| Salt Lake City |
 |
 |
| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
 |
| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
|
| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
|
| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
|
| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
|
| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
|
| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
|
| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
|
| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
|
| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
|
|
|
|
NBC chairman Ebersol sings Romney's praises
By Scott D. Pierce
Deseret News television editor
If Mitt Romney eventually decides to run for office, perhaps he ought to think about hiring NBC Sports and Olympics chairman Dick Ebersol as his campaign manager.
The network executive was effusive in his praise of the SLOC president at the end of the 2002 Winter Games.
"Romney and his group here, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, did one of the great organizing jobs of all time," Ebersol said.
"And from only a three-year start, because they took over the Games in February of '99 . . . and the Games were beset with the aftermath of the bid scandal and, even more importantly, just a horrible financial situation, which, nationally, probably didn't get the attention that the bid scandal did."
And Ebersol also praised a current politician, Gov. Mike Leavitt, for bringing Romney on board to right the SLOC ship and dig out from a "$400 million budget problem."
"Gov. (Mike) Leavitt out here showed the real foresight by reaching out to grab Romney, who wasn't on anybody else's list, to take over these Games," he said.
Ebersol pointed out that Romney was, at the time, running the Boston-based venture capital firm Bain and Co., whose business was buying failing companies, setting them in order and then selling them.
"He raised a lot more money than anybody ever thought possible," Ebersol said. "Almost double what Atlanta had raised for a Summer Olympics, which is usually much bigger than a Winter (Olympics). And his partner, (SLOC chief operating officer Fraser) Bullock, did a sensational job of cutting costs after plenty of great people had been brought in here earlier to cut costs.
"The two of them were a terrific team. So I think that says a lot about American ingenuity and expertise."
E-MAIL: pierce@desnews.com
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February 25, 2002
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