half. That led to a six-play, 45-yard Cardinals touchdow

RIO DE JANEIRO -- South Koreas chance at an Olympic soccer medal gone, forward Son Heung-min dropped to his knees, put his forehead on the grass and wept.Anguish over the end of a chance at Olympic glory? Without doubt.But with the loss to Honduras, Son and his teammates had also missed out on what has been a powerful added incentive since the days when South Korea was a military dictatorship: Men who step onto the medal podium are exempted from the approximately two years of military service that nearly all young, able bodied South Korean men, from pop stars to lawmakers sons, have to perform in the face of North Korean threats of war.I couldnt stop crying because I was so sorry for letting my teammates down, said Son, 24, who plays with the English Premier League club Tottenham and who acknowledged ahead of the game that a military exemption was on his mind. I couldnt even look at their faces.Since the early 1970s, South Korean officials have linked the exemptions to medals, an attempt originally by military strongmen to associate Olympic achievement with national pride and regime loyalty. But there are now growing calls to scrap what had once been regarded as a deserved perk for heroic athletic accomplishment.Theres widespread resentment over mandatory military service in general amid a terrible job market and the failure of South Koreas military to eliminate bullying and abuse in the barracks. And full-time athletes already get unfair special treatment, critics believe, even when they dont win medals. Athletes, for instance, many of whom are rich and famous, can spend their mandatory service playing for military- or police-run sports teams.Regular South Koreans, meanwhile, often see their lives thrown into turmoil in their youths because they have to interrupt their educations or careers, a major disadvantage in South Koreas ultra-competitive society. The discontent about preferential treatment has been bubbling to the surface for some time.For instance, even amid the excitement in South Korea over the country winning its first-ever Olympic soccer medal, at the London Games, there were bitter jokes about reserve defender Kim Ki-hee, who, after failing to log a single minute in previous matches, qualified for military exemption by playing the last five minutes of the bronze medal match against Japan.The taxes we pay are already spent on training these athletes, and its strange that we additionally reward them with military exemptions when they actually do well, said Kim Min-seok, 38, an office worker in Seoul. We should overcome and change this nationalistic approach to sports and the system for developing elite athletes, not further promote it.Until the 1980s, South Korea compensated performers from a large number of competitions, including world championships and even the World University Games. Since then, the exemptions have been narrowed to winners of Olympic medals and Asian Game golds.But there are still exceptions.Laws were temporarily changed to grant exemptions to South Koreas national mens soccer team, which finished a surprising fourth in the 2002 World Cup, and to national baseball team players who finished third in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.More than 80 male athletes are currently being exempted from military service, save for four weeks of military training, according to South Koreas Military Manpower Administration.Seung Yun Lee, a professor at Seouls Konkuk University, said South Korea should recognize changing public sentiments and declining Olympic popularity and shift its focus from grooming a small number of elite athletes to strengthening sports facilities and programs for regular people.Ha Taekwon, a former South Korean Olympic badminton champion, defends military exemptions for young Olympic medalists who, unlike others, only have a small window of prime performance.Because Olympic medal winners also receive lifelong government payments of up to 1 million won ($900) a month, military exemptions mean much more to athletes in less popular sports than they do to highly compensated soccer and baseball players, for instance, Ha said.It was the biggest thing going through my mind, Ha said of the possibility of a military exemption in the lead-up to his bronze medal win in badminton doubles at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.After the pressure (of military service) was lifted, I found myself playing more loosely and aggressively, said Ha, who won a doubles gold at the 2004 Athens Games.---Kim reported from Seoul.---Follow Foster Klug at www.twitter.com/apklug . 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GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Paxton Lynch was Denvers No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart before Thursday nights game.Now, the question is will he move up to No. 2.I got a lot of decisions to make, Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said.Lynch, the Broncos first-round draft pick, had some good moments and one very bad one while playing the entire game in the Broncos 38-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in the teams preseason finale.His Arizona counterpart Matt Barkley, trying to hang on to the Cardinals No. 3 quarterback job, overcame an early turnover to complete 20 of 29 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.Were not going against All-Pros, but we moved the ball and we put points on the board, Barkley said. Thats what our goal was. I think we did a good job of doing it tonight.As the starters for both teams took the night off, Barkley, in his fourth NFL season out of USC, completed 20 of 29 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.Lynch, the No. 26 pick overall in this years draft after a standout career at Memphis, was 13 for 22 for 214 yards and two scores, both to Jordan Taylor, but had an interception returned 29 yards for a touchdown by Gabe Martin.I just think I need to be more consistent day in and day out, Lynch said. I have gone up and down while I was learning everything. I think as time goes on, I just need to be more consistent.Lynchs night got off to a great start. His first pass went short to Taylor, who slipped a would-be tackle by Cariel Brooks and raced to the end zone on a 57-yard play.The rookie QB played the entire game after Kubiak announced that Trevor Siemian would be the starting quarterback. Mark Sanchez, listed as the No. 2 quarterback, did not play.Taylor, who spent his rookie season in 2015 on the practice squad and was best known as the personal receiver for Peyton Manning in the quarterbacks rehab work, caught four passes for 109 yards.Rookie Elijhaa Penny rushed for 113 yards in the Cardinals lone victory of the preseason. Cracking the deep running back corps in Arizona might be tough, but Penny figures he showed he belongs somewheree in the league.ddddddddddddThat is kind of what I prepared myself for this offseason, just games like this, knowing what kind of running back I am, Penny said. I have put some weight on to carry the load and tire some defenses out. Im pretty sure, if not the Cardinals, I impressed 31 other teams.Many, if not most, of those who played wont have a job tomorrow.Its the saddest time in the NFL, Denver running back C.J. Anderson said. ...Those guys who went out there today, they gave it their all and all they can do is just wait.After spotting Denver to a 10-0 lead, the Cardinals scored the next 23 points, capped by Chandler Catanzaros 59-yard field goal early in the third quarter. Catanzaros longest in his first two NFL seasons was 51 yards.POSITION BATTLESBroncos: In the competition for the No. 3 running back job, Kapri Bibbs gained 51 yards in 10 carries. Ronnie Hillman had 9 yards in three attempts.Cardinals: Arizona coach Bruce Arians said linebacker Lamar Louis may have played his way onto the team, especially with his special teams performance.ROOKIE WATCHBroncos: Riley Dixon, who won the punting job from Britton Colquitt, had an 18-yarder late in the first half. That led to a six-play, 45-yard Cardinals touchdown drive, Barkley throwing 14 yards to Jaxson Shipley for the TD with 30 seconds left in the half.Cardinals: Defensive tackle Robert Knemdiche, Arizonas first-round pick (No. 29 overall), spent considerable time in the Denver backfield in his first extensive playing time. He missed most of training camp with a high ankle sprain.INJURY UPDATEBroncos: DE Henry Melton, an eight-year NFL veteran who signed with Denver last week, limped off the field in the first half, but returned in the third quarter.Cardinals: OLB Kareem Martin had to be helped off the field in the third quarter with a knee injury. Arians said he expected Martin to be out two or three weeks with a sprained ligament. OLB Tristan Okpalaugo left in the second quarter with a right knee injury. ' ' '