Pink eye substitution: Matt Lauer in for Bob Costas UPDATE: Bob returns Monday Night 2/17/14

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From The Denver Post:

http://blogs.denverpost.com/ostrow/files/2014/02/costas.jpgBob Costas

It’s the most buzzed about eye infection in the world: Bob Costas (pictured, pre-infection) has had a very visible case of pink eye since the start of the ballyhooed Winter Olympics in Sochi. On Tuesday, NBC announced Matt Lauer will sit in for Costas during the primetime and late-night broadcasts — giving viewers as well as Costas a break.
No truth to the rumor that Jay Leno was tapped for the job. But a good line.
“As a practical matter, I simply couldn’t do my job because my eyes had become so blurry, watery and sensitive to light,” Costas said in a statement released by NBC. “I’m hopeful the symptoms will improve in the next couple of days and I can return to the broadcast. Also, the last thing I want is to go through the rest of my life owing Matt Lauer a bunch of favors.”
Per the network:

Tonight marks the first time since CBS presented the Nagano Olympic Winter Games in 1998 that someone other than Costas will host an Olympic primetime show. It’s also the first time since 1988 that someone other than Costas will host the Olympic primetime show on NBC, a remarkable 157 straight nights.
“I saw Bob in the hotel this morning, and if ever there was a guy who looked like he needed a night off, it was him,” said Lauer, who is working his eighth Games. “I’m happy to keep his chair warm. Although I might Purell it before I sit in it!”
Costas is listed as ‘day to day’ on the NBC injury report.
Tuesday night’s coverage will be built around the (dramatic, ratings-rich and young-skewing) Shaun White narrative.


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[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From The Denver Post:

http://blogs.denverpost.com/ostrow/files/2014/02/costasnbc.jpgBob Costas returns to the air in Sochi, NBC

NBC’s long network nightmare is over, quipped Olympics executive producer Jim Bell on a conference call from Sochi: Bob Costas will return Monday night as host of NBC’s Olympics broadcasts. While it was fine to have Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira jump in during the six nights Costas missed due to an eye infection, “Bob’s always the man,” he said.
In the photo tweeted by NBC, Costas has no eyeglasses in sight.
“During the worst three days of it I was primarily in a darkened room,” Costas said, adding that he was able to go to the hotel restaurant and walk out on a terrace overlooking the Black Sea. “On the second day that I was out, (NBC Sports Group Chairman) Mark Lazarus arranged to have an NBC feed hooked up to my room.” He was able to catch not only the Olympics coverage but “the last minutes of the Syracuse-N.C. State game to see my alma mater pull another miracle.” Go, Orange.
At its worst, the infection caused blurred vision and light sensitivity that made it impossible to go back on the air. “There’s still some redness and swelling,” Costas said, “but I can function.”


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