Every season, 30 major league teams set out with one goal in mind. And every season, 29 teams finish disappointed, as only one can be champion. Take the same scenario, multiply it by millions, and that is fantasy baseball.If you are like me, the 2016 season was a disappointment. There is no honor in a third-place finish. Great offense with a balance of power and speed. A staff that paced the league in both wins and strikeouts but somehow also lagged near the rear in ERA and WHIP.It was not for a lack of effort. I consistently churned the bottom of the roster, claimed under-performing veterans who were dropped by impatient owners and, perhaps most importantly, kept my ear to the ground, anticipating the next earth-moving prospects debut. At some point or another, I rostered Michael Fulmer, Julio Urias, Nomar Mazara, Byron Buxton and Yoan Moncada. I passed on Gary Sanchez?-- whoops.With the sun setting on 2016, it is never too early to start planning ahead to 2017. Many of the prospects we saw in the second half of this season will still be rookie-eligible in April, and as always, there will be plenty of new faces to replace those who no longer meet the criteria.Maybe next year? Definitely next year. These are the players who can help make that true. Nike Air Max Plus Soldes . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. Nike Tn Requin Pas Cher . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. http://www.airmaxpaschersite.fr/basket-air-max-97-outlet.html ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. Air Max France Pas Cher . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. Air Max Tn Plus Livraison Gratuite . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. BEREA, Ohio -- Knowing that Hue Jackson will decide on the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback before the first preseason game was welcome news to the players involved.I think Coach is going to come out and see what he needs to see and make that decision, Robert Griffin III said as the team prepared for its first training camp practice. Its our job as players to put our best foot forward.I believe the earlier the better, Josh McCown said.McCown should know. Hes a 13-year veteran, a 37-year-old who has been through drawn-out quarterback competitions.The Browns should also know. They have had several competitions since the team returned in 1999, and almost every time, the contests wound up dividing and distracting the team.The Browns have four quarterbacks in camp: McCown, Griffin, Austin Davis and rookie Cody Kessler. Griffin and McCown clearly are the top options. Naming a starter early makes things clear -- both for the players involved and the rest of the team.It gives us a sense of direction and the way hes headed, McCown said. The team can get behind the guy and move forward.Griffin would seem to be the leader at the moment. He took the bulk of the first-team reps in the offseason, and the Browns brought him in to hopefully start. He, though, was not about to saay anything that might get tagged with the words quarterback and controversy.ddddddddddddMy focus is on doing what I can to be the best player for this team, help lead them to victory, he said. Thats all I can focus on.In the time between the last minicamp and the start of training camp, Griffin worked with throwing guru Tom House. Griffin said House worked with his footworkRyan Lochte will forfeit $100,000 and a chance to swim at next years world championships as part of the penalty for his drunken encounter at a gas station in Brazil during last months Olympics.The U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Swimming announced the penalties Thursday. Lochte is banned through the end of June. That means he wont be able to qualify for Julys world championships, which normally dont draw top fields in the year after the Olympics.As we have said previously, the behavior of these athletes was not acceptable. It unfairly maligned our hosts and diverted attention away from the historic achievements of Team USA, USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said. Each of the athletes has accepted responsibility for his actions and accepted the appropriate sanctions.Lochte will also get no monthly funding from either the USOC or USA Swimming. He cant access USOC training centers, must perform 20 hours of community service and will miss Team USAs post-Olympics trip to the White House.Lochtes attorney, Jeff Ostrow, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.Agreeing to four-month suspensions were Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen, who were with Lochte at the gas station. Those sanctions, which end Dec. 31, also strip funding and training access and preclude them from the White House visit.Bentz, 20, will also serve 10 hours of community service for violating a curfew rule for athletes under 21. He released a statement on Twitter saying hed learned his lesson and was anxious to move on.The USOC gives a $25,000 bonus to Olympic gold-medal winners, and USA Swimming has awarded a $75,000 gold-medal bonus at past Olympics.But that money pales in comparison to what Lochte lost last month when key sponsors , including Speedo USA and Ralph Lauren, abandoned the 32-year-old in the wake of his actions at the gas station, then his rapidly changing accounts of what really happened. Estimates have put the financial hit for those losses at around $1 million.Swimmings international federation, FINA, called the sanctions proportionate, adequate and sufficient, and said it had no plans to augment them. The International Olympic Committee has referred the case to its ethics commission, which is still reviewing the case.While the near-10-month suspension is four months longer than what Michael Phelps received in 2014 for his second DUI, anything short of a ban from the next Olympics -- never a realistic option -- isnt enough to truly derail Lochtes career, either in or out of the pool.Despite his embarrassment, Lochte has maintained a high profile, posting regularly on social media and accepting a spot on the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars.Last month, Brazilian police charged Lochte with filing a false robbery report, but he is unlikely to return to Brazil to defend himself.Lochtes gold in the 4x200 freestyle relay was one of 121 overall medals the United States won at the Olympics, yet his actions at the gas station, combined with his shifting stories and the resulting investigation, overshadowed a large portion of the second half of the Rio Games.When Code of Conduct infractions occur, its our responsibility to take action that reflects the seriousness of what happened, USA Swimming executive director Chuck Wielgus said. 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Cheap Nike Shoes From China . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Holding the Olympics in Rome in 2024 would send a message of defiance to terrorists trying to cower people into a life of fear and rob them of their sporting and cultural identity, Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said Friday.Renzi came to Brazil to attend the opening of the Rio de Janeiro Games and promote Romes bid for the 2024 Olympics.Citing the recent deadly attacks by extremists in European cities, Renzi said the Olympics in Rome would answer those using violence to achieve their political aims.This is a crucial moment, Renzi said in an interview with two international news agencies, including The Associated Press. Terrorist attacks on the world, particularly in Europe, are focused to destroy the life of the people. If they dont achieve the result of killing the people, the second best goal for these crazy men, women, terrorists (is to) give us a life of fear, force us into the homes without possibility to live.Renzi said the Olympics would reject the fundamentalists (who) forbid soccer, music, sport.`If they hate music, we will invest more money in music, he said. If they hate soccer or other sports, we believe this is our identity. This is the problem of Europe today, searching for a new identity. This is the time sport could be the answer.Rome is competing against Paris, Los Angeles and Budapest, Hungary. All four cities have leaders in Rio to observe the games and pitch their bid to Olympic officials. The International Olympic Committee will select the host city in September 2017.I think our dossier is the best, Renzi said. It is better than our friends of Paris and other cities. I dont know if its correct to say that, but its my view.Renzi has thrown his full support behind the bid, only a few years after Rome was forced to drop its candidacy for the 2020 Olympics when the government of Mario Monti refused to provide financial backing for the games during the economic downturn.The 41-year-old Renzi, a former mayor of Florence who became premier in 2014, said the economy has improved and nearly 600,000 jobs have been created under his administration.The situation is better than four years ago, but I think the decision oof Mario Monti four years ago was a mistake, he said.dddddddddddd. One year ago nobody thought Rome could be in the best position for a candidature. One year ago, 12 months ago, nobody in Italy believed it possible to create a very good dossier. Now the feeling in Italy about the Olympic Games is totally different.The latest bid, however, faces opposition from Romes new mayor, Virginia Raggi. The capitals first female mayor has repeatedly said the city has bigger social and economic priorities to deal with at the moment. Without the citys support, its difficult to see the bid going the distance. Its uncertain whether Raggi will push for a referendum.I think the new mayor has just arrived, Renzi said. We respect the decision the new government will bring in the next few weeks. We are ready to work with the new mayor, not only for the Olympic Games. We are not worried.Renzi said Italy enjoys more cross-party cooperation than during the days of political infighting under former Premier Silvio Berlusconi.If you think back four years ago, nobody could imagine an under-40 becoming prime minister of Italy or a woman under 40 becoming mayor of Rome, he said. This is a new page in the political history of Italy.Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malago said he spoke with the Raggis office before coming to Rio and both sides agreed to meet again after the games to discuss the bid.The bid race comes during a turbulent political period, with the U.S. presidential election in November and French elections next year.Asked whether a victory for Donald Trump would hurt Los Angeles bid chances with IOC members from the rest of the world, Renzi didnt hide his own political preference for Hillary Clinton.I respect every vote of our American friends, he said. I will host the G7 in Taormina, Sicily, in May 2017. Obviously as a democrat I hope I can host the new president -- whoever shell be.---Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/stevewilsonap. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wilson ' ' ', stressing consistency on every drop.How does Griffin get back to his rookie-season form?I just think you gotta have fun, he said. This is a kids game that you get to play for a kings ransom. At the end of the day, you know what youre doing. Youve done your studying. Youll continue to do your studying.Youve worked hard. Youve run, youve lifted and all those things. Now you got to come out and have fun. I think thats the beauty of the game. The more fun you have, the easier it is for you to play freely and go out and make plays.Griffin had a little fun in his interview. While talking about how comfortable he is with the other quarterbacks, he quipped, in reference to the 40-yard dash: Obviously theres one of us that runs a 4.3.Its not me, Ill tell you that, McCown said. ' ' '