nbc olympic games in hd

first, last nite watching opening ceremonies i did not know they were going to be in hd as i dont watch much tv on nbc and abc now has news in hd but its ok - the nbc hd was too glaring in the whites and i got a headache watching it - anyway, my friend said she had seen a phone number on nbc before the games started, saying how you could better watch games without buying anything i guess and she wanted to know the number - did anyone know of this - we cannot afford hd cable as it costs over 80 for the box