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RIO DE JANEIRO -- The chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee defended his support of the decision not to ban Russias entire team from the Rio Games, framing it as a done deal by the time he weighed in on it, and a stance that received wide support among athletes.Chairman Larry Probst was among the 84 International Olympic Committee members who, at president Thomas Bachs urging, gave approval to the IOC executive committees call to let individual sports federations review the athletes doping pasts and determine which Russians could compete.At a USOC news conference Friday, Probst echoed Bach in saying the decision had wide support among athletes, including all eight athlete representatives on the IOC.But athlete support in Probsts home country was far from unanimous. Sarah Konrad, the chair of the USOC athletes advisory council, told The Associated Press, I think the IOC made the wrong decision.They shouldve shown stronger leadership and banned the entire Russian delegation, Konrad said. To punt to the (sports federations) was ridiculous.Probst quoted another IOC member, Dick Pound, an outspoken anti-doping advocate who also rubber-stamped the decision, saying the arrow has left the bow by the time the full IOC was asked to show support.The decision was made, Probst said. What Thomas asked of the session was, `Do you support the decision? The decision was not going to be changed.Only one IOC member raised his hand in opposition to Bachs question: Britains Adam Pengilly, whose term on the committee ends after these Olympics.The World Anti-Doping Agency was among several anti-doping groups that called for the complete ban of all Russias 389 athletes. Bach went against that recommendation, citing the concept of individual justice to justify the call to hand over the decisions to the sports. On Thursday night, about 24 hours before the opening ceremony, the IOC confirmed that 271 Russian athletes had been cleared to compete.Probst reiterated what he said in Tuesdays IOC meeting -- that the anti-doping system is in need of repair, and that the problem goes deeper than Russia.A complicated and difficult decision with no perfect solution, he called it.It was a sparsely attended news conference, held at the same time that French President Francois Hollande was also speaking to the media in a room on the other side of the building. Hollande is promoting the Paris bid for the 2024 Olympics.Also in that mix is Los Angeles, and USOC leadership has been working hard for years to build a stronger relationship with the IOC, in part to be in better position to eventually bring the Summer Games back to the United States for the first time since 1996.It helps explain why the USOC has been vocal about some parts of the anti-doping mess of the past year -- saying the system is broken -- but unwilling to break ranks at the highest level, including the IOCs decision about Russia.Chief of sport performance Alan Ashley said hes spent a lot of time in the athletes village and hasnt heard a word about doping or Russia.Theyre looking forward to the competition, Ashley said. Thats what I hear about.But Ashley hasnt spoken to all the athletes.I believed the IOC was going to say, `We dont want this in our organization and we have to make a stand, said U.S. race walker John Nunn, who also serves on the U.S. track teams athletes advisory committee. And to turn around and just go, `Hey, why dont you just go make a decision for each sport, Im like, Are you for real? You really just copped out on this.Cheap Vikings Jerseys . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native was stellar in making 39 saves in his home province and Lars Eller got credit for a bizarre short-handed winner as the Canadiens defeated the Canucks 4-1. Cheap Minnesota Vikings Jerseys . On Mar. 16, coming off a "fight of the year" performance at UFC 154 the previous November, St-Pierre faced Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in what would be his eighth defence of the welterweight title. Using his superior athleticism, St-Pierre cruised to a five round, unanimous decision victory setting up a much-anticipated title defence against number one contender Johny Hendricks. http://www.cheapvikingsjerseyselite.com/ . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. Wholesale Vikings Jerseys . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Cheap Vikings Jerseys Authentic . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.RALEIGH, N.C. -- Cam Ward was perfect in goal for over 61 minutes on Sunday night, and then he got some help from a guy who rarely plays in overtime.Phillip Di Giuseppe scored his first goal of the season 1:26 into the extra period, giving the Carolina Hurricanes a 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.Viktor Stalberg assisted on Di Giuseppes wrist shot from the right circle, which ended a three-game skid for the Canes.It felt like the (first score) would win, especially the way it unfolded, Carolina coach Bill Peters said. Wardo stood tall. But we still need to find a way to score. We need to get different results offensively.It was Carolinas sixth straight home victory and snapped a three-game skid versus Tampa Bay. The Hurricanes have won just two of their last 10 games against the Lightning.And it was Carolinas first overtime win in six tries this season.When I got sent down (to Charlotte of the AHL on Nov. 11) the team got going, and when I came back (on Nov. 27) we were still playing well, Di Giuseppe said. We havent been getting many breaks, but tonight we did and thats nice. We played hard all 60 minutes, limited them to few Grade-A chances and Wardo made the big saves when he needed to and came out with a `W.Lightning coach Jon Cooper thought the winner should have been waved off because Stalberg bumped goalie Ben Bishops stick while Di Giuseppe shot.It was 100 percent goalie interference, Cooper said. The rule is in place for goalies to be able to make a save. Intention has nothing to do with it. (Bishops) stick was kicked and he was unable to make a save. Im blown away. Im mystified. I dont get it.Tampa Bay, without injured star Steven Stamkos, lost for the fifth time in six games. Its last regulation win was over Philadelphia on Nov. 23.Ward had 30 saves in his 25th career shutout.dddddddddddd Bishop stopped 29 shots.It was one of those games when it was only going to take one, said Ward, who in his eighth season has the longest tenure of any of the current Hurricanes. We played smart and didnt press. We didnt take too many chances and waited for our opportunities. Our penalty kill has been a difference for us all season, and we contained them tonight. At the end of the day its about winning hockey games, and this team really wants to win.The Hurricanes, who have been the NHLs best penalty killers this season, dodged a bullet late in the third period when they killed off consecutive minors, including 22 seconds of 5-on-3.Its a good feeling to be winning like this at home, alternate captain Jeff Skinner said. You want to be able to establish an identity early in the year of being a tough team to play against at home. Weve done a good job over the last couple of weeks at home. Now our job is to try and take care of things on the road.Game notesHurricanes C Elias Lindholm (lower body) missed his second straight game, while D Klas Dahlbeck and D Ryan Murphy were healthy scratches. ... Lightning D Jason Garrison (lower body) missed his second straight game and RW Ryan Callahan (lower body) his fourth. LW Jonathan Drouin missed the game with an undisclosed issue, while D Nikita Nesterov was a healthy extra. ... The teams will meet three times this season, with the other two contests at Tampa Bay on Dec. 31 and March 1.UP NEXTLightning: Host Vancouver on Wednesday night in the first of a two-game homestand.Hurricanes: Visit Anaheim on Tuesday night in the first of their three-game California road trip. ' ' '