you no he says he's thinking about canceling the whole thing. you no he says he's thinking about canceling the whole thing. today is december 10th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm amy robach. on the heels of the child sex abuse scandal that have rocked penn state and syracuse university comes more allegations tied to sports. >> this time it centers around one of the men who ran the largest sports groups in the country. he's being accused of molestation. the allegations come from two men who claim they were molested in the 1980s when they were teenagers. also, are police any closer to figuring out what happened to missing florida mom michelle parker? divers have now conducked a search in a canal behind a home primarily owned by the suspect's father. and there are two weeks left in the holiday shopping season. you needed me to nag you, didn't you? >> me, too. if you're still trying to cross off people on your list, we have ideas for you. we're going to tell you where to find the top tech gifts of 2011. >> you say crossing off the list. i'm still compiling the list at this late hour. anyway, we want to begin this morning with the allegations of child sex abuse leveled against the ex president of the amateur athletic union. nbc's jay gray has the latest for us. jay, good morning. >> good morning to you, lester. yeah. in the wake of the scandal here at penn state and syracuse university, the scenario has become hauntingly familiar. young athletes and allegations of abuse by a coach. this time the focus shifts to the former head of the amateur athletic union. >> this morning, there are shocking new accusations that the long time president and kre o of the amateur athletic union robert bobby dodd sexually abused young basketball players while he was a coach during the 1980s. >> that was his m.o., coming in in the middle of the night when you're asleep and trying to assault you. >> one of the dodd's accusers spoke with espn. >> it must have been 3:00 in the morning. i was dead asleep and i don't remember anything but waking up and he's trying to put his hands in my boxer shorts. and i jumped up straight out of the bed. he's not there, but he's laying on the floor next to me down by the bed. and i -- you know, of course, i was freaked out. >> nbc news has been unable to reach dodd to comment on the accusations and written statements released overnight. both the aau and memphis police confirmed they were investigating the allegations. while at penn state, federal agents, local police, the university and big ten conference all continue separate investigations as jerry sandusky and his attorney prepare for their first court hearing early next week. >> this is going to be a one-sided proceeding. this is going to be a proceeding where the commonwealth is going to call witnesses who are going to say, well, these orrivic things happened. >> sandusky has repeatedly denied abusing any child. a former nittany lion coordinator faces at least 50 counts in this ongoing child sexual assault case. >> jerry sandusky's first hearing is set for tuesday. let's get back to the aau allegations for a moment. i talked to a coach who says his group began to pull away from that organization a couple of years ago because of what he calls a, quote, lack of oversight, supervision and an absence of integrity. lester. >> jay gray, thank you very much. now here is amy. >> lester, thank you. donald trump appears close to dashing his plan toes host a gop debate this morning as the republican field gets together in iowa later tonight. nbc's mike viqueira is at the white house with all the of the details. mike, good morning. >> good morning to you, amy. with little more than three weeks to go before that first caucus, all eyes are on iowa and a debate scheduled for tonight. but all eyes are going to be on just two of them, mitt romney and newt gingerich. now trailing in the polls, mitt romney campaigned in iowa friday, stressing gop union city ahead of tonight's debate. >> i think there's seven or eight of us that have debated several times would do a better job as president than the current president. so yes, they're all qualified, including speaker gingerich. >> but even as romney praised him, his allies were on the attack against front-runner gingerich. a pac launched a $2 million ad campaign in iowa trying to stop the surge. >> the fact that gingerich was fined $3,000 for ethics violations. gingerich teamed up with nancy pelosi and al go gore on global warming. >> gingerich's sudden rise has even alarmed some of his own party. >> poor ethics has no place in the white house. i've been there. if you have a personal of questionable integrity, it's difficult to be a good leader. >> peggy noonan writes, he is a human hand grenade who walks around with his hand on the pin saying, watch this. >> issues of temperament have been documented for many, many years. so this gets so personal and that's what's concerning us all. >> reporter: as the attacks escalate, gingerich has taken the high road, declining to engage. >> i'm going to stay positive. i'm going to talk about how we solve the country's problems and i have one opponent, barack obama. >> other conservative rivals are expected to launch their own attack but gingerich has surprised many. >> what's happening here, ladies and gentlemen, i think, is that republican primary voters are finally saying to the establishment, we're not doing it your way this time. >> and, amy, with these debates playing a bigger role than ever this campaign season, they're going to be 13 before the first votes are cast in iowa and that trump debate appears to now about to be canceled or at least put on the back burner. that leaves two more debates, two more chances for some of these people in the back of the pack to make a splash. amy. >> and chris matthews is the host of "hard ball" and author of the new book "jack kennedy, elusive hero." good morning. >> good morning, amy. >> romney surrogates starting to attack gingerich on ethics issues, on his marriages. will we see romney himself attacking gingerich in his debate? >> well, that's the big question. remember what happened to governor pawlenty out in minnesota? he promised to attack mitt romney in an earlier debate. he did not do so. he didn't carry through. therefore, he was not seen to have the courage, really, to take on his opponent. >> but are there risks for romney to go after gingerich in a personal way? >> well, he opens himself up, as well. and i think that would give a -- it would give newt gingerich the opportunity to come back and say, well, look at your record. you supported health care. you were pro choice. you've been flipping all over the place. it would really bring him down into the ditch and perhaps give, you know, an opportunity for newt gingerich to go after him. >> and, chris, speaking of debates, we have to talk about donald trump. the much hyped debate is falling through. it looks like trump will pull the plug because no one wants to participate except santorum and gingerich. was this a smart move considering the fact that he might consider a third party run if he's concerned about who is there left at the end of it? >> i think they give too much influence to this fella. he's not in politics. he's not part of the republican party. i think this election comes down to three people, the president of the united states, newt gingerich and mitt romney. it's getting serious now. it's not a reality show. i don't think donald trump really belongs in this discussion, to be honest with you. >> let's turn the to your book, "jack kennedy, elusive hero." >> i'm sorry to say it that way. but i think it's gotten to be a circus. but i think most people, including the candidates, believe bringing trump into this would add the big top to the whole thing. >> let's head to your book. the kennedy family gave their endorsement to barack obama. if kennedy were with us today, how do you think he would assess how the president has done in his first term? >> i think kennedy's great strength -- recently they asked people who should be on mt. rushmore that's not there? the public overwhelmingly said kennedy. i think his great secret was the line, ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. he brought us together by asking people to serve for their country. i think president obama has been forced to join in this division by calling for a populist campaign against the rich. i think kennedy would never have done that. >> and a major theme in your book is that kennedy was thoroughly prepared to handle all of the issues. he worked hard to understand the issues of the day from the cold war to civil rights. he didn't just campaign well, but you say he governed effective olympic that said, what could the current president and the republican candidates learn from that? >> so much of our history is written by men and women who have proven themselves in their youth. kennedy proved himself as a war hero, basically by saving his crew after their tc boat was cut in half by a japanesedy stroier. he got all of those men back alive. being a skipper, being a leader is something you have to learn. you can't just give a good speech. you have to lead other people into battle. kennedy was learning how to be a leader all the way from the wartime period through 14 years in the congress. he was building up personal relationships and getting people behind him. traveling the country for four years, almost alone, getting 30,000 people established personal relationships with 30,000 people. he really got to know his confederates and build an army of politicians behind him. i think president obama is very much a loaner. he doesn't seem to lead a political force. he's out there all alone and i think that's hurt him a lot. chris, most americans have come to know the lore of kennedy and, of course, a life cut too short, all the divisions of camelot. but what did you uncover in researching history and researching kennedy that surprised you and will surprise your readers, as well. >> i think it will because you think of him as just a lucky young rich kid who is good looking. what you find out, most of his life he was very thick. he thought he had leukemia when he was in high school. he had the last rites given to him three times before he was in his early 30s. i've uncovered his diary back in 1946 where he's studying the irish/american political tradition. he was learning all the techniques of politics all on his own. he learned how to be a great political leader through those 14 years of study. what i found out, he was a self-made man in many ways, more of a gatsby, if you will, than a legacy. >> chris matthews, as always, it was a pleasure. thanks so much for joining us. >> thanks so much. tom yamas is over at the news desk. tom, good morning. good morning, everyone. virginia tech is trying to recover from another tragedy. thousands of people took part in a candlelight vigil friday night for university police officer deriek crouse who was killed on thursday. police are still trying to determine a motive for the killing. huge demonstrations are being held across russia today demanding new national elections. nbc's stephanie gofk is in moscow at the largest rally. stephanie, good morning. >> good morning, john. this protest may be bigger than some of the protests in the early 90s. it's made up mostly of russia's middle class. most of them have never protested before. they're employed and they're educated, but they believe that last weekend's parliamentary election was rigged. they also choose vladimir putin's government of widespread corruption. the streets are filled with security forces today, but the government did actually approve this protest in this location. not closer to the kremlin where organizers originally wanted to stage the demonstration. the deputy mayor today said if anyone tries to protest anywhere else in moscow, they'll be arrested. tom. >> stephanie gosk live for us in moscow, thank you. schneider national has opens, pizza hut is looking for people and taco bell is also in the top five. florida is are recalling 128,000 ford fusion and mercury milan is he dans because of a problem that could make the wheels fall off. the recall affects problems from 2011 and 2010. and if you follow the "today" show on twitter, you may have noticed a thank you in our profile picture. we've reached a milestone. the "today" show has reached more than a million followers worldwide. we're just ten million shy of catching up with kim kardashian. check this out. friday, two children got their wish for christmas. chief warrant officer chris vega returns from iraq. the sheer delight of his children from harrisburg, pennsylvania. that's the news. now back to lester, amy and bill. christmas came early for that family. >> and you know what? we always keep seeing it, but -- >> it's so good. >> you know, they're always sweet moments. >> they are. and they never do get old. >> they're screaming. bill is here with our first check of the forecast. >> you reminded us all very nicely that we've got two weeks left before christmas. it's almost time to start talking about white christmas and the lack of it. some of our snowiest cities have only gotten a little bit. chief cleveland, chicago, the snow drought is significant. and the snowiest city of all, syracu syracuse, we have less than an inch so far. typically we've had 18 inches right now. as far as rain goes, we've had plenty of that. way too much. we're at the wettest year ever in places like evansville, louisville, frankfurt. we're going to wrap up 2011 as the wettest year that many of us have ever a. a good saturday morning. i'm meteorologist chuck bell with your weekend forecast. our rainfall surplus is at more than seven inches for the year to date including our record setting rainfall that we had here on wednesday. for now your weekend is underway. temperatures in the mid 30s in downtown. a little bit cooler many the outlying suburbs. anitis day today. a mix of clouds and sunshine. more sun as the afternoon wears along. cold and breezy today and cold afternoon. all in all, a plus. that's your weekend forecast. lester. >> bill, thanks. now to the search for a former fbi agent who vanished in iran. robert levinson disappeared nearly five years ago and his family hopes the release of a hostage video they receive will lead to new answers in the case. we'll talk to levinson's wife. >> just a moment. but first, here is nbc's chief foreign affairs official andrea mitchell. >> it is the first glimpse of retired fbiman robert levinson since he went missing in iran five years ago. before, he was healthy, smiling, a father and grandfather. after years of captivity, he appears guarantee as he makes a plea for help. >> for my loving wife and my children and my grandson. and also for the united states government, i am not in very good health. i am running very quickly out of diabetes medicine. >> the family received the tape a year ago, but put it on their website only today, fearing the investigation had gone cold and wanting to appeal directly to the kidnappers. >> i am sending this message because i need to know what you want our family to do. >> when he vanished, levinson was on an island off the coast of iran, his family says working as a private investigator on a cigarette smuggling case. >> wedding music can be heard in the background, indicating he could be in afghanistan, not iran. but the tape was delivered to a pakistani internet server. was that just to confuse the fbi? >> last year win asked iran's president about levinson. is he alive? >> i should ask this question. i don't know. we don't know. how could we know that? >> reporter: a year later, tensions with iran are rising. >> the fact that we've not heard anything from the iranian government, makes one conclude that they probably do not have him in captivity. >> reporter: christine levinson is certain her husband is still alive, clinging desperately to hope and a hostage tape now one year old. >> christine levinson is with us now. christine, good morning. thanks so much for being with us. as was noted a moment ago, the tape was received as a digital file, actually, a little over a year ago. you had trouble opening it at the time. can you tell us how you learned of what was on the tape and what your reaction was? >> it took me a little while, but once the problem was resolved, i was able to open the tape on my computer. and i saw that it was bob, you kn know. i was happy to see that he was alive, but at the same time, i was sad to see what kind of condition he was in. although i could see the determination that he is trying to get home to us, the same way i am trying to get him back. >> was it clear as to when this was shot? again one received it a year ago november. was there any time reference on it to give you some perspective? >> well, in the video, bob did say it was 3 1/2 years. so at that time, it was 3 1/2 years. since he had disappeared. >> subsequently, you've received some photos, as well. is that correct? >> yes. >> and can you tell us the difference in those photos from what you saw a year ago in that tape? >> i really can't comment on the photos because there's a continuing fbi investigation. >> fair enough. and we understand this investigation is going on and that was the reason that you held the videos for so long. what triggered you to finally want to put these videos out there to go public with them? >> as you know, we're coming up on five years. he will have been gone for five years now without any traces of where he is or who has him. and so i am trying to get the case resolved. it's another holiday season. i don't want any more family events or holidays missed by my husband. it's so difficult. >> did american authorities agree with your decision to put the tape out there? i told them i wanted to put it out there. and as the family is -- it's what i feel we need to do to get bob home. >> the u.s. has been appealing to ahmadinejad government to help in this search. the government says they don't have him. is it clear to you who has him and whether he is even, in fact, still in iran? >> no, i have absolutely no information about who has him or where he is. and that is why we are trying to get information from whoever, the group holding him. >> you and your son have post add video your website aimed at bob's canters. this has to be so frustrating that no one is really talking to you about demand. you don't even really know exactly what they want, do you? >> no, no. it's very frustrating. every day, i wake up knowing he's still waiting for us to bring him home and i don't know what we have to do to get that done. >> christine levinson, we appreciate you coming on the today and reminding us that this case goes on still after five years. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you. still do come here on "today" police launch new searches on the michelling case of michelle parker including one in a canal behind the suspect's home. still ahead, a jury convicts a man after a horrific death. this is a news 4 news break. good morning. it is 7:26 on this saturday, december 10th. i'm chris gordon. topping your newsor today, expect some delays this weekend on the metro as trains will be sharing a track on four of the five lines. red line trains will single track between van nesz and friendship heights and between tacoma and forest glen. trains will share track on the blue line between foggy development and arlington cemetery. and on the orange line between foggy bottom and clairen don. and yellow line trains will run between hunting tonk and mount vernon square. all work should be done by the monday morning commute. chuck bell has a