Savage » clock running down while defended by P.J. Tucker and Bledsoe

LONDON -- The Ukrainian city of Lviv withdrew its bid for the 2022 Winter Games on Monday, becoming the third contender to drop out of the race for an Olympics that no one seems to want. Lviv pulled out because of the continuing political and security crisis in Ukraine, where government forces are battling an insurgency by pro-Russian separatists. Lviv officials said they would now focus on bidding for the 2026 Winter Games instead. The decision to withdraw, which had been widely expected, followed talks between Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and IOC President Thomas Bach. "We concluded that it would be extremely difficult to pursue the 2022 bid under current circumstances but that a future bid would make sense for Ukraine and Ukrainian sport," Bach said in a statement. The announcement came exactly one week before the International Olympic Committee selects a short list of finalists for the 2022 Games. Three cities remain in contention: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing, and Oslo. With Lviv out, the IOC executive board is likely to retain all three and not cut any of the candidates. The host city will be selected by the full IOC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 31, 2015. "We have always said that we will only continue if we can be certain to deliver on all our promises," Lviv bid CEO Sergei Goncharov told The Associated Press. "Due to the current circumstances in Ukraine, we, however, felt that a bid for 2026 would make more sense. We remain convinced of the positive impact that hosting Olympic Games would have for the city of Lviv and the whole country." Lvivs withdrawal follows the earlier pullouts of Stockholm and Krakow, Poland. The Swedish capital dropped out in December after politicians declined to give financial support. The Polish city withdrew last month after 70 per cent of residents rejected the bid in a referendum. The future of Oslos bid also remains uncertain. The Norwegian government has yet to back the project and wont make a decision until the autumn. In addition, recent polls have shown that more than half the population opposes the games. If Oslo drops out later, that would leave only two cities standing. Almaty, commercial capital of the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia, hosted the 2011 Asian Winter Games and would shape up as the favourite. Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Olympics, is bidding to become the first city to stage both the Summer and Winter Games. Beijing proposes holding Alpine events 120 miles (190 kilometres) away in the northern Chinese city of Zhangjiakou. And with Pyeongchang, South Korea, hosting the 2018 Winter Games and Tokyo the 2020 Olympics, the IOC would normally be reluctant to send the games to Asia for a third straight time. Even before the start of the official 2022 campaign, two potential serious contenders stayed away. St. Moritz-Davos and Munich cancelled proposed bids after voters in Switzerland and Germany voted "no" in referendums. The troubled race poses a crisis for the IOC, which is running out of potential sites for the games. Potential host cities, especially in Western Europe, are concerned about the financial costs of the games. Many have been scared off by the $51 billion price tag associated with Februarys Winter Olympics in Sochi. Russia spent much of the record sum on long-term infrastructure projects for the entire region. Rio de Janeiros delayed preparations for the 2016 Olympics are also a major concern. Changes to the bidding process and efforts to reduce the cost of the games are among the key issues being addressed by the IOC as part of Bachs "Agenda 2020" -- his blueprint for the future of the Olympic movement that will be voted on in December. Despite their withdrawal, Lviv bid officials have travelled to Pyeongchang this week for debriefings on the Sochi Games. Bach said the IOCs preliminary assessment of the Lviv bid found "a huge potential for future development." "We will continue to pursue our dream," Goncharov said. "We have learned a great deal during our first ever bid and we will come back stronger." Air Max 97 Nz Wholesale . It was a day that saw England slump off a World Cup field once again battered and bruised. This time there was no red card to wonder about, no goalkeeping error or individual mistake. They were thoroughly beaten by something they have nothing of – genuine world class ability. Cheap Air Max 97 Nz Free Shipping . Picard had a goal and two assists to help Canada improve to 2-0 at the tournament. Seven different players scored for the two-time defending champions. "Today all four lines played excellent," said head coach Laura Schuler. http://www.cheapairmax97nz.com/ . -- Manager Bob Melvin shuffled the Athletics batting order and got the type of production he was looking for from the top of the lineup. Cheap Air Max 97 Nz Shoes . His chance at winning a Stanley Cup in Philadelphia is over. Same with Jeff Carter. And Brian Boucher. Throw in Ville Leino and Dan Carcillo. Cheap Air Max 97 Nz Online . As TSN reported Thursday, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is under intense pressure from the federal government to focus drug testing on athletes who compete in international events representing Canada. Since funding for the tests has been frozen and the cost of testing can eclipse $1,000 per test, university athletes in a number of sports are being tested less often. PHOENIX -- Taking on the NBAs most prolific backcourt, Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic more than held their own. Bledsoe scored seven of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and Dragic added 21 points to help the Phoenix Suns hold off Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors 106-102 Sunday night for their fifth straight win. "For this game, facing one of the best 1-2 punches in the game right now, it was a challenge," Bledsoe said. "We definitely feel good about ourselves." Bledsoe added eight rebounds and eight assists and Channing Frye added 20 for the Suns, who snapped a six-game losing streak against Golden State. Curry scored 30 points, including 20 in the second half, and Klay Thompson added 19 for the Warriors, who have lost three of four. David Lee added 18 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double. "I am finding that the guys in the suit and tie want it more than the guys in uniform," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "Its disappointing right now. We are going to be fine, but its disappointing to once again lose in the same fashion. "We see it. Everybody sees it. But I dont see anybody in uniform with that same passion. Enough is enough at some point. We are watching the same movie every single night." The Warriors lost even though Curry and Thompson bettered their 44 points-per-game average and went a combined 6 for 11 on 3-pointers. "We think our guards can play with any of them," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "Those are two great guards that they have on that team and our guys fought them all game." Golden State trailed by as many as nine in the third quarter, but pulled to within 76-75 on Currys 3-pointer that capped a 10-2 Golden State run. Maurice Speights brought the Warriors even for the first time since 3:41 of the first quarter, sinking a 3-pointer with 1:15 left in the third to knot the score at 81-all. But Golden State, which surrendered the lead for the final time five minutes into the game, could not pull ahead despite Currys best efforts. "They did a great jobb of fighting back in it, but we did a great job of staying solid," Bledsoe said.dddddddddddd Phoenix opened the fourth quarter leading 81-80 and stretched the lead to six on Bledsoes jumper with 9:20 to go. Curry made it 92-91 on a 3-pointer with 7:49 left, but Marcus Morris hit a jump shot and added a free throw to stretch the lead to 95-91. Thompson made two free throws with 5:21 left to cut the Suns lead to one and had a chance to give Golden State the lead, but his 3-point attempt bounced off the back iron. Bledsoe and Frye hit consecutive 3-pointers to put the Suns ahead 102-95 with 3:19 left. Curry answered with a long 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 102-100 with 1:37 left. "With those guys you never know," Dragic said. "Even when youre up 15, they still can win the game." Curry missed a forced 15-footer with the shot clock running down while defended by P.J. Tucker and Bledsoe made two free throws to secure the win. "He played good defence. I couldnt get a shot off," Curry said. "I tried to draw a foul and get him up in the air but he didnt go for it." Tucker hit his only 3-pointer and Gerald Green added four points as the Suns closed the first quarter on a 10-4 run to take a 33-27 lead. Phoenix extended its lead to 59-46 with 1:27 left in the first half, but Curry scored five points to lead a 7-0 run that brought the Warriors back to 59-53 at halftime. NOTES: The Suns had three 20-point scorers for the first time this season. ... Curry has scored 20 or more in 10 straight games. ... Dragic has three straight 20-plus point games for the third time in his career and for the first time with the Suns. ... Frye started the first half 5 for 5 from the floor, including 3 for 3 from beyond the 3-point line, until ending the streak on a half-court heave at the halftime buzzer. ... Before the Warriors six-game winning streak in the series, Phoenix had won seven in a row. ... Golden State F Andre Iguodala missed his 12th straight game with a left hamstring strain. The Warriors are 5-7 since his injury. ' ' '