Slopestyle snowboarding is enjoying a bumpy Olympic debut at the Sochi Games -- with high-profile accidents and judging controversies stealing the focus from action on the course.

Mega-star Shaun White -- who took a tumble, hurting his wrist and ankle -- pulled out of the event to focus on the halfpipe after labelling the course "intimidating", despite changes at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park prompted by criticism from riders.

Music, dance and plenty of Russian bravado unleashed the ultimate achievement of Vladimir Putin's Russia on Thursday — a Winter Olympics to showcase the best athletes on ice and snow that the world has to offer.

The opening ceremony on the edge of the Black Sea and subsequent games are Russia's chance to tell its story of post-Soviet resurrection to the world, and dispel the anger, fear and suspicion that has marred the buildup to these most expensive Olympics ever.

Monaco coach Claudio Ranieri insisted on Friday that Colombia striker Radamel Falcao could yet recover from injury in time to go to the World Cup in Brazil.

"I spoke to him on the phone yesterday (Thursday)," said Ranieri at a press conference ahead of Sunday's top-of-the-table showdown in Ligue 1 against Paris Saint-Germain.

Gareth Bale is set to return to the Real Madrid side for this weekend's match against Villarreal, but Cristiano Ronaldo will not play after losing an appeal against a three-match ban.

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed on Friday that they had upheld Ronaldo's ban following his red card in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao in La Liga.

Sao Paulo fans are protesting the team's decision to acquire striker Alexandre Pato in a trade with Brazilian rival Corinthians.

Fans watching the team's match in the Sao Paulo state championship on Thursday displayed banners criticizing club officials and the 24-year-old striker who struggled with Corinthians since a high-profile transfer from AC Milan in 2013.

Brian Orser has won two Olympic silver medals and coached a skater to gold. All that experience did little to prepare him for the sport's newest twist.

Team figure skating debuted Thursday at the Sochi Olympics, and Orser wasn't quite sure what to think as coach of one of its top competitors — 19-year-old Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. The same was true for many of the skaters, who were quick to rationalize their performance, good or bad.

Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic will leave the club after eight years at the end of the season.

Manager David Moyes had previously indicated he wanted Vidic to stay, but the 32-year-old Serbian defender on Friday announced plans to leave when his contract expires.

Sochi Olympic organizers announced that more than 80 percent of tickets to events have been sold.

Russian spectators, who were allocated 70 percent of the total available, have faced lengthy lines in Sochi to collect their tickets.

Time for the games to begin. Thank goodness.

To put it mildly, this has not been the most carefree of lead-ups to the Olympics. It has been roiled by security concerns, arguments about gay rights and the still-questionable hosting abilities of a country that spent $50 billion but remained busy slapping paint on buildings only hours before the cauldron was set to be lit.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque is not pleased by the actions of some national team players during an ill-tempered Copa del Rey semifinal between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

Madrid beat Atletico 3-0 in the first-leg semifinal on Wednesday when Madrid players Alvaro Arbeloa and Sergio Ramos were among those to clash with Atletico striker Diego Costa, a Brazilian-born, naturalized Spaniard who is expected to be at the World Cup for Spain.