a newborn baby girl in indiana is truly entering mans world. that is because ashlin ward is the first female born in her family in five generations. the boys only streak dates back to the early 1900s. her parents already had one boy. they just assumed they would be having another. the family says they have to get used to having a little more pink in the house. >> that is one well protected little girl! >> [laughter]. >> they aren't going to let >> they aren't going to let anything happen ,,

what does hope look like? it's in the rising walls of a home rebuilt. raising the spirit of a community reborn. what does heart sound like? it's in the rhythm of nails pounded into wood. a beat driven by the conviction that inspiration can overcome desperation. what does home feel like? it's in the faces of americans who built generations of memories in their home and then saw it slipping away. until friends they have never met, turned out to lend a hand. for more than 30 years, rebuilding together has spread hope to home owners in need. providing free home rehabilitation, making homes safer and more energy efficient.

this is a place where you can turn dreams into reality. go to rebuilding together dot org and share the feeling of home.

coming up next, on david letterman, that's it for tim and mark, i'm denise. >> and i'm ( band playing "late show" theme ) >> from new york, the greatest city in the world, it's the "late show" with david letterman. tonight... plus paul shaffer and the cbs orchestra. captioning sponsored by worldwide pants and cbs cbs orchestra, and now, available for weddings and bar mitzvahs, david letterman! (cheers and applause) ( band playing "late show" theme )

( cheers and applause ) >> dave: thank you so much. thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show, i'm jerry hobson, how are you doing? by the way, here's what we're going to do. when i call your name, you folks run up here and tell me what you want for christmas, okay? (laughter) you know, there's always something, you have noticed that, ladies and gentlemen, when you get up every day there's always something. honestly, every day is always something. are you folks from out of town?

(cheers and applause) when i say out of towners, you don't know what i'm talking about, right? yes! for example, because of the drought we have a mistle toe shortage. mistle toe shortage. are you aware of this? >> i was not aware of it. >> dave: i am glad you came and heard it from me. because you go home and start hanging mistle toe, nah, forget it. a lot of people are using broccoli, i'm using broccoli. (applause) thank you. thank you very much. i'm glad you appreciated the simulated hammering. (laughter) kind of like my honeymoon. oh, believe me, if wasn't the real thing. well, you know what it is? it's the winter sol fi fis-- solstice, ladies and

gentlemen, shortest day of the year, interesting coincidence, tonight is the longest night of your lives. but shortest day of the year. the longest day of the year any time you have lunch with regis, that's the longest. and if you like the postal department or the ups or something, it's the busiest delivery day of the year. but don't worry if on a busy day like this, what i like to do is i like to call up fedex. and i ask, i say i would like the fedex's platinum club service. that's what i always ask for. on a daily-- here this is what i am talking about. watch this. ♪ ♪ there you go. (applause) hey, you know who's dead, that kim jong il.

>> paul: yeah. >> dave: yup? (applause) and here's what they did. they-- he's dead. they em baumed him. and they put him under glass. and i'm telling you, this would be a much better joke is regis was still working. but -- >> i know you got-- now when kim jong il, and not a great guy, just an awful guy. he liked to beat people up. he liked to torture dissidents and he liked to kill people. not a great guy. but yet when he's dead north korea, everywhere you went, people just soning and crying and they couldn't get out of bed. they couldn't do anything, they were just racked with grief. and i said well that's not real. and they said oh, hey, hey, we don't tell you how to run your little show. (laughter) that absolutely was real. and i said yeah, well, that will be real when dogs are-- when monkeys --

>> yeah. >> dave: i said-- you know something, that will be real, here's when that will be real. (laughter) when monkeys are riding dogs. (applause) do you like big blockbuster holiday movies? (applause) well, guess what's coming, it's the prequel to lord of the rings and it's "the hobbit" and-- have you heard anything or seen anything? i saw like a trailer, what they call a trailer for the hobbit. looks fantastic. here, i brought it in. take a look at this, trailer for the hobbit. >> journey back to middle earth with bilboa bagins, and a band of adventurers, eelie, keel own, bipper,

abover, bomb per, dooree, nori, horee and the leader of their company, ron. >> i would like to restore your right to drink raw milk any time you want to. (cheers and applause) >> dave: you know-- you know what i was-- oh, hi, how are you doing, fedex guy. >> yeah. >> are you dave letterman. >> dave: mi dave letterman. >> got a package for you. >> dave: that may be my new computer screen, i've been expecting that. >> where do you want me to put it. >> dave: just over there by the desk. that will be fine, thank you very much. (laughter) (applause) >> merry christmas. >> dave: merry christmas. (applause) oh, listen to this. president barack obama, good friend this is a nice thing, had time to go shopping. and i think that's a good sign, we see he's just one of the guys.

he goes out, he does some shopping. now he took the entire white house press corps with him, but still he's out there boosting the economy. you know, the chinese economy but still, he's doing what he can, ladies and gentlemen. (applause) and at the end of-- you know, like they had you sign the credit card thing and it was a big deal. he used 15 different pens. and then a monkey was coming through on a dog and he's riding-- oh, and then he took his dog bo to petco and bought him a new flee collar and coincidently newt gingrich brought his dog to tiffanies and bought him a diamond muzzle. (applause)

but the longer he's president, barack obama is really media savvy, you know what i mean. i mean you take that office and they're coming at you from everywhere. you have to be media savvy. sow takes the press with him shopping. that's not all, watch this. >> yesterday we gave you a rare glimpse of the president doing his christmas shopping. and tonight in a cnn exclusive, things get even more exciting as we present three riveting hours of barack obama doing his on-line christmas shopping. only on cnn. >> only on cnn. doing his on-line shopping. well, you know, this is time of year that magazines, the ones that are still left and television shows have to have their compilation of the year's activities, something we call the year in review here in

television. we put together our own year in review. and it helps us gain perspective. and you look back at the occurrence of 2011. here tonight, ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy the late show a year in review. gr. >> drunk guy broke into the theatre. no em me nomination. another guy broke into the theatre. >> fatwah against dave and we almost killed regis, this has been late show a year in review. >> dave: a year in review. everybody, paul, anderson coop seron the program tonight. we'll be back. >> coming up, top ten signs you bought a bad do. and aner-- anderson cooper. and after the break thousands ofe are choosing advil. i'm keith baraka and i'm a firefighter. and it's very physically demanding. if i'm sore i'm not at my best. advil is my go-to. it's my number one pain reliever.

[ male announcer ] make the switch. take action. take advil. [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's surf & turf. 3 grilled combinations all under $20. like maine lobster with peppercorn sirloin, or new bacon-wrapped shrimp with blue cheese sirloin for $14.99. offer ends soon. i'm john mazany and i sea food differently. so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates.

earn points you can use for travel on any airline, ,,,,÷ñ÷ñ÷ñ÷ñ÷ñ÷ñ ♪ oh, what fun it is to... get in the spirit with dunkin's holiday coffees and lattes. try peppermint mocha, gingerbread, or new cinnamon swirl today.

-- . >> yeah, buddy. (cheers and applause) >> dave: there, look. felicia colin, ladies and gentlemen. i, we had a monday, we had, you were here at the party. do you like holiday parties. >> of course. >> dave: oh, they're

fantastic. because the best part about holiday parties is the alcohol, you have a couple of drinks. and you tell your coworkers and your superiors what you really think about them. and then the fun begins. so we did some videotaping and do we have it-- go ahead and roll the videotape. there we are. there's some folks talking. and then we had-- those are the interns. this is great, they get to unwrap the presents, that's a lot of fun. they don't get to keep them. but they get the thrill of enjoying the unwrapping. now here was a problem. we had ordered cookies and they came by mistake from an erotic bakery and biff, of course, i left the party early so this is what we-- he was-- guess who was here, tom hanks, tom hanks and he had one too many drinks and there -- >> does that mean nothing to you. i with ron howard, how dare you call -- >> yeah, that was-- so that was the big-- he knows ron

howard. ladies and gentlemen, here's tonight's top ten list. let's go. the category tonight, now this is not as unusual as you might think when you hear it. top ten signs you've purchased a bad zoo. you know what i am talking about here. yeah, it's the big matt damon holiday blockbuster, we bought a zoo. >> paul: oh, yeah. >> dave: so top ten signs you bought a bad zoo. >> paul: they bought a great zoo in that movie. >> dave: well, we don't know. we have to wait and go see it. >> paul: i understand, i saw the clips. the kind of zoo they bought great, really, above average zoo, terrific zoo. >> dave: well, a lot of times, especially beginners will get left in a good zoo. now a good zoo should be clean. >> paul: yes. >> dave: should be safe, should be educational.

and provide a wholesome life for the animal. i think that goes without saying. that's a good sgloop. and if you have done that congratulations. >> paul: yes, you have done your job. >> dave: now "we bought a zoo" starring matt damon and scarlet johansson starts opens tomorrow. here are signs you bought a bad zoo. and i hate to be a bummer, but you got to be careful. >> dave: the pyongyang zoo.

let's see the monkey's riding the damn dog one mor more-- come on, here we go! all right. that's plenty. who do you think knows more about what's going on there, the monkey or the dog?

♪ who bought a bad zoo . >> dave: yeah, who did buy a bad zoo. you know who is here tonight, ladies and gentlemen, anderson cooper. we'll be right back, everybody. sears last minute gift sale is on now. use you 15% off savings pass for amazing deals like up to 65% off sweaters, coats and pajamas for the whole family. and 35% off fragrance gifts sets for him and her. shop sears now for great deals for everyone on your list.

sears. [ gasp ] [ mom ] my husband -- he thinks it's a 3-sheeter. i say 1-sheeter. bounty can clean the mess with less. [ female announcer ] in this lab demo, 1 sheet of bounty leaves this surface as clean as 2 sheets of the bargain brand. ♪ dance cooking? bring it. super durable. super absorbent. super clean. bounty the 1-sheet clean picker-upper. and try bounty napkins. gives you a 50% annual bonus! so you earn 50% more cash. according to research, everybody likes more cash. well, almost everybody...

♪ would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? woah! [ giggles ] ♪ ♪ ♪ [ children laughing ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] it all starts with a windows 7 pc. ♪

[ male announcer ] it all starts with a windows 7 pc.

>> dave: thank you very much, paul, that was beautiful. and the name of that song and the gentleman who wrote it. >> paul: where is the love and our dear friend ralph mcdonald was one of the composers. we lost him just last week. >> dave: i'm sorry to hear that he was on this show, as

you say. >> paul: did this show many times. played with jimmy buffett for years and years and did a show with everybody, all kinds of people. wrote that one and a bunch of good ones we're going to be playing. >> dave: thank you very much. >> paul: thank you for mentioning that. >> dave: thank you, paul. (applause) our first guest tonight is an emmy award-winning journalist and daytime talk show host. he has an upcoming special entitled "new year's eve live with anderson cooper and cathy griffin" you can see that december 3 1st that would be new year's. they're going to do it a couple of days after new year's so they can beat the traffic. ladies and gentlemen, here's anderson cooper, everybody. (applause) merry christmas, ander son.

let's see, when was the debate that you did, you have done just one. >> in this current round, just one in las vegas, i don't know, a month, two months ago. >> dave: that's the one to do if you are going to just do one, the one in las vegas, that the show stopper. and who controls the moderate-- moderator? are you in complete control of yourself, there are rules that all the campaigns have agreed to, that if somebody attacked somebody that person gets a 30 second months. so that's all said now in advance, up to the moderator to kind of moderate. >> dow have to leap to the stage and give somebody a standing eight count? >> send them to neutral corners. >> the debate i did was actually ver contentious it was really one of the most contentious once. i think they were all at a point where they were guferning for each other. >> like 60 or 70 debates. >> there is about-- yeah, and there's like 70 or 80 candidates. >> but who, who agreed to

this number of debates for the republicans? >> you know, obviously they're up for t all the campaign as greed. i guess they agreed not to do the donald trump one but they-- but i actually like it i think it's kind of cool seeing all these debates. and they have been incredibly important in this primary season. >> dave: and it's a matter of interestingly enough ef i've not seen them all but i would guess that in the beginning everybody is sort of jockeying for their space, their position and as they volume of the going forward, they get more and more comfortable with the various formats and they kind of come into their own, have you noticed that? >> yeah, rick perry doesn't seem to be getting more comfortable, but-- (laughter) >> oddly. but it is interesting, you know, for a while-- i this is just a fascinating election so far because you know, rick perry will rise, sow is the one and then all of a sudden he's not, and herman kane, remember him, and now he's like herman who? >> and newt gingrich

launched his campaign and went on vacation and his staff quit and everybody said good-bye newt. >> which, to me is just a sign that pundits know nothing. everybody is who is allegedly an expert. i mean it's really up to people to decide. >> let me ask you-- we'll come back to your role as moderator. the importance of the iowa caucuses, how dependable are they in predicting the actual nomination. >> not all that dependable but they do play a role in terms of you know determining, i don't really know what but they-- (laughter) >> dave: they give you national momentum. >> they do, they can give some candidates national momentum. i mean huckabee won and so obviously that didn't work out for him. but you know can give a candidate momentum who doesn't necessarily have it. >> dave: now is it safe to skip iowa? we've seen that strategy in the past, seeing it again this year. >> it can be. i mean it really depends on the year. >> dave: well y are we even messing around in iowa. i mean if it doesn't predict much of anything, and it's

okay to skip iowa, why don't we leave those poor people alone. haven't they suffered enough? >> what's really fascinating when you go to iowa, is everybody there has met all the candidates. it's like for them t is an-- and they kind of expect it they are kind of offended if they haven't met them. it's kind of cool. you go to a diner and they're like oh, yeah, i met him last week. so they all really get an up close personal look at these candidates. >> one more thing and we'll go back to the moderator, i promise. yesterday i think it was in iowa, somebody came up to newt and said you're [bleep] (laughter) >> wow okay. >> dave: and then also? in the -- >> we're going there, okay, sure, okay. >> dave: well, it's christmas. (applause) >> paul: we've gone. >> are you on cinemax nows-- is this dave after dark. >> dave: this is rehearsal. >> okay, good. >> dave: and then earlier in

the day shb asked him about his position with regard to gay rights and he said i think you better support president obama. now i thought those are interesting circumstances for a candidate to find himself in. how did he handle each of those issues, ho do you think he handled it. >> my understanding is the gentleman who asked him about gay issues, the account we're hearing is from that person, not from gingrich's campaign. last i saw in the paper, gingrich was, the campaign was asked about it and he didn't respond so i don't know -- >> that may not be accurate. >> but it very well could be. and that would be a surprising response. >> dave: now the little clip that i saw where the guy looked like a regular citizen of iowa or anywhere, as a matter of fact, looked like an american, he said i want to tell you something. and then he said you're a blrb -- whatever he said. and then newt said something like yeah, well, it's a free country and kept moving. and i thought that's too bad, this would be a good time, i didn't gauge-- i would

engage that guy. >> you would. >> dave: i would, i and i would say what i can do to change your mind, why do you think that about me and why don't we just chat about it. >> that would be one way to handle it i think they are seeing so many people on any given day they are just moving along. i think they think this is a no-win situation, remember joe the plumb irand there was that back and forth between candidate obama and joe the plumber. i'm not sure anyone really comes out of that looking too good. >> dave: see that's my point. if you want to be considered as presidential material, maybe this is an opportunity to come out looking good. i mean i put up with that kind of crap every day from the staff. (laughter) you know, on the gay issue, i do think, you know, gingrich is clearly trying to get as many conservative voters and evangelical voters as possible. so it's certainly not an issue or you know a proclamation that he is

necessarily going to be agressive. >> what was the, and again forgive my ignorance or slopiness here, the idea that if you disagreed with a decision or viewpoints of judges, elected judges, you have them arrested. >> well, there's, it's always interesting tow me how can't datas talk about activist judge t seemance activist judge is somebody they disagree with. if they agree with it is not an activist judge but an activist judge is a judge they disagree with. >> dave: but we don't think that would be good for the united states of america to have judges arrested if they don't agree with the president. >> that would possibly be a bad thing, yeah, yeah, i would agree with that. >> dave: that would be another sign you bought a bad zoo. (laughter) all right, now during the, like during the commercial when you're the moderator, what happens there. do people just stand politely or -- >> well, a lot of the-- sometimes they will have bathroom breaks and you

kind of hope they have bathroom breaks because otherwise a lot of them will come up to you and tell you that you are not calling on them enough. which is, it's a little strange, you know, to have somebody who could be president come up to you and say like you're not calling, you know, being aggressive. or their wife sometimes does that. >> yeah. that is the weird-- i literally had this happen, not this time around. >> dave: but the protocol is set. everybody gets to be called on -- >> everybody gets a direct question addressed to them or the same number of direct questions addressed to them. but the problem is because of the rules, if say it's mitt romney, in the debate it was mitt romney and rick perry were at that point two front-runners. and so they clearly had an interesting kind of going back and forth at each other. so if mitt romney attacks rick perry or mentioned rick perry, rick perry automatically gets a 30 second response. and if rick perry in his response chooses to attack mitt romney it then goes back to a rom nie and it can go back and forth. >> dave: so you in fact control your own fate to a certain extent in this

format. >> and it eats up a lot of time from other candidates. >> you know who was here last night was jon huntsman. >> i saw that. >> dave: seemed like a terrific guy, seemed like a smart, reasonable fellow but yet not doing well nationally. i understand he has come up a bit in the polls in new hampshire. many anything, should he quit. where does he get his money, is it family money, he is wasting money. >> just as you don't want judge as rested, i think the last thing you want is news anchors determining who should quit and who should run for president. so i leave that up to the american people but look, he hasn't gotten the traction clearly that he would like. he's not well-known. he wasn't well-known, though he has an impressive track record of being ambac-- ambassador to china, it was mitt romney, now he and-- newt and mitt are very close, newt and mitt are very close, a sentence you don't often utter. >> ron paul is also doing well in iowa, and romney has been about 23% the entire time. >> dave: the only criticism i hear of mitt romney is

he's kind of stiff. why doesn't he loosen up. he ain't going loosen up. that is the guy he is. is that the worst thing we have in the white house say guy who's not, you know, wacky? he's not like-- gallagher or something, you know-- i mean is that really the worst thing you could say about him. >> that's true, yeah. the christmas parties would be great, though, if he was gallagher. >> dave: well, sure, don't kid yourself there. now listen, anderson, now you do this new year's eve thing. >> right. >> dave: and are you out there in the cold all night long. >> with cathy griffin. >> dave: and she's fun to be with, right? >> yeah, exhausting, but yeah, i mean we're friends and i like her but she-- you know, it's very cold out there but i never sweat more than i do in that hour and a half because you never know what she's going to say. >> dave: that's the fun for the whole thing. >> fun for others, not for me. >> dave: i see. what a internal way -- >> i'm cling on to whatever credibility i have left and last thing i need is cathy griffin -- >> are you up on a large building. >> are you on a bleacher.

everybody gets a little three foot of space so i'm next to like uni vision. and they are having a huge party. >> dave: of course. >> i mean like everybody -- >> everybody has more fun than we do. >> there's like a large fatman and a little, like a little person and big husky woman. >> dave: i hear they got monday kees riding dogs, that's what i hear-- there they go. all right, turn off, for god's sakeses, turn it you have. >> i actually had a friend who had a monkey and dog act when he was -- >> all right, well call me later. anderson, nice to see you again, have a great holiday. merry christmas. we'll be write back-- right back with lindsey vonn, ladies and gentlemen. ugh, my sinus congestion, and it's your fault. instead of blaming me try advil congestion relief. often the real problem is swelling, not mucus. advil congestion relief reduces swelling

due to nasal inflammation. so i can breathe. [ mucus ] advil congestion relief. ♪ hark how the bells, sweet silver bells, all seem to say, ♪dong ♪ throw cares away, christmas is here, bringing good cheer, ♪ ♪ to young and old, meek and the bold, ding dong ding, dong, ♪ ♪ that is their song, with joyful ring, all caroling, ♪ ♪ one seems to hear, words of good cheer, from everywhere, ♪ ♪ filling the air, oh how they pound, raising the sound, ♪ ♪ o'er hill and dale, telling their tale, gaily they ring, ♪ ♪ while people sing, songs of good cheer, christmas is here. ♪ ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ [ jennifer ] no matter where you're from... ♪ ...elegance... ♪ ...is hard work. ♪ it's taking style... ♪ whatever you want me to ...performance... ♪ i'm gonna see you through ...and originality and making them look easy. ♪ i can breathe, i can feel

♪ i believe ♪ and there ain't no doubt about it ♪

>> dave: thank you very much. another beautiful song.

who sang that one. >> paul: bill withers sang it on a grover washington record and ralph mcdonald wrote it. >> dave: and it's timelessment you still hear that all over the place. >> paul: isn't it true. >> dave: last week we jumped in on this twitter craze. and i have decided to reach out to the talk show community. so this is my most recent attempt. i don't know if you can see it here on the twitter device. for you beginners, you have to hart with a hashtag, there you go. so this is, and my title is christmas greetings. hello, conan, craig, the jimmies, the cable twins, that's john jon stewart and steve colbert, and jay, that would be leno, and then look, i added a humorous little thing there, let's buy a zoo. (applause) >> dave: now i'm going to send that out. get ready, anton, here we go. there she goes, ladies and gentlemen.

what happened to the thing, usually it was a beautiful christmas tree, just gorgeous. usually and then we have the pizza pie there and there it is, the empire state building and on top of that we used to have rupert g bring in a meatball, a big, beautiful fat meatball and it would go right up there on top of the tree. and it was silly and symbolic because that's how our first christmas here what happened to the -- >> i don't snow what happened to the meatball. >> dave: we didn't put it on yet. it was up earlier. >> paul: i remember it being up there. >> dave: it was up there. >> paul: i remember it. >> dave: where-- what-- (laughter) oh boy. wow. and he's worried about cathy griffin hurting his credibility. (laughter)

there, we found the meatball, ladies and gentlemen. we'll be right back with ladies and gentlemen. we'll be right back with lindsey vonn, everybody i couldn't sleep right. next day it took forever to get going. night after night, i sat up. sprayed up. took a shower... or took a pill. then i tried drug-free breathe right advanced. and instantly, i breathed better! i slept better. it felt...better. thank you, breathe right! [ male announcer ] breathe better, sleep better, feel better. try breathe right advanced for free... at breatheright.com. [ woman ] it's my right to breathe right. isn't it your right, too? ♪ [ male announcer ] it's movie time. with a wii twist. netflix now delivers unlimited tv episodes and movies instantly through wii and nintendo 3ds. all for only 8 bucks a month. [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's surf & turf. 3 grilled combinations all under $20.

like maine lobster with peppercorn sirloin, or new bacon-wrapped shrimp with blue cheese sirloin for $14.99. offer ends soon. i'm john mazany and i sea food differently. [ male announcer ] miners trust the makers of peak antifreeze [ alarm disengages ] to protect their 600-ton ore haulers from extreme conditions. you can trust peak antifreeze's unique formula to help protect your engine from costly repairs. peak antifreeze.

protect your ride... no matter what you drive. peak antifreeze. when you peak, you win. [ engine turns over, ore hauler beeping ] but to be honest, i find the omega choices overwhelming. which one is right for me? then i found new pronutrients omega-3. it's from centrum, a name i trust. it goes beyond my heart to support my brain and eyes too. and these ultra-concentrated minigels are much smaller than many others. it's part of a whole new line of supplements. there's probiotic and fruit & veggie too. new pronutrients from centrum helps make nutrition possible.

my heart beat >> within sure to join us tomorrow as dave welcomes david height pierce, dave thomas and darly love. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪

♪ grey goose. world's best tasting vodka. [siri - here are directions to charlie grant's house.] is it cold in sante fe? raleigh? cleveland tonight? [siri- really cold. down to about 14 degrees.] find that e-mail with the naughty or nice list. [siri- new message from mrs. claus: go easy on the cookies.] [laughs] how does the rest of my day look? [siri - you have 3.7 billion appointments.]

>> dave: okay, i wanted to add this, to send this off this say followup on the let's buy a zoo. i will need their social security and bank routing number. so we'll just-- get that in, thank you. >> our next guest is the most successful female skier racer in american history. she's an olympic gold medalist, has won three consecutive year all world cup championships. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome-- oh, look at that, good heavens. lindsey vonn, come on out, lindsey.

>> dave: i'm told that you flew in from germany just to be here today. >> i did. >> dave: well, thank you very much. >> yeah, only for few you're in the middle of the world cup season, is that what it is. >> yeah, hi a race on tuesday night. >> dave: how did that go. >> i was 8th. wasn't the best but it was okay. >> dave: but you have won like six or seven titles or six or seven events this year already, haven't new. >> yeah, and my first five starts i won, or first six starts i won five races. >> dave: nice going, congratulations. >> yes, thank you. (applause) >> dave: you won 46 world cup races all topping, am i right about that. >> yeah. >> dave: and three or two world cup titles. >> three overall world cup titles. i think 12 titles in total. >> dave: here in the united

states are we dumb about world cup ski racing. do we not know what that means, kind of. >> do you really want me to answer that question? it's tough, you know, the olympics is kind of the main event. >> dave: everyone focuses on -- >> but for us the world cup is that's where it is at. >> dave: that goes on year in, year out, and all over north america and europe. >> it's mostly in europe. we only is have one race in united states. we actually race a couple weeks ago in beaver creek. and you won that event if. >> yeah. >> dave: and that the first time you won a world cup in this country. >> yeah, because we only have one race a year in the u.s. and normally it's not my specialty. >> dave: how many women compete in the world cup. >> it's like 65. >> dave: whoa. >> yeah. >> dave: and these are world-class races, do they all get along, they're buddies. >> no, no. it's women traveling around competing against each other.

it can get pretty catty. >> dave: really. >> yeah, yeah. who would have guessed. >> yeah, who would have guessed. now when you compete what are the events. you have the -- >> downhill, super-g. >> dave: that is the backbone of alpine skiing s that really where you want to be, the downhill. >> i like to think that i don't know if that's really true. >> dave: how long a race is that top to bottom. >> it's like two minutes but it's fast. >> dave: and different mountains all over the world. and do they have to have something in common. does it have to be the same descent, angle of descent, the same -- >> no, no. >> dave: the terrain doesn't matter. >> no i mean we have a tour, we pretty much race in the same places consistently over a season and it really something, every course is different. it just depends on the pound taken. but i mean downhill something exciting for me because you get to go like 90 miles an hour. >> dave: 90 miles an hour, now that's not -- dush shunted be going 90 miles an hour. i mean are you really going 90 miles an hour. >> yes, really. >> dave: whoa.

>> yes. >> dave: and you obviously, the possibility for injury is pretty great and you have crashed. >> a little bit, yeah. >> dave: was in 2006 when you thought you had broken your back. >> yeah, i-- i can did the splits going about -- >> 90 miles an hour. >> yeah that wasn't the best idea. >> dave: yeah. >> but i was helicoptered off the mountain, went to the hospital in turino and thought i had broken my back and my pelvis. and basically thought my career was over. and i got the mri back and they said i hadn't broken my back so i literally tried to escape the hospital so i could go race the next day. and i was really walking down the hospital halls with, you know, the classic open back gown, coy barely walk but i was trying to make it to the elevators. but two italian nurses caught me before i made it to the elevator. >> dave: i think we have footage of you in the hospital gown. could we just take a-- there we go. hey. now cut that-- cut that out. for god's sakes.

now what does that do to you emotionally to have a crash like that? >> it really-- bother immediate. >> dave: no, really. >> it's part of the deal, if you go that fast, are you eventually going to crash. >> dave: yeah. >> but i would think some people it could be a real stumbling block. >> some people it. some people get injured quite severely and it takes them time to really mentally recover, more so than physically. but you know, you fall you got to just get back up and keep going. >> dave: that's the downhill. what else do you compete in. >> super-g. >> dave: what does that mean. >> supergiant slalom. >> so what happened to the giant slalom. do you still have the giant slalom? >> it's like a faster version of giant slalom. >> dave: but is giant slalom now gone. >> no, it's still there. >> dave: so you have downhill, supergiant slalom do you have giant slalom. >> yes. >> dave: what about slalom for beginners. >> and then slalom. >> dave: are you kidding me. >> no. >> dave: so downhill, supergiant slalom, giant

slalom and slalom, and slalom with nugget, and slalom with caramel. now honestly, i don't-- and then you have the combined. >> yeah, that's slalom and downhill. >> dave: the combined is -- >> slalom and downhill so it's like the fastest, going downhill the fastest plus the quickest turns. like the opposite ends of -- >> i'm not trying to be a dope about this, but honest to god. >> you sound like a genius on ski racing. you know everything. >> dave: thank you very much. (laughter) but honestly, if you have the alpine, there's your alpine and you have the supergiant slalom, who cares about regular slalom, medium slalom and extra spicy slalom? i mean what is the deal there? >> i don't know. it's kind of like in swimming, you've got the different meters. it's just different, it's different, so i personally would rather just have downhill but if there is all

more events then i will just compete in them as well. >> dave: you're being a good sport about the whole thing. >> i'm trying. >> i think i know you are trying. i think we have some video here of you, this is you winning out there in beaver creek. let's take a look and see what this is. oh, for the love of god, look at that, jim iny god, whoa. opinions that's how you look, right. >> dave: that's unbelievable. (applause) we want to mention, you will be competing, you have to try and make the team for the 20 -- >> i'm a little nervous. >> dave: i think you'll be fine. now when you look at a run like that, what mistake you had made that caused the fall that you were roughed up so badly in 2-- when you see that what had you done wrong when you fell. >> when i fell in 2006, basically my edges caught and just, took off on the

sides of me. so basically now i'm just stronger and i'm able to control my speeds better. >> a lot of times they say the conditions that you ski in is just ice, it's not really snow so much. >> they basically take a hose, fire hose and they just dump water on the hill. it's very icy. >> dave: when was the last time you skied in true snow natural snow, accumulated conditions. >> i don't know. actually beaver creek was one of the best, better conditions. because they had colorado had some good snow this fall and it was pretty much -- >> when the world cup rolls in, you have to skae whether you have snow or not, larry and bob up there with the hose all afternoon. >> yup. >> dave: well, you're having a great season. congratulations. >> thank you. >> dave: and we'll look forward to you representing the united states again in the olympics 2014. they're going to be where the 2014 going to be.

>> in russia. >> dave: that will be interesting, won't it. god bless you, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> dave: all vedder zen, we'll be right back with childish gambino, ladies and gentlemen. ,,,,,,