Freischaltung » diction:The finals start a week early fo

Olympic leaders stopped short Sunday of imposing a complete ban on Russia from the Rio de Janeiro Games, assigning individual global sports federations the responsibility to decide which athletes should be cleared to compete.The decision, announced after a three-hour meeting via teleconference of the International Olympic Committee executive board, came just 12 days before the Aug. 5 opening of the Games.We had to balance the collective responsibility and the individual justice to which every human being and athlete is entitled to, IOC president Thomas Bach said.The IOC rejected calls from the World Anti-Doping Agency and dozens of other anti-doping bodies to exclude the entire Russian Olympic team following allegations of state-sponsored cheating.USADA CEO Travis Tygart expressed disappointment with the IOC decision in a statement.Many, including clean athletes and whistleblowers, have demonstrated courage and strength in confronting a culture of state-supported doping and corruption within Russia. Disappointingly, however, in response to the most important moment for clean athletes and the integrity of the Olympic Games, the IOC has refused to take decisive leadership, Tygart said. The decision regarding the Russians participating and the confusing mess left in its wake is a significant blow to the rights of clean athletes.Russias track and field athletes have already been banned by the IAAF, the sports governing body, a decision that was upheld Thursday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and was accepted by the IOC again on Sunday.Calls for a complete ban on Russia intensified after Richard McLaren, a Canadian lawyer commissioned by the WADA, issued a report Monday accusing Russias sports ministry of overseeing a vast doping program of its Olympic athletes.McLarens investigation, based heavily on evidence from former Moscow doping lab director Grigory Rodchenkov, affirmed allegations of brazen manipulation of Russian urine samples at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi but also found that state-backed doping had involved 28 summer and winter sports from 2011 to 2015.But the IOC board decided against the ultimate sanction, in line with Bachs recent statements stressing the need to take individual justice into account. The IOC said the McLaren report had made no direct accusations against the Russian Olympic Committee as an institution.An athlete should not suffer and should not be sanctioned for a system in which he was not implicated, Bach told reporters on a conference call after Sundays meeting.Bach acknowledged the decision might not please everybody.This is not about expectations, he said. This is about doing justice to clean athletes all over the world.The leader of New Zealands anti-doping movement said the IOCs decision shows a lack of will to back the cord principles of their organization with hard decisions.World marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe said it is unfair of the IOC to leave it to ?individual sports to decide whether Russians should be allowed to compete in Rio.A truly strong message for clean sport would have been to ban all those who have been caught cheating, Radcliffe said in a statement posted on Twitter. In short, it does not send the clear message it could have done that doping and cheating in all Olympic sport will never be tolerated.Russian Olympic Committee president Alexander Zhukov presented his case to the IOC board at the beginning of Sundays meeting, promising full cooperation with investigations and guaranteeing a complete and comprehensive restructuring of the Russian anti-doping system.The IOC also said Russia is barred from entering for the Rio Games any athlete who has ever been sanctioned for doping.That appears to rule out swimmer Yulia Efimova, the world champion in the 100-meter breaststroke, 2012 Olympic silver-medal-winning weightlifter Tatiana Kashirina and two-time Olympic bronze-medal-winning cyclist Olga Zabelinskaya. All three have previously served a doping ban.Saying we dont have time enough to do such a thing, Zhukov said the ROC will not appeal the IOC decision to ban athletes with previous doping sanctions. Zhukov noted that he did not agree with the IOCs ruling.Zhukov does not rule out any Russian athlete filing an urgent appeal as an individual because all of them can go to CAS.In a statement, the IOC said it would accept the entry of only those Russian athletes who meet certain conditions set out for the 28 international federations to apply.?The IOC said the federations have the authority, under their own rules, to exclude Russian teams as a whole.The federations should carry out an individual analysis of each athletes anti-doping record, taking in account only reliable adequate international tests ... in order to ensure a level playing field, the IOC said.Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said the majority of Russias team complies with IOC criteria on doping and will be able to compete in Rio.The criteria are very tough, but thats a kind of challenge for our team. ... Im sure the majority of our team will comply, Mutko said.Mutko said he accepts the criteria but adds it is not fair that former dopers from other countries can compete.Russian athletes accepted to the Olympics will be subject to a rigorous additional out-of-competition testing programme, the IOC said. Any missed test by an athlete would result in a loss of accreditation by the IOC.The International Tennis Federation said it expects Russias eight-player Olympic tennis team to compete at the Games.The IOC also rejected the application by Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova, the 800-meter runner and former doper who helped expose the doping scandal in her homeland, to compete under a neutral flag at the Games. However, the IOC added that it would invite her and her husband, Vitaly Stepanov, to attend the Games.Tygart said the decision to deny Stepanova an Olympics spot is incomprehensible and will undoubtedly deter whistleblowers in the future from coming forward.The IAAF had also granted neutral athlete status to Florida-based long jumper Darya Klishina. Her status was unclear after the IOCs ruling.Russia has admitted some doping violations by its athletes and coaches but denies that the government was involved. State media has painted the issue as a U.S.-led political vendetta.Russia faces a possible ban from the Paralympic Games. Citing evidence in McLarens report of doping among Russian Paralympic athletes, the International Paralympic Committee said Friday it will decide next month whether to exclude the country from the Sept. 7-18 event in Rio.The Associated Press contributed to this report.Cheap Oilers Jerseys . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. Oilers Jerseys 2021 . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. https://www.cheapoilers.com/ . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Oilers Jerseys China .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Edmonton Oilers Store .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage.Team news:Its almost a cliche now but rarely have we seen a closer NRL competition than this year.When Melbourne and Cronulla kick-off on Saturday night to decide the 2016 minor premiership, there will have been 372 NRL games that have come and gone and still it boils down to the final round to decide top spot after the regular season.Cronulla will assume the mental edge after downing the Melbourne 14-6 when the two sides last met in round four and a timely return to the winners list against the Roosters will lift confidence.History weighs heavily in favour of Melbourne, the Storm having won two-thirds of the encounters between the clubs while they havent lost to the Sharks at home since 2008.Melbourne Storm:?1. Cameron Munster, 2. Suliasi Vunivalu, 3. Will Chambers, 4. Ryan Morgan, 5. Marika Koroibete, 6. Blake Green, 7. Cooper Cronk, 8. Jesse Bromwich, 9. Cameron Smith, 10. Tim Glasby, 11. Kenny Bromwich, 12. Tohu Harris, 13. Dale Finucane. Interchange: 14. Felise Kaufusi, 15. Christian Welch, 16. Jordan McLean, 17. Ben Hampton, 21. Matt White.Cronulla Sharks:?1. Ben Barba, 2. Sosaia Feki, 3. Jack Bird, 4. Gerard Beale, 5. Valentine Holmes, 6. James Maloney, 7. Chad Townsend, 8. Andrew Fifita, 9. Michael Ennis, 10. Matt Prior, 11. Luke Lewis, 12. Wade Graham, 13. Paul Gallen. Interchange: 14. Joseph Paulo, 15. Chris Heighington, 16. Jesse Sene-Lefao, 17. Jayson Bukuya.What they said:These guys (Cronulla) are very good at being aggressive and trying to put you off your game, we just cant allow that to happen. - Cameron Smith, Storm captain.Youve just got to prepare for a tough game ... theyre going to come down here and play an aggressive style so weve got to match that. - Jesse Bromwich, Storm prop.It is always good fun coming up against quality opposition so Saturday night should be a good test. - Blake Green, Storm five-eighth.Theyre always hard down there. Their record over the past 10 years shows theyre a tough team and weve got now doubt how hard its going to be for us. - Wade Graham, Sharks forward.Key head-to-head - Cameron Smith vs Michael EnnisTwo of the craftiest players in the NRL and the two players that hold the key to victory for their respective teams.As dummy-halves, they will have their hands on the ball more often than most and that alone makes them a major threat to the opposition.Smith is arguably the smartest brain in the competition; he understandss the game better than any other.dddddddddddd Hes neither fast, big and is no great stepper, but he has an ability to influence referees as well as mesmerise and manipulate opposing defences with his scheming.Michael Ennis has similar qualities and although not as polished in each area, he is a genuine competitor that will do anything to win for his teammates. He is a world-class niggler and has the ability to unsettle the opposition with some subtle actions or a few well chosen words.Key Stats:The Storm have won 12 of their previous 15 matches against the Sharks.The Sharks have won just four matches against the Storm in Melbourne.The Storm boast a strong head to head record over the Sharks - winning 20 of 30 matches.The Storm are coming off a defeat to Brisbane but are yet to lose consecutive games this season.UBET verdict:Melbourne Storm ($1.45) v Cronulla Sharks ($2.75), AAMI Park, Saturday at 7.30pmThe Sharks got back into the winners list last week but the worry is they did give the Roosters 12 points start.The Storm were beaten last week, but the minor premiership awaits the winner, so there is plenty on the line.Cronulla defeated Melbourne the last time they met but all of the early money is on Melbourne.Weather:Sydney is expecting a chilly temperature of 11 degrees by kick-off with only a 10 percent chance of rain.Prediction:The finals start a week early for these two sides and Melbourne have too much experience in this area for Cronulla.Its no secret that Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk are key for the Storm - both have regularly shown at club, Origin and international level that the bigger the game, the better they play and this is the type of environment they enjoy most.The Sharks have had a fantastic season but I still have my doubts that they can find another gear required for finals football and its a quality theyll need to show against the Storm on Saturday.After a month without a win, Paul Gallens return from injury made a noticeable difference to Cronullas physicality and composure. The Sharks are a huge chance of claiming their first minor premiership since 1999 but I am just leaning towards the Storm on this occasion because of the Smith/Cronk factor, their superior experience and the home ground advantage.Tip: Melbourne by 8 ' ' '