MSNBC Gets Pranked by Fake Ryan Miller. Correction Comes Later During Interview with Real Team USA Goalie

There was an embarrassing turn of events in Vancouver tonight.

MSNBC interrupted “Hardball” so that MSNBC’s Willie Geist could do a phone interview with Ryan Miller, the goalie of Team USA hockey. The reason: Geist had done an interview earlier this evening with a man who was claiming to be Miller. The interview caught the attention of friends and fellow NHL players when the fake Ryan Miller had predicted USA would win gold Sunday.

Geist: First and foremost, Ryan, please accept our apology. It’s a mistake that never should have happened. We misrepresented your name. We regret it deeply and I personally feel terrible about it.

Miller: No problem. I appreciate a good prank. But I do try to keep my reputation intact… I just want to clear up I will not be guaranteeing a gold medal. I look forward to a great game to compete for a gold medal, though.

Later, Miller told Geist he’s “pretty laid back” and wouldn’t have predicted such a thing. “I got a few messages from friends and a lot of different PR staff on different NHL teams are getting a hold of people and asking if I’d become that much different and that cocky because of this. I assure you I’m not that kind of a person,” said Miller.

“Well, I thought it sounded fishy at the time,” said Geist. “I’m sorry I didn’t stop it sooner than we did.” Geist then tossed back to Chris Matthews who continued with “Hardball.” The gold medal game will be played Sunday afternoon.

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