Petitionen & Spendenaufrufe » pent the first month of his first

MOSCOW -- As far as Vladimir Putins anti-doping troubleshooter is concerned, Russias doping problems are nothing more than a glitch.Brought out of retirement by Putin to lead Russias future strategy on doping, 81-year-old Vitaly Smirnov is being called on to use his contacts from five decades in Olympic politics to lobby for Russian interests and play down the accusations of state-sponsored cheating.Even as Smirnov tries to build bridges with the IOC and World Anti-Doping Agency, and plans to address WADAs board on Sunday, Smirnov vehemently denies that the Russian government ran an industrial-scale doping program and cover-up, including at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.What has happened is a glitch. It doesnt have roots in any kind of practice which was happening over a long period of time, Smirnov, a former Soviet minister who spent 44 years as an International Olympic Committee member, told The Associated Press in an interview in his spacious office at the Russian Olympic Committee. There was no organized doping system on the state level. We believe that the participants in this were individuals, who were pursuing their own goals.Putins love of sports as a judo black belt and recreational hockey player means the Russian government couldnt have sponsored an East German-style doping scheme, Smirnov said.Ive known our president for 25 years. I got to know him when we were preparing the Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg in 1994. I know him still. I know hes an athlete, Smirnov says he told Richard McLaren, the Canadian lawyer who produced the WADA report accusing Russian officials of complicity. And as an athlete and head of state, its incompatible.Among those named in McLarens report in July were Deputy Sports Minister Yuri Nagornykh and the ministrys anti-doping adviser, Nataliya Zhelanova, both of whom are facing investigations from the Russian authorities and have since left their jobs. Even if officials like Nagornykh and Zhelanova are found to have been complicit, they should be seen as bad apples rather than part of a government conspiracy, Smirnov argues.Certain officials ... it doesnt mean the whole system, the whole ministry was taking part, he said.The second part of McLarens report is due out next month and could further tarnish the legacy of the Sochi Games. Smirnov has been in contact with McLaren and WADA President Craig Reedie.However, Smirnov is scathing in his condemnation for Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory who turned star witness for WADA. Rodchenkov said he was involved in state-backed doping for years, providing doping substances to athletes and helping swap dirty samples for clean ones at the Sochi Games.Now living in the United States, Rochenkov is facing an investigation by Russian authorities over the destruction of doping samples.Smirnov suggests Rodchenkov was motivated by money, not Russian state prestige.If you take the case of Rodchenkov, theres pure criminality. They were just, over the course of a fairly long period of time, falsifying results and getting money for that, Smirnov said, later adding: I am counting on objectivity in this whole case. The McLaren report is sadly built on the evidence of just one man. That man is facing a criminal case and an investigation is under way.Formally, Smirnovs role is as head of the Independent Public Anti-Doping Commission, a body set up at Putins suggestion and backed by the Russian Olympic Committee to lead the charge against what the Russian government perceives as unfair accusations. Putin didnt formally appoint Smirnov, but nominated him on state TV as a man with an absolutely unimpeachable reputation. He was swiftly approved.The commission, which last met in October, includes numerous sports officials but also doctors, a state TV executive and even a concert pianist, though none of the commissions members are anti-doping scientists.Our commission is absolutely independent. The commission contains people, many of whom have no connection to sport at all, but carry a lot of weight in society, Smirnov said, defending the participation of pianist Denis Matsuev. Hes not just there because he can play 47 piano concertos, but because he loves sport and was invited to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics because of his musical skill, Smirnov added, though the commission also works with two experts from Australia and Lithuania sent by WADA to Russia to help with reforms.Smirnov is eager to repair relations with the IOC and WADA after a year of fierce rhetoric on all sides, and refers to former WADA president Dick Pound, author of last years first report into Russian doping, as my old friend. In a recent conversation with Reedie, Smirnov offered to appoint a foreigner to Rodchenkovs old job as head of the Moscow lab to reactivate its colossal capacity of 20,000 tests a year.Smirnovs overall message is clear though -- Russia is not a country of drug cheats.In the spirit of our people there is nothing about trying to deceive, to find a dishonest shortcut, he said. Adidas Stan Smith Authentic . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. Cheap Adidas Stan Smith Shoes . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. http://www.cheapstansmith.net/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Adidas Stan Smith Online Sale . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Adidas Stan Smith Wholesale . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. LOS ANGELES -- Cmon, Clay Helton. You know you want to. Heres your chance. Heres your chance to tell all the college football experts to go do something anatomically impossible.All he does is give a hearty laugh.Not my style, Helton said. Not my style.Helton is the former soon-to-be-former USC coach. He spent the first month of his first head coaching season hearing why he shouldnt get a second. Now Helton is the middle of his third month, and his No. 13 Trojans are 7-3 with a six-game winning streak as they prepare to finish their Pac-12 schedule at UCLA (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). USC is a half-game behind No. 10 Colorado, and a half-game ahead of Utah, in the Pac-12 South.The Trojans actually can win the division. If they beat the Bruins (4-6, 2-5), and if No. 22 Washington State wins at Colorado, and the Buffs go on to beat No. 12 Utah next week, then the courtly Helton would have every right to say something that is not his style.Google Clay Helton and you dont have to scroll down very far. The fifth story is, Clay Helton Must Be Fired and USC Needs to Find a Real Head Coach. The seventh and ninth stories provide five names as possible replacements. Those three stories were published in late September, when USC had a record of 1-3.The ready-fire-aim section of my business did itself proud. Yeah, the Trojans got humiliated by Alabama in the opener, 52-6. It turned out that USC, in its first game, literally was not ready for the big time. The atmosphere in Cowboys Stadium, not to mention the Crimson Tide themselves, overwhelmed the Trojans.Yep, they followed with an equally inept offensive performance at Stanford two weeks later in a 27-10 loss. After that game, Helton benched fourth-year junior quarterback Max Browne for redshirt freshman Sam Darnold.He played well in his first start, at Utah, but the Trojans lost fumbles on their first three offensive possessions, and then gave up a touchdown with :16 to play to lose 31-27. All they had to show for the first month of the season was a victory over Utah State and a rabble that had been roused.Gah, Helton said, that feels like years ago.His family rallied around him. In the days after the Utah game, his daughter Aubrey, a high school senior, came up to him, gave him a big hug, and said, Daddy, dont worry about it. Its all going to be good.Not even Aubrey knew how good. But her daddy had an inkling. As the carping about Helton being overmatched reached a crescendo, he came away from the Utah loss convinced that the Trojans would be fine. He wont tell you six-wins-in-a-row, 13th-ranked, division-contender fine. But fine. This wasnt a team pointing fingers across the locker room.There were guys coming up on their own to watch extra film in our meeting rooms and taking it upon themselves to bring their teammates with them, Helton said. Thats what hurt, losing that game, because I saw what each kid was trying to do to help this team win.Helton seized on that kernel of determination and, as the geniuses speculated on his successor -- four games into his career -- he let his team know that he paid it no mind.I kept telling myself, Remember, 18- to 21-year-olds look to their leader and look to their coaching staff, Helton said. How we react, theyre going to react. Just stay poiseed.ddddddddddddDont panic. Stay consistent in what youre doing and what you believe in and live with the results.Six starts later, Darnold is the best first-year quarterback in the FBS. Dont ask me, Jalen Hurts fans. Ask Darnolds QBR (86.8), fifth in the nation. Darnold has been so effective as a passer he has reopened the running lanes for backs Ronald Jones II and Justin Davis.That is as good a decision as any to probe whether Helton could coach his way out of a paper bag. With 20/20 hindsight, it seems perfectly obvious that Darnold is the better quarterback. But Helton remains steadfast that the full-speed decision he made to start Browne in the first three games is one he would make again.I had seen a kid, Max Browne, whos a redshirt junior, that had been in college football games, was efficient, had been a team captain, very respected by our team as a leader, Helton said. And I saw Sam, just this ultra-talented thing, just brilliance. But had never seen him in a ballgame, a real live college game.Browne didnt make mistakes, but he didnt make magic, either. Darnold proved he could handle major college football. Boy, could he. Should you blame Helton for not getting Darnold ready for the opener? You should, as long as you ignore that the offense had a new coordinator, the defense had a new coordinator, and so did the special teams. That contributed to the slow start as well.Look at the way the defense has improved over the course of the season: five sacks in the first four games, 14 in the next six. The Trojans have allowed an average of 18 points per game during their six-game winning streak.USC is coming off a 26-13 victory at No. 4 Washington, a vivid illustration of how far the Trojans have progressed since that loss to Alabama. Here was another fast, talented team. Here was a game in Husky Stadium, one of the most intimidating atmospheres in college football. USC didnt wilt this time.As I look back on our entire season, it really culminated in last week, Helton said. ...I just saw unbelievable poise and maturity. It was as electric an atmosphere as you could possibly have. It was as good a scene for college football as you could see, and the moment wasnt too big for them. They really walked in there with a sense of maturity and confidence. Hey, lets just focus on our job. Lets dont care about the stadium. Lets dont care about the noise. Lets dont care about the weather. Lets just get our job done.They have two rivalry games remaining -- Notre Dame comes west next week -- and Helton said he has seen no heads swelled by the win at Washington. Coach Overmatched could end up with a 10-win season. And a Pac-12 title. The guy that the internet fired seven weeks ago may end up in the Rose Bowl.Heltons unfailingly polite, unerringly even-keeled, unbelievably unexciting personality ended up being just the right touch for a young team. So, cmon, Coach. Let it go. Tell the experts off.You have to be very strong-willed, Helton said. You have to have thick skin. And dont get your feelings hurt. Believe in what youre doing. Believe in the things youre doing for kids.Oh, well. They got off lucky. ' ' '