Nick Hope
BBC Sport in Sochi

"British Bobsleigh performance director Gary Anderson has confirmed that Andrew Matthews will replace Craig Pickering in the 'GBR 2' sled for the four-man competition which begins tomorrow.

"'Andrew has considerable experience on the World Cup circuit and is very compatible which is why he was picked,' Anderson told BBC Sport. 'I'm confident he'll do a fantastic job.'

"The line-up in full for the 'GBR 2' sled is: Lamin Deen (pilot), John Baines, Ben Simons and Andrew Matthews."

1. The first recorded evidence of curling being played in Scotland and the Netherlands dates back to the 16th century. The first rules of the game were drawn up in 1838 and the Grand Caledonian Curling Club, the sport's first governing body, was formed in Edinburgh.

Four years later, the Earl of Mansfield gave a demonstration of the sport on the ballroom floor of Scone Palace near Perth during a visit by Queen Victoria.

She was so impressed that she gave permission for the club's name to be changed to the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, external - which still governs the sport in Scotland today.

After Clare Balding's call to action,, external you've all been sending in your #lovecurling snaps - all you need is a camera and a broom!

Scottish Rowing tweets:, external Scottish rowers love it too!

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport in Sochi

"Words like 'carnage', 'mayhem', 'madness' and 'ouch' are regularly applied to ski cross, and the men's event highlighted its unpredictable nature.

"The top five athletes on the World Cup circuit this season failed to make the semi-finals, so predicting anything is a precarious business. But there is assumed to be a higher disparity in standards in the women's field, which should make it easier to pick the likely contenders.

"Canada's Marielle Thompson and Swiss Katrin Mueller both have two World Cup wins this season, while veteran Ophelie David of France has one win and two thirds. Last year's top-ranked skier, Fanny Smith of Switzerland, has also won one and been second twice and has made it clear the Olympics is her priority."

A reminder of the breaking news from Sochi this morning. An unnamed German has become the first athlete to test positive for a banned substance at the 2014 Games. More details will be provided after the competitor's B sample is tested.

The IOC announced before the Olympics it was planning to carry out 2,453 tests during the Games, including 1,269 pre-competition controls. Germany, who are third in the medals table with eight golds and 16 medals in total, sent a total of 154 athletes to Sochi.

As ever, you have a big part to play in today's shenanigans. Get in touch with us via Twitter to #bbcsochi, text to 81111 or on our Facebook page., external And seeing as curling is very much the topic du jour why not respond to BBC Sport presenter Clare Balding's call. Balding tweets:, external "Don't forget to take your broom to work! I'm expecting a lot of classy photos on Bring Your Brush to Work Day. Any brush/broom will do. Post with hashtag #lovecurling."

And if you are so captivated by curling that you simply can't get enough of "ends", "stones" and "rinks", the men's bronze medal match between China and Sweden is on BBC Two and online right now.

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport in Sochi

Morning and welcome to the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park for the penultimate time at these Games. It's a sad day in that respect, but what a way to go out. Another epic tournament of snow jousting. Or ski cross, as some call it.

It's the ladies' turn today after the sensational men's event yesterday, which saw a French 1-2-3, a bronze medal won face down on the snow while sliding across the line, and all manner of crashes and drama.

Heavy early rain and fog caused a slight halt to the seeding runs - to determine the make-up of the 1/8s heats - but the weather is lifting throughout the valley and racing is back under way. Decent crowd, lots of umbrellas, a blizzard of aaahs.

So, plenty to look forward to later on, but what about an early morning Winters fix? Over at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, the women's ski cross seeding run is well underway. You can watch it live on our online video stream or on the Red button. Our man Rob Hodgetts is there...

Murdoch and his curling crusaders are not the only Brits in medal contention today. There's hope of further metal at the Iceberg Skating Palace where short track speed skaters Elise Christie and Jon Eley are in action this afternoon. Christie competes at 16:45 GMT in the women's 1,000m quarter-finals, just after Eley, who carried Team GB's flag at the opening ceremony, goes in the men's 500m.

An unnamed German athlete's A drug sample at the Sochi Winter Games is abnormal and a second sample will be tested later on Friday, the German Olympic Committee (DOSB) said.

The DOSB said they were informed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday evening and a disciplinary commission would convene later in the day after the B sample has been tested.

The GB women's curlers have been talking to Hazel Irvine in the Olympic Park this morning.

Eve Muirhead said: "Responsibility is what comes with being skip of the team. You make shots and get a lot of glory then miss shots and make lots of grief. What a great team effort - I'm really happy. It was a bit tight though - less tight would have been a bit better for the old heart!

"I saw David Murdoch in the food hall this morning and he had a bowl of cornflakes in front of him… and he was just stirring them. Not a lot were going down! It'll be tough out there - we know how tough it was for us. They don't have a great record against Canada but they will give it a shot and we will be in the stands shouting for them.

"Our sport has moved on and has got a different image. We're the youngest team but in eight of the 10 teams have a young age. We've got a few years ahead of us, but the age is coming down and the image of curling is changing."

Image source, PA

Team GB matched their three-medal target thanks to yesterday's bronze medal for the women's curlers in Sochi. Eve Muirhead secured a 6-5 victory over Switzerland with the last stone of the bronze medal play-off. Muirhead and her team will be presented with their medals on Saturday.

By reaching the final, GB men's curlers have already ensured that Britain will at least match their best medal haul at a Winter Olympics, which was the four they won at the inaugural Games in 1924. If the curlers were to win the Olympic title, Britain would leave a Winter Games with more than one gold medal for the first time in their history. It would also be Britain's 11th gold in the history of the Winter Olympics.

David Murdoch's passionate words could apply to any sport. His joy and disbelief will resonate with anyone who has dedicated themselves to an activity for years in the hope of one day reaping the rewards.

Rewards are guaranteed today for Murdoch and his British men's curling team when they take on Canada in the Olympic final, with only the colour of their medals still to be decided. You can follow their quest for gold live on BBC TV, online, mobile devices and app from 13:30 GMT.

Image source, PA

"It's just outrageous. I can't believe it. Twelve years of dedicating your life to a sport, to get up, to get your body up to go through injuries, train hard, to make a lot of sacrifices and I still can't believe after all these years we are in the final."