NEWS » nted, and I have no problem with it, Hicks

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Usain Bolt and Ryan Lochte commanded the Olympic spotlight Thursday for drastically different reasons.Bolt completed an unprecedented third consecutive sweep of the 100- and 200-meter sprints, an accomplishment that further elevated his status as the most decorated male sprinter in Olympic history. He won the 200-meter race with a time of 19.78 seconds to defeat Andre de Grasse of Canada. He already claimed gold in the 100 in Rio.Bolt did a lengthy victory lap around the stadium, proudly carrying a Jamaican flag and even taking a selfie as he jubilantly celebrated the win in what he has long said is his favorite race.No. 1! he proclaimed.For all of the Olympic fanfare surrounding Bolts win, American swimmer Ryan Lochte and three of his teammates attracted attention for all the wrong reasons.Lochte has been in the news all week over his ever-shifting claim that he and his teammates were robbed in a taxi at gunpoint by men carrying a badge during a night of partying Sunday. Police now say the story was made up, and that the intoxicated athletes vandalized a gas station bathroom and were questioned by guards about the incident before they paid about $50 for the damage and left.The episode served as a distraction from several notable events in competition Thursday, including another haul of American medals in track and field, gold for Brazil in sailing, Jordans first Olympic championship -- in mens taekwondo -- and the U.S. womens basketball team advancing to the Summer Games final yet again.The U.S. track and field team is on a magnificent run in Rio. Americans took gold in the mens and womens 400-meter hurdles. Ashton Eaton won gold in decathlon. Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs had a 1-2 finish in shot put.Thats 24 medals for the United States in track and field, including eight gold.Kerron Clement was so confident about his chances in the hurdles he had his mother bring his American flag from home. He draped himself in the flag soon after his win.I knew I was going to win, he said.Other highlights from Day 13 of the Rio Games:SHAKUR FOR GOLD : No American has won a gold in boxing since 2004, but Shakur Stevenson hopes to change that. The 19-year-old phenom who was named after rapper Tupac Shakur advanced to the gold match and has the support of Floyd Mayweather, who has referred to Stevenson as the next Floyd Mayweather.SUSPENSIONS : It was a busy day for doping suspensions. Doping officials announced that a weightlifter from Kyrgyzstan, swimmer from China, cyclist from Brazil and canoeist from Moldova all tested positive for drugs. The weightlifter was taking strychnine, best known for its use as rat poison. Athletes use it in small doses to boost muscle recovery.STILL UNDEFEATED : The U.S. womens basketball team didnt have its starting point guard, Sue Bird, in the semifinals against France after she injured her knee. They still won by 19 points. If the women beat Spain in the final Sunday, it will be six straight golds for the U.S.BRAZIL WINS : The host country claimed a gold medal in sailing after a dramatic finish by Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze in the womens 49erFX event. The winners tumbled into the bay as they celebrated the big win.BIRDIE FEST : You know its a good day on the golf course when a player starts losing track of the number of birdies she makes. Such was the case for Lewis, who carded 11 birdies and shot a 63. Her round could have been better if not for a double-bogey on the 14th hole. And it still wasnt enough for the lead. Inbee Park of South Korea finished shot a 5-under 66 to lead by one.DIVING DOMINATION : China has dominated the Olympic diving competition, and the result in the womens 10-meter platform suggests the success might be long-lasting. Ren Qian won gold, and she is only 15 years old.BMX CRASHES : The BMX competition began on what many riders feared would be a treacherous course. They ended up being right. Several riders crashed in the BMX mens quarterfinals, and two-time defending gold medalist Maris Strombergs of Latvia was eliminated. All three American riders advanced to the semifinals, including Connor Fields, who summed up the day like this: The best I can describe it is, put 800 lions in a cage, throw out a big steak and open the doors. Thats BMX.BADMINTON : It was a significant day at badminton. Carolina Marin of Spain beat the defending Olympic champion from China to advance to the gold medal singles match. Marin is world No. 1 but her win is significant because China had been badmintons superpower, sweeping all five gold medals at the 2012 London Games. And Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi of Japan won gold in womens badminton doubles.Rafael Montero Rangers Jersey . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Kyle Bird Jersey . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/1872h-yu-darvish-jersey-rangers.html . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Shawn Kelley Jersey . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Nomar Mazara Rangers Jersey . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup.Former Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Artis Hicks denied telling an author that the team ran a bounty program involving coaches in 2008 and 09.I never told him any specifics. I never named names, Hicks told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Sunday night, adding that no coach was ever involved in conversations about injuring players during his 11-year career spent with five different teams.Hicks original quotes were published by author Jeff Pearlman in a new book about Brett Favre titled, Gunslinger. In the book, Hicks was quoted as saying that coaches would start a pot and all the veterans put in an extra $100, $200, and if you hurt someone special, you get the money.The Vikings, former coach Brad Childress and some players who were on the team at that time all denied those allegations.The NFL declined comment on whether it would investigate the claims.Hicks told the Star Tribune that dinners or small pots of money were exchanged between players for injuring opponents -- often when a player felt like someone dove at his knees or tried to hurt him. But he insisted, Coaches didnt know about things like that. ... A lot of it happens within the locker room.Only thing I told him as far as specifics was I had been part of a meeting where players were amongst ourselves as part of a unit, Hicks told the Star Tribune. We kind of felt like the last time we played the team, they kind of did some dirty things to our running back or quarterback. When we played them again later in the year it was, Hey, when you get a chance to geet this guy, dinner is on me.dddddddddddd. That was as detailed as I got. Again, it was never any specifics on what team I was with or anything like that.When asked if that meeting took place when he was a member of the Vikings, Hicks said, It didnt.Hicks, who spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, said he had no problems with Pearlman for writing what he did.[Pearlman] felt the need to interpret that how he wanted, and I have no problem with it, Hicks told the Star Tribune. Hes trying to sell books. I hope he sells as many as he can. Its not going to hurt me, its not going to hurt the Vikings, and its not going to hurt the NFL. This is seven years old, man. More power to him.The New Orleans Saints were dealt unprecedented punishments in 2012, including season-long suspensions for head coach Sean Payton and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, when the NFL found that the Saints ran a program that included incentive payments for opposing players being injured.Since that time, there have been other reports of players claiming they were involved in similar injury-incentive programs, most prominently from several former members of the Redskins when they played under Williams.However, the NFL said it found no evidence of wrongdoing following investigations into both the Redskins and the Buffalo Bills, where Williams previously coached. ' ' '