Allgemeines » would like to see the IOC adopt a simil

RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin appeared before a legislative task force at the state capitol Monday to recommend changes to a law that prevents law enforcement officers from being charged with a crime in uses of deadly force unless it can be proven that they acted with malice and without good faith.According to The Seattle Times, the task force voted to remove the references of malice and good faith from the law.The major part of it is that it sends a message to the community that law enforcement and the agencies that represent law enforcement, that theyre serious about the gravity of their decisions and about the standards that they hold themselves to, Baldwin said.And it sends a deep message to the community of just that. And an olive branch, if you will, that theyre willing to work with the community. It heals a much-needed relationship. As far as being able to prosecute police officers, obviously thats not the intent. Were the only state in the country that has the malice clause, so its catching up with the times if were moving it. The police officers, they are still protected to the full extent of the law for use of deadly force in which it is justified under the law.Baldwin, the son of a police officer, earlier this season formed a Building Bridges task force with the Seahawks, aimed at using his platform as a professional athlete to bring law enforcement closer to the communities they serve.Baldwin also met with Gov. Jay Inslee (D) during his visit to Olympia.The perspective that I tried to relay is that I know its a complex situation, Baldwin said. I know that police officers have a very difficult job. They have to make split-second decisions that will impact the communities that they serve, but also their families and their own personal lives. But that doesnt mean that were OK with status quo. Theres still a lot of work that needs to be done, things that can change, things that will change, that have changed. But you dont rest on those and look at them as thats it. Theres a continuous battle, a continuous change, a continuous fight that needs to happen.Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said earlier this week that hes proud of Baldwin.I think hes going to be a legitimate factor bringing about change, Carroll said. Its wonderful to see him making the time and applying himself so well. He has such a unique background with his dad being in the law enforcement and all that. His background and just handling this kind of an effort is really showing up. USA Soccer Pro Shop . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. USA Soccer Store . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. USA Soccer Shirts .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. USA Soccer Gear . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. RIO DE JANEIRO -- For Sale: One elite athlete, lightly used. Will swap citizenship, move to your country and even marry to compete for your Olympic team if the price is right. (Note: All marriage proposals must include a photo.)---When it comes to the Olympics, a lot more mercenaries -- er, athletes -- change allegiances than youd think.Here at the Rio Games, Bahrains delegation of 30 athletes includes exactly four Bahraini natives. Twenty-three of Qatars 39 athletes were born somewhere else. Its handball team of 14 players includes 11 foreign-borns, including Marko Bagaric, who helped lead the Qataris to an upset win over Croatia, the land of his birth.He felt bad for Croatia but got over it soon enough.The worst feeling was during the national anthem, Bagaric said. Ah, but what can I do?While oil-rich, Gulf states game the system most often, theyre hardly the only nations that seek to flip athletes like used-car dealers. The 550-plus strong U.S. delegation includes 46 athletes -- about 8 percent -- born elsewhere. China is so dominant in table tennis that one in five of the 140 competitors spread across 55 teams were born in the worlds most populous nation.The reasons for what noted Olympic historian David Wallechinsky calls a braun drain and others a passport swap or transfer of allegiance are varied. In some cases, like Chinas table-tennis players, American basketball and baseball athletes, or Kenyas long-distance runners, the talent pool at home is so deep that reserves with no chance to make the first team are still better than any other countrys best.Some athletes take advantage of their ancestry and others gain citizenship through marriage or relocation. But the International Olympic Committee rules governing such moves are so laughably lax that mercenaries in the games are every bit as prominent as in other big-time, big-money sports like soccer. All such moves require is agreement by both nations Olympic committees, some of that consensus no doubt influenced by cash.Qatar, for example, bought the entire Bulgarian weightlifting team in 2000 for a reported $1 million, awarding citizenship and new names to all eight athletes involved.But only one of them, Angel Popov -- renamed Said Saif Assad just in time for the Sydney Games -- returned to his new home with aa bronze medal.dddddddddddd That left some Qataris wondering whether the money would have been better spent making sure Bulgarias notorious doping program was included in the deal.Undaunted, the Qataris bought Kenyan long-distance runners Stephen Cherono and Albert Chepkurui three years later. That didnt work out much better.Nation shopping, yet another name for the practice, has become prevalent enough in track and field competitions that when the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) convenes Saturday, finding a way to tighten up the eligibility for the movement of athletes is near the top of their agenda.Soccers worldwide governing body, FIFA, may be the most corrupt outfit in sports, but their rules on nation shopping are both simple and effective: Once an athlete has played for a country in an internationally sanctioned tournament at the senior level, hes bound to that country for life. No exceptions.Both Wallechinsky and Bill Mallon, a historian and statistician with the U.S. Olympic Committee, would like to see the IOC adopt a similar measure. Wallechinsky also thinks a limit on foreign-born athletes on each national team, or the number allowed to compete in any given sport, might work as well.Mallon also said removing the exception allowing the national Olympic committees involved to override the rule already on the IOC books might turn the trick. It currently states athletes can switch countries provided at least three years have passed since the competitor last represented his former country.I think you could make very specific exceptions, for examples, like marriages, he said.But a moment later, Mallon pulls up a file on his computer screen and notes that of the 952 married couples that have competed in the games over the years, 190 have involved a couple where the husband or wife hails from a different country.He had no idea what the divorce rate for the group might be. But it seems someone who would walk away from his or her country wouldnt find it much harder to walk out on a spouse.---Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org or Twitter.com/JimLitke ' ' '