Geschäftsmachen mit China » banned for life. This is a nice gesture

Ben Ransom gets a behind-the-scenes look at the facilities that the British Olympic Association hope will be the launch-pad to another record-breaking medal haul. Be prepared or prepare to fail.Its an old cliché but its one that Team GB are living by as they get ready for Rio 2016. The plans are certainly impressive, with the British Olympic Association (BOA) putting more money than ever before into the preparation for an overseas Games. £1.6m of lottery funding has been set aside by UK Sport to fund the biggest pre-Games training camp a British team has ever had. In fact they believe its the biggest and most extensive training camp of any of the other nations competing in Rio. Lofty ambitions indeed.Two weeks before the opening ceremony, British athletes will begin boarding flights to Brazil, but having landed at the host city of Rio de Janeiro theyll jump straight onto another plane and fly 45 minutes north into the mountains. Belo Horizonte is a city that conjures up painful sporting memories for those who follow England, and in particular English football. Not only was it the scene of one of their most humiliating ever World Cup results in 1950 when they were beaten by a team of amateurs from the USA, the return 64 years later saw Roy Hodgsons England crash out of the 2014 competition after a lacklustre goalless draw with Costa Rica.Thankfully its a unified British team that will be touching down later this summer and when they arrive theyll be greeted by the best training facilities found anywhere in Brazil. The athletics track has the exact same surface as the Olympic Stadium in Rio, while Belo Horizonte is also home to Brazils only other indoor 50-metre swimming pool to meet international standards. Team GB will have access to a 50-metre swimming pool, one of only two pools to meet the international standard in Brazil Each and every competing sport will enjoy a similar level of meticulous preparation, with a fleet of shipping containers crossing the Atlantic right now bringing with them everything from canoe slalom start gates to full-size Olympic boxing rings. Even the hotel rooms here will get the Team GB treatment to make sure athletes feel right at home - with patriotic posters and Union Flag cushions on the sofas.Paul Ford is the Head of pre-Games training and explained to Sky Sports News HQ why theyre going to all of the trouble.Technical training is the first most important thing and after that were then looking at how we can best acclimatise, Ford said.Were only 45 minutes flight away from Rio so its got exactly the same climate, which allows the athletes to go through the process of that four-hour time zone shift and get used to being inside Brazil before they go into the village and do their competition.The other key part of it is bringing together Team GB because they might come here as British Judo or the British fencing team, but they leave here as part of Team GB ready to take on the world. The running track Team GBs athletes will train on at Belo Horizonte will be the exact same surface found at the Olympic Stadium in Rio In 2010 the BOA wouldve been forgiven for putting everything into making sure London 2012 lived up to all the hype. However, in addition to focusing on their own backyard, a delegation was also more than 5,000 miles away visiting the training venues here in Belo Horizonte. To put it into some perspective, recent media reports in Brazil questioned why the home nation had not secured the facilities in Belo instead to give themselves the best chance of success this summer.Brazils loss is Britains gain and rather than looking at it as an expensive gamble, Team GB are confident the investment of time and money will pave the way for their most successful ever overseas Games. To do that they have to get a total of 48 medals, one more than they achieved in Beijing 2008. But having spent three days travelling around with the BOA delegation theres no sense of settling for that figure. Instead theres optimism that British performances in Rio could even push their greatest ever Olympic medal haul - when Team GB landed a total of 65 medals, including 29 golds in London. Sky Sports Orla Chennaoui brings us the latest news from Belo Horizonte where Team GB will soon begin their preparations for this summers Olympic Games As was the case in the build-up to London 2012 there are also negative headlines. Brazil is a country facing huge political and social problems, as well as a battle with the well-publicised Zika virus. Team GB want to leave their own human legacy in their home from home. Much of the training equipment being brought out and paid for by UK Sport will then be donated to local sports clubs in Belo Horizonte. And who knows, it might even be the small act of trans-Atlantic kindness that allows a young Brazilian athlete to fulfil their dream of going for gold in Tokyo 2020.That truly would be a legacy of Olympic proportions. Also See: Schedule/Results Ones to Watch Photos Athletics Video Mark Stone Jersey . First, the Red Wings scored the tying goal after officials missed the puck hitting the protective netting, then the Kings wound up losing in a shootout. That could affect playoff positioning in the Eastern and Western Conferences, and thats a concern for everyone. Custom Ottawa Senators Jerseys . Villarreals victory in Valencia kept it in fourth place and in control of Spains last Champions League spot. Uche broke free in the area in the 10th minute and was brought down by goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who was shown a direct red card. http://www.senatorssale.com/. The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Jason Spezza Jersey . The former Edmonton Oilers defenceman was with the St. Louis Blues in training camp on a professional tryout. Whitney, 30, had four goals and 13 points in 34 games with the Oilers last season. Daniel Alfredsson Jersey . -- Michael Frazier II scored 21 points, Dorian Finney-Smith added 11 and No.TSN Baseball Analyst Steve Phillips answers several questions surrounding the game each week. This weeks topics include the Jays treatment of Brett Lawrie, Nationals manager Matt Williams two differing responses on Bryce Harper, the challenges that lie ahead for baseballs new commissioner and what to do about ballplayers who use PEDs. 1) After only three innings of action on Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays were forced to place third baseman Brett Lawrie back on the 15-day DL. Was he rushed back into action, or is this injury another one of those things that happens over the course of a baseball season? Is it possible the Jays felt pressure with their lack of deadline moves and the team discontent that stemmed from that situation to get Lawrie back into the lineup as soon as possible? Lawrie lasting only three innings does not scream of bad decision-making in the medical department. He was on the DL with a broken finger and is now back on the DL with a strained oblique. I guess you can wonder whether the trainers did enough to replicate baseball activities and the rotation necessary to play the game while he was injured, but it isnt completely fair. Sometimes, stuff happens. I think this situation screams even more loudly what a lost opportunity the trade deadline was for the Jays. Ownership has let Jays fans down with their decision-making. If the season were to end today, the Jays would not make the playoffs. They have slid back to the pack so substantially, that the pack is now passing them. The Yankees may or may not make the playoffs, but they just won three of four from the Detroit Tigers. Guys like Chase Headley, Stephen Drew, Martin Prado, Brandon McCarthy and Chris Capuano are making major contributions. GM Brian Cashman anticipated a need for depth, so he acquired more players than were obviously needed. I know what you are thinking - they are the Yankees and they have money to spend. But all of their acquisitions were of second and third tier players. They didnt break the bank. This was the year to go for it for the Jays. Instead, they stood pat while others improved. Dont blame John Gibbons and dont blame Alex Anthopoulos. This is strictly an ownership issue. I feel bad for the Jays fans. Teams often come up with slogans for the season. It can be a rallying cry for the fans, players and media. The slogan this year in Toronto is - "Sometimes, stuff happens." 2) There has been some talk of the possibility that the Washington Nationals could send struggling star Bryce Harper down to the minors. Manager Matt Williams has since squashed the rumours by saying its something they are not considering as a possibility. But should they? Would a short stint in the minors help Harper get his head right and turn around his season, or would it stunt his growth and/or make him bitter and angry at the team? Matt Wiliams attacked the media in Washington before their game against the Mets on Wednesday for asking the question posed above. What was bizarre about it is that on his weekly radio show in the morning, Williams answered the exact same question in a very reasonable way. He said, "Generally, if you have young players, thats what you do. But this guy is a special young player." Something must have happened between the morning interview and Williams meeting with the media before the game. Maybe Harpers agent Scott Boras caught wind of the speculation and called GM Mike Rizzo to complain. Maybe Harper heard it and had a panicked conversation with his manager. Whatever happened, it sent Williams into a rage when asked the same question about the possibility of sending Harper to the minors. "I would caution everybody in this room," he started. "The minute you think you can read my freaking mind, youre sorely mistaken. It (ticks) me off to even think about, that somebody would take a comment I made on the radio and infer I am thinking one way or another. Ive had it. Dont do it anymore. "Bryce Harper is one of the guys on our team, hes a very important part of our team. Just like everybody else is. Do we understand each other? "Its not fair to the kid, its not fair to the rest of the guys in that clubhouse to even think about sending Bryce Harper to the minor leagues, or to cause a stir. Its unacceptable. It wont happen." That seemed pretty angry and pretty definitive. A pretty defensive response for a manager whose team is in first place by five games. Williams needs to take a deep breath. The question is a reasonable one for a struggling young player. Now heres a question for you: Is Bryce Harper a great player? I know theres a ton of potential in him considering his exploits as an amateur. I know hes only 21-years-old. But hes a career .284 hitter. The most home runs he hit in a season is 22 and the most runs he has driven in is 59. He hit .228 with two homers and three RBI in July and was hitting .158 in August when Williams was asked the question. Harper has been significantly less than great. There is no shame in sending a player to the minor leagues to clear his mind and work on his game. It allows him to get out of the spotlight. At AAA he wouldnt have dozens of microphones in his face asking him what is wrong and why are you struggling. Sometimes it helps to take one step back to take two steps forward. There are no scholarships in the big leagues. Its about production. If Bryce Harper is going to be a superstar, theres nothing about being sent to the minors that would change that. In fact, it might get him going more quickly. I know Harper hit a game-winning homer in Thursdays game against the Mets. Everyone is now saying, "See, I told you so. He doesnt need to go to the minors." Before the homer, however, he was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts. If you believe the saying that, "youre only as good as your last at bat," then Harper starts this day as a stud. But there are no guarantees in baseball. Harper may or may not have his confidence back. He may or may not be fixed. If Harper continues his struggles, someone will have to work up the courage to ask Matt Williams the question about the minors again. It just wont be me - because Matt Williams scares me. 3) Next week, owners of the 30 Major League teams are going to elect a new commissioner. Who should get the job? Bud Selig will be stepping down in January and his replacement will be one of three men: Rob Manfred - MLBs chief operating officer; MLBs executive vice president of business Tim Brosnan and Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner. All three of the candidates, wwhich were selected by a seven-person search committee, are from within baseball and it will take 23-of-30 votes to earn approval for selection as commissioner.dddddddddddd Each of the three candidates brings experience in their own substantial way. Rob Manfred has been the point person for Bud Selig in communications with the players association. Hes been part of the most successful runs of labour peace in modern sports history. He also has a keen understanding of internal baseball and business operations. He helped craft the strongest drug policy in professional sports. Brosnan has helped foster and spread the exponential financial growth of the industry and negotiated their impressive national television rights deals. Tom Werner is the chairman of the Boston Red Sox and formerly owned the San Diego Padres. Hes also a member of the Television Hall of Fame as served as executive producer of a number of very successful television shows. Its a bit surprising that the search committee is not presenting a candidate from outside of the game. Certainly an understanding of the game is critical to running the leagues, but baseball is in need of outside of the box thinking in a desperate way. The game is losing its fan base at a record pace. Theres a disconnect between the fans and the players. Kids find it far easier to relate to the NFL and NBA. The pace of the game needs to change. Baseball needs to market its stars in a much more substantial way. I thought for sure that Bob Bowman, CEO of MLBAM, would be a candidate to consider. MLBAM includes MLB.com, MLB.tv, MLB Radio, BaseballChannel.TV and MiLB.com. It generates close to a billion dollars a year in revenue. And MLBAM is known for its creative and innovative technological developments including the MLB At Bat app. Bowman is a businessman and a visionary who gets things done. The only problem is that he is a no-nonsense, brash and abrasive personality that has rubbed owners the wrong way. So it shall be. The new commissioner will come from the three nominees mentioned above. The voting will take place next Thursday at the owners meetings and will continue until one of the candidates gets the required 23 votes. The speculation was that Rob Manfred would get the votes necessary to win but recently a number of anti-Manfred owners have been pushing for Tom Werner. Tim Brosnan doesnt seem to have the support that the other two have but he could emerge as a compromise option between the factions of owners. It will certainly be fascinating. For the record, I would vote for Rob Manfred. I believe that his working knowledge of the office and his relationship with the players association will be very important. Baseball must reframe itself in the eyes of its fans and yes, Manfred feels a bit connected to Bud Selig so he will have to surround himself with creative, forward thinkers who understand the 18-35 male demographic. I dont think that just because he worked for Selig - who is old school in his thinking - limits Manfreds ability to grow the game in the right direction. When I was an assistant GM for the Mets, I worked for a very good baseball man in Joe McIlvaine. Joe was an old school guy and when I succeeded him, I wasnt limited by his thinking. I completely restructured our scouting department, computerized the entire baseball department and used stats and sabermetrics in a way never considered before by the Mets organization. That all said, Manfred can be his own man. No matter who gets the job, there will be challenges ahead. Play Ball! The most recent developments in the Biogenesis scandal in baseball reminds us that we will never be rid of PEDs. As long as theres money to be made, the chemists will stay ahead of the testers. Players will always look for an edge, especially with millions of dollars as a payoff. Sure, the players have agreed to increase the first-time penalties to 80 games - up from 50 games. Second-time offenders now lose an entire season and third-time offenders are banned for life. This is a nice gesture by the players, but it will not stop everyone from cheating. The DEA rounded up Tony Bosch and his co-workers from Biogenesis. This investigation will certainly drum up more evidence and information than the MLB one previously. The Feds have subpoena power that baseball didnt have. We are hearing that more names will be exposed than the 14 major leaguers suspended a year ago. Certainly baseball will want those names and may very likely discipline the additional offenders. From the investigation will come helpful information as to the production and distribution chain of the drugs. We will learn, in detail, how professional and youth players were recruited by Biogenesis and like companies. The prosecution of these drug dealers will certainly put a scare in others doing the same. Give baseball credit. Previously, it was the government that pushed baseball or more accurately its union into stricter drug policies. This time around, it was baseball that was the aggressor. The commissioner spent millions of dollars on the investigation of Biogenesis. Baseball brought evidence and information from some of the scoundrels arrested on Wednesday. And this time, it pushed the Feds into pursuing this issue. But baseball needs the justice system to help them out again. The Feds have never been interested in pursuing the users of PEDS - they seemingly only want to stop the production and distribution. Back when Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and others were implicated in the investigation of BALCO Labs, it was only BALCO founder Victor Conte who was a target for prosecution. Bonds found himself in trouble not for drug use, but rather for hindering the investigation. Its time for ballplayers who use illegal PEDs to be arrested and to serve time for their crime. The drugs they are using are illegal and they are illegally obtained. Some players share them with other players and thats illegal as well. The Feds need to prosecute players just as they do the labs. Nothing has been a deterrent for the players. They use PEDs and serve 50-game (now 80-game) suspensions and then signed multi-year, mega-million dollar deals. Melky Cabrera signed a two-year, $16 million deal with Toronto a couple of years ago after his suspension. Jhonny Peralta was punished for his steroid use with a four-year $53 million deal from the Cardinals last off-season. Please punish me like that! I am begging you! If players have to spend 60 days in jail for using PEDs, Ill bet they start making different decisions about what they put in their bodies. Lock them all up. ' ' '