Gold to Plushenko; Weir flames out

Evgeni Plushenko posted his score, then watched the other Olympic contenders crash and burn.

The three-time world champion took few chances, yet still managed another personal best to grab the fifth straight gold medal for a Russian/Soviet man.

World champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland won silver and Canada’s Jeff Buttle got bronze. U.S. champion Johnny Weir, who fell out of medal contention with a cautious program filled with errors, stormed out of the rink when his mediocre marks were shown. He finished fifth.

Hockey The U.S. men’s team found just what it needed to get going in the Olympics: a good night’s rest and a game against Kazakhstan (0-2).

Rick DiPietro, in his debut, stopped 11 shots in a 4-1 win. The United States (1-0-1) used three first-period goals to move into second place in Group B with three points, behind Slovakia – the Americans’ next opponent and the only 2-0 team in the six-squad bunch.

Biathlon Russian biathlete Olga Pyleva was thrown out of the Olympics and stripped of her silver medal in the 15km for failing a drug test, the first athlete caught for doping at the Turin Games.

Speedskating Italy sent the home crowd into a frenzy at the speedskating oval by winning the first gold medal in men’s team pursuit, defeating Canada in the final after upsetting the United States and the Netherlands. The Dutch came back to claim a bronze with a win over Norway in the third-place race.

The powerful German team, led by Anni Friesinger and Claudia Pechstein, beat Canada to win the women’s team pursuit.

Skeleton Maya Pedersen won Switzerland its first gold medal of the Turin Games in women’s skeleton.

Cross-country skiing Estonia’s Kristina Smigun won her second Olympic gold medal of these games, this time in the 10K classical cross-country race. She won the 15K pursuit Sunday.

Mario Stecher led Austria to the Olympic gold medal in the Nordic combined team event.

Curling The United States (3-2) rallied to beat first-place Sweden (3-2). Canada (4-1) and Britain are tied for first, ahead of the Americans and Sweden.

Cassie Johnson left her last rock short and Sweden held on for a victory in extra ends, sending the U.S. women’s curling team to its fourth loss in five games.

The Americans will need to win their last four matches in the Olympic round-robin to have a chance at the medal round.