TORINO, Italy (Feb. 3, 2006) -- NBC's new figure skating commentators met the press recently and shared their opinions on subjects ranging from the new judging system to why men don't watch the sport as much as women do.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and distinguished skating analyst Dick Button (co-host of "Olympic Ice" on USA Network and NBC's pairs analyst) and 2002 Olympic gold medalists Jamie Sale and David Pelletier (analysts on "Olympic Ice" on USA Network), recently took part in a conference call from Torino where they are preparing for the Games.

The Olympic Games begin Feb. 10 with coverage of the Opening Ceremony on NBC at 8 p.m. ET/PT and continues through Sunday, Feb. 10. USA Network's "Olympic Ice," which will provide viewers with a daily all-access pass inside the world of skating during the Torino Games, launches on Feb. 10 and airs nightly through Feb. 24, 6-7 p.m. ET.

Button, who shares hosting duties with Mary Carillo and Scott Hamilton, is pleased USA Network is offering viewers the chance to get a daily fix of figure skating beyond the competition coverage. "When you're limited to four and a half minutes (time of an Olympic program), you can't get into any other esoteric subjects that float around this sport that can be so juicy, so interesting and so challenging,” he said. “This program will allow us to get into a lot of these other elements that you just don't get a chance to in an actual performance."

Button believes the ladies event will be one of the most exciting events of the Games. "I, for one, am just ecstatic about the fact that Michelle Kwan is there, along with Sasha Cohen and Kimmie Meissner to present a very, very strong U.S. team." he said. "I guarantee you it's an open event. Don't ever think for one minute that it is not. It is an open event."

The two-time Olympic gold medalist is enthusiastic about the fact that Tanith Belbin received her citizenship in time to compete at the Games. "I love the fact that they (Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto) are there. Everybody says maybe this shouldn't be so because she's a Canadian and so forth and I say phooey on that. Besides, the amount of cross-country influences throughout the whole world of skating, including the judging, has been enormous," he said. "Isn't the Olympics all about having the best people there?"

Pelletier has some interesting views on ice dancing. "I have been in skating for a long time and I am still not sure what I am watching sometimes," he said. "I don't know if I am watching some kind of dress up event or if whoever has the best dress is going to win, or who has the best hair extension. I do not question the athleticism of the sport. I do not question that it is a sport. I do question, sometimes, everything that goes with it."

The three journalists also gave their opinions ont he new judging system.

The system gives greater freedom to the skaters, Button said. "If you make a mistake you get marked down for it and there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it," he added.

Sale said before the new system was implemented issues like "paying your dues" were paramount. "Now with this new system today, it doesn't matter who you are," she said. "You can be someone who is there for the first time and come out and win."

"Whether we like it or not, it's not going away so we might as well try to appreciate the best side of it," Pelletier said about the new system. " I think that corruption in skating has been there for 100 years and it still will be there, we just won't know about it. A system that protects the judges kind of makes me laugh, it should be a system that protects the skaters. Right now we don't know what's happening behind the score that we see on the board and that's kind of a scary thing. But that being said, the skating itself has improved tremendously in the last four years and that's a very good aspect of that new skating judging system."

Button said he will not hold back if something controversial happens. "No way! There will be confrontations on the judging system, on the people involved, on what's right and what's wrong, on their coaches and their trainers and the people that are with them and how they have gotten to where they're going," he said. "Anything and everything that comes to mind."

Other interesting tidbits from the media call:

Pelletier on Evgeni Plushenko:

"We were told at one competition that our costume was wrong and we were going to lose the World Championship. Then you look at (Evgeni) Plushenko and it looks like he has feathers coming out of his butt so it is kind of weird."

Pelletier on His First Broadcasting Assignment:

"Skating is my passion so anytime someone wants me to talk about my passion it's beautiful, it's wonderful and I'm getting paid for it which is even better. It is going to be very interesting because I have no idea what I am getting myself into. People say 'Be natural, beyourself.' I could be naturally bad on the first day and it could be a very long three weeks. But I am really looking forward to the challenge."

Button on Points Given For Specific Elements:

"Put it this way, they can get whatever the ISU decides. When in doubt grab your foot and pull it over your head."

Button on Figure Skating's Popularity:

"It's the event everybody can relate to. It's got beauty it's got talent, it's got athletic perfection of the most extraordinary level."

Button on The Costumes of Skaters Today:

"The clothes for men's figure skating, in my day, were horrendous; they were full suits. I envy today's skaters that come out in a shirt and a pair of trousers. I do find sometimes that these costumes are over the top and you almost feel that you have been trapped in a windmill in the Metropolitan Opera House costume department."

Button on Why Most Men Do Not Watch Figure Skating in the United States:

"So many times men think that if you want to do something to music it's not masculine. Well that's not the case. I would defy any of these guys, hockey players and others, to get themselves to try to jump into the air, 15 or 20 feet, turn all those reps and land on an eighth of an inch blade and hold it, and not make themselves look like a slob doing it. That's a tough scene and I don't think people realize that or respect it."