Russian Hockey Stars; Smartphone Guide; Veteran Broadcaster

Malkin, Ovechkin Focused on Sochi Olympics – Yashin

NHL starts Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin are pumped for next year's Olympic Games in Sochi, Russian national team general manager assistant Alexei Yashin told R-Sport.

Yashin has just returned from a scouting mission to the United States to assess the preparedness of candidates for the Russia Olympic team before head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov submits his roster to the International Ice Hockey Federation by January 7.

"I met with Malkin and spoke to Ovechkin, and the guys are really up for it," Yashin said. "Everybody is excited about the Olympic Games, what’s going to happen in Sochi. Our guys are preparing and the Olympics are stuck in their subconscious, because this event is very important and prestigious for our country."

Former Ottawa Senators and New York Islanders Yashin forward praised the shape of Ovechkin, who is leading the NHL scoring charts with 26 goals, and Malkin, who is fourth top-scorer with 38 points.

"Both Ovechkin and Malkin are doing their job great and are among the top scorers of the league," Yashin said. "We hope that all our leaders will show their best skills at the Sochi Games to reach the set goal."

In Sochi, four-time world champion Russia is under great pressure to win gold following the Vancouver 2010 failure, when the team was destroyed 7-3 by Canada in the quarterfinal.

Guide to Sochi Olympics Released for Smartphones

Russian organizers of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics have released a guide to the Games for smartphones to help visitors get the most out of their trip to the Black Sea next February.

The free app, available on the IOS, Android and Windows Phone operating systems, is split into two sections with an exhaustive guide to all competitions at the February 7-23 Games as well as a rundown of the out-of-competition events linked to the Olympics.

"It will make it possible to follow Games news in real time, browse through the best photographs from the competitions and receive push notifications," the organizing committee said.

Users can also track the record-breaking torch relay and receive news about cultural exhibitions in and around the city.

Vladimir Pozner to Join Olympics Coverage for US Network

Veteran Russian-American broadcaster Vladimir Pozner will join US network NBC as a commentator on the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, it was announced Wednesday.

The renowned journalist and television host, who hosts a weekly chat show in Russia, will offer commentary during the network’s late-night news show hosted by US broadcaster Bob Costas and provide a Russian perspective on the games, according to a statement from NBC.

"With his deep Russian roots and American upbringing, Vladimir Pozner is uniquely qualified to provide a Russian outlook to our audience during the Sochi Olympics," said NBC Olympics executive producer Jim Bell. "We are thrilled to be able to share his perspective on the host country and the Games."

In comments made to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, Pozner suggested that his role would be broader than sports commentary: "My job is to comment on the way the games are seen by the Russians … There is a fair chance that there will be some other events happening; it will be my job to help the American viewer understand what Russians think about that."

"My role is not to support the Russian viewpoint, but to explain it – not to advocate it," he added.

Born in France, Pozner moved to America with his parents for eight years in the 1940s. After starting his journalistic career as a senior editor of the English language Soviet Life magazine, he crossed over to working in US television in the 1980s, as co-host of a trans-continental series known as the US-Soviet Space Bridge, in which US and Soviet citizens discussed different topics.

In the early to mid-1990s, he worked in the United States, co-hosting the weekly Pozner/Donahue political discussion show in the early to mid-1990s.

He has previous experience of covering the Winter Olympics for Soviet and Russian television – 1980 in Moscow, 2006 in Torino, and 2010 in Vancouver.

Published by exclusive arrangement with Around the Rings’ Sochi 2014 media partner RIA-Novosti.

For general comments or questions,click here.

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics isAroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.