12-10-2019, 01:28 AM
ROME -- New IOC president Thomas Bach is pleased with the Italian governments support for a 2024 Summer Olympics bid and said its "time for the United States to present a strong bid. Air Max 90 Offerte ." Bach is in Rome for the European Olympic Committees general assembly and meetings with Pope Francis. He also visited with Italian Premier Enrico Letta. "The prime minister appeared to be interested in a bid from Italy for 24, because he has realized that the games can serve as a catalyst for development for a city and a country," Bach told The Associated Press on Saturday. While Rome has not yet been officially selected, the capital -- which hosted the 1960 Games -- likely would be Italys candidate. Other potential 2024 bids could come from Paris; Doha, Qatar; and cities in Africa and the United States. "I think its time for the United States to present a strong bid," Bach said. "And Im happy to hear that the USOC is undertaking everything to prepare such a bid." Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington are among the cities that could present a U.S. bid. USOC chairman Larry Probst attended the EOC meeting in Rome as the Americans attempt to boost their presence and influence in Olympic circles. Probst was chosen an IOC member in September. The USOC, which brings more money than anyone to the Olympic movement in the form of sponsorship and TV revenue, hasnt hosted an Olympics since the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. The countrys last Summer Olympics were in Atlanta in 1996. Italys last Olympics were the 2006 Winter Games in Turin. Rome was the first city to declare its candidacy for the 2020 Games, but then-Premier Mario Monti refused to provide government financial backing and the bid was dropped. However, Letta voiced strong support for a 2024 bid in a speech at an Italian Olympic Committee meeting 10 days ago and again after meeting seeing Bach. "The Italian bid could become something definitive," Letta said after meeting with Bach on Friday. "Its not just a simple possibility." Bach also visited the pope both individually on Friday and again Saturday with a large delegation from the Olympic assembly. With numerous other high-profile IOC members also in Rome -- such as Sheik Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, the influential Kuwaiti who heads the Association of National Olympic Committees -- Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malago called the two-day assembly "satisfying from every point of view." "I really think we showed strong signs of credibility," Malago said. "For them to be here and touch things that we take for granted with their own hands was very special." While Italys financial situation has not improved since Montis rejection, with the countrys economy still in recession, senior Italian IOC member Mario Pescante said the Olympics would spur a turnaround. "Our country needs this," Pescante told the AP. "The principal problem for our country is to convince a defeatist public opinion -- and rightly so defeatist -- considering the way we react to any big event, whether its an earthquake or what not." Fears of rampant corruption play a big role. "People need to stop saying We cant do it, added Pescante, who stepped in as a special commissioner for the Turin Games. "If we continue not to build anything because were afraid of the Mafia, the country will commit suicide. ... We need to offer a strong signal that this story is finished, that were not a population of thieves. This is the biggest challenge and an Olympics could overcome that." Meanwhile, 10 weeks after his election, Bach is also pressing forward with his campaign to reform the bidding process -- starting with the detailed dossiers that bidders complete at the outset. "From most of them (its) always the same answer because they all answer the way they think we want to hear," Bach said. "I would like to invite the potential bidding cities to tell us how they think that the Olympic Games would fit best in their social and natural environment. It depends on diversity and creativity for them to say how they see it." Earlier this month, voters in Bachs home country of Germany rejected a proposed Munich bid for the 2022 Winter Games, citing financial and environmental concerns. For British Olympic Association chairman and 2012 London Games organizer Sebastian Coe, the two keys for the bidding process are making sure as many cities as possible want to join and engaging with the local communities. "The most demanding stakeholder that you have are the people that youre delivering these games for," Coe said. "Once youve focused on the needs of the athletes, the next most important group are the people in those communities that you are delivering the games for." Ultra Boost Outlet Italia . Dwyane Wade followed a few days later. Stan Smith False . Its great to be back for another season in Banditland, and Im looking forward to another competitive season with my teammates, said Tavares. http://www.yeezyscarpeitaliaoutlet.it/sc...nline.html . "Hopefully well get all this out of the way," he said, "and everyone will be healthy the rest of the year." Zimmerman was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday and is expected to miss between four to six weeks.TORONTO - With just over two minutes remaining in the first half of Mondays win over the lowly Bucks, Kyle Lowry dumped the ball into Jonas Valanciunas on the left block. Isolated against Ersan Ilyasova, Valanciunas turned to face up, took one dribble and barreled into the smaller defender, who took the charge. As Milwaukee called a timeout, Lowry followed the Raptors promising sophomore centre straight to the bench. “Know your opponent,” he implored, instructing Valanciunas to post-up when he has a size and strength advantage over the defender. The Raptors were up by 14 at the time, they would go on to win by 22 and Valanciunas would register his 12th double-double of the campaign, four more than he totalled as a rookie last season. Still, Lowry was all over the gaffe. The two have developed a mutually beneficial mentor-protégé relationship. "Hes kind of like a coach," Valanciunas said of Lowry after practice the day prior. He knows a lot, he tries to help everybody, especially me because Im the young guy." Lowry has been as tough on the young centre as anyone in the Raptors organization and as such his fingerprints can be found all over the 21-year-olds continued development. "Hes been great," coach Dwane Casey told TSN.ca, speaking of Lowry and the leadership role hes taken with Valanciunas. "He has a way of getting on him but yet still he has a relationship with him that he can talk to him that way. "Other people may not understand it but Kyles done a great job of working with Jonas, letting him know what he needs to do. [Hes] just been a great mentor to him. Thats been huge for Jonas." Both players are approaching the middle of their second season together in Toronto. Lowry was acquired in a trade from Houston in July of 2012, just around the same time Valanciunas - Torontos fifth overall pick in 2011 - had arrived from Lithuania. After missing the bulk of training camp with injuries last season, both of their Raptor careers got off to shaky starts. While Lowry struggled through injuries, fluctuating playing time and philosophical differences with the coaching staff, Valanciunas experienced the growing pains you would expect from a 20-year-old getting accustomed to his surroundings in a new country, in a new league. Valanciunas has seen his playing time increase by five minutes per night in his second season; hes regularly on the court during crucial moments at the end of games and he is becoming more of a focal point in Torontos offence. However, as both his coach and his point guard would tell you, hes far from a finished product. He continues to make nightly mistakes - with his positioning, in the pick-and-roll game, and on defence, particularly as the help man - and Lowry is usually the first person to let him hear about it. "Every time he messes up we talk about it," Lowry said. "I tell him what he did and then he fixes it and I congratulate him when he does it [right]. "I think he has the skills and he has the heart and he has the right mentality to be one of the best bigs in the league," the Raptors point guard continued. "My constructive criticism is just tough, big brother love. I think the world of him, I think he can be so good [and] tthats why I push him. Air Max 95 Scontate Outlet. . Im always going to be tough on him because I know how good hes going to be." Lowry, an eight-year NBA vet, is also coming into his own, playing the best basketball of his career and spearheading the Raptors recent resurgence. "Thats just coming from buying in if you ask me," former Raptors teammate Alan Anderson said of Lowry. Most importantly - for a player that will be in the market for a new contract this summer - he is well on his way to shedding the reputation that has followed him like a dark cloud over the years. "Kyles showed hes been a positive leader," Casey said over the weekend. "I think that was the biggest question among coaches around the league, could he be a positive leader and be productive on the court." Not only has he been productive, averaging career-highs across the board, but hes been the consummate professional his team has desperately needed him to be while remaining a positive influence on his younger teammates, namely Valanciunas. Occasionally combative, Lowrys fiery nature has often been misunderstood. The reality - which his teammates and coaches have come to accept and appreciate - is, he holds himself and everyone around him to an incredibly high standard. He is a fierce competitor with an unrelenting will to win. Lowry is a strong personality, certainly not the first Casey has coached. The Raptors coach worked with future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett in Minnesota and current Nets bench boss Jason Kidd in Dallas, but Lowrys leadership style reminds him of another hard-nosed point guard from his past. "The guards that Ive had, Gary Payton was one of the [toughest]," Casey said, having coached ‘The Glove as an assistant in Seattle. "He would use some colourful words to talk with his teammates but they understood it, he had a relationship with [them], just like Kyle. Kyle reminds me so much of Gary in the fact that he can talk to players in a certain way that they understand because he has their respect and he has a relationship with them. "As long as you have that relationship and you back it up with love and real sugar than you can get on guys but I havent seen Kyle be overly tough on JV, just when he needs it and just the right amount." As Casey points out, Lowry walks a fine line between tough love and going too far, but he does it with precision. Hes hard on Valanciunas because he recognizes the young mans upside but also, and most importantly, he knows the seven-footer can take it. "Hes really receptive," Lowry said, "because I tell him, I tell him why Im so tough on him and he understands that. "He knows how to do it," said Valanciunas, who has thick skin, having played professionally in Europe since he was 15. "I understand hes my teammates, he wants me to do good and [Ive] just got to live with that." Whether or not Valanciunas realizes or fully appreciates it now, Lowry should have a long-lasting impact on his auspicious NBA career. As for Lowry, his future with the team remains uncertain but wherever he ends up, after cashing in on this seasons revival, his Raptors legacy will live on in the growth of the franchises emerging centre. ' ' '