Kritik und Lob » had a penalty. He was there but he will need

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Organizers of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, have set up a virtual-reality ski simulator -- complete with fake, blowing snow -- on Copacabana Beach.Having sun and sand is normal here, but not snow, said local Danieli Evangelista, stepping off the make-believe ski slope after waiting in line for 30 minutes for a taste of winter during the Summer Olympics. Hardly anyone here ever sees snow. Its very cool, a very real effect.Its also about to get very real for the next hosts of the Olympic Games.Were not ready to go today, but were getting ready, Kim Jaeyoul, vice president of the Pyeongchang organizing committee, told The Associated Press.South Koreas games will be the first of three straight in Asia, joining the Tokyo Summer Games in 2020 and the Beijing Winter Games in 2022. These come after a run of difficult games in Sochi, Russia, and now Rio de Janeiro, with the International Olympic Committee looking for a safe pair of hands, as Tokyo labeled its winning bid three years ago.Yet organizers in Pyeongchang have struggled with construction delays, local conflicts over venues and a slow pace in attracting domestic sponsorship. This contrasts with the smoother run-ups to the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 2002 World Cup that South Korea co-hosted with Japan.Unlike the 1988 Olympics and the 2002 World Cup, it was not the central government but a province that led the efforts to bring the Olympics, said Heejoon Chung, who teaches sports science at South Koreas Dong-A University. There is a sentiment that the Winter Games are more about Pyeongchang than the nation as a whole.The Pyeongchang organizing committee named Lee Hee-beom its new president three months ago. It was the second leadership change in two years, and thats worried the International Olympic Committee.Lee bowed to IOC President Thomas Bach, and then to almost 100 IOC members, before addressing the full membership just days before the Rio Olympics opened.Id like to assure you that our preparations are fully on track, Lee told them.In introducing him, Bach called Lee a very dynamic and reliable leader, and joked that he promised he will be with us until the games take place.Organizers say that after a rocky start, 90 percent of the sponsorship target of $760 million will be met at the end of the year. Sponsorship will provide about one-third of the 2.2 trillion won, or $2 billion, operating budget. Kim said the budget would be adjusted in the next few weeks, compensating for inflation.Six new competition venues are about 80 percent complete, and a new high-speed rail line will be finished in June of 2017 and in operation the following January. The line will link Incheon airport to Pyeongchang and reduce travel time to 90 minutes from almost twice that much.Pyeongchang is also building a controversial sliding center for bobsled, luge and skeleton, after rejecting an IOC suggestion that it use a complex previously constructed for the games in Nagano, Japan, to save money. The cost is 124 billion won ($112 million) for a venue that could be a white elephant if not managed properly.Gunilla Lindberg, the IOC member heading the planning for Pyeongchang, said the sliding center and the International Broadcast Center are slightly delayed.Meantime, competition is heating up between South Korea and China over whose Olympic ski venue might ultimately become a destination for Asian tourists. Beijing planners have picked Zhangjiakou as the ski site for the 2022 games. Pyeongchang has some advantages, as it gets more natural snow than Zhangjiakou.A ski resort built for the Beijing Games is not going to be enough, considering the population of China, Kim said. We want to attract Chinese, but also Southeast Asians.Pyeongchang is in South Koreas Gangwon Province, and the central and provincial governments have been battling over who should pay the Olympic bills as skepticism grows about the long-term economic benefits of mega-sporting events, said Chung, the sports science professor.Pyeongchang mostly got what it wanted, Chung said, noting the province has pushed off costs to the central government. It has no choice. Its still the Olympics, and you dont want to look bad hosting it.---Kim contributed from Seoul, South Korea.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP .His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade Cheap Nike Basketball Shoes . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Wholesale Basketball Shoes Free Shipping . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. http://www.cheapnikeshoesbasketball.com/ . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Cheap Nike Basketball Shoes Online . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Cheap Wholesale Nike Basketball Shoes . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries.Rafa Benitez believes Moussa Sissoko can fulfil his ambitions at Newcastle and insists he can help steer the club to Premier League safety. Sissoko, who has has spoken about his ambition to play in the Champions League, has been criticised for his lack of consistency by fans and pundits in equal measure, but Benitez has not lost faith in the France international.The coach told The Chronicle: He has a lot of things, its just being sure he will put things on to the pitch. You saw in the last game he was running and passing players, he still has to improve things. If he carries on doing this hell be better. He has everything: potential and quality. At Leicester he probably could have had a penalty. He was there but he will need time. He will score goals in the future.Sissoko filled in at left-back in the 1-1 draw with Sunderland because of the defensive injury crisis and is currently away with the France international team. Benitez admits he does not know if he willl be available for the game at Norwich on April 2.dddddddddddd Sissoko hails Benitez Moussa Sissoko revealed the squad were amazed Rafael Benitez joined the club Benitez said: Its too early because hes been with France. Then we have to see if hes available. All we can do is work with the players that are already here.We have midfielders so we will do something specific with the midfield. We have defenders too but we dont have everybody. We did defenders and offensive players and its all specific work. Also See: Ashley: Money is running out Whos away on international duty? Mitrovic issues apology Newcastle fixtures ' ' '