Mike Tirico hasn't done anything memorable as the new Olympics host, and NBC "must be thrilled"

Slate

"Why does Mike Tirico exist?" asks Willa Paskin. NBC had an opportunity to reimagine its Olympics coverage when replacing Bob Costas. Instead, the network "has essentially reupholstered that old chair," says Paskin, noting that picking Tirico was a way of making sure it didn't shake up a format that has proven successful. The only interesting thing so far, she points out, was Tirico's interview with Shaun White, since both have been accused of sexual harassment in the past. "Tirico has promised to be less political than Costas, and he’s done nothing in his first week on set to suggest he’ll rock the Olympics boat," says Paskin. "If Costas was a shishito pepper—nine times out of 10, not spicy at all!—then Tirico is a banana pepper—maybe after a few days in vinegar he’d sort of make your mouth tingle. Tirico has ably stepped into the job of host by doing nothing memorable, all while emitting a faint whiff of being perfectly pleasant."

ALSO:

• Tirico addressed the Florida school shooting: “It’s in the thoughts of every American over here, half a world away in South Korea"
• NBC seemed to be afraid of the optics of Tirico asking White about sexual harassment
• NBC appears to have decided that it won't touch on sexual misconduct during the Olympics
• NBC commentator Bode Miller apologizes after "joking" that skier Anna Veith's marriage was to blame for her poor performance
• NBC hasn't done a good job explaining Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski's roles as commentators
• In praise of Weir and Lipinski: They are less sentimental and more in tune with Olympians than other commentators