PEYONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — The Winter Games in South Korea are over. During closing ceremonies, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach handed off the Olympic flag to the mayor of Beijing, which will host the Winter Games in 2022. Bach said that by marching together at the Winter Games, athletes from South and North Korea showed they both believe in “a peaceful future.” And he said the IOC “will continue this Olympic dialogue” after the games.
PEYONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — The “Olympic Athletes from Russia” are taking home the gold medal in men’s hockey, the first for a Russian team since 1992. A power-play goal in overtime gave the Russians a 4-3 win over Germany. The Russians had no flag to salute or national anthem to listen to during the medal ceremony, so they sang their anthem themselves, joined by their fans, as the Olympic anthem played and the Olympic flag was raised.
PEYONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. Olympic team leaves Pyeongchang with 23 medals, its poorest showing since 1998. Eleven of the medals came from snowboarding and freestyle skiing. In all, the U.S. won nine gold medals, eight silver and six bronze. The U.S. Olympic Committee’s chief of sport performance says there was plenty of room for improvement, and promised to break down what went wrong when he returns home.
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies infielder Will Middlebrooks has broken his leg in a collision with a teammate during a spring training game. Phillies manager Gave Kapler says Middlebrooks broke his left fibula, and additional tests are needed to determine whether he also had ankle damage.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — The Cleveland Indians have signed veteran free agent reliever Matt Belisle (BEHL’-eye-ul) to a minor league contract. The 37-year-old right-hander will get a chance to win a spot in Cleveland’s bullpen during spring training. Belisle spent last season with the Minnesota Twins.