SOCHI, Russia - FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said Friday a boycott of the 2018 World Cup in Russia would be nonsense. [

SOCHI, Russia - FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said Friday a boycott of the 2018 World Cup in Russia would be nonsense. Cheap Air Max 270 .Some European politicians have suggested that European countries could boycott the World Cup over the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which many Western governments accuse Russia of provoking.During a visit to Sochi, Valcke said talk of a boycott was an attempt to provoke discord rather than to be realistic on what the world is today.He added: I hope that the world will understand and recognize that the World Cup is a sporting event and there is nothing to do with politics and should not be used as a political tool . by any groups.Valcke spoke after meeting with Russian World Cup organizers in Sochi to examine the state of preparations for the tournament.Hes the first senior FIFA official to visit Russia since last weeks publication of a report by FIFA ethics judge Joachim Eckert that closed the probe of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests.Eckerts report was a summary of a longer report by FIFA investigator Michael Garcia, who has accused Eckerts summary of misrepresenting his findings.Eckert judged that any corrupt acts did not justify re-opening the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.FIFA defended a decision by Eckert and Garcia to provide full copies of Garcias report to FIFAs audit and compliance committee chairman, Domenico Scala, who may then release details to FIFAs executive committee next month.Now there will be more information given to the executive committee members and its a good thing, Valcke said.Several current and former members of the executive committee have themselves been accused of improper behaviour during the World Cup bidding process.Also Friday, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, who chairs the organizing committee for the 2018 World Cup, vowed that fans would not face travel problems despite the large distances between some of the 11 host cities.The easternmost city, Yekaterinburg, is 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometres) from Sochi in the south and almost 1,550 miles (2,500km) from Kaliningrad in the west.The flight to Yekaterinburg from (Sochi) is two hours long and to St.Petersburg from here is a three hours flight. These are the longest distances, Mutko said. So, in general for fans it will be very convenient. Fake Nike Air Max Replica . Lupul injured the hand in a fall at practice on Thursday. He will wear a cast for a minimum of 10 days before he can put a glove back on it and get some mobility back, said Carlyle, who added the winger wont go on the teams upcoming road trip. Cheap Nike Air Max Outlet . - Benched Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman said he has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and voluntarily entered the NFL substance abuse program more than a year ago after mistakenly taking a medication to treat the condition. https://www.wholesalenikeairmaxshoes.com/ . DETROIT LIONS AT ATLANTA FALCONS, 9:30 AM (ET) Detroit - RB Reggie Bush, TE Eric Ebron, TE Joseph Fauria, WR Calvin Johnson, QB Kellen Moore, TE Brandon Pettigrew, OT LaAdrian Waddle Atlanta - CB Javier Arenas, DT Jonathan Babineaux, OT Cameron Bradfield, WR Freddie Martino, QB Sean Renfree, OT Jonathan Scott, LB Tyler Starr SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Seattle - DT Jordan Hill, CB Byron Maxwell, OT Andrew McDonald, TE Zach Miller, C Max Unger, LB Bobby Wagner, WR Bryan Walters Carolina - CB Bene Benwikere, LB Chase Blackburn, WR Philly Brown, G Amini Silatolu, G Trai Turner, RB Fozzy Whittaker, RB DeAngelo Williams HOUSTON TEXANS AT TENNESSEE TITANS, 1:00 PM (ET) Houston - OT Jeff Adams, DB Josh Aubrey, LB Brian Cushing, DB Darryl Morris, WR DeVier Posey, QB Tom Savage, LB Jeff Tarpinian Tennessee - RB Antonio Andrews, WR Kris Durham, TE Richard Gordon, DL DaQuan Jones, CB Coty Sensabaugh, OT Will Svitek, TE Taylor Thompson BALTIMORE RAVENS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS, 1:00 PM (ET) Baltimore - CB Chykie Brown, LB Arthur Brown, DL Chris Canty, TE Owen Daniels, G/C Gino Gradkowski, RB Bernard Pierce, OT Jah Reid Cincinnati - RB Rex Burkhead, DE Will Clarke, WR A.ASPEN, Colo. - At 31 and with knees that feel much older, Nicole Hosp figured her days of winning slalom races were long behind her. Especially with this new wave of youngsters on the slopes, led by the likes of American Mikaela Shiffrin.For one afternoon, though, on a hill thats always treated Austrian skiers well, Hosp found speed she hasnt uncovered in years. She turned in a powerful final run Sunday for her first World Cup victory since 2008, while Shiffrin struggled to a fifth-place finish.Hosp was nearly a second back after the first run, but glided through the deteriorating course in a time of one minute 44.90 seconds. She held off Frida Hansdotter of Sweden by 0.19 seconds. Kathrin Zettel of Austria was third for her 10th podium finish at Aspen.This victory feels like my first victory, said Hosp, who suffered a serious knee injury a few years ago and retired the giant slalom from her repertoire. Im happy that Im back.Marie-Michele Gagnon of Lac-Etchemin, Que., finished eighth overall with a time of 1:46.28.It was quite a weekend for the first country of ski racing. Austrians Eva-Maria Brem and Zettel went 1-2 in the giant slalom on Saturday. Then, Hosp rose to the occasion on a bumpy and rugged course. So did Zettel — again, which really is no surprise since she always performs well at Aspen. She wishes every race could be held at this venue because it has perfect conditions and is lovely for me.Not so much for Shiffrin.The 19-year-old was the leader going into the final run. While she didnt have any major mistakes, she did have a few breaks in her usually solid form. She wound up 1.08 seconds behind Hosp.Shiffrin knew, too. About halfway down, the Olympic slalom champion knew this wasnt going to be her day as she chased her first World Cup victory in her home country.Maybe its all the training shes been doing in the giant slalom and super-G, but her bread-and-butter event, the slalom, has been a little shaky this season. Shiffrin finished 11th in Levi, Finland, two weeks ago and now fifth — after leading following the first run and a partisan crowd cheering her on. Discount Nike Air Max Wholesale. Still, shes refusing to fret.I have a little bit of work to do on my slalom, honestly, and I knew that coming into this race, Shiffrin said. Im really trying to get back to the skiing where I know that its good enough no matter what and I can step into the gate with confidence.Today, everybody was pumping me up, trying to get me to just do a training run and, Youre fine. You dont have to do anything special. I didnt really believe that in myself. I think I had to pull something special out in the second run in order to win. Some of those other girls did that.Namely, Hosp. She had the fastest final run. No one was catching her.This was Hosps first World Cup victory since Jan. 13, 2008, in a slalom race at Maribor, Slovenia. Her first World Cup win was in 2002.Since then, shes dealt with injuries, captured three Olympic medals — including a silver and bronze in Sochi — and won the 2007 overall World Cup title.This year I felt so good in the summer — no injuries, really healthy, Hosp said. Im so happy it is working again.Zettel feels the same way. She had hip surgery in the off-season and is surprised how fast shes returned to top form. Zettel is currently leading the overall World Cup race, but said thats not really a goal.But its still nice to lead, for sure, said Zettel, who doesnt plan on doing a lot of speed this season.It was the second straight slalom race in which Hansdotter has finished second. She also was runner-up in Levi, a race won by Tina Maze of Slovenia.Maze had another solid day going Sunday, before struggling in the final run and finishing ninth.The surprise of the day was the performance of American Resi Stiegler, who came in 11th. Stiegler has been contending with injuries the last few seasons.Im pleased with Resi. I think its a matter of time when shes going to be in top-five and on the podium again, U.S. Alpine director Patrick Riml said. ' ' '