One Crimean, javelin thrower Vera Rebrik, has been appro

RIO DE JANEIRO -- While Andriy Hovorov hasnt been home for almost three years, he is representing his native region of Crimea quite well at the Olympics.Hovorov raced for Ukraine on Thursday and posted the fastest time in the mens 50-meter freestyle swim heats and later qualified for Fridays final. The man from Sevastopol is a bona fide gold medal contender, and hes enjoying every minute.A really good race, really tight, Hovorov said of his semifinal race, which he finished in a 21.46-second dead heat with former gold medalist Anthony Ervin of the United States. Im excited, totally. Everythings going well.Hovorovs life took an unexpected turn when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The swimmer ruled out changing his nationality, leading to his extended absence from his home territory. Hes been warned not to visit Crimea by Ukrainian officials worried he could face harassment.Ukraines economy is in crisis, but sports officials have focused much of their meager funding on him, allowing him to train abroad with coach Arilson Silva, the former mentor of Brazilian world-record holder Cesar Cielo.This result comes from him, Hovorov said of Silva. We know what were doing, we know the plan, and this is just the first step to have better results.Hovorov arrived in Rio de Janeiro in good form, winning silver in the 50 free at the European championships in May, plus a gold medal in the 50 butterfly, a non-Olympic event.Speaking with The Associated Press in June, Hovorov said he was proud to stay with Ukraine but understood how other Crimean athletes could have been tempted to switch to Russia if they were struggling to fund their careers in the Ukrainian system.Hovorov doesnt want to talk politics in Rio, but remains in close contact with relatives in Crimea. He said the situation there is stable, even with tensions high this week following what Russia claims was a military incursion by Ukrainian forces.Ukraine has another Crimean medal contender in rhythmic gymnastics, where Anna Rizatdinova must face the Russian gold medal favorites.Crimeans who switched allegiance to Russia have struggled to reach Rio because of International Olympic Committee rules mandating athletes observe a period of ineligibility after changing their registered nationality. One Crimean, javelin thrower Vera Rebrik, has been approved to compete for Russia, but is not in Rio because of a doping-related ban on the Russian track and field team. Womens Vapormax 2019 .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Wholesale Vapormax Plus . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. http://www.clearancenikeshoxcheap.com/mens-vapormax-cheap.html . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Nike Shox Cheap .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Cheap Mens Nike Shox . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. NEW YORK -- Andrei Vasilevskiy faced 20 shots in the third period Monday night, so there wasnt much time for him to worry about the status of his shutout.The Tampa Bay Lightning goalie was more worried about a victory, anyway.Vasilevskiy made 34 saves for his third career shutout, J.T. Brown and Ryan Callahan scored 42 seconds apart in the first period and the Lightning beat the New York Islanders 4-0 on Monday night.We get two points, thats most important, Vasilevskiy said, and the shutout is a little bounce.The goalie said he expected the Islanders to press in the third after being outshot 17-4 in the second.Usually when a team plays not that good (in the second period), they make a push in the third, Vasilevskiy said. We did a good job on the (penalty kill) and the game overall, blocked shots and good play. I just want to say thank you to our guys for the shutout.Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov scored as the Lightning won for the fourth time in seven games (4-2-1) following a three-game skid.Steven Stamkos had two assists to help Tampa Bay complete a sweep of the three-game season series with the Islanders -- all within the last 14 days -- by a combined 14-2 margin.We sat back probably a little too much in the third and put Vasy in a tough position to make some big saves, Stamkos said. He earned the shutout for sure.Jaroslav Halak had 27 saves for New York, which was shut out for the first time this season and fell to 1-3-3 in its last seven.Obviously we dont want to be in the spot we are in, Islanders captain John Tavares said. We just have to play positive and get better. You get up tomorrow and try to get better.Travis Hamonic returned to the Islanders just nine days after suffering a hand injury that was expected to keep him out four to six weeks. However, New York was without fellow defenseman Dennis Seidenberg after he was placed on injured reserve with a broken jaw after getting hit in the face by a puck in Saturday nights overtime loss at Florida. Scott Mayfield was an emergency recall from Bridgeport of the AHL, and the Islanders used seven defensemen and 11 forwards.Mayfield fought with Brown about 5 1/2 minutes into the second after Brown hit Tavares.dddddddddddd Mayfield received 17 minutes of penalties, getting whistled for instigating and a misconduct in addition to the fighting major.Kucherov extended Tampa Bays lead to 3-0 with 5:36 left in the second by completing a give-and-go with Stamkos, snapping the puck past Halak for his sixth of the season. It was Kucherovs fourth goal against the Islanders, including one in each of the teams three meetings.The Lightning made it 4-0 about 2 1/2 minutes later when Stamkos brought the puck up ice and sent a pass to the right to Namestnikov, who tipped it in for his third.Brown got the Lightning on the scoreboard with 1:02 left in the opening period, taking a pass from Craig Paquette and flicking the puck past Halak.Tampa Bay made it 2-0 with 20 seconds remaining when Andrej Sustr fired a shot from the right point that Callahan appeared to deflect with the shaft of his stick over Halaks glove. It was Callahans first goal of the season and his 349th career point.Kucherov nearly added to the lead in the closing seconds of the first, but the puck ricocheted of the crossbar.Game notes Stamkos had seven points (two goals, five assists) in the three meetings against the Islanders this season, and Kucherov had six points (four goals, two assists). ... Stamkos also has a point in six of the last eight games with three goals and seven assists. ... Tampa Bay improved to 9-0-1 this season when scoring at least three goals. ... The Islanders have lost seven straight against the Lightning, including the last four of Tampa Bays five-game series win in the second round of the playoffs last spring. ... New Yorks Nikolay Kulemin played his 598th game.UP NEXT:Lightning: At Detroit on Tuesday night in the second game of a five-game trip.Islanders: Host defending champion Pittsburgh on Friday night to complete their two-game homestand before heading out on a three-game California trip.---Follow Vin Cherwoo at www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP ' ' '