Russia pokes fun at itself by recreating 'malfunctioning' fifth ring at closing ceremony (GIF)

Remember that embarrassing malfunction during the Sochi opening ceremonies when five giant snowflakes transformed into a glowing set of four Olympic rings and a dud? Well, the Russians remembered it too, and at Sunday’s closing ceremonies, decided to poke fun at themselves by recreating the widely ridiculed start to the Winter Games.

During the choreographed routine Sunday night, performers wearing sparkly get-ups moved into formation to create a giant set of Olympic rings — but deliberately left one ring as a small, disconnected circle — an inside nod to that original technical failure — before it bursts into the final fifth ring to rousing cheers

Filled with pride after a spectacular showing at the costliest Olympics ever, Russia celebrated 17 days of sports and global unity on Sunday night with a farewell show that handed off the Winter Games to their next host, Pyeongyang in South Korea.

And they did it with a sense of humor.

American-born Vic Wild wins second gold medal for Russia

Snowboarder Vic Wild took home two gold medals in Sochi this week. The native of Wild Salmon, Washington, completed a historic sweep of the Olympic snowboard parallel slalom Saturday — only he did it for Russia rather than Team USA. 

American by birth, Russian by marriage and by choice, Wild swept both events to give his adopted country a boost in the medals count.

Had Wild competed here for the United States, the 27-year-old would have been the most successful American athlete at these Olympics.

Wild edged Zan Kosir of Slovenia by 0.11 seconds in Saturday's parallel slalom final to win his second gold medal of the games.

The victory capped a remarkable four days for Wild, who is married to Russian snowboarder Alena Zavarzina and earlier won gold in parallel giant slalom.

Wild’s Wednesday triumph might have meant more since he took home his first gold medal just minutes after his Russian wife won a bronze. 

"He deserves it, he's worked so hard," said Zavarzina. "He's so far from his home town and he had to switch countries.

"He has to deal with the Russian mentality, with stuff he's not used to, working with people who don't understand him most of the time," she said. "I'm very happy. I'm going to cry right now."

The two snowboarding friends became romantically involved in 2009 before getting married nearly three years ago. Wild saw it as a chance not only to be with the woman he loves, but also to become a member of a supportive Russian snowboarding team looking to win big in Sochi.

Frustrated by what he saw as a lack of funding from the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association, Wild moved to Moscow and has blossomed after switching nationalities.

"Russia is the country that's given me the opportunity to win a medal. If I was still riding for the USA, I'd be back home with perhaps some mediocre job doing something mediocre," Wild said after winning his first gold medal earlier this week.

Luger Kate Hansen films a wolf/dog inside her Sochi hotel hallway (VIDEO)

That huge canine roaming outside the door of American luger Kate Hansen in the halls of her Sochi hotel is pretty intimidating. Whether or not it's a wolf, husky or some sort of mixed breed doesn't make its slow stroll inside the hotel any less scary.

Hansen reportedly took the video of the prowling stray from the safety her room — and it's pretty cool.



Suddenly, problems like stuck elevators and lousy toilets probably don't seem so bad.

Wolf in my hall?!? #SochiProblems #SochiFail http://t.co/ZMqZFC40jp
— Kate Hansen (@k8ertotz) February 20, 2014

IOC says no to Ukrainian skiers wearing black armbands: Report

In light of the fiery violence in Kiev, Ukrainian skiers asked the International Olympic Committee if they'd be allowed to wear armbands as a "sign of mourning" for their homeland.

On Wednesday, the IOC had a firm answer for the athletes competing with heavy hearts: No.

"Sharing deep pain over the loss of fellow countrymen, the Ukrainian Olympic committee appealed to the International Olympic Committee to allow Ukrainian athletes wear black armbands as a sign of mourning, an expression of sorrow and sympathy," a statement on the organization's website said, according to r-sport, a Russian news outlet.

"The answer was received from the IOC that in accordance with the Olympic charter it is not possible to do this."

The response is hardly without precedent. The Olympic committee strictly forbids political expression during competition, and the IOC has already banned stickers and armbands to memorialize late skier Sarah Burke, who died in an accident two years ago.

As of Wednesday morning, 25 people were confirmed dead in the Kiev conflict.

US bobsledder says Jimmy Fallon chickened out of bobsled ride

The U.S. Olympic bobsledder Jimmy Fallon spoofed as a wing-eating chubby on his “Tonight Show” premiere fired back at the comedian on Tuesday — calling him a big chicken.

Fallon took a playful jab at bronze-medal winner Steven Holcomb in a bit called “Tonight Show superlatives,” dubbing him “most likely to find an old hot wing in his pocket!”

Holcomb fired back, saying he may munch wings — but Fallon is a wimp.

“I actually did offer Jimmy a ride [in the bobsled] at the beginning of the season and he declined. He said he was scared,” Holcomb said on the “Dan Patrick Show” on Tuesday.

“It is what it is. He tried to take a jab at me and that’s fine,” Holcomb added. “It happens. We’ll work something out.”

The bobsledder later laughed it off, tweeting, “I’m a little offended @jimmyfallon. Seriously, how dare you assume I’m a Teriyaki wing guy? I only eat Buffalo style.”

I'm a little offended @jimmyfallon. Seriously, how dare you assume I'm a teriyaki wing guy? I only eat Buffalo style.
— Steven Holcomb (@StevenHolcomb) February 18, 2014

“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” had a little rough sledding of its own during Monday's premier, but managed to grab a hefty 11.3 million viewers following the Winter Olympics and news lead-in. The early numbers that put Fallon well above his late-night competition.

The viewership for Fallon’s opening-night show — which featured guests Will Smith and U2 — was up 71 percent from the 6.6 million who tuned in for his final “Late Night” show on Feb. 7.

Spandex-wearing Matt Lauer and Al Roker crash on luge run (VIDEO)

Today show hosts Matt Lauer and Al Roker returned to the luge track, eight years after slamming the walls of Torino during a near-disastrous run in 2006. This time on the double luge.

Once again, the pair squished themselves into Team USA spandex and careened down Sochi’s track, with Roker screaming and Lauer on top the whole ride.

When they completed the run intact, they hugged.

"I think that went well, we're still alive!" Roker said.

"Roker, come here, give me a hug," Lauer replied.

So they decided to give it another try to more painful results.

Warm temps allow Norwegian cross-country skier to race in shorts, short sleeves (PHOTOS)

How hot was it in Sochi this week?

It was so warm Friday that Norwegian cross-country Chris Jespersen went for the unconventional approach of shorts and a short-sleeve shirt in the men's 15km classic final. 

That's right, an outdoor Winter Olympic event that takes place on snow-covered mountains featured a competitor dressed like he was headed for margaritas in Key West.

Coming into the Winter Olympics in Sochi, everybody expected that there wouldn't be a whole lot of winter-like temperatures. The city itself is a resort town in southern Russia on the Black Sea, not known for its cold climate or snow. Even the nearby mountains where the events requiring snow have been held have seen warm temperatures. 

Believe it or not, there's more white stuff in Atlanta right now!

Short-sleeve tops haven't been all that rare in the cross-country competitions as temperatures have been climbing upwards of 60 degrees but shorts haven't been the norm — until now.

Jespersen finished the race in sixth place, a little more than a minute behind Switzerland's Dario Cologna for the gold and 22 seconds behind Daniel Richardsson of Sweden for bronze.

Canadian women top USA, 3-2, after controversial goal (PHOTO)

One of sports most heated rivalries just got a little hotter after a controversial goal helped Canada beat the USA women's hockey team, 3-2, in Sochi.

During the third period of Wednesday's round-robin match between the two top-rated teams, the puck trickled toward the American net and snuck behind goalie Jessie Vetter. As the puck disappeared from view for a second, that's when the controversy started.

As the puck slowly moved towards the goal line, the referees blew the whistle. The question was if it blew before or after the puck eventually went in. Immediately the Canadians celebrated the goal and the horn sounded for the score.

After the review, the referees called it a good goal, despite the fact that the puck seemed to be short of the goal line at the time of the whistle. Here's a look at where the puck was when the whistle blew.

This is where the puck was when the whistle blew. pic.twitter.com/L55TyL8Hj3
— World of Isaac (@WorldofIsaac) February 12, 2014

It's tough to see how after a review, why that goal would stand. The whistle definitely did blow before the puck went in and that's not much of a question. Certainly it could be argued and deserves to be pointed out, the play probably shouldn't have been blown dead in the first place but we see it all the time in the NHL. If the referees lose sight of the puck, the whistle has to blow and the play is dead.

At the end it was called a good goal giving Canada a 2-1 lead and ultimately led to a 3-2 victory after a USA rally fell short.

Canadian skier Yuki Tsubota injured in frightening crash during slopestyle run (VIDEO)

Women's slopestyle skier Yuki Tsubota of Canada was taken off the course on a stretcher following a frightening crash at the end of her second run in the finals.

Tsubota was attempting to land the third of three jumps at the end of the challenging and slushy course Tuesday when she crashed into the crest of the landing zone. The 20-year-old Tsubota slid down the hill while her goggles and skis scattered on the snow.

Replays appeared to show that her head made contact with her knee on first impact.

She laid still for several minutes while being treated by a medical team before being carried off the course. A Canadian team official said Tsubota is being examined for a possible fractured jaw but was otherwise okay.

Tsubota finished sixth with a score of 71.60 during her first run at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. Teammate Dara Howell won gold.

Lolo Jones back with bobsled teammates after being 'quarantined' with flu: Report

American-hurdler-turned-bobsledder Lolo Jones was battling cold and flu-like symptoms, and she was briefly quarantined from her teammates on Monday.

According to the Associated Press, Bobsled spokeswoman Amanda Bird confirmed that it was just a precautionary move, but that didn't stop Jones from posting on Twitter while she was isolated from the team.

Just released... been in quarantine room in Olympic village.Single room was nice just wish I had one of those stray dogs to keep me company
— Lolo Jones (@lolojones) February 10, 2014

She was reportedly back with her fellow sledders later on Monday. Jones will be paired with pilot Jazmine Fenlator once women's bobsled competition begins on Feb. 18.

Jones and teammate Lauryn Williams (track and field) are set to become the ninth and tenth American athletes to compete in both the summer and winter games.

Czech slopestyle boarder crashes and destroys her helmet (VIDEO)

Sarka Pancochova of the Czech Republic was the latest victim of Sochi’s slopestyle course when she fell and smashed her head during her second run of the finals on Sunday.

The same course Olympic superstar Shaun White bailed on, after he deemed it too dangerous, seems to be living up to its "sketchy" reputation.

Fortunately for the 23-year-old Pancochova, competitors are required to wear helmets. And Pancochova's brainbucket may have saved her from a major head injury. But, alas, her headgear wasn't so lucky and was destroyed on impact.

Unable to cleanly land the first jump of her second run, Pancochova fell hard on the course. As she crash landed, her head smacked hard against the slope. Laid out on the snow at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, medical personnel rushed over and tended to her. Luckily, it didn't take long for Pancochova to get back to her feet and made it down to the bottom of the course on her board and a fifth place finish.

American Jamie Anderson took home the gold with a strong second run — and she actually called the tough Russian course “fun” afterwards.

Bode Miller finishes a disappointing eighth in men's downhill

American skiing star Bode Miller hoped to win Sochi gold and make history in the men's downhill final on Sunday morning but ended up finishing a disappointing eighth place.

Austria's Matthias Mayer set the time to beat of 2:06.23 early in the competition and had the remaining competitors chasing his time all day— including Miller. After all of the races on the fast downhill course were through, Mayer's time held up to win the gold. Italy's Christof Innerhofer took home the silver and Norway's Kjetil Jansrud won bronze.

Miller's time of 206.75 was .52 behind Mayer.

Miller — a five-time Olympic medalist and longtime World Cup star —  had impressed everyone with near-perfect runs in winning two of the three training sessions. The 36-year-old  had hoped to become the oldest skier to ever win the event.

Miller will have a few other chances to add to his medal collection in this, his fifth Winter Olympics. He will still compete in the Super Combined (where he will defend his gold from Vancouver), the Super-G and Giant Slalom.

US warns Olympic athletes: Wearing team colors in Sochi puts you at risk

Ralph Lauren's red, white and blue U.S. Winter Olympic team uniforms might be great  for strutting the New York City catwalks, but could put your life at risk on the streets of Sochi.

As they unveiled their Olympic outfits Thursday, officials cautioned competing American athletes to keep them under wraps outside the Sochi Winter Games sports venues.

A memo sent to athletes by the U.S. Olympic Committee cautions the athletes to avoid wearing team colors too prominently in Sochi amid heightened concerns about security and terrorist threats in the southern Russian resort town, reported The Wall Street Journal.

"The U.S. Department of State has advised that wearing conspicuous Team USA clothing in non-accredited areas may put your personal safety at greater risk," says the memo.

The memo, which details steps athletes can take to ensure their safety during the games, cautions them to avoid wearing team colors too prominently outside of the 1,500-mile so-called “Ring of Steel” security perimeter established by Russian security forces.

Designer Ralph Lauren unveiled the official uniforms that American athletes will wear to the Opening ceremony Thursday. The uniforms feature a red, white and blue knit patchwork cardigan emblazoned with big stars, an American flag, and the Olympic rings.

“A dynamic mix of patriotic references in a classic color palette of red, white and navy defines the Ralph Lauren 2014 Team USA Opening ceremony uniform, which is proudly Made in America,” the company said in a statement.

Greg Bretz, a member of the men’s halfpipe team, told the Wall Street Journal that U.S. Olympic officials “have told us not to wear our USA gear outside of the venues,” but added, “I have so much faith in the United States and our safety that I’m not too worried about it.”

Concerns about safety in Sochi have prompted some Olympians to tell their loved ones to stay home, however. One of them is Canadian goaltender Mike Smith, who said he doesn’t want to expose his wife and kids to any unnecessary risk.

“They’re not gonna go. It’s not worth it,” Smith told FOX Sports Arizona’s Todd Walsh. “For myself, it’s about thinking if [my wife is] OK when I’m not with her. It’s unfortunate, but it’s just the way it is.”

It sounds like the U.S. State Department's advice might apply to almost any country going to Sochi.