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As owners descend on Florida this week for their annual December meetings, the league and the game itself are at a crossroads, with the NHLs almost-20-year relationship with the Winter Olympics hanging in the balance.Ive covered Winter Olympic tournaments in Italy, Canada and Russia, and I never thought it would come to this. But its time for the NHL to walk away from its longstanding love/hate relationship with the five rings.The International Olympic Committee seems content to let that happen. In April, the IOC announced it would no longer pay the travel and insurance costs of NHL players or the ancillary costs associated with shutting down the NHL on a quadrennial basis.The move has left the International Ice Hockey Federation in the unenviable position of having to beg for scraps from member nations in an effort to placate the NHL and its players. Commissioner Gary Bettman said during the Stanley Cup finals that hes pretty sure that our teams are not really interested in paying for the privilege for disrupting our season. Although?Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin told colleague Pierre LeBrun at the World Cup of Hockey that he plans to play for Russia?in the 2018 Games regardless of the NHLs decision, there appears to be a consensus among players and players association officials weve talked to that they shouldnt be paying to play in the Olympics, given that they do not receive any remuneration for doing so.That the IIHF would try to piece together enough money to cover the costs has already created outrage in the hockey community. Where would that money come from? Even if IIHF president Rene Fasel has the funds, presumably on some level they would come at the expense of developing the game in Canada, the United States and other hockey nations. And that would be a disgrace.Before the NHL first joined the Olympics, for the Nagano Games in 1998, it was hard to imagine what the tournament would look like, with the worlds best players all gathered in one place on sports grandest stage. Five Olympic tournaments later, its perhaps even more difficult to picture what the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, might look like without hockeys brightest stars.An Olympic hockey tournament without NHL players would definitely be different. Would it be diminished? Probably. But maybe less so than you might think.The fact that the NHL is on the verge of walking away from the Olympics -- a prospect more likely now that the players have rejected the leagues offer?to extend the current collective bargaining agreement by three years in exchange for Olympic participation?-- reinforces the fact that nothing about hockey and the Games is black and white.Have there been memorable Olympic moments? Of course.Sidney Crosbys golden overtime winner over the U.S. in Vancouver in 2010 capped one of the greatest games of all time and put a cherry on top of one of the greatest best-on-best tournaments ever. From start to finish, the Vancouver Games were chock-a-block with dynamic performances and compelling games.And there was Canadas seminal gold medal win in 2002 in Salt Lake City, with Wayne Gretzky at the helm, which erased 50 years of disappointment in mens Olympic hockey for the country. The semifinal game between Russia and the U.S., the team beaten by Canada in the 02 gold medal game, was among the most dramatic in international play.What about the other tournaments? Well, thats the problem.When the game is played on NHL-sized ice,?as was the case in Vancouver, rather than on an Olympic-sized rink, the game is more enthralling. Its as simple as that.When we talk about the Olympics in terms of growing the game, what game are we talking about growing? The NHL game and the Olympic one are sometimes mutually exclusive. Forget the time difference and the difficulties of scheduling Olympic games during North American prime time. The more important question -- and ultimate incentive for owners -- is: Did the Olympic games in Japan, Italy and Russia do anything to promote the NHL game globally?The answer is pretty simple: No.Olympic games played on international-sized ice, which is 15 feet wider, are not NHL quality. Its not even close. To be blunt, its often unwatchable.Can you name memorable moments from those non-North American Olympic tournaments?A few: Canadas shootout loss to the Czech Republic in the semifinals of the Nagano Games, in which Gretzky was inexplicably left on the bench. The U.S.s shootout win over Russia in a round-robin game in Sochi that made multiple shooter?T.J. Oshie (T.J. Sochi?) a minor celebrity outside the game for a few days was great theater. But it was ultimately a meaningless contest, as both teams finished out of the medals.Two shootouts, a device the NHL is working to weed out of its game back in North America -- thats what we think of.What else? How about the Swedes tacit acknowledgement that they tanked a round-robin game against Slovakia in 2006 to gain an easier route to the gold-medal game, in which they beat Finland? Or the Americans smashing up their dorm rooms in Nagano after an early exit from the tournament?Canada was defensively dominant in Sochi in a way that might never be matched in international best-on-best play. But werent we talking about growing the game? Im not sure watching Canada squash the life out of all comers for a fortnight is the best way to attract legions of new fans around the globe.If the powers that be could guarantee that the Olympics in South Korea would be played on NHL ice, Id be all for it. Same for Beijing in 2022. Bring it on.But that isnt going to happen. And for every shining, mark-your-life-calendar-by-it moment such as Crosbys overtime winner, therell be dozens of Olympic games that are pedestrian and largely forgettable.And so, as the NHL edges closer to making the seminal decision to quit the Games, we contemplate the clash of the Olympic mythology -- the idea that Olympic hockey is grand and important and compelling -- with the reality that, more often than not, it is none of those things.It makes it easier to let go when you look at it that way. Nick Foles Womens Jersey . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. Quincy Williams II Womens Jersey . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. http://www.officialjacksonvillejaguarspro.com/Josh-oliver-jaguars-jersey/ . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Nick Foles Youth Jersey . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Josh Oliver Youth Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Whether or not to fast-track Taskin Ahmed into the Test side has become the first public disagreement within the BCBs revamped selection structure.Head coach Chandika Hathurusingha has come down hard on the fast bowlers inclusion in the BCB XI for the second two-day practice match after chief selector Minhajul Abedin had endorsed the move with an eye to his Test potential.Hathurusingha said on Saturday that he doesnt want to destroy Taskins career by making him play a format that he is not unaccustomed.Taskin played the last of his ten first-class matches in February 2013, a year before his international debut. He took only three wickets in the three-game ODI series against England - all in Bangladeshs win in the second game in Dhaka - but he has recovered well from an examination of his action and his potential has brought some excitement.Interestingly, Hathurusingha is part of the selection committee that has selected Taskin. Apart from Minhajul and Hathurusingha, the committee also includes the selectors Habibul Bashar and Sajjad Ahmed, as well as the cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan and team manager Khaled Mahmud.The formation of this expanded committee is controversial as it requires the coach, operations chairman and manager to oversee the squad picked by the selectors, before the BCB president Nazmul Hassan approves it.Minhajul, who was appointed chief selector three days after Faruque quit said on Friday that Taskins inclusion in the warm-up match against England is the first step towards bringing him to the longer-version. Taskin has played 20 ODIs and 13 T20s for Bangladesh since his international debut in 2014.We have decided to include Taskin in thee squad for the second practice match as we want to see how his body responds to longer-version cricket, Minhajul said.dddddddddddd We had initially planned to see him in the fourth round of the National Cricket League but as its been deferred we changed our plans.We need a bowler like Taskin for our Test team but you all know there was concern with the strength of his body and fitness was a big issue. But he bowled brilliantly after coming back from suspension and looked good. He has no complaints about his fitness, so we have decided to take the first step of bringing him into the fold of longer-version cricket.Hathurusingha wants the experiment to stop there. Has he played any four-day cricket? So you think people can do magic straight away? No. They are humans. If you havent played four-day cricket in your entire life, standing four days on the field and bowling 15 overs is entirely new for him. I dont want to destroy somebodys career.But the Bangladesh manager Mahmud, who according to the BCB chief was included in the selection committee to act as a bridge between the players and coach, also backed the return of Taskin in longer-version cricket.You saw he bowled brilliantly after coming back from suspension and he is real quick. We need such a bowler for longer-version cricket but its too early to say about his chance in the Test side, said Mahmud.We have to see how he take the load in the two-day match. I am not the right person to talk about the issue of his fitness or his body strength but what I can say is that he looks better than before. ' ' '