Sports
In its Olympics debut, Peacock's 'Gold Zone' has been an addictive hit with fans
Think of the Summer Olympics moments that stayed with you the most. Maybe it’s Jason Lezak running down France’s Alain Bernard in the final lap of the 4×100 swimming free relay in Beijing in 2008 to save Michael Phelps’ bid for eight gold medals. Perhaps Usain Bolt crossing the finish line in the men’s 4×100-meter relay in Rio to take his ninth gold medal in as many Olympic tries. Or simply pick any of the four gold medals won by Simone Biles.
If you are a diehard Olympic viewer living in the United States, the likelihood is you watched those events via NBC’s prime-time coverage. But the times are always a-changing in sports media, and for many Olympic viewers, memories from Paris will be served up via Peacock’s “Gold Zone,” an “NFL RedZone”-inspired whip-around show that streams daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Peacock.
For those who have watched it, there is only word for it: addictive. It is an uber-modern way to watch the Games. (Note: You need a subscription to Peacock to watch “Gold Zone” or you can use your cable login credentials via NBC’s website or through the NBC Sports App. It will not be shown on any NBC linear channels during the Olympics.) .)
If you tuned into “Gold Zone” on Monday at 1:33 p.m. ET, as I did, here is what you would have witnessed: A quad box on screen that showed the men’s team gymnastics final (where the U.S. ultimately won bronze); a handball match between France and Norway; Spain tennis ace and World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz against Dutch tennis player Tallon Griekspoor; and Netherlands-China in women’s water polo.
There can be up to 40 events happening simultaneously during these Olympics and “Gold Zone” pledges to bring you coverage anytime a medal is on the line. For instance: As the women’s 200-meter freestyle gold medal in swimming was being conducted on Monday — featuring the popular Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus — “Gold Zone” had a double box that gave equal treatment to France’s Manon Apithy-Brunet defeating countrywoman Sara Balzer in women’s individual sabre.
NBC said since its launch on Saturday, “Gold Zone” has ranked in the top-5 most-watched Olympics titles on Peacock and had a 55 percent jump in the number of accounts that watched between Saturday and Sunday.
Amy Rosenfeld, NBC’s Senior vice president of Olympics and Paralympics production and the point person for “Gold Zone,” described the control room housing the “Gold Zone” monitor wall as “something that looks like NASA with all of the different feeds coming in.” She said there are 30 people working on “Gold Zone” at the NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Conn., and they were chosen because they have the personality for this kind of high-wire act. “Gold Zone” uses two lead producers per shift. One producer is talking to the on-air talent and the other serves as a traffic cop.
“The orchestration of this is not for the faint of heart,” Rosenfeld said. “This show is so hard and so exhausting for the producers and directors because there’s something frantically happening in every minute.”
“Gold Zone” has four hosts working throughout the day in shifts. Matt Iseman and Jac Collinsworth clock in from 7 to 11 a.m. ET, followed by Andrew Siciliano (11 a.m.-2 p.m. ET) and Scott Hanson (2 p.m. to the conclusion of the day.) Hanson and Siciliano, of course, are well known for their respective work as Sunday guides of NFL coverage. Hanson has served as the host of “NFL RedZone” since its inaugural season in 2009. He is also an NFL Network host. Siciliano was the host of the “RedZone Channel” on DIRECTV from 2005 to 2023.
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Rosenfeld said the core of the show is the researchers, which makes sense given the breadth of the coverage. The producers of “Gold Zone” approach each day with a loose format, but the reality is you cannot plan for the Olympics because, well, things happen. On “Gold Zone” you might see a researcher hand a host a note on camera — or check something on-air in real time — because the audience needs to be informed.
“We said to our talent that they are not expected to be an expert in every single element in every sport and it’s okay to pull the curtain back,” Rosenfeld said. “People think it is kind of cool to see the behind the scenes.”
One of the people watching is George Privateer, who works in marketing and communications in Findlay, Ohio. Privateer volunteered to answer some questions from The Athletic about his “Gold Zone” experience. He said he and his family watched about 10 hours of “Gold Zone” coverage on Saturday and Sunday.
“I’m a big fan of ‘NFL RedZone,’ so when I heard they were trying the concept with the Olympics, I was really excited,” Privateer said. “One of the challenges with streaming something like the Olympics is knowing what sport to turn on and when. There are so many options, I’d typically default to an event featuring Team USA athletes. I know the sports that get the big draw will get the prime-time coverage but there’s drama and stories all over the Olympics, and as fans, we miss a lot of it. ‘Gold Zone’ fixes much of that.”
Privateer said he watched South Korea-China in women’s team archery on “Gold Zone” on Sunday and loved it. He said he would have never encountered that event without “Gold Zone.”
“‘Gold Zone’ took me there during that last round because gold was on the line and I was totally invested,” Privateer said. “Would South Korea win a 10th straight gold? Could China pull the upset? The announcers did a great job of setting up why this was important (South Korea’s never lost the gold, but China beat them earlier in the year) and building the drama. My wife, Christine, is much more of a casual Olympics fan than I am, but she found herself getting sucked into canoe slalom because of ‘Gold Zone.’ She would have never watched that on her own.”
Sean Burke, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sport Management at Florida State University, also responded to our query. He said he has kept the Olympics on “Gold Zone” from the moment the whip-around coverage came on.
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“I chose to watch ‘Gold Zone’ because of its resemblance to the ‘NFL RedZone,’” Burke said. “It has made it easier to keep up with every single Olympic sport. Moreover, my affection for watching ‘Gold Zone’ and having a second screen has prepared me for college football this fall. It’s also made adjusting my sleep schedule much easier. I can get up in the morning and watch wall-to-wall coverage from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then work on assignments at night for my PhD studies.”
NBC Olympics officials have been planning “Gold Zone” for more than a year and Rosenfeld recalled Molly Solomon, the executive producer and president of NBC Olympics production, telling her years ago how much she wanted to do this kind of production. You probably have not heard of Rosenfeld but she was instrumental in building ESPN as a soccer destination. She served as the lead producer for all of ESPN’s men’s and women’s World Cup productions from 1999 to 2014 and joined NBC Sports in June 2022.
Rosenfeld said she is always thinking about how many boxes on screen is too much and how such choices impact the viewer. She prefers fewer boxes when a major medal is being contested. She said she has seen quality feedback on social media, including suggestions that Peacock reduce the “Gold Zone” logo and increase the box size when a quad box appears. (They listened to the audience.) Privateer said if he had one request for “Gold Zone” producers it would be to have Siciliano and Hanson co-host one three-hour block together.
“Our mission is to have you be super-served everything,” Rosenfeld said. “If we’re doing our job right, you can be there with your popcorn and get delivered every important Olympic moment. You don’t have to touch your remote or be on your computer trying to figure out what’s happening next because we are here.”
(Photo of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, playing Olympic doubles together: Getty Images)
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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.
“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”
Ponder was 23 years old.
Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)
Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.
Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.
The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.
Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)
“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”
Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.
Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)
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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.
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Sunday was “Senior Night” for the USC women’s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team’s seniors who stole the show.
Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, Kiki Rice had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts had 15 rebounds and five assists as UCLA wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.
Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.
“These are two elite programs, we knew it would be different tonight, we knew they’d come with fire,” said UCLA coach Cori Close, who improved to 9-4 against the Trojans since counterpart Lindsay Gottlieb started at USC in 2021. “We knew we’d have to do it with our defense, our rebounding and by taking care of the ball.”
It was the Bruins’ 22nd consecutive win, one shy of the record they set last season. Since their lone loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, they have won by 20 or more points 17 times.
Ranked second in the nation in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls behind defending national champion Connecticut (30-0), the Bruins earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Indianapolis and got a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.
Charlisse Leger-Walker, nicknamed “X-ray vision” by teammates, equaled her season high with 20 points for the Bruins (28-1, 18-0) while Gianna Kneepkens added 14 points and five assists.
“Anytime we play together we know we can win,” Leger-Walker said. “We did a good job looking into the scout. Every game we just think about going 1-0. People scouting us know that all five players on the court can score the ball.”
UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, controls the ball in front of USC forward Vivian Iwuchukwu during the first half Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
UCLA held USC to 27% shooting in the teams’ first meeting — a 34-point Bruins victory at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3 behind Betts’ 18 points. It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. On Sunday, USC shot 39% and was only three for 19 from three-point range.
“Going undefeated [in conference] is a great step in the right direction towards what we want to accomplish,” said Jaquez, who appreciated the flowers she received before the game from USC. “I love this rivalry. It’s super fun to play against them and it was nice that they honored us too.”
UCLA jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and carried a 19-11 advantage into the second quarter. The Bruins widened the gap to 18 points by halftime, holding the Trojans scoreless for the last 3:08.
USC (17-12, 9-9) opened the second half on an 11-2 run but gave up 14 second-chance points and allowed 22 offensive rebounds.
UCLA guard Kiki Rice, front, and forward Angela Dugalic celebrate as USC guard Kennedy Smith walks away during the first half Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
“If we get more possessions than our opponent we’re most likely going to win,” Close said. “We didn’t allow one basket on an out-of-bounds play and they lead the conference in that.”
Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, USC’s leading scorer, got into early foul trouble but still finished with 12 points. She was held to 10 points on four-for-15 shooting in the first meeting.
“It was a great crowd, we were in the fight but we didn’t rebound or shoot well enough,” Gottlieb said. “We wanted to keep them out of our paint. We swarmed Betts, double-teamed her and got it out of her hands but other people scored.”
Londynn Jones, who spent three seasons in Westwood (playing in 108 straight games) before transferring to USC for her senior year, was held to six points in the team’s first meeting and nine points (on four-of-10 shooting) in the rematch. The Trojans’ other senior, Kara Dunn, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with eight points.
“I love Londynn,” Close said. “We think she looks better in blue, but we love her and I told her that. I appreciate all she gave to our programs.”
Asked if this is the best team she has ever coached, Close had a one-word answer.
“Yes.”
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Israel’s national gymnastics team has suspended all training and team activities amid the recent Iranian counter-attack on the country following the U.S.-assisted strikes on Iran.
The Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) provided a statement to Fox News Digital announcing the violence has caused “unavoidable disruptions.”
“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the national teams’ professional plans, particularly as we are at the outset of the international season,” the statement read.
“At this time, all training activities have been temporarily suspended, pending approval from the relevant authorities to safely resume operations. Naturally, the suspension of training and the closure of airspace are causing considerable stress and concern. However, the safety and well-being of our gymnasts and professional staff remain our highest priority. We sincerely hope for safer and calmer days ahead, when we can focus solely on sport.”
A source within the team told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterstrikes began.
Israel’s gymnastics team is considered one of nation’s strongest Olympic programs alongside its Judo and sailing teams. The team is only a week removed from a successful trip at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Germany, where the country’s star Artem Dolgopyat won the gold medal in floor gymnastics.
Now, the team will have to seek safety until the attacks are over.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to continue to shelter in place either in or near their residences as Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel.
Additionally, the embassy announced that due to the security situation, it would be closed on March 2, and did not give an estimate on when it would be reopening. The closure includes consular sections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The embassy also said it is “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” It noted that Ben Gurion Airport remains closed and there there are neither commercial nor charter flights operating from the airport.
On Friday, ahead of the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the embassy gave all non-essential workers permission to leave Israel, with reports that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged those looking to leave to do so as soon as possible.
Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed just miles from Jerusalem.
The strikes landed in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. Initial reports said four people were killed when missiles landed in a residential area on Sunday, but that death toll rose to eight, according to Israel’s national emergency service.
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Iran’s military has carried out counterattacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.
The strikes also killed several other top Iranian leaders, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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