Dick Button, ABC's sage announcer, often utter words
and phrases that are simply hilarious, and sometimes inspiring.
Here is a sampling:
(Of Kate Robinson) "Now, isn't she the quintessential pre-Raphaelite heroine?"
(After Kotin's long program at Calgary) "He has a wonderful kind of flair, very much in the style of the 19th century Romantic poet Byron might have been. He's kind of Byronic, isn't he?" The kicker: Jim McKay then said, "Yes, he is."
(Of Michelle Kwan, after '96 Worlds Free Skate) "She gave nothing up, nothing for this performance. Absolutely the best!"
(Of Nicole Bobek's wasted talent) "You just want to take her over your knee and spank her."
(Talking to Peggy Fleming about her absence commentating at the '98 Worlds) "Come back soon. Who's going to compliment the skaters after I'm done criticising them?"
"Puccini cries out for spirals...but really good ones." (Thanks Louis!!!)
(Of Michelle Kwan) "Oh, she popped her triple into a single and had trouble on her axel landing, but, WHO CARES?! Isn't she just wonderful?"
"There are three rules in skating/ice dancing: speed, speed, and speed."
(About Sarah Hughes) "She gets to use her leg like a pole vault, you can't play around with a long pole..."
(On a Tonya Harding spin at '93 Nationals) "It's a cross between a Hamill camel and a tipsy little skater."
(Regarding Alexei Urmanov's outfits) "Like the fashion-guru Diana Vreeland once said, 'A little bit of bad
taste is like a splash of paprika.' "
(During the '96 Worlds Broadcast) "Peggy, will you marry me???"
