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-wilson Lebron James Shoes 2019 . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Cheap Nike KD 8 Shoes . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. http://www.cheapkdshoesclearance.com/cheap-kevin-durant/kd-11-clearance-for-sale.html . 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METAIRIE, La. -- Brandin Cooks insisted that his frustration over having zero passes thrown his way last week didnt come from a selfish standpoint -- that he wants to be great and he wants to contribute to the teams success.But the New Orleans Saints receiver also said he felt the need to express himself because closed mouths dont get fed.This is a very emotional game. And every once in a while youve got to express that. And youve gotta express what you want, said Cooks, who had zero targets in 45 snaps during Sundays 49-21 rout of the Los Angeles Rams.Its one of those things, as a competitor, I was frustrated. But at the same time, our offense was moving the ball and we won the game, so that was the bright side of it, Cooks said. Im just thinking from a competition standpoint, I always want to help, I feel like, and I necessarily didnt that game.I feel like from my mindset, when I touch the ball, things happen, and I just want to help my team in that way.Cooks hinted at his frustration Monday with an Instagram post about needing to become a businessman. And sources told ESPN that he has had a growing frustration with his role this season -- mostly the idea that he is used too often as a clear-out receiver instead of as a primary option.Cooks, a first-round draft pick in 2014 and a former Biletnikoff Award winner at Oregon State, has never shied away from his desire to become an elite player and to be considered more than just a deep threat -- which he reiterated on Thursday.I can appreciate [the idea that he drew heavy defensive coverage away to open things up for other players], Cooks said. But the great ones, they find a way. So for me, I want that opportunity to find a way even though Im being double-covered.The guys who are remembered in this game are remembered for doing more than one thing. And thats why I wake up every morning andd I come in here and work the way I work, because I want to be remembered as one of those guys that is great down the road.dddddddddddd. Dont get me wrong, thats my strength [catching deep balls], but at the same time I want to continue to develop my game all around. You know, I feel like Im young. Most guys come into the league at my age, and I still have a lot of growing to do, and I want to continue to do that.Cooks, who just turned 23 in September, has two of the four longest receptions in the NFL this season -- a 98-yard touchdown in Week 1 and an 87-yard touchdown in Week 6. He has 51 catches for 736 yards and six touchdowns this season. However, he ranks third on the Saints in targets per game and receptions per game behind rookie Michael Thomas and third-year pro Willie Snead.Coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees both said Wednesday that they are not concerned about Cooks, stressing what a hard worker he is, and they both explained how much attention he receives from opposing defenses. Cooks said Brees message to him was, Your opportunities will come. They always will. So dont let it get to you. Its just the name of the game, sometimes that happens.So thats great when you have your quarterback [encouraging you like that]. Its not like he was mad or upset about it. Its just one of those things, just get back to work, Cooks said.Guys have been good about it. And they know me, and its not coming from a selfish standpoint. So thats the beautiful part about it. I feel like my teammates got to know me over the three years and they know thats coming more from the want to be great, the want to be remembered. So theres no selfish part about it, and I really feel from the guys that they know that as well. ' ' '