If this turns out to be Thomas Bachs defining moment, heres what the leader of the International Olympic Committee will be remembered for: keeping Russia as part of the club, but losing the trust of thousands of athletes who thought that, maybe this year, theyd get the answers theyve been looking for.In a way, the IOC and its president may have saved the Games As We Know Them, with their decision Sunday not to ban the entire Russian team from the Rio de Janeiro Games. No less than Russian President Vladimir Putin was making references to the potential fracturing of the Olympic movement if his country was kicked out completely.But the Games As We Know Them are now filled with wide-scale, unapologetic drug cheating, as was documented in a pair of independent reports that gave an unflinching look at a top-to-bottom doping program involving Russias government and trickling down to hundreds of the countrys athletes.The IOC ultimately favored individual justice over collective responsibility -- words Bach used repeatedly to describe the moral calculations of this first-of-its-kind judgment. And there were some legitimate arguments to be made about, say, the group of gymnasts or the dozens of clean athletes in any sport that shouldnt be kicked out because of the misdeeds of others.But, as Bach noted: This might not please everybody.Where to start?Maybe with those thousands of athletes who have tirelessly filled out whereabouts forms over the years, then allowed themselves to be woken in the dark of night, or met while out for dinner, by an agent tasked with collecting urine samples as part of the comprehensive out-of-competition-testing programs that exist in dozens of countries.Maybe with those whove been directly cheated out of medals by a Russian doper.Eight years of my life as a professional runner, and my entire professional career has been a farce, basically, American runner Alysia Montano said earlier this month, in tears after tripping and falling and failing to qualify for what wouldve been a chance to earn the Olympic medal that still hasnt come her way.While keeping the individual vs. collective argument at their disposal, IOC members also heard Sunday from Russian Olympic leader Alexander Zhukov, who urged them not to bow to geopolitical pressure and issue the blanket ban.Clearly, this decision had every bit as much to do with politics as clean sports.Its why the IOC ended up with a handful of actions that, frankly, do not live up to the standards of what world anti-doping rules are trying to achieve.- The IOCs call to bar from Rio any Russian athlete who had previously served an anti-doping ban runs counter to a 2011 decision that made it impermissible to do that very thing. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that such a punishment amounted to double jeopardy. Zhukov said he didnt agree with the latest IOC ruling but that Russia would not appeal it. That doesnt mean individual athletes cannot. It has whiffs of a politically driven bargain.- The IOCs rejection of whistleblower Yulia Stepanovas request to compete under a neutral flag may have been academic, since Stepanova was injured and no sure thing to line up. Bach said the IOC considered the timing of Stepanovas information dump -- after shed been cast aside by the Russian team -- along with her record of doping. Still, the message it sends, is incomprehensible and will undoubtedly deter whistleblowers in the future from coming forward, said Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.- The IOCs decision to let the 28 summer sports determine the eligibility of their athletes puts the federations in a nearly impossible situation. How, in 10 days, can any organization set reasonable parameters to determine whos been operating clean and who hasnt?But those calls, Bach and the IOC ruled, are for others to make.The one they did make keeps Russia engaged in the Olympics -- not an altogether surprising result, considering the country recently spent $51 billion on the Sochi Games, which have now been proven to be as drug-tainted and corrupt as any in history.Its a result that falls short of the toughest sanctions available, which is what Bach promised when the latest report on Russias doping scandal came out last Monday.A sad day for clean sport said Joseph de Pencier, CEO of the Institute for National Anti-Doping Organizations, which represents 59 agencies across the globe.But a happy day for Russia. Authentic Custom Browns Jersey . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. 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GLASGOW, Scotland -- Emotions will be heightened at Great Britains Davis Cup semifinal against Argentina, with a grieving Andy Murray to miss his grandfathers funeral on Friday to play Juan Martin del Potro in the opening match.Here in the city of his birth, the Wimbledon and Olympic champion was absent from a news conference that followed the draw ceremony, due to what the Lawn Tennis Associations spokesman called a personal reason.Murray is understood to have spent Thursday afternoon with his family, after his paternal grandfather, Gordon -- the father of his dad Willie -- passed away last week. Leon Smith, the British captain, expects Murray to play against Del Potro when the pair will be reprising last months Olympic final.Gordon Murray, who lived in Kilsyth in Lanarkshire with his wife Ellen, once said that he always knew his grandson was destined for greatness: I saw talent in him when he was very young.It is understood that Jamie Murray -- who attended the media conference, and who isnt needed on the hard court at the Emirates Arena until he plays doubles alongside his brother on Saturday -- will attend the funeral.For very different reasons -- the sheer intensity of the occasion, with brutal rallies and a contest lasting more than four hours -- the Olympic final was a very emotional occasion for Murray, with the Briton and the Argentina hugging at the end. Its going to be a tough match after our great battle in Rio, which had a lot of ups and downs, and a lot of momentum shifts, and which was physically and mentally draining, Murray said, in comments provided by the LTA. I think both of us were pretty tired afterwards, and emotional. It will be another intense atmosphere.The format of the Davis Cup is supposed to keep the glitterati apart -- and the anticipation building -- until the Sunday afternoon. But that is not how it has worked out here, with Murray and Del Potro to meet on Friday lunchtime.For any corporate lunch-munchers coming to the Emirates Arena, here is an order of play that has the potential to give them a nasty dose of indigestion. No one will want to linger over their dessert and coffee and so miss the opening exchanges of the first match of the weekend, due to start a few minutes after 1 p.m. BST, with the outcome to have a huge bearing on whether Britain will retain the Davis Cup, after last year winning the competition for the first time since Fred Perry and company in 1936.Given that the Olympic final was so long on drama, emotion and running time, its entirely possible that Murray and De Potro wont be finished until the late afternoon, or potentially even the early evening. They will be followed on to the speedy hard court by Kyle Edmund and Guido Pella, with Smith preferring the Yorkshireman to Dan Evans, whose strong recent form is such that he held a match point against Stan Wawrinka, the eventual US Open champion, in their third-round encounter in New York.At most ties, the countries best two players dont meet until Sundays encounter betwween the leading singles nominations.dddddddddddd Not here, though, and thats not because of any backstage chicanery.The explanation for Murray and Del Potro playing on Friday is that the South Americans ranking is still lower than his true ability as he continues his comeback after so many years of wrist operations. Even after his run to the quarterfinals of the US Open, which saw him bumped up the standings, he is still at No.64 in the world. The rules dictate that the two singles players chosen by a captain must be nominated in ranking order, so with the world No.49 Pella also picked to play on the first day, Del Potro could only ever be the second nomination, and a countrys No. 2 always plays the opposing nations No.1 on Friday.Its an exciting way to start the tie -- people are going to grab hold of that and thats great, Smith said.There had been speculation that Argentinas singles nominations would be Del Potro and Leonardo Mayer, who has a triple-digit ranking. In that scenario, Del Potro would have been the first nomination and so would have avoided Murray until Sunday.Its debatable whether it favours Murray or Del Potro to play their match on day one when both will be fresher. Perhaps it gives some benefit to Murray, given he is expected to feature on all three days of the tie, as he will also be required alongside his brother Jamie in the Saturday doubles rubber. Del Potro, meanwhile, has only been nominated for the singles, with Federico Delbonis and Mayer selected for the visitors [though, these line-ups are all subject to change]. But heres what we can say with some certainty -- the result of the opening match will set the tone and the mood for the weekend.Its not often a British captain has the luxury of uming and erring about his choice of second singles player, but that was the situation Smith found himself in. A strong argument could have been mounted for either Edmund [the world No.55] or Evans [ranked two spots higher] to compete on Friday. Evans could still play on Sunday.No one came closer than Evans to beating Wawrinka at Flushing Meadows and that was the second successive major, after Wimbledon, when he made the last 32. Edmund, meanwhile, won two singles rubbers in the quarterfinal against Serbia in Belgrade -- Murray travelled as a cheerleader rather than as a participant -- and had excellent wins against Richard Gasquet and John inner on the way to the fourth round of the US Open [he would lose a one-sided match to Novak Djokovic].Edmund against Pella is also a re-match from a meeting earlier in the season, though clearly not of the same order of magnitude as Murray and Del Potros. Edmund served for the match when he played Pella in Indian Wells, in the Californian desert, in March, but he couldnt close it out.Should Britain progress into a second successive final, they would play either France away or Croatia at home. ' ' '