LIer Daly says he ready for the skeleton test

Smithtown's John Daly declared himself "pumped up and ready to go" after yesterday's final training session for tonight's Olympic skeleton competition in Whistler, British Columbia. Daly, 24, was the third of three U.S. men's sleds to qualify for the Vancouver Games.

Wednesday was the second day of training, with each slider making two runs on the Whistler Sliding Center track. The men's competition begins Thursday night (9:30 p.m., New York time) with two runs and concludes with two runs Friday night.

"I have nothing to lose," Smith said in comments released by the U.S. Bobsled & Skeleton Federation, "so I'm going to go for it tomorrow. I'm going to live every moment of this experience. It's either win or lose; there's nothing in between.

"This isn't the type of track I'm good on, but it's been going well. I know I can make it work, and I've been sliding consistently this week."

Daly had said that his first run on the track this week "reminded me of how hard it can still be [but] my times are getting faster each run, so I'm taking steps forward, which is really nice.

"I'm ready to roll. Bring it on. I'm ready for race day. I don't plan on this being my last Olympics."

Games head on defensive

The head of the Vancouver Olympics has defended the games after scathing criticism of the fenced-in flame, ticket cancellations, ice machine breakdowns, timing problems and other glitches.

John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver organizing committee, says the problems are being fixed and the Games are inspiring euphoria across the country.

Furlong says he has read the media criticism and calls some of it untrue and unfair. Furlong said that "when we make mistakes, we have to fix them." Organizers addressed a key complaint Wednesday when they opened greater public access to the Olympic cauldron along the Vancouver waterfront.

A surging crowd of Olympic partygoers caused a barricade to collapse during a free concert Tuesday night, leaving 19 people injured.

U.S. curlers winless

The American women and men curlers remain winless through two rounds. The women fell, 6-5, to Germany when they couldn't make up a two-point deficit. The men rallied from an early four-point deficit but couldn't convert in the extra end, falling 7-6 to Switzerland, their second straight extra-end defeat after losing to Norway a night earlier.

Russian skiers 1-2

Russia's Nikita Kriukov edged countryman Alexander Panzhinskiy in a photo finish to win the gold medal in the men's individual classic cross-country sprint race. Norway's Petter Northug took bronze . . . Marit Bjoergen of Norway earned her first Olympic gold by winning the women's individual cross-country sprint. Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland won silver and Petra Majdic of Slovenia took bronze. - AP