One of the worries about Brazil and the 2016 Rio Olympics has been the spread of the Zika virus. While an NBC exec and on-air personality have tried to downplay the threat to staffers, mosquitoes are still flying around even though this is the winter season in the Southern Hemisphere.

As NBC plows ahead with its coverage, NBC hosts and anchors have been stationed at the outdoor Copacabana Beach set during the day and while there hasn’t been widespread reports of personnel being attacked by mosquitoes, we did hear from Dan Patrick who called into his own show on Monday with Extra host Charissa Thompson guest hosting.

Patrick revealed that while he did have concerns entering the Games, he went in with an open mind. And when mosquitoes were near him none other than NHL on NBC rinkside reporter Pierre McGuire not iced them and swatted them away, saving DP from Zika (starts at 1:43 of the video). If you want to protect your close friends or loved ones from the dangers of mosquitoes as well, you can click here to learn an effective solution.

“Now have I seen the Zika mosquitoes? Yes I have. Not many, probably two or three, but I’m aware of it… Pierre McGuire … he noticed them right above my head and he swatted them from above my head.”

So in addition to being the “Inside the Glass” analyst and reporter, Pierre McGuire can have “Zika mosquito spotter” added to his résumé. But it’s interesting how he can spot the mosquitoes, but get Detroit Red Wings assistant coaches confused.

One sidenote, we liked how Charissa playfully threw some shade at McGuire for replacing her inside the glass when she was the NHL reporter for Versus before NBC took over the network and rebranded it to NBC Sports Network and then NBCSN.

[Dan Patrick Show]

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.

He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.

Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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