MILAN, Italy (AP) — Annika Malacinski remembers the moment the door to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics was slammed shut. On a flight from Munich to Denver, she bought airplane Wi-Fi to join a conference call with the International Olympic Committee,

Evan Bates and Madison Chock closed today's events with a boost to Team USA's score, earning the team 10 points in their ice dance free dance event. As of now, the Japanese figure skating team ranks second with 39 points, and Italy trails closely behind with 37 points.

Team USA comes into the Milan Cortina Games with a handful of gold-medal hopefuls in both individual and team events.

The Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony is Friday, along with mixed doubles curling, figure skating and training for Alpine skiing, luge and ski jumping.

Nothing compares to the Olympics when it comes to promoting the best in sports competition and peaceful international relations. The Winter Olympics kicked off this week in the mountains of northern Italy.