we have a pep rally going in seattle. take a look. live shot seattle, up early to root on >> they're on the bottom of e screen. we're notreen. we're not making the game based onctions of th denver on the on placement. denver o where ther top, another pep going on y going on. is the first time allst timel that the men onhe men on the crew haveew have volunteered to outside outside and work at the stat the the show because look at at on rockefeller plaid rockefelr we've got cheerleaders from bn sid attendance. >> researching how both side feel about sunday's big game. thank you, crew, for your dedication to be tside in the cold this morning.course, of course, a lot more on gae game coming upin a few. >> we >> we certainly will. right to our top story,da knor knox and her former boyfriend convicted of murder in an italian court, onceagain. overnight, raffaele sollec overnight, raffaele sollecito was detained by police there. nbc's keith miller's in florence, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. well in sollecito, the of amandaknox, was picked up y italian police near the ita border. he's ha amanda knox and >> reporter: policesay raffaee sollecito checked into a hot with his without a reservation border town of swept in taking the into custody and his passport. hours earlier, knox found guilty of murder i the sexual assault of meredi kercher. this latesttwist comes four years after first later overturned on appeal. knox did not take verdict well. one of her slammed down the phone when tod of the decision. on edge, unable to eat all knox call verdict a train wreck. >> one -- no one who is unmas going to understand that. >> reporter: in a statement, released after the verdict, s said, i am frightened and saddened by this having been found innocent before, i expected betterfrom the italian sentenced to 28 1/2 will be seattle while the appeal proces continues. sollecito got 25 years, but forbidden to leave the country. the judges have 90 days to submit a of how they verdict. speaking this morning to reporters, the said no verdict their sister. the horrorof her. > af the kercher family saids morning that if, infact,3 c3 meredith kercher dice que si el guilty plea is3 c3 veredicto se mantiene, quieren raffaele sollecito attorney i3 buenos dias. with3 c3 >> buenos dias, savannah. do you think he was trying to flee the country? do you know what he was doi3 me comuniqué con el ayer, there? >> no, i talked to3 c3 había planeado alejarse de la yesterday. he planned on being3 c3 corte, de su casa, de los medios >> his passport had already. it wasn't like he passport. >> >> he when he was here, republic or whatever, tends to go to rural areas doesn't to be bothered, wants to stayo himself. >> yo after the what was his reaction? i mean, was stunned by it, get a different >> stunned is an he -- no one ever as opposed to the other tri there was now, no there's no physical, there is no witness testimony, there's no motive here. there's just nothing that ties him to the situation >> this judges, panel, that deliberat 11 1/2 hours. does that seem short to does that seem sufficient to look at this case? >> well, no, i don't think but you hearing evidence all along, it had been submitted. i think there were a lot f things that went into the decision other than the evidee in this case, i've got that so -- >> finally, your client has nowhere to go. amanda knox extraditi extradition. he's got no options. >> no, whether in italy at the time3 c3 familia, amigos, aquellos que l& gone, he would have been subjec3 aman y apoyan.& to extradition anyway. he chose to be home with family, friends, those who support him. >> john q. being here. matt? >> thanks very what's lisa analyst. >> good morning. >> this amanda knox and raffaele sollecito have been convict of murder. last time around it ended up in italy's supreme court. they threw out convictions what happen are the chances that ha >> i knox, through her attorneys lsh appeal. that could take months or years and she doesn't have to go to italy for that. >> talk about the dynamic this create between united there is so you have to italians are calling the americans here. what is the american's best case for not >> the that because double jeopardy did not apply in fu than means in america, once acquitted, they retried for but italy can our own justice system. we don't have double jeopardy but we had a many jeopardy, perspective, she's a convicted murder. >> who call for the united states? >> well, that would be a department decision, united states tries to extradited more people than any other country in the if we don't to other countries, they reciprocate and cause a lot of problems to us. >> lisa bloom in thank you very much. >> thank you. meantime, following a e-mail system people use hacked.3 c3 los nombres usuarios y & >> if you security breach to tell you about. user names and passwords of million in the u.s. alone have been personal cnbc's morgan brennan with more. >> names and passwords were stolen from the e-mail service which was recentl company's calling a coordinated cyberattack yahoo! is taking action to protect veet passwords and use sign-in verification to resecure their accounts. the evidence yahoo! mail was directly hacked. instead, it's saying was likely party yahoo! largest 80 million accounts are in the u.s. >> morgan brennan, thanks so much. federal prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against tsarnaev in the boston marathon bombings. prosecutors say 20-year-old tsarnaev and his older brother planted two pressure cooker bombs near the finish line. dzhokhar tsarnaev pleaded not guilty. no trial date set yet. yet, another kruse ship with more sick passengers. the caribbean princess returned to port in houston thursday after 165 people became ill over the course of the trip. however, three passengers currently have active symptoms. princess cruise says the norovirus is to blame but the ship returned to houston due to heavy fog and not infected passengers. take a look at this dramatic video from off the coast of thailand. this is a dive boat, 13 people on board, and you see it started to sing after the hull was punctured. it went down so fast that passengers started jumping in the water, to get away from the boat. thankfully another ship nearby, able to rescue all passengers and crew, and everyone is expected to be okay. outrage in salt lake city and beyond over this story. after school lunches were taken from students who owed money on their accounts, those lunches were then tossed in the garbage. the school district is apologizing for the incident. about 30 elementary school students had their meals take friend them and thrown away. they were given milk and fruit instead. a district spokesman says it was all a mistake. reaction from parents and students coming up later on here on "today." >> wait a minute. they were walking down the row with their trays. >> in hand. >> and somebody said, your account's not up to date and took the food off the tray? >> and threw it away. >> gave them milk and fruit. >> a lot of explaining. >> why didn't they trip the kids, too? >> how do you take food off a child's plate. >> unbelievable. anybody could take food off a child's plate. take a look at this one. close call for a tow truck driver in alabama. all of this caught on camera. you'll see here the driver was securing a wrecked vehicle on a highway in mobile when an suv skidded there on a patch of slick road. the suv came within inches of hitting the driver. he got out of the way just in time. visibly shaken, as you can imagine. fortunately, he was not hurt in that. reminder, when you see that sign there, pay close attention. anybody stranded on the side of the road. don't almost hit him. note to self. >> thank you so much. mr. roker, feels almost warm this morning. >> it does. let's not get ahead of ourselves as we've got a lot going on. my colleagues at the weather channel calling this latest storm maximus, and it's going to bring -- >> maximus. >> maximus prime! we are looking at snow denver. they picked up 6 to 8 inches and snow showers continue right through the afternoon. it gets itself together, continues to snow in denver for the next few hours, and then makes its way to the west from topeka, chicago by late tonight, early tomorrow, you've got snow. look at the snowfall totals by the time it's over, out through the rockies, we're talking about up to a foot to a foot and a half of snow. and as we head to the east, chicago, just outside of chicago, a foot generally 6 to 9 inches chicago. detroit will pick up another few inches and look at this, detroit record snow. this month, 39.1 inches already. breaking the old record, 106 years standing, 38.4 inches of snow. we're going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 second. gp in >> good morning to you. happy friday. i'm meteorologist christina loren. san francisco, nice clear start to the day. great air quality thanks to showers that came through yesterday. today's highs comfortable but cool enough for a jacket or sweater all day long. 57 in san francisco. 60 degrees in san jose. two different parts of the weekend, expecting light showers on sunday so if you are trying to make outdoor plans better on saturday. you can see a little area of low pressure starting to skirt on sunday. we are going to have the super bowl forecast coming up in just a little bit. and next week, the next storm -- nika. >> maximum to nika. >> we're moving through the whole alphabet. >> a school out in montana came up with a name for us on the weather channel. >> maximus sounds like a storm that will -- >> that one will get you. >> exactly. al, thank you. now the opening ceremony of the winter olympics just one week from today an russian president vladimir putin is hoping these games will be one of his crowning achievements but some are questioning the massive $50 billion price tag for this event. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in sochi this morning. richard, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. make no mistake, we are guests at a vladimir putin's olympics and they say a great deal about his character, his vision of the games -- and of himself. these are vladimir putin's olympic games. he's inspected the stadiums. played hockey on the rink. tried on the uniforms. and personally led the campaign to convince the ioc to host the olympics in sochi in the first place. >> russia is ready to host the winter olympic and paralympic games in 2014. >> reporter: but why? putin likes sochi. he works much of the year in the black sea town. it's far warmer than moscow, and unique with sea air right next to the mountains. putin also likes to associate himself with sports. it fits his image. a man who can meet world leaders, but also flip his opponents, race cars, explore underwater, ride bare cheffed. this pop song was a hit on the russian charts. it's called "i want a man like putin." and a lot of russians want a friend like putin. according to opposition activists, many of the contracts for olympic venues were awarded to politicians and businessmen close to the russian president. according to research publish by a team of activists, the games cost almost $50 billion, including $9.5 billion for new rail lines, roads an tunnels between the olympic villages, built by the russian rail monopoly. >> it's a kind of showcase resort for putin, one he's personally very fond of and i think he really wanted for personal reasons to bring the olympics there. >> reporter: putin has denied that these games are all about him. but this family knows one thing for sure -- they lost their home because of the olympics. they showed me where it once stood. bulldozed to make room for sewer lines and some ornamental trees across from an olympic headquarters. >> translator: they knew this was putin's project so they did everything they could to build as quickly as possible without thinking of quality or human rights," she said. the sochi games are most expensive ever, and perhaps no one has more riding on their success than vladimir putin. putin has acknowledged that corruption is "an unacceptable problem," and promised to fight it. matt, savannah, i guess we'll be seeing you here soon. >> very soon, richard. >> richard, thank you so much. closer to home this weekend's big athletic contest is of course the super bowl. fans of the denver broncos and seattle seahawks are up very early this morning for our coast to coast pep rally. nbc's kerry sanders is at the tavern downtown in denver. kerry, we'll start with you. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it is insane here. the energy level is crazy. the folks here just are so confident. they're not cocky but they're confident that their team, right there -- the broncos -- are going to walk away with this. so, omaha omaha. they understand that here. that's peyton manning's way of getting to speak an audible. we're going to do an audible right here. these are some of the super fans here. hat man. hat man, tell me what do you think? >> seattle, you know we're going to rain on your froo-froo parade. >> what do you think? >> peyton manning against the mediocre defense. come on! what are we going to do? we're going to win the super bowl! >> there you go. the fans are crazy. and there is one fan i'm honored to get a chance to talk to. bobnd mr bob and mrs. houser. >> i remember we were really busy, we sold hamburgers for 35 cents and hot dogs for a quarter. >> there you go. the crowd here is excited and ready. savannah, they believe they already know who's going to win this game. >> kerry sanders. so we've heard some trash talk about the froo-froo-coffee parade down in seattle. let's go to seahawks country. joe, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. we're here with the loudest fans in the nfl. these guys play such a huge role in games, they're known as the 1th ma1 12th man. they're so loud, they've actually caused earthquakes at the stadium. we're here with the only super fan i know who has his own action figure. you have not missed a game in 29 years. tell me what you got right here. >> well, this is seafence sign. this is what we are as the 12th man. our defense is on the field, our seafence is in the stands and there's nothing more powerful than the sea! >> i want to bring in mckenzie. this is not fake. this is a real tattoo. tell me why you got this. >> i tried to win playoff tickets to the saints game. >> and you did it to try and win super bowl tickets but you didn't win. >> i didn't win, no! >> no regrets though. >> no regrets! >> this is how loyal the fans are here in seattle. let's send it back to you guys in new york. >> thank you very much. >> i still want to know about the guy with the fish. >> we're happy hair grows back, at least for some people. joe, thank you very much. more from seattle and denver throughout the morning. then the mayors of each city will join us on the plaza. they'll make a friendly wager on the outcome of the game. carson is so excited, he's already outside with the crowd. or maybe it is because of all those cheerleaders. >> that's right, guys. i wanted to come out here and be close to the fans. that really means the cheerleaders, you're right. both sides are here. the sea gals, the bronco ladies are here, thunder, the bronco. blitz, the seahawk mascot. even the sea hulk is out there. we're asking you to go to twitter with the #seahawkstoday or #broncostoday, tell us who you're pulling for. the winner so far -- we'll do it all morning long -- 61% to the denver broncos leading the charge on twitter as of right this second. you can keep that going. a bit of business. we had our super bowl bracketology for commercials. it started with 12 big commercials. we narrowed it down to two yesterday. the mcdonald's showdown commercial versus the budweiser clydesdale commercial. more than 12,000 votes, including, by the way, mcdonald's tweeting out yesterday -- "we have this in the bag." well, after 12,000 votes, ladies and gentlemen, drum roll, please -- the winner is -- budweiser's clydesdale respect. they get the winner of the number one super bowl commercial according to all of your voters at today.com. of course, night memorable tribute to 9/11. left everybody with obviously a lasting impression. cheap the hash tags coming, show your support for denver, seattle. we have the mayors here, plenty of hype, plenty of beautiful cheerleaders and great fans getting ready for the super bowl. back to you guys. >> carson, see you inside in a minute. >> carson obviously going outside to see a man about a horse. >> careful of that horse when you go out there. coming up, should you boycott magazines that buy and publish tabloid photos of celebrity kids? we have an exclusive interview with kristen bell and dax shepard about their stand against the paparazzi. and, will it be a festiveuos for the rest of us? the possibility of a seinfeld reunion next. but first, this is "today" on nbc. coming up, i [ bettina ] my dentist said to me that i had acid erosion. he actually told me that a lot of the foods that i thought were really healthy for me can do damage to the enamel on my teeth. i am a healthy girl, i love salads, i love fruits, and it's not something i want to give up. my dentist recommended that i use pronamel twice a day as my daily toothpaste. pronamel will help protect the enamel from future erosion. it's just so great because all of those foods that i enjoyed so much, i didn't want to give up, and now i can continue to have them. can help your kids' school get extra stuff. they're the only cereals with box tops for education. you can raise money for your kids' school. look for this logo. only on big g cereals. you can make a difference. every cereal box counts. you're saying i can get at&t's network with a data plan and unlimited talk and text for as low as $45 a month? 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[ male announcer ] it's not complicated. new smartphone plans starting at $45 a month, with no annual contract. only from at&t. it is 7:26. i'm laura garcia-cannon. that breaking news is on the peninsula this morning where a caltrain has hit and killed a pedestrian in redwood city. let's check with mike inouye. >> you are looking at the caltrain system. this is from a few minutes ago. trains are halted as far as the flow through redwood city. southbound trains turning around at san carlos, northbound at menlo park. folks traveling the system can take a bus bridge. sam tran is going to honor those fares through the area. as you said a pedestrian reportedly hit on the tracks, we're following that investigation. the impact to commute, either hit the alternates for the bus bridge or the roadways through 101 which is clear right now base it's friday. a look at the bay bridge. we have a backup on this side of the bay. an earlier crash heading in toward the treasure island tunnel has cleared but that caused a backup and the metering lights slow in the fast track lanes and the cash lanes to the right. the maze itself moving smoothly. now you see the slow drive from oakland into treasure island. the approach out of the caldecott for 880, 580 moving as well. a nice flow for the south bay. not a problem for 101 north of 680. we see slowing there even on a friday. it's looking good. >> looking good. i think this is going to bring a lot of people over 680 in the sacramento valley later on. heavenly, 2.5 feet of snow. fresh powder waiting for you in tahoe, kirkwood, almost a foot and a half. we did pretty well, north star and squaw almost a foot. more on the way into this weekend so. temperatures right now in the 40s, we're looking really good, to hit the 60s in most cities across the bay area. 57 a little cooler at the coast and san francisco and then bringing rain as we head thorough the sunday and cooler weather as well. it's a tricky forecast. we're going to see an area of low pressure detach from the jet stream. looks like it's going to skirt the coastline so we're fair game for showers starting on sunday morning all the way through about 4:00 p.m. laura, back to you. >> thanks so much. we'll have another local update for you in about a half hour. we hope to see you then. enjoy your friday morning. 7:30 now on this friday morning, the 31st of january, 2014. t-minus 2 days to the super bowl. these fans out on the plaza are ready. we have broncos fans, seahawks fans, cheerleaders, a horse -- what don't we have? >> i'll tell you what we also have -- we have the mayors of each of those cities. they'll join us out there and make a friendly wager. i'll only tell you this -- i've heard it involves public nudity. that's all i'm saying. >> that is a wager, all right. also a sneak peek more of the commercials you're going to be seeing during sunday's big game. for some of us, it's our favorite part. what's happening in the news this morning -- amanda knox' former boyfriend, raffaele sollecito was taken into custody near the italian border overnight. that came just hours after he and knox were convicted of murder two years after their initial convictions were overturned by a different court. georgia's governor now admits that his state failed to prepare for tuesday's winter storm early enough. agencies will now be reviewed to create a better plan of action for the future. and here's a story a lot of people are talking about. school administrators in salt lake city, utah, are apologizing after 32 students had their lunches taken from them and thrown away because the children owed money on their food accounts. we're going to have a lot more on this, including some outraged parents coming up. >> that's a huge lapse of judgment. >> can't even believe it. also ahead, as you might imagine, matt, you're getting ready to take off for sochi. >> today. i'm leaving today. >> we have a nice little sendoff plan for you. >> parting gifts? >> shaving cream. >> sounds interesting. i'm going to be live there on monday here on "today." we'll take a closer look at the security. a huge concern surrounding these winter olympic games. we're also going to talk to some members of team usa. these are athletes who have already arrived in sochi so see you there from there monday. we're going to begin this half-hour with stars taking a stand against paparazzi. how would you like to take your kids out for a walk and face this every day? nbc's tamron hall has more on this story. tamron, good morning to you. >> good morning, everyone. we sat down with an exclusive interview with kristen bell and dax shepard. they explained the reasoning behind their public outcry for people to boycott magazines that print pictures of celebrity kids. >> we're not saying that we can't be newsworthy. we're saying that our child is not newsworthy. >> reporter: kristen bell and dax shepard want to keep their 10-month-old daughter lincoln out of the public eye. but after paparazzi snapped photos earlier this month, the two took to twitter. "please boycott magazines that run pics of celebrity children," they tweeted. they shouldn't be punished for who their parents are. bell added, i won't do interviews 4 entities that pay photogs to take pictures of my kids." >> we have chosen this life. >> absolutely. >> that's why we're not asking you to boycott magazines that we are in. we're asking you to boycott the magazines where the people haven't made that choice. >> reporter: the duo, who were public with kristen's pregnancy, tweeted photos and shared personal moments with fans, say this is all about consent. >> i would draw a distinction between a parent taking a picture of their child in their home while playing and putting it on twitter, than five strangers jumping out of your bushes. you're in control in one situation, in another situation you have zero control. >> it's all how the child is affected. that's the bottom line. >> reporter: shepard and bell are not the first celebrities to take on the increasingly aggressive paparazzi. in 2007, julia roberts confonted a photog after he tried to snap photos of her children. >> hi, julia how are you. >> hi. you can turn your video camera off because i'm going to talk to you about the fact that you're at a school where children go. turn it off. >> in september, halle berry and jennifer garner testified in front of california lawmakers pleading for stricter punishments for prying cameras. >> i don't want a game of shouting, arguing, law breaking photographers who camp out everywhere we are, all day every day, to continue traumatizing my kids. >> reporter: state bill 606 was signed in to law by california governor jerry brown and stars like sandra bullock are grateful. >> we are fair game, i get it. children should be allowed to be children and not be sold. >> if the consumer says, no, we don't want this anymore. the publications don't pay for the pictures. the paparazzi aren't getting paid, they stop taking pictures of the kids. it's -- that's the mathematics. >> at the heart of this really is that, guys, these kids did not choose this life. their parents did. if you see some of the photos from time to time particularly at school or play dates, not only is the celebrity child in the photo, some of their friends are dragged in to it as well. this is a big conversation and we may see some change very soon. >> tamron, thank you. certainly can understand the outrage when talking about little ones. let us get a check of the weather now from mr. roker. >> announcer: "today's" weather is brought to you by the new windows. one experience for everything in your life. >> so, guys, one of the good things that we've got coming up is a change in all this cold air. we are finally going to start to see a break and that's good news. why? well, because the jet stream which has been up to the north for so long has now taken more of a zonal flow. that's good, because that allows the warmer air to make its way up to the north. the colder air has retreated so that's not so bad. we like that. in fact, look at temperatures today. 53 in atlanta. chicago, 22. 37 new york. d.c., 44. by saturday, orlando -- 12 degrees above normal with a high of 84. it is 55 degrees in atlanta. 41 in cleveland. that's seven degrees above normal. then on sunday, look at these temperatures. atlanta, you're at 64 degrees. that's ten degrees above normal. same in charlotte. norfolk, 62. new york city getting up to 46. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happen 7:36. happy friday, bay area. it's chilly out there to start. make sure you're ready for that. i'm happy to report how clear our air quality is. san francisco really tells that story. 57 degrees, i widen out you can see a beautiful start to the day. no haze, no low clouds and yeah, a pretty nice weekend as well. two different parts to the weekend. we're going to hold onto the good air quality. showers on sunday. great for outdoor plans on saturday. and that's your latest weather. >> thank you so much. coming up next -- why wait for the game? we'll preview the hottest super bowl ads that we think you will be talking about monday morning. and then on "trending," is it really happening? jerry seinfeld weighs in on a possible seinfeld reunion. we'll tell you more about that. but first, these messages. honestly, i'm a little old fashioned. i love chalk and erasers. but change is coming. all my students have the brand new surface. it has the new windows and comes with office, has a real keyboard, so they can do real work. they can use bing smartsearch to find anything in the world... or last night's assignment. and the battery lasts and lasts, so after school they can skype, play games, and my favorite...do homework. change is looking pretty good after all. ♪ how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, like, pull it a little further. 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[ female announcer ] new dove advanced care. the first antiperspirant with nutrium moisture. so you can be a softer, smoother, more beautiful little armpit. you deserve our best care ever. and don't you ever forget that. ♪ we're back now at 7:40. with the reason a lot of people watch the big game on sunday -- the commercials. this year the average 30-second spot is going for a wlopi inwho million. so which companies made the best use of their doars? matt miller is president and ceo of the association for independent commercial producers. matt, good to see you. or broken down a different way, $134,000 a second. >> it is almost like you have to stop thinking of it that way. this is an event of cultural currency in such a big-scale way. it is not even just what's in the game. it is what's leading up to the game. it is the chatter after it. according to veneble bill and partners, 70% of all americans are aware of commercials before the game, and half of all americans will seek them out. >> lot of things are changing. for example, the days where beer and car companies would sell their products with bikini-clad super models are done. we just have a moment of silence. okay. cute has now taken over for cleavage. >> it is a lot about who the audience is. we're 110 million people. again, this is not a sporting event. this is a cultural event that is on a grand scale for everybody. >> it is about families. let's take a look at our first example. here we go. >> anybody need help? >> andre? >> sweet highlander. >> drive! >> oh, no! >> that last one for bud. does the "aw" factor work? does it sell products? >> it certainly does. the pre-release also works, too. we put that spot out 48 hours ago. it is over 22 million views on youtube as of this morning. >> that doesn't dilute from interest on the day of the game? >> it doesn't. in fact, it makes ambassadors. people are in a group of 20, 30 people and they say, shh! listen to this. i saw this, this is a great commercial. now you have ambassadors. >> let's talk about cheerio's. they got some criticism last year when they aired a commercial that featured a biracial family. they've just released their super bowl commercial featuring the same family. let's take a look. >> hey, gracie. you know how our family has daddy, and mommy? >> and me. >> yeah, that's right. pretty soon you're going to have a baby brother. >> and -- a puppy. >> deal. >> why do you like that ad? >> i need her on my negotiating team, first of all. it's great. look, cheerio's first time in the super bowl. it's not a salty snack food. it actually has a health aspect to the food. but i love the fact that general mills got out there and embraced the fact that it become such a controversy. the fact that in america these days a biracial couple creates controversy is something else. but they embraced it. they went for it and they stood behind that and you have to applaud that. that's brand bravery. >> let's go to the battleground commercials. this is when we have car companies going up against car companies and beer companies going up against beer companies. now we have yogurt wars. tell me about -- let's just take a look and can you talk on the other side. >> okay. >> oops. >> ahh! >> ahh! >> make sure people know, those were separate commercials. why do you like them. >> it is funny. you look at dannon first. they use celebrity. it is actually nothing about the yogurt. only thing i get about the yogurt is he can't seem to get it in his mouth. at least with chobani they have this campaign, how matters. it is all about how they create their product, how they put it out there. what's interesting about it is, celebrity alone doesn't make for a strategy. you actually have to say something about the products. and while chobani used the animal and it is a big bear and sort of slapstick things, they actually come around to launch their new campaign, how matters. what's interesting is dannon chose to not use their ad agency and develop it that way. they put it out to the crowd. when there is an interesting strategy that's needed. you have chobani, the leader in that area, using ivan zacharias, a big-time director, saying we're bringing it. it is almost like dannon brought a knife to a gun fight. >> well, we'll see a lot of this come sunday. we'll get together afterward and see how all the people react to these spots. to see more of the super bowl commercials in full, head to today.com. coming up, could you do it? a man walk away from a job that paid him millions to make nothing helping other people. but first, these messages. so what's better, bigger or smaller? 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[ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one. choose 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet? i need your timesheets, larry! as you can see by the early morning bedlam there, our super bowl rallies are going strong in denver and seattle so tweet us who you want to win using either the #broncostoday or #seahawkstoday. >> i think they're going to keep that party going all weekend long. >> oh, look out! watch out! watch out! look out! >> oh, no! >> the bird flies into the window. >> he never sees the glass. >> he's okay! >> so long, blitz. by the way, it's 58-42, according to twitter right here, right now, broncos in the lead but that's seattle coming back a little bit. keep those hashtags coming. meantime, big birthday coming up next week. facebook is turning 10 years old. think about the impact that this company has had on our culture, our language. it started in a dorm room and it's had such an impact. we sat down with mark zuckerberg for a worldwide exclusive interview and he gave us his thoughts on the last decade. it seems like you've always wanted facebook to be more than just a place to change your vacation pictures or maybe stalk an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend but you really seem to want it to change the world. >> i thought that was this incredibly important thing to have happen but i just never thought we'd be the ones to help do it. when i look back over the last ten years, one of the questions i ask myself is why? why were we the ones to help do that? i think a lot of what it comes down to is we just cared more. >> pretty interesting to walk around the facebook campus, as i know you have. he is in a reflective mood. hitting a lot of milestones. he turns 30 this year as well. it is great to catch up with him. the full interview is tuesday. >> plus, he waulks around in hi jeans and t-shirt. nobody bats an eye. >> what's funny, he told me he has a new outfit. it looks a little like the old outfit but he's upgrading. speaking of facebook we asked you to go to facebook and tell us why you like us here today. we had a lot of response, 15,000 entries. we're down to the five finalists. some great people, too. talking about the wife of a marine who needs to -- watches our show for information and feels like she is a part of our family. one young lady says that her daughter wants to -- a bachelor of arts in being savannah guthrie. >> sweet! >> steph in pennsylvania, amy in maryland -- insert joke here. these are the five finalists. steph in pennsylvania wanted to put her thoughts down to a rap so take a look. ♪ you asked us why we like today ♪ ♪ i spend every morning with you guys ♪ ♪ before i hit my morning shower i tune in to matt lauer ♪ >> okay. pretty impressive. >> pretty good with the rap. >> she's got an orange shower kurten? well done. that's dedication. >> thank you for that. >> go to the facebook page and click through our five finalists. you can can vote. one lucky winner is going to come here to studio 1a. coming ♪ dear armpit... in the lottery of life, you drew the short stick. people shave you. pour hot wax on you. and your name... is armpit. people don't treat you like skin. because, frankly, they don't think of you as skin. 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[ sighs ] i don't know if i can do this right now. come on, you can do it! i love it, i love it. ♪ oh, oh-oh-oh [ male announcer ] if you have a mastercard, you could get a priceless surprise, concert tickets, trips, even a visit from justin timberlake. so you're a fan of me? that's what you're saying? of course. sick! ♪ good morning. 7:56. i'm scott mcgrew. first lady michelle obama staying in san francisco today for another big ticket fund-raiser. she'll be at the fairmont hotel for a women's luncheon with house minority leader nancy pelosi starting at 11:30. tickets for today's event sold out. they ranged from $500 to more than $32,000. the first stop on mrs. obama's two-day trip to san francisco was a private fund-raiser at the north beach restaurant. tickets started at $10,000 apiece. unlike mrs. obama's visit last year, much of the trip has been under wraps focusing on fundraising for the 2014 midterm races. our forecast this morning totally free. good morning, christina. >> may be for you. good morning to you. i'm putting a lot of time into it. we have another chance for rain as we get into this weekend. the good news, scott, for fan fest on saturday we're going to stay dry and sunny. 60 along the peninsula. 57 in san francisco. here's the deal. showers on the way but only for parts of the bay area. as we head throughout your sunday, so we've got this little area of low pressure on the way. and it's going to skirt the coastline. the good news is we picked up 2.5 feet of fresh powder in heavenly and count on extra traffic as you make your way to tahoe. here's mike. >> friday light, not a lot on the freeways. video from the chopper over the caltrain station. redwood city accepting no stops. single tracking past the scene where we're told a pedestrian possibly hit by this train. we're following that investigation. the northbound train stop heading to menlo park. you sam tran. on the east bay a slowdown for fort 880. >> mike, thanks. another local update in a half hour. ♪ ♪ ♪ it's 8:00 on it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, controversy in the cafeteria. why dozens of school children had their lunches pulled from their hands and thrown away just to make a point. plus, get ready for a seinfeld reunion. >> get out! >> no soup for you! >> media confirms the gang is getting back together, but for how long? getting set for super sunday. the food, the fans, and the fun. we've got everything to get you ready for the big game as we kick off our pep rally on plaza "today," friday, january 31st, 2014.3 c1 >> are you ready for some football? >> broncos on the plaza! >> woo! >> go broncos! >> i am a hawk daddy. go hawks! >> hi ellsworth, wisconsin! we love you! and welcome back to "today." 8:00 now on a friday morning. 31st day of january, 2014. can you hear it? can you feel the excitement out on our plaza? as we are having a pep rally not only here for sunday's super bowl, but also in the two super bowl cities of denver, colorado and seattle, washington. lots of people getting up early to show support for their teams out in those cities, and here as well. >> we got a little piece of these cities right here. we have the fans on the plaza and we have the ed murray, the mayor of seattle, washington, and michael hancock, who is the mayor of denver, colorado. gentlemen, good morning to you. first of all, we've got your fans up early. they are so excited. mayors, we'll give you a chance to address your town, give them a little pep talk. we had a coin talk. seattle, you'll go first. what do you want to say to your fans watching right now? >> we're going to win. right? we're going to win. the seahawks are going to win. seattle's going to take it, right? >> you beg to differ, mr. mayor? >> oh, absolutely. you know, we all do a lot of talking in denver. this is how we do it. just get out there and get it done. omaha omaha, let's go broncos! >> it is traditional. why don't you two come together here at the 50 yard line. it is traditional that mayors of the two super bowl cities to make a little friendly wager. so can you tell us what you guys have selected? >> well, we have decided to add service as part of the effort. we're going to join the americorps in both of our cities. the losing city has to visit the winning city. the losing city wins the winning city's mayor -- when the denver broncos, you'll come join me for a day of service. >> when the seahawks win this, you'll come to seattle. >> you want to give us a final score? >> it's going to be 24-14 seahawks. >> i love mayor murray but i'm going to tell you something. this won't even be close. 38-17. >> smack talk! >> smack! >> you guys want to duke it out? >> seattle and denver mayors. gentlemen, thank you so much. thank you, mr. mayor. thanks so much, mr. mayor. we'll take a turn now to natalie inside with a check of the morning's top stories. >> the ex-boyfriend of amanda knox is being detained. he was released following several hours inside of a police station. he was warned he was not allowed to leave italy during his appeal of thursday's guilty verdict. >> the firsting that came to my mind was to wait for the reason of this verdict. i don't want to comment anything about that. it was completely unexpected. at least by me. i will look into the reasons of it. >> they were convicted of murdering amanda knox's roommate. amanda knox is planning to appeal her verdict. she remains in the u.s. and said today she will fight to the very end. knox also said that she will never go willingly back to italy where she was prim prisoned for four years until her original conviction was overturned. in salt lake city will is outrage and embarrassment after school kids had their lunches literally pulled from their hands because their parents were behind in their lunch money accounts. >> that's indefensible. it's egregious. >> reporter: politicians, wiler, called it an outrage. parents of children attending salt lake city's elementary school that lit up facebook with words like pathetic, disgusted and shame. how could anyone take lunches out of the hands of between 30 and 40 kids, and then throw those lunches away because their parents had zero or negative balances in their student meal accounts? food thrown away, the school said, because once it is served to a student it can't be given to anyone else. students like fifth-grader sophia. >> she's like since you don't have any money in your account you can't get lunch. >> reporter: parents like her mom, erica. >> there were lots of tears and it was pretty upsetting for them to have that happen. >> reporter: the school district apologized for the embarrassing and humiliating situation. the children having their trays of pizza, salad and peaches taken at the register and replaced by milk and a piece of fruit. >> this was a mistake. this was handled wrong. >> reporter: school officials say that from now on they'll make sure parents are properly informed if their meals accounts are deficient and that kids won't have their lunches taken from them again. mike taibbi, nbc news, los angeles. brake failure is being blamed for a frightening landing at an airport in san jose, california. a small plane skidded off the runway thursday, crashed through a fence and stopped just a couple hundred feet from nearby homes. there were four people on-board but nobody was hurt. just to prove it wasn't a fluke, cheerleader ashley arnault tried her front flip half-court shot wednesday -- it's in! it's clean. ashley went viral last year, you may remember, when she first hit the shot but she did have trouble when she was visiting us here on the "today" show repeating the shot. as you see, she rebounded nicely last night making it look easy there. great job, ashley. proud of you. 8:07 right now. let's get another check of the weather with al. >> announcer: "today's" weather is brought to you by kay jewelers. every kiss begins with kay. >> all right. we got a lot of seahawk fans over here. hey! and americorps folks as well. for today, we got snow to talk about. kansas city. you're going to be looking at some snow later this morning. then a mix of freezing rain and drizzle, then changing over to steady snow by the evening. for today, icy conditions back through central indiana, wet weather in the pacific northwest, including seattle. looking for sunshine along the east coast. saturday, ice moves in to upstate new york, on into central illinois. wet weather in the lower mississippi river valley. let's look ahead -- ground hog day. sunday morning, punxsutawney phil in punxsutawney, p.a. seize his shadow or not? i don't think so. 32 means six more weeks of winter. metlife stadium -- cloudy, windy. winds out of the west at about 10 miles an hour. . 8:08, we made it to friday. temperatures this morning are pretty chilly. grab that coat, beautiful air quality across the area. temperatures will climb across cool levels. sunshine today, we'll hold on to that for saturday, and we're expecting two sides to the weekend. showers on sunday morning, continuing until about 4:00 p.m., but overall we could see more snowfall in tahoe, cut off low areeves throughout sunday. looking pretty good. >> that is your latest weather. >> coming up next on trending, how bad can a police kech be? >> we have an exhibit right plus, adorable dogs show off their skills in an olympic-style showdown right here live on our plaza. and sandra lee shares her favorite finger foods to serve at your super bowl party. but first, these messages. 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>> yes, there were. you want to hear if larry david was involved? >> was he involved? >> he was involved. >> was he on camera? >> no. >> the rest is kind of yadda, yadda, yadda. jerry says you can spent to see the new project very, very soon. as you know, the seinfeld cast last reunited in 2009 for an episode of "curb your enthusiasm." >> you say "very, very soon." >> i heard somewhere this morning he said it is not a super bowl ad. that was on the local station here this morning. >> is he going to be part of the halftime show? >> could be. >> then it is not an ad. it could be. since we are all talking about the super bowl all morning, what if you had had a major -- we're talking major -- major emergency during your big party this weekend. what if you -- ran out of beer? >> no! >> what? >> i'll just put it out there. one minnesota businessman apparently has a possible solution introducing the beer one. you can have the cold stuff delivered right to your door. lake made beer company president jack supple says he was inspired by amazon's delivery drones. he strapped this 12-pack to a device, sent it off, not to studio 1a, unfortunately, but it has caused quite a brouhaha because apparently the faa bans drones for use on commercial sales. >> 12-packs are heavy. >> i'm going to say my address outloud right now. come to my house, drone. >> look at how fast the drone -- >> it only hold like a 12-pack. that's the problem. they need a stronger drone, like a hulk drone that can hold a keg. >> how much does a 12-pack weigh? >> not you to normally pass over brouhaha so quickly. all right, guys. take a look at this. is this the world's worse police sketch? take a look. a veteran police artist came up with this composite to catch a robbery suspect in texas. drawing quickly went viral with many mocking it on the web. some said it looked more like a muppet than a man. well, who's laughing now? this sketch actually led to the arrest of the suspect. it took just two weeks. a police officer says he recognized the man from a cartoon-like picture. they got their man. >> i would have thought he would have arrested ziggy. >> he does look like ziggy. >> or a guy smiling. very nice. hey, speaking of miley -- or smiley -- miley cyrus knows a thing or two about controversy. last night on the "tonight show," she offers a few words of advice to justin bieber. some say the words not so sympathetic. >> you know what? you got a lot of money. pay people to make sure you don't get in trouble. and party at your house. buy a house and add a club to it. >> good advice. >> miley later adding for all the flack she gets, she's actually never done anything illegal. so there you have it. >> kind of a nice point to make. smart. >> i'm sure he feels a lot better after that. >> that's what's "trending today." meanwhile, would you be able to walk away from a job that paid you millions of dollars if you felt the drive for money was harming you. "the new york times" met a man who called the life he abannened. >> reporter: the kos scar nominated film the wolf of wall street, tells the story of sex, drugs and money. lots of money. >> at the tender age of 22 i moved to the only place that could fit my high-minded ambition. >> reporter: this is a similarly alarming story. >> i wanted a billion dollars. >> reporter: he was also 22 when he went to wall street to satisfy his money-fueled ambition. >> i would think about my bonus every day. every day for a year i would think about what is it going to be, how much is it going to be, who's going to get paid more than me, am i going to be paid more than this guy. >> reporter: he recently shared his story with the "new york times," an essay he only wishes co-have read when his life started spiraling out of control as a student at columbia university. >> i started drinking. i started doing a lot of drugs. i had had this sort of chip on my shoulder. >> you were even suspended at one point. >> yeah, i was suspended for burglary. >> reporter: polk beat his addiction to drugs and drinking but another craving soon took over, as he rose through the ranks at a big bank, then an elite hedge fund. he wanted more money. lots of money. >> money wasn't actually about the things that you could buy. it was sort of a way of keeping score. >> for you, was it an addiction? >> i mean it was absolutely an addiction. in my last year on wall street, my bonus was $3.6 million. and i was angry because it wasn't big enough. >> i remember kind of thinking like, no, don't do that! you know, just leave. i don't want you to stay here another year. >> reporter: with help from his girlfriend, now-wife kirstin thompson, polk began to realize his latest addiction was tearing him up inside. >> i made in a single year more than my mom made her whole life. i knew that wasn't fair. that wasn't right. >> reporter: so at the age of 30, he walked away from it all. >> it was one of the hardest things that i ever did. >> i'm so proud of him. so proud of him. i think it took a ton of courage. >> i was lucky. >> reporter: four years later the thrill ofmakering money is now replaced by the thrill of serving others. >> it's really hard to stay on a healthy diet. >> reporter: he's started a non-profit called groceryships, which gives families scholarships for healthy food. >> vegetables and fruit shakes and salads. that may not be the most delicious things in the world but they definitely fill you up. >> reporter: the goal is to help families make better choices. >> do i get the chips that's $1 or do i get the tomatoes that's $2.99 a pound? >> i guess i just don't think it's right in such a rich country that there are so many people that are poor and hungry and i'd rather spend my time working with them than trying to make more money for myself. >> reporter: and now another chapter. polk and his wife are expecting their first child. no longer a wolf on wall street, he aims to be a sheep who has shed his wolf's clothing. for "today," joe fryar, nbc news, los angeles. >> great example. >> it is an interesting essay if you haven't had a chance to read it. real thought provoking. let's take a turn, as we may or may not have mentioned, the winter olympics begin next week. did you know? >> i read an article about that. >> well, guess what? i read you're leaving today. >> i am. i am. >> so we wanted to send you off in style and so we thought -- >> i thought that was the cheerleader thing. >> no, no, no. >> not so much. >> that was one parting gift. here's the next part. we are going to an export here. a russian born entertainer yakov smirnoff is here. >> good to see you. >> how are you? >> good to see you. >> nice to see you all. >> you bear gifts? >> yes. on a mission actually to give them some things to take to russia. sochi. number one thing to take -- >> do they not have toilet paper? >> well, it's really soft one. and it's important because in russia it is kind of industrial strength. and the reason they did that, because they build one factory for toilet paper, one factory for roof shingles. >> good to know. >> let me tell you why you need two rolls. because, security is really very big in russia right now and they don't want you to have any problems. so they don't want you to go anywhere by yourself. anywhere. so, they have this -- >> there's matt and his bodyguard for the other one. >> the bodyguard and your interpreter. nothing makes friends better than -- >> because al and i always do a buddy story. that's going to work out great. thank you. >> the other thing you need is russian-english dictionary because some words are confusing. like the word yep. yep in english means yes. in russian it means to be intimate. no kidding. >> yep. >> good piece of advice. >> hey, matt. we going to the bathroom? >> yep. >> when americans say yes, not yep. there is a short picture of man in russia. he'll never get out. another thing, you need a bic lighter just in case the torch goes out. and, last, but not least, sunscreen. nobody's expecting this but right now in sochi, it is 52 degrees. so only in russia would they take the warmest place to have winter olympics and only in america they would pick the coldest place to have super bowl. so here in new jersey they're going to be using snowmobiles and in russia the ski jump will be pulled by a boat. >> we got 30 seconds. you got anything else in there? >> yes. germ-x. >> i have lots of that already. >> industrial-size, too. >> it kills 99% of germs, except 1%. and that is -- those are the germs that are in russia. >> yakov, thank you very much. appreciate it. >> great to have you here. a very good friday morning to you. it's 8:26, i'm laura garcia-cannon. crews looking into the cause of a fire that gutted a house in santa clara last night. say said the fire started in the garage. neighbors had to throw rocks at the windows to alert people in the house. one woman was taken to the hospital for minor burns. time now to check your commute. >> a lighter volume around the bay. a couple spots to develop here. the arrows show you north to redwood city and marsh, reports of a crash there. watch for distractions and slowing. sfo is unexplained, there is an accident or something on the 101. we have a middle back up at the bay bridge toll plaza, a few cars going a little slow as well. and a note about the peninsula. and there was a deadly crash on san carlos. 8:30 now on this friday morning. we have a great crowd out on our folks who are very excited for sunday to roll around when it will be broncos versus seahawks. we have a little bit of both, something for everybody on the plaza. >> we should do this every week for -- during the nfl, have the cheerleaders here every week. the match-up. wouldn't that be great? >> fantastic. >> i don't think we'll get away with that. >> way to take one for the team, carson. >> we've got folks up early out west, they are so excited for the game. we've been throwing a party in denver and seattle this morning. >> carson, have you any update on how the vote something going online? >> seattle is making a comeback. i can tell you that. i think denver is still in it. #seahawkstoday or #broncostoday. 61-39 broncos. coming up, we're going to find out who's louder. we'll have a cheer-off between the fans out in denver and the fans in seattle who have a reputation for being the loudest in the league. >> who's shaking their pompons harder here? that's the question. also coming up -- it is a tie! it's a tie! the perfect finger foods to serve on game day. i think pigs in a blanket are on the menu. plus, there is another big competition this weekend -- the incredible dog challenge. just wait until you see what these four-legged phenoms can do. super bowl caliber doggies. >> first,ky just say, this is a we say good-bye to somebody who is a part of our morning and has been for years. this is donna richards. she's in charge of the wardrobe department here at the "today" show. did you want to see us naked every day? no, you would not. if not for donna, that would happen. donna, we just want to say thank you for getting up early -- >> you're welcome. >> for getting out those stains in our clothes every day, and also wrinkle-free. your cheer and confidence. >> thank you for being such great people to work with. >> we've never been so happy but so sad to keep you go. happy because you're going to the seth meyers show. >> curse you, seth meyers! >> donna, you are the best. thank you so much. >> some day you can can visit me. carson, it is your old stomping grounds. >> sleep in, donna. >> i will. i'll text you. tell you you've got schmutz on yours. because we will without you. thank you. first, let's check out the super bowl cities. seattle and denver. show you the forecast. it is going to be nice during the day in seattle. and denver's looking pretty good, too, after some morning snow. the rest of the country, here's how we shake up. for the super bowl, cloudy. winds west at 10. 42 degrees. so the weather looking pretty good. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in y good morning to you. the time is 8:33. temperatures outside, still cold enough for a jacket. you'll want to keep it with you for the rest of the day. 62 in the north bay and 60 in san jose. two sides to the weekend. it will be cool and then sunday, expecting light showers as a cut off low starts to skirt the coastline. shower activity at the immediate coast and peninsula. in denver and seattle on plaza this morning. 9 news in denver. why the broncos win? >> two words -- peyton manning. all i have to say. peyton manning. >> let's move over now. we have our goods friends paul sylvie. why are the seahawks going to win? >> we got the number one defense. we can't wait for peyton manning to throw all those weapons over the middle so we can pick them off every time. denver -- you guys ready in denver? here we go. let's hear you cheer. >> we hail from denver, peak to peak, beating everybody week after week. you, too! >> take a look at this. we got it right here. all signed by the seahawks and the 12th man. everybody's jacked up. >> all right! let's see what happens! okay. matt. >> all right, al. thank you very much. let's go out to the real fans, the ones who are up early in the morning in their respective cities. start with kerry sanders, he's in denver, colorado. denver is the loudest, kerry. is that a true statement? is. >> reporter: this is an insane crowd. very excited. but listen to this now -- while they're doing the slow chant for the broncos, we're going to talk a little bit about food and what they're going to be eating out here. of course, everybody's having burgers and brats. you kind of think you know what that is. it is something only found in denver, rocky mountain oysters. broncos built this family a habitat for humanity home. they've never eaten one of these before. we're going to see what they think. i'm going to try one afterwards -- maybe. okay. they told me something interesting here. this is 2014 and in the chinese new year, it is the year of the horse. and what's a bronco? >> all right, kerry. thank you very much. >> let's swing it over to seattle. joe fryar is up early with the fans there. they are fired up. joe, what's on the menu in seattle? >> you know, we're going to start with dessert. the folks at cupcake royale made the 12th man cupcake in honor of the fans. this is all the super bowl food you need. that stout chocolate cake. the stout also made the 12th can in honor of the 12th man. it wouldn't be seattle without coffee. starbucks is here. the pipe place rose, which is named after the very first starbucks which is located in downtown seattle. we've got seafood. we've got a virgin bloody mary right here. but if you're going to have a real bloody mary in the northwest, we like to put salmon flavored vodka in it. for dessert, we have skittles. marshawn lynch loves his skittles. these are seattle mix and they're all over the place. we have actual sausages infused with skittles from the folks at max meats. that's what's happening here in seattle. great tailgating at mcrory's. >> would you rather that salmon rocky or rocky mountain oysters? >> salmon vodka? it is not even close. >> i think i would take the salmon vodka. we have some of our own little snack ideas. sandra lee is here and will show you them comings up. next, ballet, anyone? the unique way russian figure skaters are preparing for the competition coming up in sochi. but first, this is "today" on is this flu shot necessary? it keeps you healthy during flu season. but does it hurt? nah. plus you get a really sweet bandaid! anything else i should know? here's a thought, try scoring more points on the other team. okay. even a warrior can get sick. kaiser permanente reminds you to get your flu shot this season. we are back now at 8:40 with "today's" countdown to sochi with a football theme this morning. some athletes have been training in ways you might not expect. look who's here? nbc olympic correspondent mary carillo. you always have the best stories. >> i've spent a lot of of time in russia in the last year and i've gotten to see a lot of things. what you come to see early is that from poets to painters, novelists to composers, the russian people have a deep abiding love of the arts. and russian ba lay is considered to be most beautiful and most rigorous corps in the world. what we learned on a recent trip is that another national treasure has long borrowed from the bolshoi. >> the skating is the artn the ice, art of music, art of movement, art of performing. >> reporter: well, just under 5'0" tall, tamara is a giant of russian figure skating. her team's four olympic gold medals are part of a dynasty spanning 50 years. and while her current skaters can look back to decades of success on the ice for inspiration, she draws her own from centuries of another russian legacy. >> we just use what we have in russia in ba lallet, music, performing art and introduce that to skating. >> reporter: the training of russia's skaters often relied on the study of dance. the fundamentals of pure movement to music on ice. liberally pulled from lessons taught in exclusive ballet academies. >> translator: i can always tell a graduate of the bolshoi academy by the precise movement. >> reporter: marina lenova, the dean of the world famous bolshoi academy. >> translator: in order to be admitted to our academy, you must have special talent and ability. if you don't, you shouldn't come here. or else you'll ruin your life. >> reporter: while invented in the stately courts of italy, here ballet's performers are the royalty of russia. the elite students at its academies send years here working towards their dream of a debut in the footlights of the ballet apalacio ballet's palacious theaters. when the curtains were first rais raised at this theater in 1860 it revealed the largest stage in the world. with famed debut's like tchaikovsky's "nutcracker" and "sleeping beauty," a love for the art swept the empire. ballet's so appeal is so broad, it's outlasted the czars who produced it and the soviets who cherished it. for over 300 years ballet has been preserved and nurtured here in russia. >> ballet here is part of their culture. in the united states we can't say the same thing. we have dance, we have other with music, but here ballet, this is like their pride and joy. >> reporter: in 154 years, kenan is the only american to ever be invited into the marisnki ballet. while she's been dancing since she was 4, it is here in a russian company that she realized the commitment to the craft this country demanded. >> they balance the athleticism with the beauty. i think. i always sable lay is the hardest sport because -- even though it is not a sport, it is because you have to do everything that's physically exhausting, but you have to look good while doing it. >> stay in your point. >> reporter: russia's teens prepare with this basic mantra in mind, and are required to practice at the bar, as well as on the rink. >> do you ever have your figure skating students say, why am i studying ballet? >> if you ask me why do you drink water? i don't know what to answer you. because it's natural and this is part of our preparation. >> reporter: what once was a secret passion of its dominant skaters is today a commonplace tool. russia's ballet has now founded the core of the routines of skaters far beyond these borders. >> the beauty of movement, the beauty of gliding, it's so rewarding and catching. so look at me how i skate. ♪ . >> reporter: you see all this hard work and it makes you realize we're so used to excellen excellence, but to make something so hard look so easy is the coolest thing in the world. whether it is a musician or ballerina or figure skater. right? >> that was like watching a movie. >> who shot that, mary? >> that's a terrific shooter named samson chan. >> do the americans have a chance after watching that? i feel like it is russia's sport. >> it's very international now. the americans have -- there are some places where they can medal but -- >> do the russians actually have a skater with the last name gold? >> we got that. we got gold. >> mary, we'll see you in sochi. >> looking forward to it. >> save a vodka for us. reminder, the action begins next thursday with the opening ceremony one week from tonight. hosted by matt lauer, among others, right here on nbc. coming up next, some talented dogs compete in a friendly competition on our plaza. but first this is "today" on nbc. or how to find big savingsdeals on the things you need. just make a straight line to safeway. you'll find huge club card deals perfect for the big game. pizza's a football favorite. digiorno pizza is $3.99. get your snack on. wheat thins and other nabisco crackers are just $1.50 a box. and dreyer's ice cream is only $2.88. real big deals this week and every week. only at safeway. ingredients for life. we want to tell you that the super bowl is not the only big event coming up this weekend. >> that's right. the nation's most talented dogs are going to be featured in the 16th purina pro plan incredible dog challenge. we've got a trainer, john casey here, with some four-legged friends. john, where are you? >> right here. >> john, tell us about the competition. this is fun. >> purina pro dog incredible dog challenge finals which airs on nbc this sunday combines all the cool dog sports like the high-flying, freestyle-flying disk dogs. what i call the craziest 40-yard dash in canine sports. that's jack russell hurdle racing. the dogs launch out into a 19,000-gallon swimming pool trying to achieve maximum distance. and i believe we'll try to have a little fun with agility today. >> i have one here with the red leash. is that mine? >> does size matter? because there's little difference here. >> in the sport of canine agility, we do have large dog an small dog divisions but today it is all about having fun. >> what do we do? >> we just cheer them on. >> professional trainers here with the dogs. but you guys are assign each dog. this is kind of your teammate here. >> so we cheer them. >> cheer them on and they'll definitely appreciate that. >> should we get started? >> you can go first. >> you want to go first, natalie? >> i don't know. he just kind of lined up. i assume it is a he. let's go? >> this is tiki. a little papillon. don't let her diminutive size fool you. three, two, one -- go! >> come on, tiki! >> let's go! come on tiki! >> wait a minute. she didn't go through any -- >> she would get some fault points if this were a sanctioned competition. >> this is moon? >> this beautiful dog right here is a 7-year-old border collie who goes by the name moon. we're going to go three, two, one, go! >> oh! oh! moon! >> well done! wow! >> my dog is chomping at the bit. >> this is rampage. >> come on, rampage. 4-year-old australian-cattle dog mix. >> rampage, try to go through the things. all right? >> here we go. on the count -- three, two, one -- go. >> come on, rampage! >> rampage is perfect so far! >> he's listening to you. >> rampage! yeah! >> efficient. not so speedy, but very efficient. >> all right. >> what's my dog's name. >> fierce. a 4-year-old usaustralian shepherd. >> beef jerky for you, if you do well. come on! fierce! >> come on, fierce! >> very good. >> way to go, fierce! >> who wins this one? >> first half you got to work on. >> let's see if we got a verdict who won? >> the best part about the purina pro plan incredible dog challenge is that it is all about fun. you'll see some of the most -- >> tiki won! >> congratulations! >> john, thank you so much. we want to remind everybody the purina pro plan incredible dog challenge sunday, 5:00 eastern on nbc. coming up, quick and easy super bowl party foods. but first, this is "today" on nbc. nbc universal's coverage of the 2012 london games was the most watched television event ever. so, what's next? the upcoming winter games from sochi. where every second of nbc universal's coverage will be available on every device. on tv, online or streaming on the nbc sports live extra app. beginning february 6th, experience the winter games everywhere. welcome to what's next. comcast nbcuniversal >> announcer: "today's" kitchen is brought to you by blue diamond almond breeze almond milk. >> this morning on "today's kitchen," delicious dishes for your super bowl party. sandra lee, welcome. you've got some hot dishes and you are making them in a way that you can do it even beforehand and you can enjoy the party. >> yep. these are all from the new issue of my magazine, "sandra lee." they're all from the slow cooker. this is a way to make things ahead of time, keep them warm so you can can enjoy the game, too. >> starting off with grummdrumm. >> this is my spicy drummies. take a packet of buffalo wing seasoning. add to that garlic salt. you're going to give that a fast little stir. >> if you don't have the package mix, the times of seasonings you can put in there? >> can you put in things like chili powder, paprika, i would put in maybe some more garlic salt. things like that. pepper. whatever you like really will work. i have a friend that just uses old bay. can can i say that? >> you put this on way ahead of time? >> no, you put this on underneath the broiler, into the oven for eight minutes. it gets nice and brown. then you take these, put them in your slow cooker. do you feel like cooking? >> sure, a little bit. >> into the bowl. i have some hoisin sauce. that's just chinese barbecue sauce, plum sauce, whatever you have. in there goes ketchup, also brown sugar. give that a stir. you always need something wet in the slow cooker. you cannot do slow cooker dry. right? so put that in there nice an thick. give it a toss once it is in there. next thing is cheesy enchilada -- >> how long does that cook? >> six to eight hours on low. >> wow. >> these are cheesy enchilada meatballs. any brand. high-end, organic, tofu, whatever you want. now in here is condensed cheddar cheese soup. then to this you're going to put in enchilada sauce from the can. >> sandra, running outs of time. we've got also some ribs? good morning, everyone. 8:56. i'm scott mcgrew. a toy company will get their 30 seconds of fame during the super bowl. goldy blox will have a commercial and their $4 million price tag will be paid for them. let's get our forecast. more valuable rain in the upcoming future. good morning to you. temperatures in the 40s and 50s. still warm enough for a coal and it will be today. the next chance for rain moves in on sunday, especially along the peninsula and at the coast. have a fantastic weekend. welcome to "today" on this friday morning, january 31st. yes, it is the last day of january, 2014. look at all those fans on plaza. couple of days away now from the super bowl here in the new york area. i'm willie geist, along with al and natalie. two days away now. super bowl xlviii. >> woo-hoo! >> wow. >> safe to say those broncos an seahawks fans are ready. not just talking about out on the plaza. denver is tavern downtown in the upper left. they're up early. down in the lower right, the

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