RIO DE JANEIRO -- It didnt take long for Justin Gatlins name to get dragged into the doping drama swirling at the Olympics.No big deal to Gatlin.The sprinter considered the best threat to stop Usain Bolt in the 100-meter final Sunday told The Associated Press hes not paying attention to what people are saying about him, and is not concerned with those who think he doesnt belong here.At the end of the day, the time has been served. Ive served that time, the 34-year-old Gatlin told AP on Wednesday. Ive dealt with that punishment. Ive moved forward.Not everyone else has.Gatlin, who won gold at 100 meters at the 2004 Olympics, has been caught using banned substances twice. The first was for amphetamines, though arbitrators determined he didnt use them for doping but to treat attention deficit disorder. The second came for excessive testosterone in 2006 and resulted in a four-year ban.His name almost always comes up in the debate over how past dopers should be treated. In Rio, it surfaced in the wake of American swimmer Lilly Kings finger-wagging display toward Yulia Efimova, the Russian who was allowed to compete after a last-minute appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.Like Gatlin, Efimova has served a doping ban but was reinstated.But in refusing to bar the entire Russian team from the Olympics after investigations detailed state-sponsored doping in the country, the IOC put in a special caveat: Any Russian who had been previously banned for doping was not welcome.That rule was overturned by CAS, which had made similar decisions in previous cases, saying athletes cant be punished twice for the same offense.Kings criticism of Efimova -- and her icy stares toward the Russian before the two squared off in the pool -- instantly made King a voice in support of clean athletes everywhere.The dispute led to King, and many others, being asked if it was fair that Gatlin was competing.Do I think people who have been caught doping should be on the team? They shouldnt. It is unfortunate we have to see that, King said.But, King said, she had to respect the rules.Same with sprinter Michael Johnson, the four-time Olympic gold medalist, who was asked whether Gatlin should be here.The issue people need to understand is that youre not going to solve the problem by pointing the finger at an athlete and making that athlete the villain, Johnson said, talking in general about athletes with violations.The athlete has been a villain and certainly has done damage to the sport. ... I dont appreciate that. But the athletes not the one thats making the rules that allows him to get back on the track or back in the pool, or back on the field.Gatlin does not see himself as a villain -- and does not buy into the now-hackneyed portrayal of him vs. Bolt as tracks version of Good vs. Evil.People want to label people and thats all they want to do, Gatlin said. They dont want to get to know them, they dont want to understand the story, in-depth.Though many of the headlines deride him, Gatlin insists hes popular in the athletes village.So many people have come up to me in the village and the cafeteria, showing me love, wanting me to go out there and do the best, be the best, he said. Taking pictures and everything. I get love, man.How will the fans -- and media -- react when he hits the track Saturday for the start of the mens 100?Hes not concerned.Ive worked hard, all the way from the bottom when I had nothing, Gatlin said. I worked hard to work back to where Im at now. I dont understand. The system has worked. I think people need to stop looking at trying to be the judge, the jury and executioner and let the system do its job.Odell Beckham Jr Youth Jersey . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Saquon Barkley Womens Jersey . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. http://www.giantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Deandre-Baker-Jersey/ . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Odell Beckham Jr Jersey . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Julian Love Youth Jersey . Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators 6-4 victory over the Red Wings on Monday night.We first learned about big changes ahead for the game at a February 2004 general managers meeting that got minimal media coverage.A handful of us who regularly cover the NHL beat -- Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger, David Shoalts, Al Strachan, me and perhaps a few others -- went to Henderson, Nevada, that year to cover the three-day GM gathering. I distinctly remember how few people were there.One day, NHL executive vice president Colin Campbell sat down in a small room in front of us and started reeling off the GMs recommendations: no more red line, the introduction of a shootout, a total crackdown on obstruction, etc. It was the heart of the drastic package that would change the look of the NHL after the league emerged from the 2004-05 lockout.I recall our jaws collectively dropping to the ground. The changes were massive.One specific rule recommendation stood out, if only because it was the one that ultimately ended up on the cutting-room floor: awarding three points for a regulation-time victory. The idea at the time was to go to a 3-2-1 point system in conjunction with the shootout after first asking the AHL to experiment with it.Somehow, when the NHL emerged from a yearlong labor dispute with a rebooted look for 2005-06, the three-point win was gone.Why? Because the league rightfully figured out that sticking with the 2-1 point system would artificially create even more parity. Thats exactly what has happened ever since the shootout-loser point came into effect. No more tie games means more points are awarded almost every night to every team that wins or at least makes it to overtime.The GMs kicked around the 3-2-1 point system again when they met in March 2007, but it was panned and canned once and for all.It never had a lot of legs. It had some support, but not much, Brian Burke, who was at both those 2004 and 2007 GM meetings, said Tuesday from his Calgary Flames office. I researched this quite a bit. I read a very detailed study about English soccer, which I forwarded to the league. The basic conclusion of this study is that it had no impact on results, that players were properly incentivized to win the game regardless.Still, I bring this up today because I believe its time the NHL re-examined the idea. One look at the standings reveals just how close teams are. The salary-cap system, 12 years out, has produced exactly what commissioner Gary Bettman figured it would: total parity.Some people think parity is a dirty word but its not,?Nashville Predators?GM David Poile said on Tuesday. Its great. Its made the races very close. It keeps everyone in it much longer.Still, as of Thursday, 15 teams were separated by no more than three points. That means that half the league is essentially tied.dddddddddddd Isnt it time, now that we have true parity with the talent base forcibly spread among 30 rosters, to allow at least some of the cream to rise to the top? It seems fair to me that teams that actually win games more handily, in 60 minutes, and dont rely as much on extra time to collect points, should be rewarded.It would also allow teams to rally late in the season. As it stands now, its difficult to make a charge up the standings because teams in front of you are picking up points almost every night. But if a team were to get on a regulation-time victory surge, that would make a difference.We have looked at it and even put it forward as an option with our league [two years ago], but it didnt get any traction with our group, both with hockey and business people, AHL president Dave Andrews said.Andrews thinks the idea has merit, however. He believes that the third-period product might be augmented with the carrot of three points on the line for a win in 60 minutes.The KHL --? in which Mike Keenan coached for several years -- uses the 3-2-1 point system.They do have the three-point system in the KHL, and I think it separates the groups a little bit more than the two-point system, Keenan said Tuesday. The better teams accelerate their positions by [having] the three points as a possibility. Thats the biggest difference Ive seen. I like it.I think people like to have dynasties and theyre not going to get them now in the NHL. You saw the separation in the KHL with the better teams. But it also allowed fans to cheer for true underdogs, Keenan added.Burke is still not buying the 3-2-1 system for one second.You will have teams mathematically eliminated from the playoffs by Christmas. I really think so, said the Flames president of hockey operations. I have zero interest in that. None. Id rather put a sharp stick in my eye.I get his point, and perhaps hes right, but again I argue that the true roster parity in todays NHL will ensure that no teams get left behind that early. And awarding three points for a 60-minute win would serve to better reflect reality, is all.I understand your point, but I think this falls into the category of: If it aint broke, dont fix it, Poile said. The system works.I contend that the reality in a true, parity-driven league is that a few elite teams would gain more comfort in the standings, but I believe there would still be a very close race for the rest of the pack.We have true parity already. We dont need to artificially insulate it anymore.Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Cheap NBA Jerseys [url=http://www.jersseys[/url] ' ' '