Olympian Scotty Lago Heads Home After Photo Controversy

Scotty Lago, winner of the bronze medal in the men's halfpipe snowboarding event Wednesday, voluntarily left the Winter Olympics Friday after risqué photos of a woman kissing and biting the medal surfaced in the media.

The free-spirited Lago, 22, was snapped with his bronze medal around his waist and the hardware hung over his groin area, allowing a woman to kiss it on a public street late Thursday in Vancouver.

A second shot shows the woman biting the medal, but this time Lago is holding it up by the logo on his Team USA T-shirt.

Lago apologized to the U.S. Olympic Committee and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, which required athletes to attend a special ambassador program prior to the games to avoid potential publicity nightmares.

"Scotty Lago is a great athlete, but with that comes a responsibility of proper conduct, and his involvement in this situation is not acceptable," said Association President and CEO Bill Marolt in a statement. "Scotty realizes his conduct was inappropriate. He has formally apologized and also made a decision to leave Vancouver today."

So far, officials have taken no action against the Seabrook, N.H., native.

The photos were published on the TMZ Web site.

Roman Polanski Wins Best Director at Berlin International Film Festival

Roman Polanski won the Silver Bear as best director for The Ghost Writer, his film starring Pierce Brosnan, Ewan McGregor and Kim Cattrall, which premiered last week at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The 76-year-old director was unable to attend the premiere screening or the awards ceremony in Berlin because he cannot leave his home in Switzerland.

He remains under house arrest in his villa in Gstaad while the Swiss justice system considers the legalities of his extradition to the US over his conviction of having sex with a minor in 1977.

Alain Sarde, producer of The Ghost Writer, accepted the award for Polanski, saying, "I am sure Roman will be very happy."

He added sardonically, "However, when I was lamenting with him that he cannot be with us, he said to me, 'Even if I could, I wouldn't because the last time I went to a festival to get a prize, I ended up in jail.' "

Polanski was referring to his arrest at Kloten Airport last September after he arrived to accept a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival.

The 60th Berlin International Film Festival closed today in Germany.

Apolo Anton Ohno Wins Record Seventh Medal

Short track speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno skated into the Olympic history books Saturday, winning a seventh winter games medal – a bronze in the 1000 meters – making him the most decorated American athlete in Winter Olympics history.

"It feels amazing, especially in a sport as volatile as short track speed skating," he said on passing the six medal tally long track speed skating legend Bonnie Blair. "This is my third Olympic games and there is no other athlete here competing who has gone to three Olympic games and medaled every time."

This might have been Ohno’s "I felt the race was mine," he said, until a slip with 2 ½ laps left knocked him from second to fifth place. He scrambled to pass two Canadians to finish third behind two Koreans, gold medalist Lee Jung-Su and silver medalist Lee Ho-Suk.

"I had to crank it up, but I regrouped and won the bronze. It means a lot to me," he noted. "I wanted to leave my heart and soul on the ice and I did. I don’t look back at past medals, I look back at the struggles. I live my life with the philosophy that anything’s possible but I had no idea I’d have this much success."

Cheering Ohno on during the race was none other than Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, with 14 medals to his name.

Ohno will next compete in the 5000 meter relay and is considering entering the 500 meter race as well.

Expectant Couple Tie the Knot – Mid-Labor

A Wisconsin couple had just one request for the hospital where their baby was to be born this week: Get us married, STAT.

Originally scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, the wedding of parents-to-be Erin Heather and Mark Weber was to take place only a week before their baby's Feb. 26 due date.

But when Heather went into labor prematurely, at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, she and her boyfriend of 11 years rushed to St. Mary's Hospital in Madison to say their "I do's" in a makeshift chapel there instead, at 11 in the morning rather than 4:30 in the afternoon.

On the way, they stopped to pick up the marriage license – and notified St. Mary’s about their needs, all according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

An ordained minister friend of Weber's officiated at the ceremony, which was attended by a few friends, a handful of hospital staff – and a smattering of journalists.

The couple were in such a hurry to get married because, the new dad informed the newspaper, of "old-fashioned grandparents" and a desire to officially be "a family" when their child arrived.

The baby, a girl, was born Thursday night.

Billy Corgan and Jessica Simpson: Just 'Good Friends'

When Jessica Simpson released photos of her laughter-filled recording sessions with Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan last month, buzz that the two are dating reached its highest volume yet.

At the time, a source told PEOPLE, "He got her number and starting calling her. He thought she was cute ... adorable ... and she got a little crush."

Now Corgan himself has clarified the nature of their relationship – sort of. "[Simpson] asked me to help her out on the theme song for her new TV show," he told the Chicago Tribune of the alterna-pop tune he composed for VH1’s The Price of Beauty, premiering Mar. 15.

As for the romance rumors, Corgan, 42, said, "The stuff that I’ve seen doesn’t have any bearing to the reality that I’m in. It’s like being in a cartoon. It has nothing to do with what’s really going on or how I feel."

And despite the fact that Simpson’s current Allure cover story could be interpreted as evidence of her growing feelings for Corgan – "I definitely will marry an artistic man," says Simpson, 29. "I don’t have a physical type. I have an emotional type. When you have yourself together, I don’t care what you look like at all" – a source close to Simpson tells PEOPLE the pair are "good

5 Things to Know About Alpine Skier Andrew Weibrecht

Despite a previous best finish of 10th place on the World Cup circuit, Alpine skier Andrew Weibrecht, 24, won a surprise bronze in the Super-G on Friday and competes in the Super Combined today. Here are five things to know about the champion.

Skiing Runs In the Family
"My dad, Ed, moved us to Lake Placid so he could ski every day," Weibrecht explains. "I went with him and I started racing at age five."

He Hits the Slopes – and the Books
A sophomore at Dartmouth, Weibrecht returns to campus for 10 weeks each spring to study Earth science. "I credit college keeping me in skiing," he says. "I had lost the passion but after going to school, I fell back in love with skiing because I missed doing it. I like going back to school because I love the change of pace."

Screams Help Him Succeed
His coaches know how to fire him up: "My nickname is War Horse. My last name was always mispronounced and I’m super intense on the slopes – in everything I do," Weibrecht admits. "When I’m at the gate, the coaches scream that name in my face to pump me up."

He'd Love to Ride the Waves
"I wish I could be closer to the ocean so I could surf. I know I’d like it," Weibrecht says. "I love to fly fish – it keeps my mind working all the time."


His Lady Is Quite the Catch
His girlfriend, Denja Rand, is a teacher, a hottie and a champ: "She coaches alpine skiing and teaches English and history at National Sports Academy in Lake Placid," notes Weibrecht proudly. "She also won a beauty competition for the ski boots maker, Lange – she’s the 2010 Local Lange Girl contest winner, with more than 63,000 votes."