1620 japan. he said you ever tried that before? no, not a chance i've tried that before. so i just winged it in my run and ended up landing it. >> was it because you had seen the other come pet petitors ando ramp it up? >> yeah. not many were doing 1620. i ended up doing a 1620 and stomping it on the last jump. >> it was so great seeing you on the podium last night getting your medal. congratulations, sage. great to see you. >> thank you, lester. >> and thank you for the snow boarding tips. i'm still sore but that's another story. i'm glad to say i'm surrounded by more hoping to win gold. hannah kearney fell a little

short, but she did take the bronze winning the usa's second medal of the games. great to see you. >> thank you. >> how many times have you now lived that run since last night? >> too many probably. i'm trying to move forward, but when you make a mistake that costs you a medal, it's very hard to get over. i'm working on it. and i'm seeing the roadway play right now. there are things i'm proud of. that trick was executed, that was not. >> but that's the way to look at it. at that very moment you knew. >> yeah. it happened so quickly i almost wasn't sure what happened. i know i can thank my strength coaches for getting me into shape so i could pull it back in. >> i know you were very emotional yesterday. and i saw an interview you had done after the run where you talked about retiring, this being your last olympics. but now you put a question mark on it. you want to get back on that horse, don't you? >> it's easy to announce your retirement when you're at the top and everything is going according to plan, when it doesn't, it makes you hungry.

and of course i think i yelled to my brother when i was on the podium, four more years. i got this. i feel strong. i want to keep competing. i can officially say this will be my last olympics. >> you can. so the presence of mind you had, even after you had the bobble to get back into your rhythm was impressive. >> thank you. i guess that's a testament to my mental strength. when i view it from that perspective, yes, it was a success. i'm honored to have won the bronze despite having a mistake. >> do you think you put too much pressure on yourself? >> i'd like to say the pressure is made up. it's how you handle it. of course i read too much articles saying hannah is the favorite. it's hard to be the favorite. i've experienced both sides of it. i don't think there's anything i would have done differently. i've prepared for this moment and walk away with a medal. >> you've given us a lot of thrills. hope you got some rest. >> thank you. i will in the future.

>> all right. hannah, kearney, thanks. let's go back to new york with erica. >> thanks. we are following a big weather story in the northwest where relentless snow and ice are impacting millions. dylan, what's the latest? >> well, erica, it is just down right dangerous in parts of the northwest. there's more people dealing with more snow in a few days than they've seen in years. take a look at this video. there were 600 crashes in oregon alone. you have an suv pulling this huge mack truck. and this is a sight they are not used to. with more snow in the forecast, it's going to keep the roads slippery. now head further south, but california is getting inches of it. homes and highways were flooded north of san francisco. and this is a type of pattern that's going to set up that brings up to perhaps 9 to 11 inches in some parts of california. that is still, believe it or not, not going to help with the drought. we need more and more of this

type of rain to help with the conditions out that way. winter storm warnings and advisories a little further to the east. but it's this year near santa rosa and san francisco where we are going to see this stream of moisture. it is called the pineapple express because it does originate from up there. so we are going to see more rainfall in this area especially through san francisco this morning. and we could see as much as two 2 to 3 inches of rainfall and as much as 2 feet of snow in some of the california mountains. erica? >> they'll take any drop they can get at this point. thanks. we'll have dylan's full forecast in a minute. first we want to get you caught up on the morning's other top stories. >> good morning. hi, everyone. come monday morning, the justice department will extend a new package of federal benefits to same-sex couples. attorney general eric holder

announced saturday that same-sex marriages will be recognized as equal to traditional marriages in all federal legal matters. the benefits will also apply to gay couples in states that do not recognize same-sex marriage. violence in russia this morning. a gunman opened fire in a cathedral in the pacific killing a nun and a parishioner and wounding six others. there is no apparent link to the winter games in sochi. nearly 9 million pounds of beef and veal products from the california company rancho feeding cooperation are being recalled. the meat came from diseased and unsound animals. the agency also classified the health risk as high. sticks and stones may break your bones, but shoving isn't good either. with six seconds left in this game between oklahoma state and texas, marcus smart shoved not another player, a texas fan. the fan was later identified as jeff ore who's been called texas

tech's number one's fan. mouthed off to smart, smart received a technical foul. but he was not ejected from the game. after years of wondering if they would do it, the westminster kennel club finally added agility to their competition. wouldn't you know it, a border collie won. kelso beat out more than 200 dogs saturday night. for the first time since the 1800s, mutts were allowed to mingle amongst the purebreds. a husky mix took home the award for top mutt. the agility competition not to be confused with best in show competition which airs monday on nbc and tuesday on the usa network hosted by our very own erica hill. >> that's right. i'm excited this year. i'm joining david frye from the kennel club to host the event.

big doings, as my aunt would say. >> i like the ginormous faced dogs. you know about this mastiff? >> minor detail. not only does dylan know about the mastiff, she also knows about the weather. >> i do. and we'll get right to that. we've got some snow and ice warnings possible through parts of arkansas and into the south once again. again, this is mostly for monday and tuesday with winter storm watches in effect. watch this line here. we were focused on atlanta with the last time they had snow. you can see that rain/snow line is sitting to the south of atlanta. this is something we'll keep an eye on. couple of inches of snow possible unless this shifts to the north. we are going to see perhaps as much to in the bay area we're watching this flash flood watch up for the north bay counties

through 3:00 this afternoon where heavy rain could cause localized flooding along creeks and streams. in napa and vallejo, seeing some fairly steady downpours, just scattered showers for now around the south bay. that will change as this next wave of moisture comes in and the front finally drops out of the north bay and spills towards the south bay for the afternoon. highs today upper 50s around san jose. steady rain at times into the north bay. clearing skies for this evening. that is your latest forecast. erica? >> thanks. ask pretty much any athlete in sochi and chances are they will tell you they never could have made it to the olympics without the support of their parents. support that often involved a lot of sacrifice. but the father of the youngest member of the u.s. luge team really pulled out all the steps to nurture his son's olympic dreams building a luge course in the family's back yard. and the rest is really history. >> reporter: 18-year-old tucker west is living his dream. the youngest-ever member of the

u.s. olympic luge team, west's road to sochi started in his back yard. >> it showed me i loved the sport. >> reporter: an idea of his father's sparked by the 2002 salt lake city games when tucker was just six. >> we were watching the luge and i said to tucker does that look like fun. is that something you'd like to try. >> i thought it was a cool idea. we built our own track in the yard. but eventually it turned into 700 foot long wooden track. >> reporter: hiss path to the games has come with great sacrifice. but he says the payoff is well worth it. >> this has been my dream since i can remember. so to finally be here, it's pretty awesome. dream come true. >> reporter: a long shot for a medal, for west it's more than winning gold, silver, or bronze. it's a chance to thank his father. >> i'm honored to be able to

make had him proud like that. touches my heart. >> reporter: the man who a dozen years ago gave a little boy the chance to achieve his olympic dream. >> such a great story. so after two rounds at this point, tucker is 23rd in the standing. really now it's just about being there. we should point out his dad is not just focused on helping him in his chosen sport. he also would like to play match maker for tucker. take a look. >> i want to say to all the young ladies out there, tucker is very single. he's a little shy, so you have to reach out to him. and you can do that through facebook. his page team tucker. and the neat part is, he's such a good kid. everyone who posts there, he always gives back a personal response. >> i mean, who could beat that? jenna is horrified right now. >> if my dad went on tv and said jenna is extremely single, that would pretty much sever ties. >> like, dad. >> he's adorable.

>> he is. >> he's so cute. >> that's so sweet. >> i think it's lovely. so tucker, we wish you the best. if you would like to send him a message, #teamtucker. we have all the links on our website today.com. we'd love to hear all about it. still to come at this point -- >> i think he's great. wonderful. >> now that we cleared that up, jenna is totally hash tagging tucker. coming up we'll talk with the sisters who won the gold and silver in the moguls competition. that's coming up after this. [woman]ask me... [announcer]...if you think the best bed for one of you might be a compromise for the other one... [woman]ask me about our tempur-pedic. [announcer] they're sleeping on the newest tempur-pedic bed... the new tempur choice... [man]two people.two remotes. [announcer] firmness settings for the head,legs,and back... and with tempur on top,that famous tempur-pedic comfort

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team canada is pretty proud this morning of two team members who won gold and silver in the same event. that's not all. the women who finished one-two in the freestyle moguls are sisters, only the third pair of sisters in winter olympic history to win gold and silver in the same event. their other sister competed as well, justine, chloe and maxine dufour-lapoint, nice to have you all here. >> thank you. >> you'll get your medals here in the official. last night they had you on the podium. i don't care what country you were rooting for, we were all moved watching for the two of you. what was that like? >> it was so amazing, crazy amazing. i was in shock, just going to that podium, it was just a thrill for me and a dream come true. >> with your big sister. >> with i checked to my side,

there was my sister. it was so beautiful. i held her hand and said, you know, you live that moment together. it was incredible. >> you guys are obviously very close. at the end of the day you're competitors. how do you balance that, chloe? >> we grew up together in the same sport. since we are kids we are able to manage that. also it comes from our parents who support the fact that we were in the same sport. they always told us to have a healthy competition and be proud of what you've done. it's an individual sport. if you don't do a good job on the course, it's your fault and not your sister's. >> seeing the bond, how do you feel about your kid sister getting the gold, maxine? >> just an amazing feeling. i was doing my media run when i saw that my sisters were making the podium. and i was like, okay, we got to stop this. i jumped over the fence. i ran to see them. it's an exciting moment because we've been training -- we're

always training together. this is a journey we've walked side by side. it was a dream come true for the three of us to be at the olympics, become olympians, and now we just reached another level of them being champions. >> we are all looking forward to watching you later this evening when the canadian flag is raised and you two are there together. thanks so much for coming on. congratulations. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> enjoyed having you here. can the med americans win gold tonight. [ clears throat ] honey? uh-huh? ♪ [ female announcer ] this valentine's day, spend less time communicating... happy valentine's day. [ female announcer ] ...and more time...connecting. with the charmed memories collection... [ gasps ] [ female announcer ] ...at kay jewelers. featuring nfl, collegiate, disney and hello kitty charms.

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good morning to you. looking live at palo alto this morning. the roadway not as wet as we've seen in the last couple of days, but don't get used to it because things are going to change. thanks for joining us. i'm kris sanchez along with meteorologist rob mayeda. you say this is moving from the north to the south. >> finally today. places from palo alto south will see more rain. right now 50s to near 60 outside. mild temperatures. heavy rain continues at times in the north bay. this is the location through 3:00 today. we'll have the flash flood watch up for small creeks and streams which at times could get to bankful and cause localized flooding. and speaking of the north bay, you can see some of those isolated downpours around napa, heading down towards richmond and just north of san francisco,

across the golden gate bridge into marin county you're seeing moderate rain with heavier rain offshore. notice in the south bay we're seeing showers on the west side of the santa cruz mountains. but as the front offshore starts to spill to the south, that's going to increase the rain finally for the south bay. hour by hour you can see it there, 3:00 and 4:00 into san jose changing over to scattered showers as we head into tonight. so our temperatures today, upper 50s around san jose. upper 50s in the north bay with the rain tapering off heading into tomorrow morning after more than a foot of rain has fallen so far in parts of the north bay. kris. >> thank you very much, rob. some of the most dramatic images are coming from northern sonoma county where half of ft. ross road just fell apart and plunged down a ravine. fortunately no one was on the road at the time so no one was hurt. in rohnert park we saw many drivers taking their chances.

the highway patrol advises against that saying you should turn around when you see road flooding because you never know how deep the water will get. and with winds, there could be power lines that you just can't see that are down. officials in marin county are on alert with a flash flood watch in place until at least this afternoon. the ground is already pretty saturated and today's rain could assume late at a rate of a half inch per hour. one creek was showing serious volume following yesterday's heavy rainfall. water began collecting on 101 making that dangerous highway conditions. caltrans crews are working hard unclogging storm drains that flooded a freeway ramp in mill valley. of course we all know we need the rain but are the drivers getting sick of it? >> no, i have not enough already, thank you very much. >> how cute. we say we need more rain or those folks say we need more rain because this storm will help, but it is not enough for all of the dry months that we've had. coming up this morning at

7:00 on "today in the bay," the first gold medal of the winter games was awarded last night in snowboard slopestyle, but it is the winner's style that has people talking this morning. our own janelle wang goes one on one with sage kotsenburg. that and all the day's top stories coming up at 7:00. right now here's the rest of the "today" show. ♪ [ female announcer ] wherever morning brings you, bring the energy you need. nature valley soft-baked oatmeal squares. softly baked, made with hearty oatmeal and a drizzle of cinnamon. they're nature valley's take on a morning classic. because when you keep going, the morning can bring you to brand-new places. ♪

nature valley. nature at its most delicious. welcome back on this sunday morning, february 9th, 2014. half past the hour. a beautiful shot you just saw there of the olympic flame at sochi. meantime here at rockefeller plaza, there's an equally gorgeous crowd spending their morning with us. happy 50th birthday, 60th. taking great pictures as well. apparently gail is 60 today. we can share their pictures. they're up there outside the studio. inside studio 1-a, i'm erica hill along with the rest of team usa jenna wolf and dylan dreyer. lester is in sochi. where's your olympic spirit? we got dressed up. >> oh, wow. you guys got the swag.

i got nothing. >> we will explain why in just a moment, i promise. we want to get you quickly caught up on the morning's top headlines. a lineup is set for the olympic team figure skating event. gr all set to represent team usa. we will speak to evan lysacek for their chances for a medal in a minute. and starting tonight, a new package of federal benefits will be extended to same-sex couples. same-sex marriages will be reck niced as equal to traditional as traditional marriages. and a reunion for parents of a newborn baby. the baby found hundreds of miles away outside a gas station. now they're reunited. and still to come in this half hour, curling is one of the most misunderstood events of the winter games. i tried to clear confusion with

the women of team usa. also this morning, we'll talk to the free skier who had to pull out of the games on saturday. those crutches are a clue as to why. she suffered an injury on a training run on the slope style course. we'll talk to her this morning as well. but let's get started this half hour with a look ahead to team usa's chances of bringing home a medal in the new event of team figure skating. figure skating gold medalist evan lysacek is giving us an inside look. good morning. >> good morning, lester. >> jeremy abbott comes to the olympics as america's top skater. he had a rough night in the program. how disappointing for him and for team usa. >> you said it. a very rough night for jeremy abbott in the short program. i think it's a good decision to replace him with jason brown. this will give him time to regroup before he has to do the individual event. >> and jason brown has this long

program and the pressure to do well under the circumstances, doesn't he? >> yeah. i think jeremy's performance sort of knocked the wind out of the team the other night. and i really do still think the u.s. has a chance to win that gold medal. that means gracie gold and charlie white will have to be perfect. >> gracie just arrived in sochi. what do you expect to see from her tonight? >> i can't wait to see her olympic debut. she's a very technical skater. and that's where her strength lies. in the jumps and spins. the jumps are the most obviously of the figure skating. but also the spins. she gets high levels and rarely does she give up a technical error like an edge collar underrotated jump. that will bode well for her. >> she stated she had a problem with the spotlight on her. what would you expect to see

from her this evening? >> ashley delivered one of the best short programs i've ever seen her do. i think that will give her a lot of confidence. she won't be skating the free skate tonight. gracie will replace her. i think gracie has a really good shot to wind up ahead of some of the world's best. >> let's talk about davis and white. they helped save the u.s. team chances. the pressure is on them right now. >> well, they are great at delivering under pressure. and they came through last night to earn some valuable and much needed points for team usa. they had a great short dance. perfectly clean. they had a great score. they're ahead of the canadian couple who are their rivals, and really their only rival for the individual gold as well. >> how will this whole team event thing affect skaters as they head towards their individual programs. >> to be able to perform their routine in a couple of weeks span. but the other thing is they

could really benefit the skaters that were able to compete in the team event. they'll be comfortable on the ice before the individual. those skaters were not included in the ten nations in the event. >> all right. evan lysacek as we compete with the music. >> at least it's good music. >> it's timed to fountains out of view. but great to see you here. we want to let people know you can watch coverage tonight on nbc starting at 7:00/6:00 central. now back to new york and get a final check of the weather from dylan. >> hey, lester. good morning. good morning, everyone. there's a rumor going around that gail is 60. and you must be gail. >> i must be gail. >> and where are you from? >> baltimore. >> and who are these ladies? >> the best friends anybody could have. >> have a wonderful birthday. we are looking at some snow showers possible for parts of the eastern great lakes. you can see some heavier snow inching closer to columbus.

about an inch or three. same goes for most of new york city and northeastern parts of connecticut into eastern massachusetts too. all that cold front moving eastward. and back behind it it we're watching for a flash flood watch here in the north bay through 3:00 this afternoon for some localized flooding around creeks and streams into the north bay where we're right now seeing some pretty good downpours from napa down into hercules and richmond. now heading into downtown san francisco around the sunset district over on the west side and light rain showers now approaching the south bay. more of this is going to finally push to the south as we head through the afternoon, right around 3:00 in san jose. highs today in the upper 50s around san jose. mid to upper 50s as well in the north bay with some clearing skies heading into tonight. is your latest forecast. send it right back over to you, lester. >> all right, dylan. thanks very much. up next, the youngest athlete with an injury that's

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it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. back now on a sunday morning with the youngest olympian in more than 30 years. but maggie voisin was forced to drop out this weekend after injuring her ankle during a training run. maggie voisin joins us this morning. maggie, good morning.

>> oh, hello. >> maggie, it's great to have you here this morning. that's okay. don't worry. we have a lot of distance between us. don't worry about it, maggie. this has got to be tough for you as we know. you took to social media after your injury on that training run on friday and said you were -- had never been so frustrated but yet talked about how fortunate and honored you were and said you were determined to enjoy every moment. how's it feel now, though, after you had to say you officially dropped out of competition? how you doing this morning? >> you know, it definitely was really tough. i mean, this is the olympics. everyone wants to come out here and compete and do their best. but i'm really fortunate for all these opportunities that i've gotten and for this whole experience. especially at my age, you know. and i got to go to opening ceremonies. this whole experience has been great. and i'm not planning on leaving. and i'm going to stay. you know, just have what else is left to be offered.

>> still a lot to enjoy. in terms of the slope style course, this is a daredevil sport in a lot of ways. i think it's safe to say that. this isn't the first injury on the course. shaun white, of course, had an issue with his wrist. there was a norwegian snow border that broke his collarbone. is this course more dangerous than others you've been on? >> no. our sport obviously has some risks and that comes along with it. this course really isn't much different from other courses. the course has been super fun, unfortunately it was just a freak accident that i had. and, you know, like i said it's part of what we do. but it was just bad timing. i'll be back. >> you'll be back. we hope to see you back there in 2018. any update you can give us in terms of your recovery? what your doctors are saying this morning. >> sorry, could you repeat that? >> just wanted to know how your recovery is going and if you had a sense of when you can get back to training.

>> you know what? hopefully that recovery is going to go by really quick. it should only take six to four weeks. and thankfully it was nothing else, nothing bigger. i mean, i'm very fortunate that it was just my ankle. i'll be back in no time. >> well, we look forward to seeing you back and cheering for you in four years. maggie voisin, thanks for taking time for us this morning. >> yeah. thank you so much. still to come on "today," confusion over curling. the women of the u.s. team show lester how to play. then we say you can't have all the fun. we're going to give it a try too. and we're pretty sure it's not as easy as it looks. but first these messages. afghanistan, in 2009. orbiting the moon in 1971. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection. and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families

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so i should probably get the last roll... yeah but i practiced my bassoon. [ mom ] and i listened. [ brother ] i can do this. [ imitates robot ]

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athletes who throw, slide and sweep for points are forced to remind us once more what the heck they're doing. >> the object of curling is to get your stones closer to the center of the house than the opponent. >> the house is the big bullseye. >> you can do that, you win. >> reporter: accomplishing that is its own kind of ballet on ice, launching or as they say throwing the 42-pound polished stone just so as sweepers thus creating a desired path to the house. in 2010, the u.s. women came home from the olympics empty handed. this is a largely new team. now in sochi, it is not only their time but curling's time, too, with a worldwide tv platform and millions of curious eyes upon them. >> the little burst we get every four years from the olympics is awesome. >> reporter: while they're focused on redemption, they've also embraced the moment with a

parody of video. >> we're usually a very serious crew. to pull off our video was out of our box. >> reporter: what does the skip say? >> i scream a lot. i yell a lot of commands. >> reporter: curlers know their sport is often an amusement, but if you think this is a display of anything less than real athleticism, try stepping into their shoes. former captain debbie mccormick is my instructor. it's a test of balance and core strength. now try maintaining that balance with a few throws under your belt. curling has only been an olympic medal sport since 1998, but it's been part of some american families especially in the

midwest for jen rgenerations. steve brown is erica's dad. >> you can start when you're a youngster and continue until you're old. >> reporter: curling has been compared to a lot of things. shuffle board, chess, even golf. but the women of team usa is hoping olympic viewers will see it for what it is, a unique game of determination and skill no less serious than any sport on ice. >> i feel confident we're going to play. >> the women get their first shot on the ice tomorrow, and team captain erica brown has stopped by to say hi. we should note when i showed the thing about what does the skip say, that earned me two punches for including that in the story. that was funny. >> i don't know. i'm out of here. >> the team arrived in europe a little while ago. you've been practicing. how are you feeling ahead of the first competitions? >> we're feeling great. it feels great. the surface feels good.

we're ready to go tomorrow. >> one of the things that surprised me along with the falling was how you have to read the ice. and each sheet of ice is different than the last one. the altitude, all those things play a role. >> everything plays a role. the weather conditions, the humidity, the temperature of the ice, and the amount of fans in the stands. so we got to take it all into consideration and figure it out. >> as we noted, this is virtually a new team for team usa women's. this is a strongest entry this year. >> i think we've got a great chance. it's a team that's only been together for a couple years but 20-plus years of experience. >> it's a lot harder than it looks. now erica, jenna, and dylan want to give it a shot as well. they have transformed the rockefeller center ice into a curling course today. any tips? >> have a buddy close by to hold you up if you need it.

>> take it away, erica. >> i do have that, thank you. in fact my buddy is the 2012 men's national -- part of the men's national champion team. and you're here with us this morning. you can't think of a better way to spend your day on a sunday. >> except maybe in sochi. >> we didn't want to rub that in. but this is not a bad second. the first tip is never curl outside except on the "today" show. >> we're going to show you if you went to a curling club in the united states, a facility, first thing they do is show you how to throw the rock. so i'll do that. then i think you're going to be really accomplished at throwing it yourself. >> and i should point out we also have matt shiner from the long island curling club who as i'm learning to throw the stone, they're going to show jenna and dylan how to sweep. >> brushing is important. you have to count on them to help you. >> no pressure, ladies. >> basically we're throwing it

towards here. put you foot under the chest. >> when do you let it go? >> i let it go -- uh-oh, it's going to catch. maybe it's going to finish. hard! hard! push it! so regular sheet's about four times as long as this, but i like your chances here. some thing we saw before. sweepers ready. remember you can yell at them. >> hurry, hard. this way? >> yeah. and rotate that way. >> all right, ladies. here we go. >> half hour show. >> when do we start? >> go! go hard! >> come on! come on! over into the house. >> i think for a first run that was actually pretty good. and i can hear the people laughing here. you thought that was good, too, right? we have a future. this is not as easy as it looks.

but it's clear when you pick these things up, there's a lot of skill involved in this and practice time. >> there's a lot more physicality and athleticism than people realize. the sheet at sochi would be four times as long as this one. the ice would be better so it won't fade into the corner. >> so we can blame this on the ice. >> yeah. we always blame it on the ice. >> that's okay. at least we got the clothes. >> blame your brushers as well. >> nice to have you here. and thanks to long island curling club. we'll be back with lester's look back at the last couple days of sochi in just a minute. [ laughter ]

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we want to check in with you, lester, one more time this morning. i know you've had a few highlights over the last couple of days that you want to share with us. >> had a great time. i was here in fisk. this is the stadium behind me for the opening ceremony. i took a few pictures backstage. i was where they were launching the aerial pieces. one of the great things were these 80-foot tall horses that were pulling the sun. it was quite amazing, quite a thrill to be back there and watch that all take place. i also want to quickly show you these grounds. the stadium there is essentially on the beach. there is a beach here in sochi, the adler area. a rocky beach. i spent some time out there taking pictures. i even took out my base one day and sat there with my headphones and kind of enjoyed a lazy morning on the beach playing my bass. it's a great location. wish you guys were here. >> we wish we were too.

glad you're having fun. i was wondering if you would bring an instrument with you. thanks for answering the unanswered question. we want to check in with david gregory. david, i know you're speaking with the ambassador to russia. this is a really important olympic games. not only from the athletes' perspective but for president vladimir putin and what it represents for him? >> absolutely. there's a low point with our relationship with russia over spying and over edward snowden and russia blocking what the u.s. wants to do in syria. our focus is what impact does that have at a time when people are focused on russia and on that lovely sweater you're wearing. >> perhaps this sweater is the key for diplomatic peace. what else do you have coming up this morning? >> we're going to talk about

politics back home. this fight over obama care. republicans say it's true that obamacare is a job killer. that started a big debate here over a congressional report was released. we'll have that as part of this midterm debate coming up. >> we'll look forward to that. lester holt has some pull in the sweater department, i think. >> lester can get these. the three of us, no, but lester can. >> these are actually lester's old sweaters. >> and a reminder you can check all the action primetime tonight here on nbc. coverage begins at 7:00/6:00 central. lester, back to you. have a great day and bring us more great stuff. we can't wait sto see what you get up to. >> i'm going to see if i can trade a ticket for a team usa sweater. thanks for watching, everybody. so long.

good morning, i'm kris sanchez. coming up on "today in the bay" a golden morning in sochi. janelle wang talks with the snowboard slopestyle winner who, believe it or not, says he just winged it. and here at home the rain continues to fall. we'll show you the rough roadways and where you can expect flooding. plus meteorologist rob mayeda tells us when the rain will hit your neighborhood the hardest. this is "today in the bay." good morning and thanks for joining us on this rainy sunday morning. i'm kris sanchez. rain still the story this morning. looking live at downtown san francisco where the roadways are wet and the clouds are drippy. and to san rafael this is still getting a soaking this morning.