NOTES

German ski jumper Marc Noelke, who was injured in a training crash at the Winter Olympics last week, had part of his spleen removed in emergency surgery, German team doctor Joseph Keul said.

Keul said surgeons at Albertville Hospital operated overnight after Noelke, 18, began to bleed and his blood pressure dropped. The athlete was comfortable and his life was never in danger, Keul said.

After his team lost, 7-3, to Sweden, Italy’s hockey Coach Gene Ubriaco had a strange apology.

“I want to apologize to the (Swedish) coach,” Ubriaco said. “We didn’t get enough shots on his goalie. We’ll try next time to give him more work.”

Top-seeded Sweden outshot Italy, 45-13. In its first game, a 7-2 victory over Poland, Sweden held a 42-9 advantage in shots on goal.

The Olympic flame has been snuffed out early at one Olympic venue, but only as a temporary precaution. The flame at Les Arcs, where the speed skiing competition starts next Tuesday, was turned off because high winds blew the flame back down into the torch, the site’s director, Henri Blanc, said Tuesday.

The U.S. Alpine team has offered Norway the use of some of its coaching staff after an American skier crashed into a Norwegian coach and broke his leg.

Norwegian Coach Ole Magne Valaker remained hospitalized Tuesday in Chambery, where doctors were considering operating, said Armand Carlsen, assistant chief of the Norwegian Olympic mission.

Valaker, 23, was struck Monday by Megan Gerety, 20, after she ignored warnings that the super giant slalom had been closed so coaches could mark the trail edge with twigs.

“We definitely are taking it upon ourselves to make sure that we provide whatever assistance we can. We can’t replace their coach, but we don’t want their athletes to be disadvantaged by this,” said Tom Kelly, press officer of the U.S. women’s Alpine ski team.

“One of our coaches helped them set up a slalom course (today). We will continue to do that throughout the games,” Kelly said.

Norway sent home one of its most experienced hockey players in disgrace in the first expulsion from the Winter Olympics.

A senior Norwegian Olympic Committee official said forward Orjan Lovdahl had been ordered home as a disciplinary measure but declined to give details.

Sabine Ginther, a medal favorite for the powerful Austrian team, was knocked out of the Olympics when injured in a spectacular accident atop the women’s downhill course.

Ginther, one of the world’s top female skiers, landed on her back and will not be able to ski for the rest of the season, Austrian downhill Coach Franz Kolhuber told the Associated Press.