US team tarnished by a few bad actors

TURIN -- It never reached the national embarrassment stage of the United States hockey team's redecorating in Nagano or the US track team's mugging with the American flag in Sydney, but the US Olympic Committee wasn't too pleased with the antics of a few of its 211 athletes here.

''The team has taken a little bit of a hit because of their comportment," said Jim Scherr, chief of the USOC.

The most entertaining was the back-and-forth between speedskaters Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick. The most outrageous was freestyle skier Jaret ''Speedy" Peterson getting in a fight with a friend after a night of partying in Sauze d'Oulx and being sent home. The most perplexing was Bode Miller's late nights in the Sestriere area.

''We're going to let our NGBs [the individual organizations that run each sport] know that there will be ramifications if expectations [of behavior] are not met," Scherr said.

He said the Davis-Hedrick saga was more the reaction of two competitors in what is essentially an individual sport. ''I've sat with Shani at a presentation to the Boys Club of Chicago and know what kind of ambassador he can be. I'm not worried."

The USOC acted quickly to send Peterson home. After he finished seventh in the aerials Thursday night, he and several other skiers partied all night in the town of Sauze d'Oulx, a nice village that has as one of its mottos ''400 residents, 35 bars." Peterson and a friend, who has yet to be identified, got into a fight that spilled into the street about 9 a.m. Friday morning. Police were on hand and put Peterson on the ground to break it up. No arrests or charges were filed. Peterson was on the next plane home. ''It was in his best interest," Scherr said.

Scherr tried not to mention Miller by name but finally said ''in Bode's case, it's important that he be focused on his races and we think he was."

''We take full responsibility for any unpleasant episodes," Scherr said.

Women's hockey player Angela Ruggiero said: ''Every Olympian should be a role model and I think everyone should take that to heart. I think most athletes do."

Tears streamed from speedskater Kimberly Derrick's eyes as she hit the starting line in the 1,000 meters. She could barely contain them as she started to skate. And, though she didn't skate particularly well -- she was disqualified while in third place in her quarterfinal heat -- it didn't really matter. Not after her grandfather, Darrel Edwards, 74, died of an apparent heart attack scarcely 24 hours earlier, after coming to Turin to watch his granddaughter skate.

''This was the most emotional day of my life," Derrick said in a statement. ''I'm proud to be at the Olympics and at the same time my heart hurts so much. I knew I had to race, because that's what my grandfather would want me to do. He was my biggest fan, the one who held my hand while chasing my dream. He was and forever will be my pillar of strength. When I got on the ice I was overcome by emotions, but I knew I had to race."

Derrick couldn't stop crying after the race, and declined to speak with reporters. She had already participated in the 3,000-meter relay Wednesday, and there was speculation she might not skate last night. A release less than two hours before the start of her race confirmed she would be on the ice.

''I talked to her right before the warmup," said fellow American Halie Kim, who finished eighth in the 1,000. ''I can't imagine how she feels, but she is a really strong person."

They haven't exactly been the fan favorites like the Jamaican bobsled team in Calgary, but the Brazilians (the only tropical nation in the four-man bobsled) have sure made their share of news.

It started when Armando dos Santos was sent home after testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone in a pre-Olympics test. This week, they tipped on their side near the bottom of the course and finished without getting back up. In the final run last night, the Brazilians tipped and went through several turns upside down. They were unhurt.

The USOC said it would match the $40,000 that Joey Cheek said he would donate to Right to Play, a nonprofit organization designed to help children throughout the world living in poor, war-torn areas. Cheek, who will carry the flag for the US tonight in the closing ceremonies, earned $40,000 from the USOC by winning gold and silver in speedskating.

Cheek's original donation has already been matched by a number of companies and individuals, with a total of more than $390,000 pledged by the end of yesterday, the USOC said.

Yesterday, Canadian speedskater Clara Hughes said she plans to donate $10,000 to Right To Play. ''I wish I had an Olympic bonus to give like Joey Cheek, but I don't," Hughes said after winning the women's 5,000 meters. So, she said, she's decided to give $10,000 out of her bank account.

How excited was Scherr about the team's bronze in curling? ''The next time I go to Bemidji [Minn.], I'm going to order the largest pie and tip well." All four of the men's curlers, who won the first US medal in the event, hail from Minnesota, two from Bemidji . . . Julia Mancuso, who won the women's giant slalom Friday, still had her gold medal with her yesterday when she came to Turin as part of the USOC's final press conference. ''I've just had it a few hours. I didn't know if I was supposed to bring it or what." She had it in her sweatsuit pocket but eventually put it on . . . The final two of 12 cross-country skiers who were suspended before the Games for positive tests of high hemoglobin levels were cleared to compete in time for the final event. Nikola Pankratov of Russia and Sergei Dolidovich of Belarus will be allowed to compete in today's 50K race, the international ski federation said. The test results raised the possibility of blood doping, but all were eventually cleared after further tests proved negative.

Amalie Benjamin of the Globe staff contributed to this report; material from the Associated Press was also used.