A Hurricanes On Friday. The Blues Said He Would Optiuni

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MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered new assurances to gay athletes and fans attending the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics next month. Yet he defended Russias anti-gay law by equating gays with pedophiles and said Russia needs to "cleanse" itself of homosexuality if it wants to increase its birth rate. Putins comments in an interview broadcast Sunday with Russian and foreign television stations showed the wide gulf between the perception of homosexuality in Russia versus the West. A Russian law passed last year banning "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" among minors has caused an international outcry. Putin refused to answer a question from the BBC on whether he believes that people are born gay or become gay. The Russian law, however, suggests that information about homosexuality can influence a childs sexual orientation. The law has contributed to growing animosity toward gays in Russian society, with rights activists reporting a rise in harassment and abuse. International worries about how gays will be treated in Sochi have been met with assurances from Russian officials and Olympics organizers that there will be no discrimination, and Putin reiterated that stance. "There are no fears for people with this nontraditional orientation who plan to come to Sochi as guests or participants," Putin declared in the TV interview. He said the law was aimed at banning propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia, suggesting that gays are more likely to abuse children. Making another favourite argument against homosexuality, Putin noted with pride that Russia saw more births than deaths last year for the first time in two decades. Population growth is vital for Russias development and "anything that gets in the way of that we should clean up," he said, using a word usually reserved for military operations. The law on propaganda has been used to justify barring gay pride rallies on the grounds that children might see them. This has raised the question of how athletes and fans would be treated for any gay-rights protests during the Olympics. When asked about this by the ABC TV channel, Putin said protests against the law itself would not be considered propaganda. Putin then hit back, accusing the United States of double standards in its criticism of Russia, pointing to laws that remain on the books in some U.S. states classifying gay sex as a crime. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, ruled in 2003 that such laws were unconstitutional. Homosexuality was a crime in the entire former Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991. It was decriminalized in Russia in 1993. The Sochi Winter Olympics run Feb. 7-23. Nicolas Batum Hornets Jersey .Kraft says Goodell realized before seeing a video showing Baltimore running back Ray Rice striking his then fiance that domestic violence was very serious for society in general. Custom Charlotte Hornets Jerseys . The 26-year-old Sobotka injured his left leg playing for the St. Louis Blues in a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. The Blues said he would not recover from the injury in time for the Olympic tournament. http://www.hornetsteamproshop.com/Cheap-Mi...Hornets-Jersey/ . Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players Association adviser Kevin Johnson. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Hornets Jersey .com) - Will Conant booted a 39-yard field goal as time expired and Air Force played spoiler with a 27-24 win over 21st- ranked Colorado State on Friday. Bismack Biyombo Jersey . The top-ranked Williams carried her winning momentum from 2013 into the new season, beating No. 2-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to defend her title at the Brisbane International and set the tone for the Australian Open.LOS ANGELES -- Paul Goldschmidt and Miguel Montero homered to help Bronson Arroyo win his third straight start and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3 Sunday, preventing a three-game sweep. Arroyo (7-4) allowed a run and five hits in five innings. Josh Beckett (4-4) was charged with four runs -- three earned -- and five hits through seven innings with six strikeouts and no walks for the Dodgers. Goldschmidt hit his 15th home run in the first inning and Montero hit his 10th in the ninth inning, a two-run shot off Chris Perez. Some absentmindedness by the Dodgers helped the Diamondbacks during a two-run seventh inning that increased the lead to 4-1. Montero ended up with one-out infield single after second baseman Dee Gordon fielded his routine grounder and had neither first baseman Adrian Gonzalez nor Beckett covered the bag. Aaron Hill followed with a single to left field and continued to second as Matt Kemp tried to throw out Montero at third. Gordon then charged Martin Prados slow grounder with the infield playing in -- and ran past the ball as it skidded into short-right-centre. Both runners scored and Prado was credited with one RBI. A fielding error by Arizona shortstop Didi Gregorius on Jamie Romaks leadoff grounder in the seventh gave the Dodgers some life. Lefty Oliver Perez, who came in with a scoreless streak of 11 innings over his previous 13 appearances, walked No.8 hitter Drew Butera before pinch-hitter Justin Turner doubled over the head of left fielder Cody Ross. Butera was hoping to score behind Romak, then slammed on the breaks aftter he was held up by coach Lorenzo Bundy.dddddddddddd But Gregorius took the relay from Ross and threw to Prado for the tag on Butera before he could scramble back to the bag. Perez then hit Gordon with an 0-2 pitch, but the D-backs escaped the inning still clinging to a 4-2 lead as Evan Marshall struck out Hanley Ramirez and retired Yasiel Puig on a tapper back to the mound. Brad Ziegler escaped the Dodgers eighth unscathed after retiring Romak on a double-play grounder with runners at the corners. The Dodgers tied it in the second when Gonzalez drew a leadoff walk and scored on Romaks groundout. The Diamondbacks regained the lead in the fifth when David Peralta doubled with two out, stole third and sprinted home on Becketts first wild pitch of the season. Ramirez added an RBI double in the ninth for Los Angeles. NOTES: Ziegler has induced 85 double-play grounders since the start of the 2008 season, the most among relievers. ... For the second time in two games, Montero threw out Puig trying to steal second base in the first inning with Gonzalez at bat. Puig has been caught seven times on 14 steal attempts. Montero entered this series having thrown out only six of 39 runners. ... Sixteen of Goldschmidts 79 big league homers have come in the first inning, more than hes hit in any other frame. Goldschmidt has 13 homers, 44 RBIs and a .321 average against Dodgers pitching. The home run and RBI totals are his best against any club. ... The Dodgers have only six home runs in 417 at-bats and 482 total plate appearances over their last 13 games. Gonzalez has gone 23 games without one and Puig is in a 16-game home run drought. ' ' '