Its true, what youve heard: The King is back.Lets get one thing straight first: Win, lose or draw at UFC 202 on Saturday, Conor McGregor was going to wake up the next morning a very rich, very popular mixed martial artist ... but unless he won, he would not have been a king.Not in the way hes used that title.And for the record, it probably shouldnt be that way. A big part of what makes McGregor so fascinating is that hes willing to accept risk. His entire rivalry with Nate Diaz, as weve come to know (and love), would not exist if it werent for that.McGregor accepted risk when he originally agreed to fight Diaz at 170 pounds back in March. He accepted it again -- demanded it, actually -- when he insisted a rematch take place at the same weight rather than at 155, which would have benefited him.He was determined to prove a point in an arena where merely winning is hard enough, where champions are dropping like flies in 2016. That point alone should add to McGregors stardom.The reality of the fight game, however, is that none of that matters if you dont win. When it comes to star power -- the only factor capable of truly lining a fighters pockets with cash -- a pair of losses to the same opponent, after the run McGregor had been on, would have been devastating.The best part? McGregor never cared. This rematch was about one thing: Conor McGregor proving he could beat Diaz. What it meant for his legacy, the UFCs overall health and his own selling power afterward -- that was just noise to him.You can sum up UFC 202, a multimillion-dollar event, as simply as that. It existed because McGregor had to prove he could beat Diaz.And this is what makes McGregor one of the best stories in sports today. Hes unlike anything ever witnessed in MMA. Who gets pulled from UFC 200 for refusing to take part in a commercial shoot? Who announces retirement at age 27, to the tune of 160,000 retweets?Who elects to still headline a card after a UFC title shot has been pulled from the table due to an injured opponent ...?twice?!Following UFC 202, McGregor has options. Dana White wants him to return to 145 pounds to defend his title against interim champ Jose Aldo. A potential dispute looms over whether the company would strip him of the title if he refuses that fight -- a story in itself.Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is picking a fight with McGregor. A trilogy match against Diaz would do enormous business. McGregor said he feels that s---s about to hit the fan regarding whats ahead. He even said his next move might not be [MMA].If we know one thing, McGregors future will be the one he chooses. There is no ghost writer in this narrative. McGregor writes it himself.Even considering how good the Diaz fights were, part of me still wonders about an alternate universe in which McGregor would have said, Ill wait after Rafael dos Anjos withdrew from their lightweight title fight at UFC 196.ConorMania was approaching an all-time high when that happened. McGregor was looking at a chance to make history, trying to become the first fighter to hold titles in multiple weight classes simultaneously. Where would we be had he elected to wait that out?Its an intriguing question, but one that ultimately doesnt matter. McGregor is gonna do McGregor. And at the moment, few sports stories compare. Cheap Air Max TN Grey . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Cheap Air Max TN All Pink . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. http://www.cheapniketnsonline.com/cheap-air-max-tn-gold/ . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Cheap Air Max TN Rose . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Cheap Air Max TN All White . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Donald Trumps election as U.S. president has the potential to influence Los Angeles chances of hosting the 2024 Olympics. For better or worse.Some International Olympic Committee members -- who will choose among Los Angeles, Paris and Budapest, Hungary, in a vote next September -- cited possible pros and cons on Wednesday of Trumps role in the American bid.As a polarizing presidential candidate, Trumps words on Muslims, Mexicans and other issues could have offended some of the 98 IOC members from around the world who will select the host city.It may have, the IOCs longest-serving member, Dick Pound of Canada, told The Associated Press.At the same time, Pound did not rule out the possibility that Trump could help win votes if he travels to Lima, Peru, in September to pitch the Los Angeles bid in person to the IOC ahead of the secret ballot.If he is there, and evidently he is someone who feeds off his audience, there is no reason to think he cant work this audience as well, Pound said.South African IOC member Sam Ramsamy, whose country has been described by Trump as a very dangerous mess, dismissed any lingering effect with 10 months left before the 2024 Olympic vote.He has been rude to everybody, Ramsamy told the AP. I dont believe it will affect bidding in any way.In a statement Wednesday congratulating Trump, the Los Angeles 2024 bid committee said the Olympics can transcend politics and can help unify our diverse communities and our world.Citing 88 percent support for its bid, the committee pointed to strong bipartisan support at all levels of government.We look forward to working closely with President-elect Trump and his administration across the federal government to deliver a successful Olympics, the statement said.IOC President Thomas Bach offered a brief statement to the AP on Trumps election.Let me congratulate President-elect Trump on his victory and wish him all the best for his term in office for all the people of the United States and of the world, he said.Swiss IOC member Rene Fasel suggested that if Trump spoke offensively during the presidential race, it was a tactic to woo voters that worked.You saw his speech today and its already a different man, Fasel said, citing Trumps first public address as president-elect which sought to be more inclusive.ddddddddddddWhile Trump has little track record with the Olympic movement, his opponent, Hillary Clinton, was a supporter of New Yorks failed bid for the 2012 Games and has attended several Olympics. She was First Lady when the U.S. last hosted the Summer Games -- in Atlanta in 1996.President Barack Obama went to the IOC vote in Copenhagen in 2009 to support Chicagos bid for the 2016 Olympics. Chicago was still eliminated in the first round, with the games awarded to Rio de Janeiro.Clintons presidential campaign has some close ties to Los Angeles bid leaders. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is a Democrat who spoke at the Democratic Party convention in July which formally nominated Clinton. Bid chairman Casey Wasserman was also a prominent Clinton backer.Garcetti acknowledged in an AP interview in August during the Rio de Janeiro Olympics that some IOC members could be turned off by a Trump victory.I think for some of the IOC members they would say, `Wait a second, can we go to a country like that, where weve heard things that we take offense to? Garcetti said then.Garcetti remains more important to the bid than Trump, according to American IOC executive board member Anita DeFrantz.Its the city that hosts the games, and its the mayor that signs the documents. It is not the president, DeFrantz told The AP in Lausanne on Wednesday.Pound believes Los Angeles leaders will urgently want to meet with Trump to see if he is an enthusiastic supporter of this venture or not.Your most important campaign is at home, Pound said, suggesting that IOC voters and Olympic sports leaders can be swayed closer to election day. The roadshow only happens in the last few months.Before that final stretch of campaigning, the citys biggest rival -- Paris -- could have its own domestic politics to explain.In May, France elects a president in a contest many predict will include far-right candidate Marine Le Pen among the two candidates in a second round of voting. ' ' '