WASHINGTON -- The World Anti-Doping Agency didnt immediately investigate allegations of systematic cheating by the Russian Olympic team because it lacked the authority to conduct such an inquiry, according to the watchdogs president.Sir Craig Reedie told the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee in a letter that the panel released Friday that the anti-doping agencys investigative powers were expanded early in 2015. Thats five years after Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said the agency was made aware of allegations of widespread government-sanctioned doping among Russian athletes.Before the agency received more authority, its practice was to assist governments and local anti-doping authorities with their investigations, Reedie told Thune in the letter, dated July 5. That assistance included developing protocols for proper evidence gathering and information sharing between governments and sports organizations, he said.There was no delay on our part in furthering the information that was received over a period of time in regard to these allegations, Reedie wrote. He also told Thune the initial reports of cheating by Russian athletes that the agency received from a whistleblower were not shared with Russian authorities. To do so would have been a grave lack of judgment on our behalf, he wrote.Russian track and field athletes are banned by the International Association of Athletics Federations from competing globally, including in the Rio Olympics, because of systematic doping. But IAAF President Sebastian Coe said 136 Russians have applied for clearances.The Senate Commerce Committee has legislative and oversight jurisdiction over sports. Thune wrote to Reedie last month, outlining in a seven-page letter his numerous concerns with how the watchdog group handled the allegations of cheating by the Russian team.The senator said a robust anti-doping agency is indispensable to fairness in sports and the health and safety of athletes. But the agencys response to reports of an elaborate state-sponsored doping program in Russia called the agencys strength and credibility into question, he said.Thune said his committee independently confirmed media reports that the agency knew of the doping among Russian athletes and Moscows involvement in February 2010. But the watchdog didnt establish an independent commission to examine the claims until December 2014.Thune also questioned whether the anti-doping agency is adequately independent, noting that board members are permitted to serve in executive positions with sports organizations.Reedie said his agencys power to investigate didnt officially become part of the world anti-doping code until January 2015 and it set up the commission a month prior in anticipation of this authority coming into force.The agency does not have any concrete information of any state-sponsored doping program beyond Russias, Reedie said. If that information is forthcoming, then we would not hesitate to institute an investigation, he wrote.Reedie also defended the agencys integrity and impartiality. He said members of the agencys board and executive committee sign conflict of interest statements.---Follow Richard Lardner on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rplardner Cheap Jerseys Online . 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Wholesale MLB Jerseys .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. SALT LAKE CITY -- A suspended USC football player charged with rape in Utah and facing allegations involving the same woman in California was ordered Friday not to contact the accuser.Making his first court appearance for the Utah case, Osa Masina did not speak with reporters covering the event and responded only Yes, sir to a judge when asked if he understood the charges. Neither he nor his lawyer objected to the no-contact order.Masina, 19, is accused of assaulting the woman after she passed out following a July party in Utah, according to charging documents. Los Angeles County prosecutors are also reviewing sexual assault allegations after police handed over the investigation, according to district attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison.Masinas lawyer, Greg Skordas, said he does not expect California officials to press charges in that case. Cellphone video of the alleged assault detailed in court documents may end up helping his client, he said.There are some things, but theyre not what weve all been led to believe, Skordas said, without offering specifics.Masina is a Utah native who played at Brighton High School in the Cottonwood Heights suburb of Salt Lake City.Prosecutors said he has known the accuser, also 19, for several years and raped her after she drank alcohol and smoked marijuana with him aat a party July 25 in Cottonwood Heights.dddddddddddd Masina acknowledged having sex with her, prosecutors said in court documents.Skordas has said that the sex was consensual.The difference in accounts of what happened are maybe not as distinct as you might think, but I think the way both individuals perceived this is quite different, he told reporters after the hearing.Masina is charged with one count of rape and two counts of forcible sodomy. Masina is free after on $250,000 bail, though Skordas said he plans to ask a judge to reduce the amount because posting a 10 percent bond tied up many of the familys assets.Masina and teammate Don Hill are also under investigation for an alleged sexual assault July 14 at an off-campus apartment in California that happened after the accuser?visited Masina for several days, according to court documents.Masina and Hill are accused of assaulting the woman at Hills off-campus apartment after giving her marijuana, alcohol and the anti-anxiety prescription drug Xanax, the court documents said.Masina took video of the alleged assault and sent it to the accusers ex-boyfriend, the documents said. Hill has also been suspended from the team. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jersyes Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '