What, where, when to watch Salt Lake City Olympics

Where and when to find what you want to watch on TV during the Salt Lake City Olympics, which open Friday and close Feb. 24 (all times EST; schedule subject to change):

-- The hours, generally: NBC (4-5 p.m., 8-11:30 p.m., 12:05-1:35 a.m.); MSNBC (1-6 p.m.); CNBC (6 p.m. to midnight). NBC's prime-time show will be shown with a 3-hour delay on the West Coast.

-- Friday: Will there be an inspiring choice of a person (a la Atlanta's Muhammad Ali or Sydney's Cathy Freeman) or a spectacular method (a la Barcelona's archer or Lillehammer's ski jumper) to light the Olympic cauldron? The opening ceremony starts at 9 p.m.; NBC starts its show (with "Today" co-host Katie Couric joining Bob Costas and Jim McKay) an hour earlier.

-- Saturday: Medals are handed out in some of the games' most oxygen-depriving events: 5,000-meter speedskating, and cross-country skiing events covering 15 and 30 kilometers (NBC 3-6 p.m.). Then catch the first of 10 nights of live -- that's right, sports fans, live! -- telecasts of the Olympics' biggest draw: figure skating. The pairs short program highlights NBC's prime-time show, which will also offer glimpses of ski jumping and freestyle skiing.

-- Sunday: The 100-meter dash of Alpine skiing, the men's downhill, is contested at noon ... and aired sometime after 8 p.m. on NBC. Daron Rahlves is the best U.S. hope, but don't be surprised to see three Austrians receiving medals (that goes for just about any men's skiing race).

-- Monday: Picabo Street races in the women's downhill (NBC, prime time). Also at night, medals awarded in pairs figure skating (where there have been 10 straight golds for Russians or Soviets), men's halfpipe snowboard, men's singles luge, and men's 500-meter speedskating.

-- Tuesday: Freestyle skier Jonny Moseley defends his Olympic gold in the moguls at night on NBC, promising his new Dinner Roll jump. Even if he flops, Moseley can take solace in knowing he's landed a title no other competitor has: host of "Saturday Night Live" on March 2.

-- Wednesday: Bode Miller of the United States is among the favorites in the men's Alpine combined event, which includes one downhill and two slalom runs (NBC at night).

-- Thursday: The defending champion U.S. women's hockey team plays China (CNBC, 6 p.m.). Figure skater Todd Eldredge aims for a medal 10 years after his first Olympic appearance (NBC at night).

-- Feb. 15: Beware the flying chairs -- NHL players return to the Olympics. The United States plays its opener against Finland at 10:45 p.m., with coverage live on CNBC and cut-ins on NBC.

-- Feb. 16: Roller derby on ice? Oh, my! Or Ohno -- as in Apolo Anton Ohno, touted as a contender to win four medals in short track speedskating. The first men's final, 1,000 meters, is at night on NBC, which hopes Ohno will be one of the stars of the 2 1/2 weeks. And 22 years after the "Miracle on Ice," the U.S. and Russian hockey teams face off at 11:30 p.m. during NBC's late-night show.

-- Feb. 17: Set the VCR to tape CNBC between 6 p.m. and midnight -- somewhere in there will be coverage of the United States vs. Finland in curling, and you never know when a refresher course on the sport could come in handy.

-- Feb. 18: Jacqui Cooper of Australia is the favorite in freestyle skiing aerials in prime time on NBC. Jaromir Jagr leads the Czech Republic against Mario Lemieux and Canada on CNBC, 6 p.m.

-- Feb. 19: Spins & Sequins, Part I: Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen and Sarah Hughes of the United States take on Irina Slutskaya and Maria Butyrskaya of Russia in the women's figure skating short program (NBC prime time). Women's hockey semis on MSNBC and CNBC.

-- Feb. 20: A big hockey day: The men's quarterfinals are shown live, two each on CNBC and MSNBC, with cut-ins on NBC. Skeleton returns to the Olympics after a 54-year absence and gets the full NBC treatment, with the men's and women's finals contested at 11 a.m. ... and aired in prime time.

-- Feb. 21: The women's hockey final is at 7 p.m. on CNBC. A busy day also includes women's curling (MSNBC, 1 p.m.) the men's cross country skiing 20-kilometer relay (NBC, 4 p.m.), and the men's giant slalom and Nordic combined ski jumping (NBC prime time). Oh, and a certain figure skating final (aka S&S, Part II) airs on NBC at 8 p.m.

-- Feb. 22: Why does the "Champions Gala" exhibition -- figure skating medalists performing with nothing at stake -- get prime-time treatment? Because it's still figure skating. Nancy vs. Tonya at the 1994 Games still ranks as the highest-rated TV show (sports or otherwise) since the final episode of "MASH" in 1983.

-- Feb. 23: The men's bronze medal hockey game is on NBC at 2:15 p.m. Coverage of the final medals in skiing (men's slalom), cross country (men's 50 kilometers), bobsledding (four-man), short track speedskating (women's 1,000 meters, men's 500 and 5,000 relay) will be seen on NBC from 8-11:30 p.m.

-- Feb. 24: NBC has the men's hockey final at 3 p.m. and the closing ceremony at night.

-- Associated Press