collectively stand for.Although the league is on a break until the end of August, B

VATICAN CITY -- Russian athletes still have a long way to go before they can be readmitted to the Paralympics, according to the head of the International Paralympic Committee.Russia was barred from the recently concluded Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro for state-backed doping. IPC President Philip Craven said the country has to prove it can meet certain readmission criteria that will be conveyed in the coming weeks.We want Russia to be back in competition. ... But theres a lot of work that will have to be done before that can happen, Craven told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a Vatican convention on faith and sports. We dont have a deadline.The 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, are a year-and-a-half away.We dont have an amount of time to play with, Craven said. We just have certain factors that will be conveyed to the Russian Paralympic Committee that have to be complied with. Its as simple as that.While the International Olympic Committee decided against a complete ban on Russia for the Rio Olympics, the IPC barred the entire Russian team from the Paralympics. The IPC also rejected athletes requests for individual admission, and 94 athletes unsuccessfully petitioned German courts to be allowed to compete.People have said it was a courageous decision, Craven said. It wasnt a courageous decision. The board was united and it was a correct decision and thats how I hope we will always operate.Russian doping, including tampering with samples at the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi, were outlined earlier this year by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren.Craven said the criteria for readmission will not include Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko stepping down from his position.Im sure that that will not be a condition, Craven said. I think what were looking for is to be certain that were dealing with a team that have clean athletes in it. Thats really all it is.But its a major ask based on the information that we are aware of following the McLaren report and, of course, theres a further McLaren report expected at the end of this month and well have to see what that divulges.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf Keon Broxton Mets Jersey . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th. Keith Hernandez Mets Jersey . The 17-year-old native of Marystown, N.L., pulled out of Skate Canada International last month in Saint John, N.B., with the same problem. http://www.metssale.com/mets-tug-mcgraw-jersey/ . 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NEW YORK -- WNBA President Lisa Borders says she hopes that rescinding the fines the league imposed over black warm-up shirts worn in solidarity for shooting victims will lead to a fresh start on social activism for the players and their union.I would tell you in reflection, recognizing that we were at an impasse, we needed to move forward in the future, she said Monday in a phone interview with The Associated Press. In order to do that, stop what youre doing currently, take a breath and re-engage. Rescinding the fines allowed us to do that, along with the Olympic break.It had been a tense week for the WNBA and its players after the league decided to impose $500 fines on three teams for wearing the black warm-up shirts in response to recent shootings by and against police officers, saying the shirts were a uniform violation.The fines seemed to galvanize the players, who used postgame interview sessions and social media to voice their displeasure. There also was public criticism of the fines, including from NBA star Carmelo Anthony. The league announced Saturday that the fines had been withdrawn.When we came to this decision most recently we realized it was a very complex issue, Borders said. There was no right way to deal with it. We had a traditional response to a nontraditional situation. Our players wanted to lift their voices on the court as well as off the court.The players were happy that the league had changed course and rescinded the fines.Because of this and how we were able to communicate as players, thats really important, said Tamika Catchings, who is presidennt of the players association.dddddddddddd Thats a great thing. Weve gotten players more engaged with the union and on social issues. Now I feel because of this, it brought our players home and more together and more focused on our voice and what we collectively stand for.Although the league is on a break until the end of August, Borders said conversations have renewed between the WNBA and its players. They will talk a lot during the monthlong Olympic break.If we all work together, well make some incremental progress, she said. No one has dealt with this before in this format or this forum. Well get some things right and some things wrong.Borders said rescinding the fines had already been in the works and was decided on Friday, hours before the Rev. Al Sharpton and his organization, the National Action Network, said they would pay the fines.Rev. Sharpton is an amazing man and had an amazing history in civil rights. He was working when my grandfather was working in civil rights, said Borders, who said the Ku Klux Klan burned a cross into her grandfathers lawn nearly 60 years ago. I appreciate all he has done and all he stands for, but we had this done inside our house before Rev. Sharpton got engaged.The president stopped short of saying it was a mistake to fine the players, but she did say that she hopes to learn from it.Not going to do do-overs, she said. Learn from what happened in the last 72 hours, help our behavior on a go-forward basis. ' ' '