Becky Sullivan

The Americans are heavyweights in the once-every-few-years tournament.

This year, they've got some of the best players in baseball on the roster, like Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., and Paul Skeens, who's expected to pitch Sunday's semifinal against the Dominican Republic.

But the DR might be the favorites of the whole tournament, with MLB all-stars like Juan Soto, Julio Rodriguez, and Fernando Tatis Jr.

On the other side of the bracket are Samurai Japan and the superstar Shohei Otani, who on the mound clinched the 2023 title for Japan.

In the late game, Japan faces Venezuela, who aren't pushovers.

Earlier, Puerto Rico will take on the fan-favorite underdog, Italy.

Becky Sullivan in PR News.

This was the first Olympics in more than a decade with NHL players, and with two rivals squaring off for gold, it was a tense, thrilling, fast-paced game.

The Americans struck first when six minutes in, Matt Boldy chipped the puck to himself as he fought through a pair of Canadian defenders and found the net.

That was it for the Americans in regulation.

The rest was a white-knuckled, terrifying ride as the Canadians pressed with chance after chance,

Kael McCarr evened it up in the second period, but otherwise, U.S.

goaltender Connor Hellebuck had the game of a lifetime with 41 saves, each and every one of them needed to send the game to overtime.

Then it was Jack Hughes.

His mouth bloodied, his front tooth badly chipped after taking a stick to the face who scored the game winner and his teammates who threw their sticks and gloves into the air to celebrate.

Becky Sullivan, NPR News, Milan.

This was the first Olympics in more than a decade with NHL players, and with two rivals squaring off for gold,

it was a tense, thrilling, fast-paced game.

The Americans struck first when six minutes in, Matt Boldy chipped the puck to himself as he fought through a pair of Canadian defenders and found the net.

That was it for the Americans in regulation.