Bronze would rock the world of US curlers

TURIN -- The United States has never won a medal in curling. OK, the streak isn't that long; it's only been an Olympic sport since 1998. But the US men hope to end the drought today when they go against Great Britain for the bronze.

''If you'd asked us at the beginning of the week if we'd settle for bronze, we'd have said yes," US team member Shawn Rojeski said. ''It's a little bit of a disappointment not to be playing for the gold, but we'll come out focused."

The US defeated Great Britain, 9-8, earlier in the tournament. The Americans finished fourth in Nagano in 1998, but dropped to seventh in Salt Lake City. It was thought that coming into Turin, the US had its best shot for a curling medal on the women's side, but they didn't reach the medal round.

''Considering our determination and all the hard work we've put in, we want to end this Olympic run with something around our neck," the US's John Shuster said.

American team members Rojeski, Shuster, Joe Polo, and Peter Fenson are all from Minnesota.

The US cross-country team, with one event remaining, hasn't had the Games it hoped for, although Kikkan Randall's ninth in the women's sprint was the best finish ever for an American woman.

Still, it has been a while since Bill Koch's silver in 1976, with no medals despite signs of progress on the World Cup circuit. To that end, the US Ski and Snowboard Association said it is going to give more money to the cross-country program as it points toward the 2010 and '14 Games.

''Our athletes are at a level now that our management recognizes that we really need to add these additional pieces of support to allow them to move up," said US Nordic program director Luke Bodensteiner. ''When we see athletes like Kris Freeman [Andover, N.H.], Andy Newell [Shaftsbury, Vt.] and Kikkan Randall [Anchorage] have such strong results, you know we have some things going well. But it's good to know that we can start providing more support for them and for the many young and talented athletes coming up our athletic pipeline."

Newell's fourth-place finish in a sprint event in January was the US's best World Cup result in more than 20 years. Newell qualified second Wednesday in the Olympic sprint, and finished 11th -- the best US men's Olympic result since Koch's second- and sixth-place finishes in '76.

Another day, another wait for results from drug tests on 10 Austrian cross-country skiers and biathletes. The International Olympic Committee said the samples were still being tested and that the long time between the testing (Saturday night) and the results was not unusual. Also yesterday, the president of Austria's ski federation met for three hours with Italian prosecutors who are also investigating the Austrian team. Italy has strong anti-doping laws and took part in the raid on the house where the Austrians were staying, based on tips of the presence of a banned coach, Walter Mayer, and possible blood-doping equipment . . . A car that was abandoned and left running near the main press center drew the attention of security officers. The car, a red Honda Civic with Spanish license plates, was searched after a controlled explosion by police opened the driver's side door. No one was injured and nothing was found. Italian police are working with Spanish officials to find the owner.

Charles Leveille of Atlanta was added as a US speedskating entry for today's 10,000 meters. He will compete along with Chad Hedrick, who is going for his third medal of the Games. Originally, Shani Davis had earned the spot based on his time in the 5,000. After winning the 1,000 and getting a silver in the 1,500, Davis decided not to race the 10,000, his worst event. Hedrick holds the world record in the 10,000 and will be going for a gold to go with the one he won in the 5,000, and his bronze from the 1,500. If Davis had raced, it would have been a renewal of the rivalry between the two that has, at times, turned ugly . . . Mike Modano, who was critical of US hockey coach Peter Laviolette's decision to keep him on the bench in the third period of Wednesday's loss to Finland in the quarterfinals, left here yesterday morning and skipped the team's final meeting. ''I knew he was upset, he didn't say much in the [locker room after the game]," teammate Craig Conroy told the Dallas Morning News. ''He just kind of packed up his stuff, took a shower, and left." Doug Weight, the only other US player to address the media yesterday, said, ''It was an emotional night. I'll try to leave it at that." . . . German speedskater Anni Friesinger, who has four career Olympic medals, including two here, has pulled out of tomorrow's 5,000 meters, citing fatigue . . . Austrian cross-country skier Christian Hoffmann has pulled out of Sunday's 50-kilometer race because of pneumonia . . . It will be another ''game-time" decision for Croatian skier Janica Kostelic. She has had the flu and a rapid pulse throughout the Olympics but still won the combined and took silver in the super-G to give her a record six career medals, the most by a woman Alpine skier. The women's giant slalom is set for today, but Kostelic won't know until morning if she will compete . . . Former Olympic and world champion ski jumper Matti Nykanen of Finland was charged in Helsinki with attacking his wife while in a drunken stupor and striking a man with a cutlery knife in a restaurant three days later. Nykanen was charged with two counts of assault. The alleged attacks on Sept. 25 and 28 came days after he completed a 13-month sentence for stabbing a drinking companion. If found guilty, the 42-year-old Nykanen could face several years in prison. Nykanen won 19 medals at the Olympics and world championships from 1982 to 1990, the most by a ski jumper. After retiring, he took up a career as a singer and performed in bars and nightclubs . . . Johnson & Johnson became one of the 12 top Olympic sponsors for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The company will pay the IOC an estimated $60-$80 million in cash and services for the right to use the Olympic logo in its marketing . . . The World Men's Curling Championship, a 12-team round-robin event, will be held at Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Mass., April 1-9, 2006.

Material from wire services was used in this report.