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LONDON -- The IOC will not reopen the bidding process for the 2022 Winter Olympics, even though only two cities are left in the troubled race following Oslos withdrawal. The IOC is sticking to its commitments, IOC President Thomas Bach told The Associated Press on Thursday. We have issued the invitation for bidding. There is a clear and transparent procedure. We will follow this procedure with two candidates. Oslo became the fourth city to drop out of the bidding on Wednesday after the Norwegian government declined to provide financial support, citing concerns over the cost of hosting the games. The move leaves Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan, as the only two remaining candidates. Neither are established winter sports countries, and both are targets of human rights critics. We are in the middle of a procedure, Bach said. We cannot and we do not want to change the regulations in the middle of the race, given the fact that we still have two very interesting candidatures with a very diverse approach. The IOC will select the 2022 host city on July 31, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Beijing, which staged the 2008 Olympics, is seeking to become the first city to host both summer and winter games. Almaty, located in Central Asia, hosted the 2011 Winter Asian Games and will stage the 2017 Winter University Games. Stockholm; Krakow, Poland; and Lviv, Ukraine, withdrew their 2022 bids in recent months. Before that, potentially strong bids from St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Munich, Germany, were rejected by voters in referendums. Oslo was forced to pull out after the ruling Conservative party rejected financial guarantees for the games. The junior partner in the minority coalition voted against the bid four months ago, and polls have shown that more than 50 per cent of Norwegians are opposed. For me the decision was no surprise at all, Bach said by telephone from Lausanne, Switzerland. This was clearly a political decision. You have a minority coalition government. Its very rare that a minority coalition government is taking the risk of losing or giving up its coalition for the sake of a project which shows its benefits only after the next election day. On Wednesday, in an unusually strongly-worded statement, IOC executive director Christophe Dubi said Norways decision to pull out was based on half-truths and factual inaccuracies. He blamed the bid team for failing to send a senior leader or government official to a meeting about the requirements and costs. Bach told the AP that separate meetings with Oslo and the two other bid teams took place on Tuesday in Lausanne, a day before the Norwegian government debate. Contrary to prior announcements, no government representative was in this meeting, Bach said. Everybody can draw his own conclusions. Bach said Norway is missing out on $880 million in sponsorship and television revenues that the IOC will be providing to the 2022 organizers, a 25-per cent increase over the sum Vancouver received for the 2010 Olympics. All this shows that this was very much a political decision, Bach said. This why we are feeling so sorry for sport in Norway and the athletes. Bach acknowledged that the Winter Games are facing a difficult period. The number of candidates for winter is already very limited by geography, he said. Also we cant forget that this is a challenging time with regard to the world economy. But Bach insisted the image and brand of the Olympics remains strong, citing the recent signing of long-term commercial agreements, including NBCs record $7.75 billion deal for U.S. rights through 2032. The Olympic Games are and will be the premium product, he said. Nobody would enter into such kind of agreements if there would be a doubt on the image. Many cities have been scared off by the record $51 billion price tag associated with the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. While most of that money went to long-term regeneration and infrastructure projects, not the cost of running the games, cities remain wary of the expense. We have to communicate, communicate, communicate about the two different budgets, Bach said. We have to see how we can reduce the costs of the management of the games and the cost of bidding for the games. Oslos exit ensures the Olympics will be going to Asia for a third consecutive time, following the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Normally, the IOC prefers to rotate the games among continents. You look into economy or sports, its always the same, everywhere the same, Bach said. Asia is on the rise. Discount Air Jordan 11 . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Wholesale Air Jordan 11 .Y. -- Florida Panthers captain Ed Jovanovski finally has something to show for all the pain he went through in overcoming a string of injuries that kept him sidelined for much of the past two years. http://www.wholesaleairjordan11.com/ . Off-season additions Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley did not train with the club today, prompting Nelsen to declare its too early to tell if either will be ready for Saturday. Cheap Air Jordan 11 Free Shipping .C. -- The Carolina Panthers announced Thursday theyve signed free agent wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery to a two-year contract, helping rebuild a depleted wide receiving corps. Wholesale Jordan 11 Free Shipping . Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy.(SportsNetwork.com) - When you take up rock climbing, its probably not a good idea to start with Mount Everest. The worlds highest peak is just under 30,000 feet above sea level and attracts many experienced climbers as the ultimate test of their skills, an obstacle so treacherous it requires bottled oxygen to reach the top, at least for most. So why do people chose to scale Mount Everest? According to George Mallory, who some believe is the first man to reach the summit, Because its there. The Detroit Lions could use some of that Mallory bravado because they are preparing to take on a task that is far more difficult than climbing Earths tallest mountain, at least for them. The Lions Everest is the Green Bay Packers or more specifically the Packers at Lambeau Field. The last time a Detroit team won in Wisconsin George H.W. Bush was president, the Dow Jones average topped 3,000 for the first time, and Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson were still relevant on the pop charts. It was 1991 and the Lions have lost 23 straight in the Badger State since. Postseason play is already assured for both Detroit and Green Bay this time around but plenty will be on the line Sunday when the rivals close the regular season at Lambeau. The winner will not only claim the NFC North title and an all important first- round bye in the playoffs, it will have an outside chance of securing the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC. For Green Bay that would mean a win, coupled with a Seattle loss, while Detroit would need the triumph and setbacks from both the Seahawks and Arizona. Any time you get to play for a division championship, especially in the NFC North, its huge, said Lions guard Rob Sims. Its going to be a good one. The Lions, however, face the daunting history in the winner-take-all contest, along with the opportunity to exorcise some serious demons. To be fair, playing in Green Bay is an issue for most teams because Aaron Rodgers has been nearly flawless on his home field. The Packers are 7-0 at Lambeau in 2014, averaging 41.1 points per game, and Rodgers has been lights out with a almost video-game-like 132.6 passer rating, currently the highest single-season home passer rating in NFL history. If A-Rod keeps that pace up for one more contest he will be breaking his own record of 128.5 set in 2011, and next of the list is, you guessed it, Rodgers at 126.4 in 2013. (Rodgers is) just certainly an exceptional talent, but hes also extremely familiar with the system that they run, Lions first-year coach Jim Caldwell said. I mean, he knows where everyone is. He delivers the ball quickly and on time. When he doesnt hes certainly capable of getting outside of the pocket and gaining ground on the ground with his legs, but then also finding open receivers down the field. I think his famiiliarity, and hes a good decision maker as well.dddddddddddd. Before this season Detroit was known primarily as an offensive team but the Lions are just 20th in total offense at 326.7 ypg and their own QB, Matthew Stafford, has been below average away from Detroit with a 72.8 road passer rating. Yet the Lions are better equipped than most to at least slow Rodgers and the Packers down, entering Week 17 with the second-ranked defense in all of football, a group that allows just 295.9 yards per game. Detroit is also second in points allowed, surrendering only 16.8 per game and have the top- rated run defense (63.8 ypg). You just know its going to be a game where you have to be very efficient throwing the ball, Rodgers said. You have to look for those opportunities for extended plays in the run game and the pass game. Another development that could trend favorably toward Detroit is Rodgers health as the veteran has a lingering calf issue and has also been battling with the flu. We have a full-plate game plan and Im confident hell be able to run it, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. The real key to Green Bays home success, though, is a near-historic attention to detail. The Packers sport the best turnover differential in the NFL at plus-15 and have given it away just 11 times all season, on pace to be a franchise record and just one above the all-time NFL record of 10 miscues set by the 2010 New England Patriots and matched by the 2011 San Francisco 49ers. I think its very, very difficult in this league to come away from a ball game without gaining a turnover and its very, very tough to win when you lose one or multiple, Caldwell admitted. Weve got to do a great job of protecting the ball, particularly up there (Lambeau Field). You know, typically thats been the problem with teams that have gone up. Theyve turned the ball over numerous times. You give the ball to him (Rodgers) an extra two or three times and believe me, hes going to put some points on the board. Most outside observers think this is a hill too big for the Lions to climb. Green Bay has won 22 consecutive regular-season home games against Detroit and 23 straight overall if you count a 1994 playoff triumph at Lambeau. Add in the fact that Stafford has been under whelming on the road this season and you should have a recipe for the fourth straight NFC North crown for the Packers. Or do the Lions finally reach their summit? I cant do a forecast, Caldwell said. I can only tell you that I hope our experiences have benefited us. Youll find that when you get into this stage of the season, that its going to take your ability to do certain things extremely well and you have to understand that the teams that youre playing have very few deficiencies. But, you can also get hot this time of year. ' ' '