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RIO DE JANEIRO -- The president of cyclings world governing body defended the Olympic road course on Saturday, calling it a fair test and suggesting those who crashed pushed past their limits.Brian Cookson addressed a number of other issues during a wide-ranging news conference at the Rio de Janeiro Games at the midway point of the cycling program, including doping, the schedule of the track cycling program and several road racing issues.But perhaps the biggest hot-button issue through a week of competition was a road course that some had labeled too dangerous. One particularly nasty descent caused riders such as Italian star Vincenzo Nibali to go down and left Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten in the hospital.Weve had discussions about the number of crashes and the circumstances. It is my belief and our belief at the UCI that the courses were in the bounds of what was reasonable, Cookson said.Van Vleuten spent several days in the hospital with a concussion and three small fractures to her spine. She flew home to the Netherlands on Friday to continue her recovery.Its the riders responsibility to make the right decisions, Cookson said. I went to speak with Annemiek in the hospital and talked to her, and in her case, it was an error of judgment there (going too fast on the descent).Cookson was also asked about the silver medal won by Olga Zabelinskaya in the time trial. It came just days after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled a ban on Russian athletes who had been barred from competing for prior doping offenses was unenforceable, allowing Zabelinskaya to compete.The Russian cyclist who finished second in the time trial was entitled to be here under the rules of the (World Anti-Doping Agency) and the IOC, Cookson said. Im guessing she will not be the only previously convicted doped athlete at the games.Cookson has been working to clean up the sport after years of doping, including Lance Armstrongs admission of guilt a few years ago. And he said the positive test of a Brazilian cyclist in an out-of-competition test the week before the road race was a sign of progress.Ive said this many times before, cycling has been leading for many years in the fight against doping in sport, Cookson said. Whether there is a small number of athletes trying to cheat, I hope not, but if they are, we will catch them and we will sanction them.In other issues:- Cookson said the UCI is still examining the blood bags from Operation Puerto, the Spanish police investigation into a doping ring led by Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes. Cookson otherwise declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, saying only that when we have something to report, we will.- The UCI is confident WorldTour teams will compete in the team time trial at the world championships in Qatar. Several teams announced plans to boycott the event, in part because they are required to compete at their own expense.- Cookson said he was open to smaller teams in major events such as the Tour de France, but he warned that I think some of the bigger teams would object to that, and there are pros and cons to the details of that. Its something I wouldnt rule out but lets move forward gradually.- The UCI hopes to expand the cycling program at future Olympics, though Cookson did not say whether it would be merely an expansion of the track program or the addition of another discipline, such as downhill mountain biking or freestyle BMX competition.New Yeezy 350 v2 2019 . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Cheap Yeezy 350 Citrin . 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. http://www.yeezys350cheap.com/fake-yeezy-350-clay-wholesale.html . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Wholesale Yeezy 350 V2 ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. Cheap Yeezy 350 v2 2019 . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said.London again, huh? The Jaguars in London. To your average American NFL fan, this is about as exciting as a rice sandwich. Because of the 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff, a nonzero portion of the leagues regular viewers wont even realize the Colts are playing the Jaguars on Sunday until the game is almost over. If theres any emotion spilled over this game, itll be from people who didnt set their fantasy lineups in time.And yet, the NFL is doing it again. And again. And again. Sundays game is the first of three regular-season London games this season. They played three last year and three the year before. The Jaguars are going for the fourth year in a row and are committed to playing there once a year through 2020. The league has an agreement to play in Tottenhams new stadium every year once it opens in 2018.If youre sick of the London games, too bad, because from the NFLs standpoint its a rousing success and should only get bigger. The London series is a microcosm of the league itself. From a quality-of-the-product standpoint, it hasnt exactly been dazzling anybody the past few years. But its thriving anyway.Growing the game internationally is a vital part of the leagues business plan. No one could possibly believe the game will continue to grow domestically the way it has over the past couple of decades, but if things do flatten out here and they grow overseas, then the leagues business continues to churn and the owners keep making the money theyve been making. Not only are there three games in London this year, but theres one in Mexico City, too. And one of the agenda items at the league meeting in March dealt with other potential venues, such as Germany, Brazil and China.A casual NFL observer can look at the London series and conclude that its gone stale. The average margin of victory in the nine games that have been played there the past four years is 18.5. Eight coaches have lost their jobs the year their teams went to London, including the loser of the Week 4 game there each of the past two years. (Look out, Gus Bradley and Chuck Pagano!)The league measures its London success differently. Mark Waller, the NFLs executive vice president for international, listed three things the NFL looks at to determine how the London series is working:Impact on the teamsDo the teams feel they can go out there, play to the highest level, come back and compete and have a good season that isnt spoiled by playing internationally? Waller said. You cant get teams to go if other teams come back and say it was badly managed, not fair, doesnt work, things of that nature. So the league takes seriously the feedback it gets from teams about their experiences, and it works with teams to avoid surprises and inconvenience. The Jets got a lot of attention for bringing their own toilet paper last year, but they and the league had done their research, and they wanted to make their players as comfortable as possible.dddddddddddd.Are they offering the U.K. fans the best possible product?Sure, we who can choose among the likes of the Patriots, Steelers, Packers and Broncos every week scoff at the idea that Britain keeps getting the Jaguars foisted on them. First of all, by the time this years London games are over, 14 NFL teams will have played there since the start of 2014. Second of all, British customers dont seem at all turned off by the Jaguars. Waller says all three games this season?have sold out, and there are almost 40,000 tickets purchased by people who are buying all three games. So, mini-season ticket holders, if you will, he said. The league polls fans who go to the games about their experience so it can address specific aspects and try to keep it fresh. Despite the less-than-stellar matchups, the average attendance in the 14 regular-season games that have been played in London has been 83,061.Growth of audienceThere is now a twice-weekly half-hour show on the BBC with the fabulously austere title The NFL Show. It airs Saturday nights to preview the week ahead and on Tuesdays to review. The NFL estimates viewership at around a million, and Waller says the show has the youngest audience demographic of any BBC program. So not only are you bringing in new audience for yourself, but youre also helping the BBC by bringing in new viewers.Waller said that there are now 83 university teams and that amateur adult participation in American football is growing at 16 percent a year in the U.K.The league doesnt want this to get stale, which is part of why theres a new venue in the mix this year. The Rams and the Giants will play their Week 7 game at Twickenham, a new venue for the NFL and a different fan experience because its located in a residential area. The NFL is eager to see what effect that has on tailgating, parking and other game-day activities. Wembley Stadium, Waller said, can host only two or three games a year, so other venues must be explored and tried out. The new Tottenham Stadium factors into the long-term plans, but officials want to know where else they can have games if they want to continue to have more of them. Yes, there are those in the NFL offices and in the U.K. who are very interested in studying the viability of an NFL franchise based in London full time.So roll your eyes if you like at perennial bottom-feeding Jacksonville being our international NFL standard-bearer. Chuckle when its 11 a.m. ET on Sunday and one of the teams is up by 20 points. Remember: The people running this show love this, and that means you can expect to keep seeing it for a long, long time. ' ' '