Dein erstes Forum » its a different game, but to their

RIO DE JANEIRO -- A public shaming at the Olympic Games isnt pretty.After the scandal of state-organized Russian cheating and Olympic officials spineless response, it perhaps was only a matter of when, not if, a Russian athlete in Rio would be booed and blamed.Olympians and fans are disgusted. Understandably so. Revelations that Russian officials erased doping positives, flushed away dirty urine samples and gave cheats a clean bill of health are sickening. So, too, was the International Olympic Committees refusal to ban Russia outright from the Rio de Janeiro Games.But swimmer Yulia Efimova is a poor poster child for Russias deceit.Yes, the 24-year-old is Russian. And, yes, she did positive in 2013 for a banned steroid, DHEA. That doesnt, however, automatically make her a doper. Three arbitrators, none of them Russian, who heard Efimovas case and banned her from competition for 16 months were clear about that.They ruled that she clearly was not intentionally cheating and she did not intend to enhance sport performance.Instead, they determined, Efimova was negligent. The legal supplement she bought at a store near her home in California contained DHEA. It even said so on the label. But Efimova naively believed the store clerk who told her the product was OK and did not read the label herself, they determined.Foolish, then, but not Lance Armstrong.The arbitrators noted that Efimova impressed them as sincere and honest and appropriately remorseful for her mistake. She did not seek to blame others for her rule violation and she accepted responsibility for her actions.These all-important nuances got drowned in the Olympic pool.The Cold War-ish narrative of a feisty 19-year-old American, Lilly King, striking a blow for clean athletes by staring down and beating the Russian was too appealing to let all the facts get in the way.Another U.S. swimmer, Cody Miller, even went so far as to liken his teammates defeat of Efimova in the 100-meter breaststroke to the movie Rocky IV, where Sylvester Stallones boxer knocks out juiced-up Soviet monster Ivan Drago.BOOOOM!! Miller tweeted. AMERICA PREVAILS!!Get a grip.Howard Jacobs, the California lawyer who represented Efimova in her 2014 case heard by the doping panel for swimmings governing body, FINA, says ire against her is misplaced.Its not that everyone who tests positive is evil, he said in a phone interview. There are very few athletes who take the time to understand anti-doping until they are actually thrown into an anti-doping case because of a mistake that they make.For the record, FINA also cleared Efimova for the six times meldonium was found in her drug-test samples in February and March this year. The Latvian-made heart drug was routinely taken by East European athletes before the World Anti-Doping Agency banned its use at the start of the year. But the science behind the ban was incomplete and WADA subsequently issued new guidelines allowing athletes to be cleared in some cases.FINA said the amount of meldonium in Efimovas samples was very low and that its doping panel concluded that she wasnt at fault.WADA could have challenged FINAs decision and appealed but did not, judging that the federation handled the case correctly.Those are the rules.Efimovas rivals may not like them. They may not like her. But should they ever run afoul of those same rules, theyll also want a fair shake and likely be on the phone to lawyers like Jacobs.When they hear stories about contaminated supplements, they think its all BS, he said. They dont believe it until it happens to them.If swimmers need a target, they should aim at FINA instead. The federation awarded Russian President Vladimir Putin its highest honor, the FINA Order, in 2014 for what it gushed was his great contribution to strengthen the fraternity between nations, improve the lifestyle and education of the youth in Russia and promote a healthier society.That coziness, always inappropriate, now looks just horrible in the wake of the Russian state-sponsored doping scandal.The next time King takes to the Olympic pool -- she and Efimova race in 200-meter heats on Wednesday -- it would be good to hear her take a stand on that.---John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. 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According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time.CHICAGO -- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville thought about playing rookie goalie Lars Johansson against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night. Then Scott Darling said he wanted to make his ninth straight start, and the debate was over.Darling had 33 saves, Ryan Hartman, Vinnie Hinostroza and Patrick Kane scored in the third period, and the streaking Blackhawks beat the Sharks 4-1 for their fifth consecutive victory.Darling improved to 6-2-1 since Corey Crawford was sidelined by an emergency appendectomy on Dec. 3. He showed signs of fatigue the past couple games, including Saturday nights 6-4 victory at St. Louis, but Quenneville wanted to stay with what has been working so well lately and Darling wanted the net.It worked out quite well for Chicago, which has won six of seven overall.Sure, its tiring but I knew coming home, getting a good nights sleep and no pregame skate, Id have the energy in the tank to go, Darling said. I dont really try to twist Joels arm in any way at all. I just told him I wanted to play and that was that. He told me I was playing.Joe Pavelski scored for San Jose, which settled for a 3-1 road trip after coming to Chicago with a four-game win streak. Martin Jones finished with 22 stops, but faltered a bit in the third.We felt like we played a pretty good game early on -- it gets away a little at the end -- but it was definitely a game that was there for us, Pavelski said.The division leaders in the Western Conference were tied at 1 when Hinostroza won a faceoff for Chicago and Hartman whipped the puck right by Jones on the stick side at 6:59. It was Hartmans first goal since Nov. 25 at Anaheim, ending an 11-game drought.Hinostroza then got his third of the season when he shot it through Jones legs at 17:40 on a break with Marian Hossa. Hinostroza also scored Saturday night.For us young guys, its felt like its hockey again for a while now, Hartman said. Its nice to be contributing, helping the team win.Kane added an empty-netter as Chicago improved to 13-2-3 at home. Duncan Keith scored his first goal of the season inn the second, and Artemi Panarin had two assists while extending his point streak to five games.ddddddddddddOur last three games are very comparable, where we had our best period in the third, had our best production as well, Quenneville said.San Jose jumped in front when Pavelski deflected Brent Burns long wrist shot past Darling at 1:13 of the second. It looked as if the puck also might have gone off the stick of Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson on its way to the net.It was Pavelskis third goal in four games and No. 11 on the year.The Sharks then started buzzing around the Blackhawks end. Patrick Marleau got open for a tip in front, but Darling was there. Chris Tierney shot it off the left post with about 4:45 left in the period.Chicago picked up the tying goal when Keith drove a pass from Panarin past Jones from just inside the blue line at 16:49.I thought the second period was probably the difference in the game, coach Peter DeBoer said. To come out 1-1 after we played the way we did, I thought we deserved a little better. If we find a way to get another one going into the third, maybe its a different game, but to their credit their goalie was excellent in the second period and weathered the storm.Game notesSharks C Melker Karlsson was helped off the ice 3:05 into third. He slipped and fell, and then got hit in the head by Blackhawks F Tyler Motte behind the San Jose net. I think hes OK, but well see tomorrow, DeBoer said. ... Crawford skated again before the game and could return Friday against Colorado. He was out there today with some players, so he got some good work again today, Quenneville said. ... Blackhawks C Artem Anisimov was sidelined by an upper-body injury. He is day to day. ... Pavelski has 30 points in 34 career games against Chicago.UP NEXTSharks: Host Calgary on Tuesday night.Blackhawks: Host Ottawa on Tuesday night.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap ' ' '