US beats Russians 6-5 to open Olympic curling defense

By JIMMY GOLEN
AP Sports Writer

BEIJING (AP) — The U.S. beat the Russian team 6-5 to open their title defense at the Beijing Winter Olympics. John Shuster delivered the reigning Olympic curling champions a routine draw with the final rock in the extra end Wednesday night at the Ice Cube curling venue. The Americans would have won it in regulation except for a Russian rock that was just millimeters closer to the center of the scoring target. And the Russians had a chance in the 10th for the two points that would have delivered a regulation victory, but skip Sergei Glukhov’s final shot nicked a guard and slid helplessly to a stop out of the scoring area.