y[/url] .Brazil midfielder Ricardo Goulart scored the winner in the 5

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." Andrew Luck Womens Jersey .com) - Real Madrid claimed its 16th consecutive victory across all competitions on Saturday after earning a 2-1 win over Malaga at the Estadio La Rosaleda. Ben Banogu Womens Jersey . A player confirmed to TSN on the condition of anonymity that he received his ballot yesterday. Another confirms hes been told to expect his shortly. "The unions executive committee insists a strike vote does not mean were pushing away from the table," the player said. "But we want the league to know were serious about our position. http://www.coltsofficialstore.us/authent...g-colts-jersey/ Johnny Unitas Youth Jersey .Y. -- Syracuses streak lives on -- barely. Khari Willis Jersey .Brazil midfielder Ricardo Goulart scored the winner in the 50th minute to give the defending champion a four-point advantage in the standings over second-place Sao Paulo, which beat rival Palmeiras 2-0. DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche didnt need a shootout to get off to their best start in franchise history. When they faced one, they were once again successful. Ryan OReilly scored the only goal in the shootout, Semyon Varlamov stopped 35 shots and the Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Saturday night. Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon had a goal apiece to help the Avalanche sweep the home-and-home series with the Wild. "It was a good couple games against Minny, they obviously play a pretty tough game," MacKinnon said. "Down low, theyre tough to defend. Its always nice to get on the board a little bit, but obviously getting two wins is huge for us." Colorado and the New York Rangers were the only teams to yet have a game decided in a shootout before Saturday. Despite their lack of experience, the Avalanche came out on top. "(I was) nervous, same as usually," Varlamov said. "Nobody, none of the goalies, nobody likes the shootouts." John Mitchell added two assists for Colorado, which won a rare penalty-free game. "I was a little bit (surprised) considering how much time was spent in the offensive zone," Minnesota coach Mike Yeo said regarding the lack of penalty calls. Mikko Koivu and Matt Cooke scored goals and Josh Harding stopped 23 shots for the Wild. Minnesota has dominated the Avalanche in Colorado since the 2007-08 season. The Wild came into Saturday with a 12-2-2 record since midway through that season, and they had won six of their past seven at Pepsi Center. The Avalanche looked as if they would win comfortably despite Minnesota carrying the play when Cooke spoiled the shutout bid with 3:27 left to make it 2-1. "I think we had five or six grade-A chances in the first period alone and sometimes thats frustrating," Cooke said. "But its up to us to just try to keep each other positive and the fact that were getting those scoring opportunities is a good thing. We just need to stay on it." Harding came off for an extra skater in the final minute, and Koivu beat Varlamov on a slap shot with six seconds left to send the game into overtime. "Nobody wants to give up a goal with 4 seconds left," Varlamov said. "The third period we sat back the last 10 minutes and they started to get more chances around the net and that is why we gave up two goals. It is what it is. We were able to get two points." Neither team could score in the extra period, sending the Avalanche to their fiirst shootout of the season.dddddddddddd Despite never having competed in an NHL shootout -- or coaching in one -- coach Patrick Roy didnt hesitate in picking his shooters. He chose the only players to score in one in the teams last practice. "It made it kind of easy," Roy said. Harding made saves on P.A. Parenteau and MacKinnon before OReilly broke through. Jason Pominville couldnt match the goal and Minnesota lost for the second straight night. "I just tried to open up my blade and try to look like I was going to shoot it and kind of put it through," OReilly said. For Minnesota, getting a point after trailing late was some consolation. "Thats a huge point for us. It was great the way we played the game," Yeo said. "We lost the skill competition at the end of the game, the shootout, whatever you want to call it. Bottom line I really believe we deserved the win in regulation." Coming off a tough loss to Colorado in St. Paul on Friday night, Minnesota was looking to get even but Saturdays game started like Fridays ended. Landeskog, who sealed Fridays 3-1 win with an empty-net goal, gave the Avalanche the early lead when his backhand from the side of the net deflected off Harding and into the goal 2:22 into the game. It was his ninth goal of the season. The Wild nearly tied it later in the first when Cookes backhand slipped under Varlamov and lay on the goal line for a moment and the goalie covered it up. It was reviewed and determined the puck never completely crossed the line. Minnesota had another great chance in the second period when Torrey Mitchell got ahead of the defence, took a pass from Cooke and had a breakaway on Varlamov. The goalie stopped the backhander to preserve the one-goal lead. "Some nights you get a hot goalie and we surely did that tonight," Koivu said. Colorado added to the lead later in the second when Marco Scandella turned it over in his own end. Mitchell got the puck to a wide-open MacKinnon, and the rookie beat Harding with a wrister at 12:56 of the period. It was his fifth goal of the season. NOTES: It was the second time in the Colorado/Quebec franchise history that the team played a penalty-free game. The other happened April 9, 2000, against Detroit. ... Mitchell reached 100 career points with his two assists. ... Wild LW Zach Parise played in his second straight game after missing one with a foot contusion. ... Avalanche C Paul Stastny returned after missing two games due to back spasms. ' ' '