Sochi, Russia - The closing ceremony of the Sochi Games brought a flashy and tuneful end Sunday night to the most expensive Olympics in history. Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. They opted for human rings this time, the last one opening several seconds after the first four on the floor of the stadium. It echoed the hijinks from Vancouvers closing ceremony four years ago, when a leg of the cauldron that failed to come up during the opening ceremony was finally raised into place. Sundays ceremony at Fisht Olympic Stadium included a handoff from Sochi to Pyeongchang, South Korea, host of the 2018 Winter Games. Near the end, the cauldron that was lit 16 days earlier by Russian Olympic greats Vladislav Tretiak and Irina Rodnina was extinguished after one of the games mascots, an animatronic bear, blew out a flame in the center of the stadium, a single tear dripping from its left eye. Earlier, after a childrens choir conducted by Valery Gergiev sung the Russian national anthem, flag bearers for each country entered the stadium together rather than country by country like in the opening ceremony. The athletes who stuck around for the festivities also came in together, as is customary for the closing ceremony. American ice hockey forward Julie Chu, who competed in her fourth Olympics, carried the U.S. flag. "So proud to represent Team USA (and) our amazing athletes. Humbled," Chu tweeted as she waited to enter the stadium. Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse, who won their second womens bobsled gold medal in a row, were co-flag bearers for Canada. Figure skater Maxim Trankov, a dual gold medalist in Sochi, carried Russias flag. Pop music played, but the ceremony also included a heavy dose of classical music and ballet like the opening ceremony, and a nod to Russian novelists and poets. All of it was done as temperatures hovered in the 40s, a cool close to the so- called Spring Olympics, where the weather was famously mild, with temperatures even climbing into the 60s on some days. That led to some strange scenes, including cross country skiers cutting the sleeves off their uniforms and American skier Julia Mancuso filming a surfing video for NBC on the Black Sea. There was a serious side to the warmer weather, of course, which wreaked havoc on some courses for the snow events. Snowboarders complained about slushy conditions on the halfpipe and the New York Times detailed a clandestine operation by organizers to purchase more salt needed to keep some courses properly iced. Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen set the all-time Winter Olympics record during the games by winning his 12th and 13th medals, both golds. But Russia led the overall medal count with 33, including 13 gold medals to fall one short of the Winter Games record of 14 set by Canada four years ago at the Vancouver Olympics. The U.S. finished second with 28 medals, nine fewer than the Winter Games record 37 they captured in Vancouver. Norway was third overall with 26 medals and Canada won 25, including 10 gold -- the last secured by the mens hockey team on Sunday in a win over Sweden. The Russian anthem played for the last time at the closing ceremony during the medal ceremony for the mens 50-kilometer cross country race. Alexander Legkov led a Russian medal sweep of that event Sunday morning. Sochi organizing committee head Dmitry Chernyshenko called the games "a great moment in our history ... a moment that will never be forgotten." "This is the new face of Russia, our Russia," he said. "And for us, these games are the best ever." Russian President Vladimir Putins $51 billion Olympics were the subject of snickers early on when media and athletes arrived to find some accommodations lacking. Journalists relayed stories of unfinished rooms, broken door handles, missing shower curtains and even stray dogs in their media villages. One was told not to use the water in her bathroom, which was said to contain a dangerous chemical. U.S. bobsledder Johnny Quinn became an Internet sensation after tweeting a picture of his bathroom door, which he had broken through after becoming locked inside. The Twitter account SochiProblems had more than 330,000 followers by the time of Sundays closing ceremony, but the criticism so prevalent in the first days died down, giving way to wide praise of Sochis venues. IOC President Thomas Bach, presiding over his first games, said the athletes left a legacy of "peace, tolerance and respect" and urged, as IOC heads often do, that countries around the world follow the example. Bach thanked Putin for what he said was the Russian presidents "personal commitment to the extraordinary success" of the games. "We leave as friends of the Russian people," said Bach. News broke during the opening ceremony that a plane had been diverted to an airport in Turkey after a passenger on board allegedly issued a bomb threat and tried to have the aircraft redirected to Sochi. The incident further raised fears that Russias first Olympics in 34 years could be the target of a terrorist attack, but the games passed without any such incident. The host country faced criticism in the run-up to the games after passing laws last year aimed at keeping gay "propaganda" away from children, and officials remained adamant throughout that political protests should be kept away from Olympic venues. In the highest-profile incident of its kind, two members of the punk band Pussy Riot were among several people detained for several hours as they planned to film a protest video in Sochi. They set up a day later to film again, but were interrupted by Cossacks who attacked them with whips. The games went without a positive doping test until the final weekend, when there were six. In the last case, Swedish hockey star Nicklas Backstrom was scratched from the gold medal game Sunday after testing positive for a banned substance found in allergy medication his NHL team said he has been taking for seven years to combat severe allergies. The Washington Capitals said the medication was approved by the Swedish national team. Marvin Jones Jr Youth Jersey . Nikolaos Kounenakis has been hired as an assistant coach, the team announced on Monday. Marvin Jones Jr Lions Jersey . Pekovic had an MRI test Tuesday on his right ankle that revealed bursitis, which is inflammation of the fluid-filled pad that cushions the joint. http://www.authenticnfllionslockroom.com/Youth-Jarrad-Davis-Elite-Jersey/ . Five years ago, Nestor and Zimonjic beat the American twins to win the title. But the Bryans, the worlds top-ranked team, needed 74 minutes to earn the victory Saturday as both Nestor and Zimonjic lost serve in the second set. T.J. Hockenson Lions Jersey . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Marvin Jones Jr Jersey . -- A.J. Burnett was happy to escape from New York.PHILADELPHIA -- For once, Zack Wheeler was able to smile after a start. The rest of the Mets were pretty happy, too. Wheeler struck out nine in 6 1-3 innings and Chris Young hit a two-run homer to lead New York to a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday night in the opener of a rare five-game series. Wheeler (2-5) looked nothing like the pitcher who entered with a 4.63 ERA and one win in 10 starts this season. Mixing a fastball that hit the high 90s and a slow, knee-buckling breaking ball, the right-hander retired eight of the first 10 batters via strikeout. Wheeler had sent down 14 straight batters until Marlon Byrd lofted the first pitch he saw with one out in the seventh over the wall in right for his seventh homer. That was the end of the evening for Wheeler, who matched his season high in innings while giving up the lone run and four hits with no walks. "It feels really good, obviously," Wheeler said. "I can actually smile after a start now. I knew I had it today. I could locate all my pitches. Its easy when you can locate all your pitches and everythings working." Mets manager Terry Collis said Wheeler "pretty much took control of the game. He really was throwing well. Tonight he dominated this game." The Mets, who opened an 11-game road trip, matched a season best with their third straight victory while beating the Phillies for the sixth straight time at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies set a season high with 15 strikeouts against four Mets pitchers. "Wheeler had real good stuff and we just couldnt pull the trigger on his fastball," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "We couldnt get anything going." The series originally was scheduled for four games, but the teams will make up their April 30 rainout on Monday, which originally was a day off for both teams. Jenrry Mejia struck out the side in the ninth for his fifth save in as many chances. Mejia hasnt allowed an earned run in nine relief outings since being moved to the bullpen on May 12 after making seven starts. "Thhe entire pitching tonight.dddddddddddd. Youre just sitting in the dugout saying, Wow!" Collins said. "Good stuff, good location, really a well-pitched game." David Buchanan (1-1), who was making his second career start in place of injured left-hander Cliff Lee (15-day DL, left elbow), left after giving up four runs -- three earned -- and seven hits with two strikeouts and walks. The righty earned the victory in his major league debut with a five-inning, two-run outing in Saturdays 5-3 win over the Dodgers. Young, who entered with three hits in his last 35 at-bats, put the Mets in front 3-0 with a drive to left in the fourth. Both Collins and Young hope its a sign of better things to come for the outfielder, who entered batting .220. "Hes got to get on track, and the home run was really big for him," Collins said. "Hes hit some balls hard with nothing to show for it, so I think tonights a big game." Said Young, "I felt like I was aggressive all night. I felt good about the pitches I did swing at, even the outs I had. Thats a good start. Today was probably the best day I felt, not going by the results but simply the pitch selection." New York added an unearned run in the fifth when Curtis Granderson walked with the bases loaded in an inning that was extended by third baseman Cesar Hernandezs throwing error. Ryan Howard, who hit a walkoff homer in Wednesdays win over the Rockies, went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts. Howard entered with a hit in 12 straight games against New York, batting .417 with four homers and 13 RBIs over the stretch. NOTES: New York C Travis dArnaud went 0 for 4 in his first game since being activated from the 7-day DL due to a concussion he sustained May 13. ... Mets 3B David Wright went 1 for 5 with a single. His 19 career homers at Citizens Bank Park are the most of any visiting player. ... Granderson went 0 for 2, extending his hitless streak to 0 for 16. ... Mets RHP Rafael Montero (0-2, 4.96) opposes Philadelphia RHP A.J. Burnett (3-4, 3.51) on Friday. ' ' '