VANCOUVER - This border rivalry has raged for two decades now, since even before women's hockey was an Olympic sport.
Canada and the U.S. team have won every gold medal, every world championship, every big international prize their sport offers. Most of the time, they've faced no real competition except each other.
The Americans will meet Canada again in the long-anticipated gold medal match of the Vancouver Games.
"This is our Stanley Cup final, our Super Bowl, our Final Four," said U.S. defenseman Angela Ruggiero.
Vonn breaks finger on giant slalom run
WHISTLER, British Columbia - In the very instant that Lindsey Vonn spun out of control during Wednesday's Olympic giant slalom, breaking a finger and ending her latest medal bid, Julia Mancuso - Vonn's teammate and lifelong rival, not to mention the defending champion - sped toward that same spot.
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As Vonn lay in the snow off to the side of a course, tangled up in blue netting "like a pretzel," an official waved a giant yellow flag through the driving flakes and dense fog to warn Mancuso that she needed to stop.
"I was kind of thinking, like, 'Is this really happening?' It was hard to kind of wrap my head around it," Mancuso said, "just because it's something that I would not expect, ever."
The fog was so thick skiers couldn't see oncoming gates with enough space to maneuver. Giant, bright green Olympic rings that usually shine near the course were completely obscured. The haze never lifted, postponing the second run until today, when the forecast calls for more snow and fog.
Aussies, Japanese working together
VANCOUVER - The Australian and Japanese Olympic committees signed an agreement Wednesday that will allow athletes reciprocal access to the best training facilities in both countries.
The partnership embraces all Olympic sports. In essence, it gives Australia's winter Olympians better access to state-of-the-art venues and Japan's athletes access to such facilities as Australia's high-level swimming program.
