As Ollie rightly says, nothing whets the appetite quite like a clash between two of the world's super-powers - the United States and Russia. Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago. Fact or fiction, there is plenty of history between these two nations.

And that also stretches over on to the ice hockey arena. This clash is a repeat of the 'Miracle on Ice' in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, where a USA team made up of amateurs beat the all-conquering Russian side which had won virtually every major honour over the previous couple of decades.

Read what this match means in BBC Sport's Ollie Williams' fantastic feature. If this doesn't warm the cockles then nothing will.

Ollie Williams
BBC Sport in Sochi

Image source, @olliew

On Twitter:, external Worlds collide. The US v Russia, hockey, live from 1230 GMT.

Great Britain's men curlers take the one in the eighth end to draw level with Canada and it is 5-5 with two ends to go. A win for GB will all but seal their progression from the round-robin stage, but Canada are pushing them all the way.

Gold: Zhou Yang (China) 2:19.140

Silver: Shim Suk Hee (Korea) 2:19.239

Bronze: Arianna Fontana (Italy) 2:19.416

A nervous moment for Yang Zhou as she waits for the result to be confirmed, but she flashes a toothy grin at the camera - she knows it is in the bag.

Image source, Getty Images

A sketchy start by the seven skaters with two false starts indicating a few nerves on the starting line. Half of the field is wiped out by a bone-crunching collision with six laps to go which leaves four women battling out for gold.

China's Yang Zhou - the defending Olympic champion - takes control to attack down the inside and win her second successive crown.

The B final, in truth, is a bit of a non-entity. The equivalent of the third/fourth place play-off of a football World Cup. You don't really want to be there, but you have to go through the motions.

Over to the nitty gritty - the A final.....

Wilf O’Reilly
Former Olympic short track speed skater on BBC TV

"The 'B' final is an interesting race, as many of the athletes are disappointed not to be in the main final. You really have to hype yourself up for it to get over your disappointment.

"You can go through the formality of racing, but your pride is at stake. As soon as the gun goes, you want to win regardless."

Let's dash over to the short track skating where the women's 1500m B final is under way....

United States skater Jessica Smith and her Canadian rival Valerie Maltais have a ding-dong battle for the lead, before Maltais stretches her legs to glide over a second clear of Smith. Another Canadian, Marie-Eve Drolet, finishes third.

Wilf O’Reilly
Former Olympic short track speed skater on BBC TV

"I have never seen anything like what happened to Elise Christie. It is ridiculous to get a penalty for not crossing the line.

"It has never happened before, a penalty like this. If they want to ensure the skaters stay within the lines, they need a marker at the finishing line.

"It is a very harsh decision that the referee has made. To get the silver medal taken off her in the 500m, and to go out of the 1,500m as she did, will knock her confidence tremendously."

Image source, Getty Images

Canada get one stone in the seventh end to edge ahead of Great Britain 5-4. David Murdoch's side will be pretty happy with how that end went, though, and they retain the hammer. Good chance for them to sneak into the lead and close in on a sixth win.

For the next half an hour or so, we are going to be to-ing and fro-ing between the short track speed skating finals - minus Great Britain's Elise Christie - and the men's curling.

Over in the Ice Cube, Great Britain's curlers are currently trying to slide, throw and brush their way towards the semi-finals. David Murdoch's team are looking good at the top of the table after five victories so far. Now they are in action against Canada knowing victory will clinch their last-four place....

If you have been out walking the dog early doors and just got home, then you might want to know what wintry treats we have in store for you today.

So fire up the heating, stock up on the chocolately treats and kick back on the settee. Here is the plan ahead:

12:05: Short Track Skating (Women's 1500m, Men's 1000m) - MEDAL

12:35: Ice hockey - USA v Russia (Men's Group A)

13:30: Speed Skating (Men's 1500m) - MEDAL

14:45: Skeleton (Men's third and fourth runs) - MEDAL

16:30: Ski Jumping (Men's Large Hill Individual) - MEDAL

Afternoon all. Jonathan Jurejko here to talk you through all of the thrills and spills in Sochi over the next few hours.

If you want some medal-winning performances then you are definitely in the right place…

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport in Sochi

Image source, BBC Sport

"On this most glorious of summer days in the Sochi mountains, bare-chested resort workers add the finishing touches to the ski and snowboard cross course above Rosa Khutor.

"If the vibe is lazy now, it will be crazy tomorrow. Women's snowboard cross kicks off, with that unique brand of mayhem and madness, bumps and jumps, thrills and spills.

"Who can possibly forget the drama of Turin in 2006, when leader Lindsey Jacobellis fell while showboating over the last jump?"

Russia's Victor An, who claimed a bronze medal in the 1500m competition on Monday, is one of the men to advance into the 1000m final, which is set to start at 12:20 GMT.

Anna Thompson
BBC Sport in Sochi

Lizzy Yarnold is visiting the BBC offices at the International Broadcast Centre, where she received a round of applause. She's been watching some of the television packages that have been produced after her gold medal exploits. She's now off for a power nap before her medal ceremony.

Italian Arianna Fontana, who was awarded the victory as Great Britain's Elise Christie was judged to have not crossed the line in their heat, is one of seven competitors to make it into the final of the 1500m short track speed skating event.

She will be joined in the final by China's Zhou Yang, who won the gold medal in Vancouver in 2010. The final is set to start at 12:06 GMT.

Richard Conway
BBC Radio 5 live sports news correspondent in Sochi

"BBC Sport understands that Elise Christie and Team GB officials made a joint decision to delete her Twitter account on Friday after receiving a number of "unsavoury" messages.

"The 24-year-old is said to have been "uncomfortable" with the messages she received via the social media platform and decided, after consulting with senior British officials, to remove the account in order to avoid any further distractions."

Image source, Reuters

This is a close encounter as Great Britain men's curling team again fight back to make it 4-4 against Canada in the fifth end. It looks like this one is going to be tightly contested to the end.