Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Kevin Ware to Speak Publicly; Leno Out, Fallon In; Sea Lion Gets Down; Ware, Coach Answer Press Questions

Aired April 3, 2013 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Any minute now Louisville guard, Kevin Ware, is going to speak publicly for the first time since he broke his leg so severely, we all saw this, that the bone was sticking out. Happened Sunday. Brought his teammates and coach to tears.

Want to bring our Carlos Diaz.

We've learned now he's headed to Atlanta now, his hometown.

CARLOS DIAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Correct.

MALVEAUX: And a lot of people very excited following his every move. And also what is he going to say now? He's an inspiration.

DIAZ: Right. That's the thing. He's talking about how so many people have come to him and now he wants to be an inspiration as well because so many people have come to him. This is just three days ago seemed like a long time ago.

MALVEAUX: It does.

DIAZ: But on Sunday he broke his leg and now you can see he's on crutches and back with his Louisville teammates. It's about a 90- minute drive from Indianapolis to Louisville on I-65. And he went down yesterday and was cleared today. He had to kind of jump one more hurdle. The doctors needed to make sure he did not have any kind of infection in the compound fracture. He cleared that hurdle. He is now heading down to Atlanta with his team. And he's going to be on the bench when they take on Wichita State on Saturday afternoon here in Atlanta for the final four.

And basically, you know, he says it's not going to be any different than any other final -- any other road game he's been on except the fact he won't be playing. Keep in mind, he's not a starter. So he's not used to starting the game. He's used to coming in a few minutes into the game. And he said he takes -- he's got nothing but support for the person taking his spot, nothing but support for the team. And keep in mind, Louisville is the number one ranked team in this tournament.

MALVEAUX: Sure. Actually, I chose them.

DIAZ: And that's why another reason why they're going to do so well. (LAUGHTER)

But in all honesty, he's looked at now as basically the story of March Madness, the story of the NCAA tournament. And really, you know, his story is a testament to the true spirit of the NCAA where he goes down -- if you haven't seen the video, it is horrific. It is terrible, the imagery of this. And he goes down with this incredible leg injury. And he's back with his team the very next week. His return six months to a year afterwards.

MALVEAUX: Yes. Do you think he realizes how big he's become? He's holding this news conference. Obviously, people want to hear from him.

DIAZ: I think it's hitting him right now. I think when you're in that hospital bed, all of our eyes are looking in on him. But it's hard for him to look out on us, especially because, you know, he's sedated a lot because of the immense surgery that took place to basically stick a rod in his leg and basically put the bone back into the skin kind of thing.

So I think that now he's getting to know the presence that he has. And I think it's really going to be driven home when he comes down to Atlanta. And basically, he is the star. I mean, think about this. I'm asking you this question, can you name any other player from any --

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Oh, please don't --

(CROSSTALK)

DIAZ: I don't think a lot of sports fans could. I think a lot of sports fans would say I know coach of Louisville.

MALVEAUX: This is the one guy I know.

(LAUGHTER)

DIAZ: Exactly. So Kevin Ware is the name of the final four right now. And I think when he comes down here and the show of support he gets is going to be immense for Kevin Ware and for Louisville. I think Louisville is kind of a fan favorite as well.

MALVEAUX: We're going to follow his every step, every move because he's going to be here.

Carlos, of course, we're going to bring that press conference as soon as it starts. This will happen momentarily here.

Programming note, our Rachel Nichols is going to sit down with Kevin Ware and his mom, 3:30 eastern right here on CNN.

Well, his company not doing well, so JCPenney's CEO is now taking a pay cut. And it's a big one. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We're bringing in our "New York Times" reporter, Brian Stelter. This is about all the buzz now. Late-night TV, officially now, Jay Leno out after 22 years on the "Tonight Show," Jimmy Fallon in.

So, Brian, give us the back story.

Brian, can you hear us?

BRIAN STELTER, REPORTER, NEW YORK TIMES: I can sure hear you.

MALVEAUX: All right. Give us the back story here. Big news in the entertainment world.

STELTER: It's remarkable because Jay Leno is number one in his time slot and has been for so many years. But NBC knows that Jimmy Fallon is not going to wait around forever and know they need to think about younger viewers so bringing Jimmy Fallon in to replace Jay Leno starting next February.

MALVEAUX: What are they saying about this? We saw kind of that singing parody just the last couple of days there --

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: -- where they were rivaling each other and serenading each other.

STELTER: -- prepare the groundwork for this and put on a united front. NBC's transition as of late has not been very pretty and NBC wanted this one to look positive. They put on a happy face, both of them. And they're saying nothing except how happy they are to be doing this smoothly today.

MALVEAUX: And this show moves, right? Moving from L.A. back to New York, is that right?

STELTER: That's right. And that's a big deal in and of itself. To have the "Tonight Show" back in New York City where it all began is going to be a big moment. Lorne Michaels will also be producing the show because he's also Jimmy Fallon's executive producer. And what we'll see, I think, is a real boom to New York comedy.

MALVEAUX: So when does all this happen, Brian? When will we see the change on TV?

STELTER: Right after the winter Olympics. NBC is going to try to use the Olympics, which they broadcast, to promote this transition to give Jay Leno a big sendoff, a big farewell, and then bring Jimmy Fallon in.

MALVEAUX: What's next for Leno, do you think? STELTER: It's amazing to imagine this man retiring. You would imagine Leno if he could would stay on television for the rest of his life. So there's going to be a lot of speculation about him going to another network. But today he says, you know, he's not going to have many phone calls. He'll listen to the calls though if they come in.

MALVEAUX: And tell us about Fallon. What makes him -- I love the guy. He's really a lot of fun there. What does he bring?

STELTER: Well, I think of him as the first NBC comic of the Internet age. Popular online, popular with YouTube-style skits. Able to make fun of himself and able to be self-deprecating. After all, there's a big difference in TV between 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. More people are awake, more viewers up for grabs. The stakes are much higher.

MALVEAUX: All right. Brian, we're going to be watching closely. Thank you very much. Appreciate the back story there.

STELTER: sure.

MALVEAUX: And, of course, we are waiting to see -- you see on our screen there -- Kevin Ware, the news conference that he's going to be holding. He'll be up there at the podium. We want to, of course, hear how he is doing after his dramatic leg injury. The Louisville basketball star, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We are waiting just moments away here from Kevin Ware, of course, the NCAA basketball star out of Louisville who's going to be coming to the microphone to talk about his recovery, that is, of course, after his dramatic injury that happened over the weekend breaking his leg. As soon as he starts speaking, we're going to bring that to you.

In the meantime, we're following another story. Humans, the question being, are they the only animals able to dance? Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right. So we know some people are rhythmically challenged. Elaine from "Seinfeld," we know that. But other mammals, that's the question, do you think they can dance or keep time?

Peter Cook is joining us. He's getting his doctorate at U.C. Santa Cruz. And he is behind a study discovering a certain sea lion capable of keeping to the beat, actually dancing.

Describe why you did this, first of all, and what you found. PETER COOK, U.S. SANTA CRUZ GRAD STUDENT: Sure. So this study really came about as a follow-up to some previous work that people had done with birds. Some of your viewers may have seen Snowball the dancing on YouTube. Psychologists studied Snowball in the labs to make sure Snowball could really dance and wasn't just a trick. Snowball really can dance. This led to an ability to keep the beat not just unique to people but unique to people and parrots like birds.

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Tell us what you found with the sea lion here.

COOK: Sorry. Yes, yes. Anyway, we thought we should look in a broader range of animals. So we thought sea lion, a good candidate. We trained her to move in time to rhythmic sound. We didn't start with music. It was a tape to begin, and once we trained her, we then transferred her without further training to a whole different range of things including popular music. She was very, very good. She passed all her tests with flying colors.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: What does this say? You're somebody who studies science and animals, what does this mean?

COOK: Well, I think in the most basic sense it means very broadly that something people did for a long time think was unique to humans, the ability to move in time to music, really isn't unique to humans. It may be dependent on some really basic brain mechanisms that could be shared across the animal kingdom. And that's something a lot of psychologist who study animals and humans are interested in.

MALVEAUX: Peter, how do we know if the sea lion really is dancing, bopping to the beat, or she's mimicking what humans around her are doing?

COOK: Sure. That was something we were very concerned with. Our study was done pretty thoroughly and with a lot of careful control. When the sea lion is moving with music in time, she cannot see anybody. She is by herself in a pen in front of a blank board. And all she has to go on is the rhythm. We tried a lot of different tempos, so faster and slower, and she's always able to adjust and find the time, even in tempo she hasn't previously heard. It's convincing she can do this and not explained by some sort of a, you know, something like seeing humans move around her.

MALVEAUX: Or a trick or something.

Peter Cook, thank you so much for joining us.

I understand Earth, Wind and Fire, one of her favorite groups there.

(LAUGHTER)

COOK: That's right.

MALVEAUX: We appreciate it. Thank you. Good to see you.

COOK: Yes.

MALVEAUX: Well, it's finally happened, an airline now charging passengers by their weight. The bigger you are, the more you pay.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: An intruder was shot dead at the home of a deputy D.A. in Colorado. The shooting does not appear to be linked to the recent attacks on public officials in Colorado and Texas. A lot of people are on edge, you can imagine, because of the killings. And in this case, the deputy D.A. called police after a stranger showed up at her home and tried to force his way in. Not clear whether she or her husband killed the intruder. Now, her husband is a sheriff's deputy.

If you weigh more, should you have to pay more when you fly? That's the question we're talking about today. It is all because of a new policy at Samoa Air. The airline now has begun to charge passengers according to their weight. Here is how people are responding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it is really fair because the skinny people will be paying less and the bigger people will be paying a whole lot more.

CHRIS LANGTON, CEO, SAMOA AIR: It might benefits the family, makes it easier to figure out your costs. We can carry everything people want to carry on board. It makes us much more efficient.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The airline's web site says your weight plus your baggage items is what you will actually pay for.

So the women's final four set. Number-five Louisville took the final spot with a win last night over number two seed, Tennessee, just two days before the Louisville Cardinals staged the tournament's biggest upset in an 82-81 win over number one, Baylor. Baylor's start player, Britney Griner, has a bright future despite her team's loss. It might not be with the WNBA. The Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, tells HLN he would consider giving the 6'8" Griner a tryout with the NBA team. That's right. A woman in the NBA? Could be a first.

We all hate sitting in traffic. What if you could spend less time in your car after work? L.A. has found a way to do just that. They're now synchronizing the traffic lights.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Kevin Ware at the microphone with his coach. Let's listen in.

KENNY CARTER, COACH: -- when we lost to Moorhead State in first round, none of you appreciated how good Kevin is. Maybe you do today. I love that group the same way. So it's been the type of guys we're getting in, the quality of their character.

I mean, I told Kevin earlier in the year, as a joke, I'm a little upset at you, but I love your mom, so I'm go to take it easy on you. And, you know, his -- we're all very close, his mom is very close, we have a special bond because she's from New York. And Kevin keeps saying he's from New York, but he's really not.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Why did you think it was so important to be there in the hospital for him?

CARTER: You know, I don't -- there is not a coach in America that wouldn't have been there. That's really not a big deal. I was just making -- going to get him chicken at 10:30 in the morning was funny --

(LAUGHTER)

-- was finding a place that was open was a big deal. Did you want breakfast? He said, no, I would really like some -- I don't want to tell you where he sent me. He sent me to Hooters.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a few questions.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: More than just a sports story and seeing interest from mainstream news outlets and things like that.

KEVIN WARE, INJURED LOUISVILLE BASKETBALL PLAYER: You know, I'm a very quiet guy, so a lot of this is really new to me, you know? I really just appreciate everybody and the support I have right now, you know? But we still got a job to do. We got two more games to win and that's most important right now. Recover and I'll be fine, but still got to win this championship.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: When you went into the darkness, did they say anything about maybe any kind of pre-existing, you know, injury with your leg that maybe made it easier to break?

WARE: From what I remember, I know they asked me about if I had any shin problems, but I've never had any shin problem before this incident. So, no.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What do you remember from that moment? Walk me through.

WARE: It's kind of insane, because we play Duke in the Bahamas, and the exact same play happened, with the exact same player and it was just on the opposite side of the court, so I went to contest the shot, like I normally always do, I kind of joked a little bit, like I should have blocked the shot because I jumped so high, but I guess I just landed wrong and didn't see where I was landing, so that's kind of what caused the injury. But I kind of felt like stuff like this doesn't just happen for no reason, you know. There is a reason behind everything. So, I don't know what the reason is going to be, but it is just a process I'm ready for it, you know.

At the time, Coach Carter gave my leg a look, like, like he's never seen something like this before. So I'm just thinking, like, my ankle is hurt or something like that. And I look down at my leg and my bone is six inches out of my leg and I just go into automatic shock.

And I really, really want to thank Luke, because Luke jumped right on the scene, and just had a prayer for me and it was either -- he was saying that prayer, what was going through my mind, either I'm going to cry and my team is going to be devastated and we're probably don't win this game or I'm going to just try and say some words that could get us through. And they beat Duke by 22 so I said I think my words --