Did you watch the memorable men's hockey final this afternoon? What a game!

How incredible was it when Team USA scored with 24 seconds left in regulation to send the game into sudden-death. Only to watch Sidney Crosby steal it away from them in the extra period.

Canada became the first men's hockey team to win Olympic gold on its home ice since Team USA accomplished that in 1980 (the "Miracle on Ice").

For the U.S., it's the second time in the past three Winter Olympics that we've lost to Canada in the final. The two teams met in the final in 2002 in Salt Lake City; Canada won 5-3.

Here are a few of the better items I've read about it ...

For a lighter/funny/offbeat look at the game from the upper deck of Canada Hockey Place, check out my friend Luke Winn's blog posts about the game.

Washingtonpost.com on how the game salvaged what would have been a very disappointing Winter Olympics for Canada.

NYTimes.com on the growing legend of Sidney Crosby.

Thursday will be a tough act to follow after a very entertaining women's figure skating competition, but here's what you won't want to miss ...

• UPDATE: Lindsey Vonn skied out of the women's slalom - her last event of the Vancouver Olympics - after straddling a gate in the first half of her run Friday.

She could not correct her line after her right ski slid away coming out of a left-hand turn.

She was racing with a splint protecting the non-displaced fracture in her right pinkie finger suffered in Wednesday's crash.

• UPDATE: Men's hockey semifinal: TEAM USA BEATS FINLAND 6-1! to reach gold-medal game (vs. Friday night's Canada-Slovakia winner - puck drops at 9:30 p.m. EST).

Americans got up 6-0 against Finland in the first period!

--------
From earlier: (Kiprusoff struggled badly, BTW, as score reflects

The U.S. and Finland have both gotten strong goalie play; Ryan Miller has given up just five goals in four games and Finland's Miikka Kiprusoff has allowed just four goals in three games. Finland earned silver in the 2006 Winter Olympics. And the Canadians, who are heavily favorite against surprise semifinalist Slovakia, may or may not be rooting for Team USA. Traditionally, they never root for the U.S. on Canadian ice, but Startribune.com points out that this time around that might not be the case - in part because Canada seeks revenge for the 5-3 defeat in the preliminary round.

BTW, the gold-medal game is at 3:15 p.m. EST on Sunday.

• Apolo Ohno was looking to add to his record Winter Olympic medal haul in the short track 500-meter race, but he was disqualified.

• Ohno did, however, earn a bronze medal as part of the U.S. squad in the men's short track 5,000 relay.

• U.S. speedskater Katherine Reutter won silver in the women's short track 1,000-meter race after setting an Olympic record by winning her heat in 1:30.508.

• Dutch speedskater Sven Kramer competes in the qualification round (3:30 p.m. EST) of the Men's Team Pursuit after his stunning disqualification in the 10,000 earlier this week. He and his Dutch teammates are favorites for gold in the event. The finals are Saturday.

• If you're among many fascinated by curling, the women's curling gold medal match between top-seeded Canada and second seed Sweden is at 6 p.m. EST.

Did you stay up to watch? What did you think? Pretty impressive, huh! Didn't it seem like there was A LOT less stumbling and falling down than there was in 2006? Anyway, here are some of the better items I've read Friday morning ...

• How great was it that Joannie Rochette medaled?! Nice feature about her effort on CNN.com by my friend Steve Almasy.

• I expected a little bit more complaining about how American Rachael Flatt got downgraded and ended up falling to seventh place. Seemed like a bunch of the experts quickly went from "she was amazing" to "well, the judges downgraded her here and here but oh well." Flatt hinted at it herself:

"They felt fine," Flatt said of her flips. "They felt normal. I’ll just have to take a closer look when I get home. ... As far as I can remember, I’ve never gotten it downgraded."

From the AP's Rachel Cohen:

The 17-year-old Flatt lost points on both her triple flips when she didn't complete the rotation. She said "they felt just fine to me" and acknowledged she was a bit surprised by her score.

Asked if that made her Olympic experience somewhat less fun, Flatt said, "A little bit."

"I wish that I could've gotten a better score, but you make do and just continue to improve," she said, then added with a laugh, "Got to make sure I fix those flips."

You won't find columns written about it or outcry though. I'd guess it has something to do with Flatt going into the long program in fifth and the girls ahead of her didn't exactly have flawed performances.

• SI.com on how dominant gold medalist Kim Yu-Na of South Korea was.

• NYTimes.com's blog featured analysis from three-time Olympian Todd Eldredge, who broke down each individual performance.

• ESPN.com on the future of Team USA women's figure skating, saying the podium absence (after we failed to medal for the first time since 1964) won't last long.

The free skate in women's figure skating is finally here! This is the night for which many of us clear our schedules and park our bottoms in front of the TV. And it should be a good one!

The standings after the short program:

Kim Yu-Na (South Korea) - 78.5
Mao Asada (Japan) - 73.78
Joannie Rochette (Canada) - 71.36
Mikki Ando (Japan) - 64.76
Rachael Flatt (U.S.) - 64.64
Mirai Nagasu (U.S.) - 63.76

All six will skate in the fourth and final group Thursday night. (The competition begins with the first group at 8 p.m. EST.) The order (selected randomly among top six) is Flatt, Ando, Kim, Asada, Rochette and Nagasu.

As we pointed out the other day, Americans Flatt and Nagasu are within reach - fifth and sixth place, respectively - after strong short programs.

Flatt's parents worked for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, and her grandfather lives in Anderson Township. Video of her short program here. San Diego Union-Tribune's Mark Zeigler about how Flatt is poised to make her move and from earlier this week about how her parents met in Cincinnati.

Here's the Denver Post on exactly what Flatt needs to do to medal.

And People.com has 10 things you didn't know about Flatt and Nagasu.

And we're pulling for Rochette (pictured above) as well, who lost her mother in Vancouver and has become an overwhelming sentimental favorite. Great features about her that you should check out from Toronto Star as well as Boston Globe.

And here are three more events you won't want to miss ...

• Canada vs. Team USA for gold in women's hockey at 6:30 p.m. EST. on MSNBC. Canada has won the last two Olympic medals; the U.S. has won the last two world championships.

• The second run in the Ladies' Giant Slalom - postponed Wednesday due to inclement weather - goes Thursday at 12:30 p.m. EST. Defending champ Julia Mancuso was in 18th place after being placed later in the race for her run because she was on the course when teammate Lindsey Vonn crashed. Sara Schleper is in 14th place after posting the best time (1:16.19) of any American, 1.07 behind the leader from Austria.

• The U.S. Nordic combined team looks to continue its unprecedented success in the Large Hill individual event. Jumping starts at 1 p.m.; cross-country begins at 4 p.m. Americans Bill Demong, Todd Lodwick and Johnny Spillane are among medal contenders.

We're approaching the home stretch; it's a day off for women's figure skating (after Tuesday's exciting short program) but it's a HUGE day for men's hockey.

• If you don't follow it closely, Canada vs. Russia (7:30 p.m. EST) is really a big deal. Even Team USA GM Brian Burke acknowledges that they're the best two teams in the tournament.

(Which doesn't mean that Team USA can't win They did surprise Canada the other night.)

The U.S. plays Switzerland in opening quarterfinal action at 3 p.m. EST. Team USA beat the Swiss 3-1 earlier in the tournament, but goalie Jonas Hiller was unbelievable against Canada, which needed a shootout to beat Switzerland.

Czech Republic vs. Finland at 10 p.m. EST (Finland favored with Jagr questionable), and Sweden vs. Slovakia at midnight EST (Sweden has looked outstanding so far). It'll be interesting to see how everything shakes out.

• Julia Mancuso, already the winner of two silver medals, and gold medalist Lindsey Vonn both compete in women's Giant Slalom. The first run is set for 1 p.m. EST; the second run starts at 4:15 p.m. EST. Mancuso won gold in this event in 2006. Vonn is considered a longshot; Giant Slalom isn't her strength. Kathrin Holzl of Germany currently holds the No. 1 ranking in the World Cup Giant Slalom.

• There are three American squads in the top 6 going into the conclusion of women's bobsled. Heat 3 begins at 8 p.m. EST and is followed by the final run. USA 2 (Erin Pac and Elana Meyers) is in second place, just .13 behind the Canadian team in first. USA 3 (Bree Schaaf and Emily Azevedo) and USA 1 (Shauna Rohbock and Michelle Rzepka) both have a total time of 1:47.09, just 0.49 behind third-place Germany 2.

• The men's 500 short track (opening heats start at 8:47 p.m. EST) could be Apolo Ohno's last shot at a medal (though he'll also compete in the men's 5,000 team relay). He won the 500 in Turin and seeks his record eighth Winter Olympic medal.

• Team USA is among favorites in the women's 3,000 relay. The final begins at 9:26 p.m. EST. Four relay skaters must complete 27 laps for 3,000 meters; each has to skate at least one and a half laps at a time.

I didn't realize until I heard it watching the Olympics Tuesday night but did you know American figure skating gold medalist Evan Lysacek and 2008 gymnastics gold medalist Nastia Liukin revealed to People.com that they are an item?

The couple met in October 2008 while performing on NBC's "Skating & Gymnastics Spectacular" and told the magazine they have been dating since last summer, when they attended the ESPYs together.

From People.com:

"We just became good friends and have become really close since then," Lysacek told People.

In August, Lysacek went to Dallas to cheer on Liukin during her gymnastics comeback at the U.S. Nationals. "It was cool but nerve-racking watching her compete – to be on the balance beam like that? For me, it's easier to do it then watch it," says Lysacek, 24.

Liukin was in Vancouver this week to root for Lysacek.

"To see his dreams come true was amazing," Liukin told People. "Even though we're not in the same sport, we got to connect at the same level because there's nothing like the Olympics. It was nice to be on other side of things and be the support system, but I was nervous."

Added Lysacek: "She's been so helpful to me. She has been through it herself. If I'm having a bad day, she tells me to have faith and to keep going. Sometimes your support system has more faith in you than yourself. And when she tells me things are going to be fine, I really believe it."

When they're together in L.A., says Liukin, "We hang out, go to dinner and movies, and lay low. We have similar personalities – we're both laid back."

They may not be expected to medal, but American figure skaters Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu looked pretty sharp in Tuesday's short program!

Flatt is in fifth place after the short program; Nagasu is in sixth.

Video of Flatt's short program (whose parents worked for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, and her grandfather lives in Anderson Township) here.

San Diego Union-Tribune's Mark Zeigler writes about how Flatt is within reach.

And this feature from earlier this week is actually about how her parents met in Cincinnati.

Nagasu, on the other hand, expressed disappointment even though her score was a season-best and she remains in contention.

And as we blogged about Tuesday, you can't help but root for Canadian Joannie Rochette, who skated herself into medal contention about 48 hours after her mother died of a heart attack. Nice column about her effort from seattletimes.com.

Standings after short program:

Kim Yu-Na (South Korea) - 78.5
Mao Asada (Japan) - 73.78
Rochette (Canada) - 71.36
Mikki Ando (Japan) - 64.76
Flatt (U.S.) - 64.64
Nagasu (U.S.) - 63.76

The free skate is Thursday.

For those who (missed out and) said, "Wake me up when it's time for women's figure skating," consider this your wake-up call!

Tuesday's highlights:

• It won't be easy for the U.S. women to continue their impressive streak - they've medaled in every Winter Games in figure skating since 1968. The short program gets under way at 7:30 p.m. EST. America's best hopes in Vancouver, 17-year-old Rachael Flatt and 16-year-old Mirai Nagasu, are longshots to reach the podium.

The U.S. qualified for two ladies spots in Vancouver, failing to earn the maximum three for just the second time since 1924. And 2006 silver medalist Sasha Cohen said earlier this month she doesn't think the U.S. will medal.

South Korea's Kim Yu-Na (above), the reigning world champ, is the favorite in the event. A six-time Korean national champion, Kim moved to Canada in 2006 for training and is coached by '84 and '88 Olympic silver medalist Brian Orser.

Japan's Mao Asada, the first to land a triple-triple-triple combination in competition - at age 12 - is skating in her first Olympics at 19.

Canadian 24-year-old Joannie Rochette will be easy to root for (if the Americans aren't in contention). Her mother died of a heart attack earlier this week in Vancouver. She's in the sixth and final group with Flatt for the short program; Nagasu skates in the third group.

• UPDATE: Bode Miller, trying to become the first man to win four Alpine medals at a single Winter Games, skied out of the men's giant slalom Tuesday afternoon, unable to correct his line coming out of a right-hand gate in the second half of his run.

The 32-year-old who won medals in each of the first three men's races - gold in super-combined, silver in super-G and bronze in downhill - will have one more chance to pursue his fourth medal Saturday in the slalom.

• Johnny Spillane, who won silver in the individual normal hill competition, returns for Team USA's large hill competition, which starts at 1:30 p.m. EST and consists of one jump off the large hill followed later in the day by a 4x5K freestyle relay. Todd Lodwick, Billy Demong and Brett Camerota join Spillane for the U.S.

• The first two heats of the women's bobsled begin at 8 p.m. EST. Americans Shauna Rohbock and Michelle Rzepka are among medal favorites, along with strong squads from Germany, Canada and Great Britain. In Turin, Rohbock won silver with Valerie Fleming. The two-day competition wraps up Wednesday.

• In men's hockey, Team USA is off until Thursday's meeting with the winner of Switzerland-Belarus (3 p.m. EST). But Canada looks to avoid an upset in its play-in game against Germany at 7:30 p.m. EST after Sunday's 5-3 loss to the U.S.

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty memorable for Team USA (thanks to Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White, Shani Davis, Evan Lysacek and others), and Friday may seem like a little bit of a letdown in comparison. But that's not to say there won't be American medal hopefuls in action.

• In the men's Super G (2:30 p.m. EST), Americans Ted Ligety and Bode Miller are among a talented field. Miller won bronze in the downhill earlier this week and was the 2005 Super-G world champ. And he says he's drawn inspiration from Julia Mancuso's effort this week. (Mancuso has won a pair of silver medals.)

• American Noelle Pikus-Pace enters Friday's third heat in the women's skeleton (6:45 p.m. EST) in fifth place with a combined time of 1:48.51, 0.55 seconds behind leader Amy Williams of Great Britain. The final heat is at 7:55 p.m. EST.

• Ice dancing compulsories get under way at 7:45 p.m. EST. World champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin of Russia are favored, but a pair of American teams - Meryl Davis and Charlie White, and Tanith Belben and Ben Agosto (shown above) - are expected to contend. Davis and White are the current U.S. champions. Belbin and Agosto won silver in Turin.

Here's a preview from USAToday.com.

• American Zach Lund seeks a medal in the men's skeleton (third heat at 9:20 p.m. EST; final at 10:50 p.m. EST). He enters the day in eighth place, but only .13 behind Alexander Tretyakov of Russia, who's in third place.

Here's a nice piece from ESPN.com about how Lund and Pikus-Pace have overcome odds.

Did you stay up to watch American Evan Lysacek win men's figure skating gold Thursday night?

Did you think he deserved it?

Elvis Stojko, Yahoo! Sports' Olympic figure skating analyst and a former Canadian figure skating world champion who won silver medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics and the 1998 Winter Olympics, doesn't. In a column entitled 'The night they killed figure skating,' Stojko insists that the judges' scoring was ridiculous and the sport took a step backward because of it.

He starts the column by saying, "Sorry, Evan Lysacek. You’re a great skater and all. But that wasn’t Olympic champion material."

Ouch.

Here's more:

How can you be Olympic champion when you don’t even try the quad? If you’re going to take the quad out, why not take out another triple axel and just have more of the other stuff so the International Skating Union can make it more into an “art.”

Plushenko had a great performance. His footwork was great and maybe his spins weren’t quite as good as Lysacek’s, but he had some spins that were fast. He also had a quad toe triple toe that wasn’t even attempted by anyone else. He did both triple axels, so all the jumps were there.

But the judges’ scoring was ridiculous.

Because of it, the sport took a step backward. Brian Boitano did the same thing, technically, in 1988. There are junior skaters who can skate that same program.

And the judges’ scoring probably killed figure skating because kids now are going to see this and say, “Oh, I don’t need a quad. I can just do great footwork for presentation marks and do a couple of nice spins and make it to Olympic champion.” With that type of scoring, you don’t have to risk it. You can play it safe and win gold.

In what other sports do you have to hold back in order to win?

The International Skating Union has taken the risk out of figure skating and it makes me sick.

All together now ... Tell us how you really feel!

(By the way, Stojko's colleague at Yahoo! Sports, Martin Rogers, says Lysacek deserved gold.)

What did Plushenko think?

"I was sure I'd won," Plushenko said at a news conference. "Obviously, Evan needs the medal more than me, maybe because I've got one already," he added.

"I think we need to change the judging system - a quad is a quad. If an Olympic champion doesn't do a quad, well I don't know...," said Plushenko. "Now it's not men's figure skating, it's dancing.

"The (figure skating) movement needs to go forward, not stand still and definitely not go back."

He also pointed out that Lysacek's win was better for Canada's neighbor.

"You don't have business right now in the U.S., your (skating) shows have closed. In Russia we have a lot of shows. So now you have an Olympic champion you will have sponsors and figure skating will go up a bit," he said.

Meanwhile, CNN.com points out that not since 1988 has any nation other than Russia won the men's gold in the event.

NYtimes.com offers a nice tribute to Lysacek's impressive effort.

And Latimes.com says expect to see plenty of Lysacek on TV over the next few days, including "Today Show" and "Oprah."

Our take: It was definitely worth staying up late to watch it if you were rooting for Lysacek like many Americans were, even if we're a little extra tired Friday morning. AND even if you dozed off waiting for all of the skaters before Plushenko at the very end, and then had to go back on DVR when you woke up and the news was on