ter being involved in an altercation on Dancing with the Stars that prompted producers to cut to commercials.The beleaguered swimmer was reportedly rushed by an unknown pair of men wearing anti-Lochte T-shirts while receiving his scores from judge Carrie Ann Inaba on Mondays live installment

LONDON -- As the clock ticks down to the opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, international Olympic leaders are facing a seminal moment.With the credibility of the fight against doping on the line and the image of the Olympic movement at stake, the IOC will hold a crucial meeting Sunday to consider whether to ban Russia entirely from the Rio Games because of systematic, state-sponsored cheating.Short of a blanket ban, the International Olympic Committee could leave it to individual sports federations to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to allow Russian athletes in their events.The doping crisis represents one of the Olympic movements biggest challenges since the boycott era of the 1980s, and how it plays out may well define Thomas Bachs IOC presidency.The IOCs ruling 15-member executive board will meet via teleconference to weigh the unprecedented step of excluding Russia as a whole from the games. Bach and others have spoken of a need to balance individual justice versus collective punishment.Time is of the essence, with the games set to open in Rio on Aug. 5.Russias track and field athletes have already been banned by the IAAF, the sports governing body, following allegations of state-directed doping -- a decision that was upheld Thursday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.Calls for a complete ban on Russia have intensified since Monday when Richard McLaren, a Canadian lawyer commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, issued a report accusing Russias sports ministry of overseeing a vast doping program of its Olympic athletes.McLarens investigation, based heavily on evidence from former Moscow doping lab director Grigory Rodchenkov, affirmed allegations of brazen manipulation of Russian urine samples at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, but also found that state-backed doping had involved 28 summer and winter sports from 2011 to 2015.Bach said the findings showed a shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sports and on the Olympic Games and declared the IOC will not hesitate to take the toughest sanctions available against any individual or organization implicated.Russia also faces a possible ban from the Paralympic Games. Citing evidence in McLarens report of doping among Russian Paralympic athletes, the International Paralympic Committee said Friday it will decide next month whether to exclude the country from the Sept. 7-18 event in Rio.The decision for the IOC is loaded with geopolitical ramifications.Never has a country been kicked out of the Olympics for doping violations. And Vladimir Putins Russia is a sports powerhouse, a huge country seeking to reaffirm its status on the world stage, and a major player in the Olympic movement. Many international Olympic officials and federation leaders have close ties to Russia, which has portrayed the exclusion of its track athletes and calls for a complete ban as part of a political, Western-led campaign.Putin, citing the U.S. and Soviet-led boycotts of the 1980 and 1984 Games, said the Olympic movement could once again find itself on the brink of a division.Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev wrote an open letter to Bach on Friday to plead against a blanket ban.I am worried and deeply upset by the possibility that in the case of a ban on Russian athletes competing in the Olympics, the innocent will be punished along with the guilty, Gorbachev wrote. For me the principle of collective punishment is unacceptable.Bach and other Olympic officials have repeatedly cited the difference between collective and individual punishment.It is obvious, Bach said last week, that you cannot punish a badminton player for infringement of rules or manipulation by an official or a lab director in the Winter Games.For many in the anti-doping community, however, the choice is simple: The extent of state-backed doping in Russia has tainted the countrys entire sports system and the only way to ensure a level playing field is to bar the whole team, even if some innocent athletes will lose out.Former WADA president Dick Pound, a senior IOC member from Canada, accused Bach of dithering and failing to live up to his zero tolerance line on doping. He said the IOC will face a backlash if it decides against a full ban.I think it will go down very badly, Pound told The Associated Press. I think there will be an athletes revolt, a public revolt, maybe even the sponsors. Youve got to take control of it, and show your leadership. The hesitation makes it looks worse and worse.If the IOC hands the authority to the sports federations, they may not have all the information they need from the McLaren report to act. Some sports, such as gymnastics, were not cited in the report and feel there is no justification to ban Russians. And the federations all have different rules.Wrestling accounted for 28 of the 312 positive tests that were covered up by Russia between 2011 and 2015, according to McLarens report. Nenad Lalovic, president of wrestlings international federation, said he asked WADA to send him specifics but had yet to receive anything.This is madness, he said Saturday in a telephone interview with AP. What can I do without any evidence? Do I have time to process these cases? Do the accused have a right to appeal? Its a legal minefield. If I try to ban someone, they will take us to court and we will lose.Russia is the dominant force in the sport and would enter 17 athletes for the Rio Games, where the wrestling competition starts on Aug. 14. Lalovic, a Serb who is also an IOC member, claimed the investigation had created an atmosphere of hysteria and he criticized former WADA president John Fahey of Australia for calling for an outright ban.Im not here to defend Russia, Lalovic said. They have to pay. But everyone has to take responsibility, including WADA. Its a no-win situation. Whatever decision the IOC makes, they will look bad.WADA and many national anti-doping agencies and athletes groups have led the calls for a total Russian ban from Rio.A coalition of 14 national anti-doping agencies sent a letter to Bach saying the IOCs initial response did not meet his pledge of the toughest sanctions available. The group called on the IOC to suspend the Russian Olympic Committee and set up a task force that could allow certain Russians to compete under a neutral flag if proven to be clean.Any Russian Olympic sport athlete who had not been subject to independent testing in recent months should not be in Rio, Richard Ings, former head of Australias anti-doping agency, told the AP.---Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/stevewilsonap. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wilsonSite Yeezy Pas Cher . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. Vente Yeezy Boost . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. http://www.chaussureyeezypascher.fr/ .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. Yeezy Pas Cher Chine . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Yeezy Boost Moins Cher . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses.LOS ANGELES -- Ryan Lochte says he feels a little hurt after being involved in an altercation on Dancing with the Stars that prompted producers to cut to commercials.The beleaguered swimmer was reportedly rushed by an unknown pair of men wearing anti-Lochte T-shirts while receiving his scores from judge Carrie Ann Inaba on Mondays live installment of the celebrity ballroom dance competition.Hey, back off, Inaba said as the altercation was occurring off screen.When the show returned, Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron explained they were interrupted by a little incident and thanked the ABC series security team for staying in shape.The swimmer told Bergeron that so many feelings are going through my head right now. Lochte added that he was a little hurt, but I came out here. I wanted to do someething Im completely not comfortable with, and I did.dddddddddddd.ABC did not immediately return messages seeking comment about the incident.During the episode, the Olympic medalist performed a foxtrot routine with professional partner Cheryl Burke to Call Me Irresponsible. They received a combined score from the judges of 24 out of 40.Lochte and teammates were involved in an early-morning drunken encounter during the Olympics last month at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They later claimed they were threatened and robbed. United States team officials banned Lochte for 10 months, requiring him to forfeit $100,000 in bonuses and miss the 2017 world championships. ' ' '