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But as the games drew near, authorities have turned to a company to catch and kill the animals so they don't bother Sochi's new visitors — or even wander into an Olympic event. OLYMPICS: TV schedule | Event schedule | U.S. Warships to aid in Olympic security Alexei Sorokin, director general of pest control firm Basya Services, told The Associated Press that his company had a contract to exterminate the animals throughout the Olympics, which open Friday....

Mr. Putin, put up a wall. MORE OLYMPIC COVERAGE: Lolo Jones at the games | U.S. admits obstacles if terrorists attack Olympics

Vonn remains in the United States after aggravating her surgically repaired right knee at a downhill race in Val d'Isere, France, on Dec. 21. "She's recovering and preparing and everything is (up) in the air," U.S. Ski Team women's head coach Alex Hoedlmoser told The Associated Press on Saturday, adding that Vonn will "most likely not" race in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, next weekend. The next speed races after Altenmarkt are on one of Vonn's favorite courses over Jan....

Aiken has decided to pitch for the postgraduate team at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., this spring, according to ESPN. Such a move would confirm his eligibility for this year’s draft on June 8, for which he is considered one of the top prospects and a favorite to go first overall again. Aiken will join fellow 2014 Astros draft pick Jacob Nix, a right-handed pitcher who is already throwing for IMG....

The opening game saw the Korean take a 3-2 lead before Sindhu bounced to win 2 out of the next 3 points to level scores at 4-4. However, it was Sung who took the lead at that mark, even as the Indian continud to peg her back. But at the 10-10 mark, Sung won the crucial point to lead 11-10 at the intrval mark. After the break, Sung started to assume control of proceedings, but Sindhu began to fight back at the 11-13 mark, winning 2 points straight to first level the scores at 13-13....

But who is Tyler White? Just another prospect or a potential fantasy baseball sleeper? Obviously, it’s tough to fully assess a player who hasn’t even had an at-bat in the majors yet, but White’s versatility coupled with the stacked offense in which he plays should have him moving up corner infielder rankings and draft cheat sheets. If you’ve already drafted, perhaps this is the time to head to the waiver wire and make that first pickup....

And now we have a new sporting extravaganza in the offing, the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup which will have 12 nations including India, USA, UK, Australia, Iran, Poland, Thailand, Bangladesh, South Korea, Japan, Argentina, and Kenya locking horns against each other to be crowned world champions. Experts all over have tipped the defending champions India to win what will be the third edition of the World Cup, having won it on both the previous occasions due to its superiority in terms of players, host nation and the very fact that Kabaddi is a homegrown sport....

If the regular season finale still has you mesmerised, brace yourself because NBA basketball is going to get real serious now. Yes, playoff basketball is upon us and we attempt to predict what this year’s Eastern Conference is going to throw at us in the first round. 1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs Detroit Pistons Cavaliers Record: 57-25 (Home 33-8; Road: 24-17) Pistons Record: 44-38 (Home 26-15; Road 18-23) Season series: 3-1 to the Pistons...

Laremy Tunsil’s shocking and bizarre fall probably shook the offensive line order, allowing for Stanley and Jack Conklin to leapfrog the widely regarded top OT. My heat map for offensive line needs and interest entering round one profiled tackle-needy teams in the 6-to-16 range, and this played out as Detroit capped it with Ohio State’s Taylor Decker. Several teams left major holes on their starting offensive line and may address these on days two or three....

According to one sportsbook, Newton is a 7-to-2 favorite to win the league MVP this season, ahead of Packers QB Aaron Rodgers (4-1), who won the award in 2011. MORE: Draft winners and losers | Top 5 remaining free agents Carson Palmer and Tom Brady, who were the only players other than Newton to receive MVP votes in February, are listed at 14-to-1 and 15-to-1 odds, respectfully. Looking for a longshot?...

Their qualification was confirmed when a place opened up after the Netherlands and England, who had both qualified earlier, reached the final of the EuroHockey Championships in London. Ritu asserted that her players were determined to do well but warned that the overall performance at the Olympics would depend on how they play the first match. “We have to do well in the first match. If we win it, then we will try to continue that momentum and do well in the other matches as well,” Ritu said here on Friday....

Yes, you read the scoreline right! Liverpool could not have asked for a better first leg at the Anfield. Jurgen Klopp’s side produced an outstanding display in front of their fans as they comfortably beat Pep Guardiola’s City who have completely dominated the league. Just how good were Liverpool you ask: This was the first all English Champions league tie in seven years and who else other than Mohamed Salah to break the deadlock in such a mouth-watering clash....

The squad also features the likes of Ishant Sharma, Rishabh Pant, out-of-favour Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir, 2012 under-19 World Cup captain Unmukt Chand etc. One of the notable absentees from the initial squad is discarded Indian pacer Parvinder Awana, who missed the tournament last year due to chikungunya. “Last year, chikungunya had left me weak. I was not even considered for the one-day and T20 probables. If only I was given an opportunity… no one spoke to me....

Assists are the way by which a player can affect the game despite not being able to score at regular intervals. Dishing out sneaky dimes in a traffic jam is something that draws genuine awe from the audience, and leaves the defence grasping on thin air. By the virtue of ball rotation and skilful use of passing lanes, teams are able to exploit the most out of every single possession back and forth....

The ICC (International Cricket Committee) Awards are the set of awards which recognize and honour the finest of the cricketers from the year gone by. Given by the highest cricket authority, these awards carry pride and importance for the cricketers. This will be the 15th year in running that these appreciations handed out to the players. The winners of the ICC Awards are named by a committee which comprises of former players, match officials and respected members from media....

Therefore, it is but natural that they will want to buy the best in business, and few other than Shakib Al Hasan fit the bill. The former Kolkata Knight Riders star wasn’t retained by his side and because they held on to two foreign players in Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, the Kolkata-based outfit wouldn’t be able to use the Right to Match (RTM) card on him as well....

Birmingham City may have won the 2011 Carling Cup, but their season went downhill from that point, eventually getting relegated. Not only did they lose top flight status, but also many key players for almost nothing, including perhaps their best player last season, Sebastian Larsson. The dead ball specialist, looking to maintain his run of games for Sweden decided it was best to stay in the Premier League and signed for Sunderland....

The 2013 Chinese Grand Prix saw a parallel fight between those drivers who started the race on soft tyres and those on the mediums. The first seven drivers on the grid started on much less durable soft tyres while the rest of the field had both soft and medium tyre starters. Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button were one of the two drivers who started on the medium tyres. At the chequered flag, Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton – who all started on soft tyres – filled the three spots on the podium while Sebastian Vettel, who started on the medium tyres finished in 4th place....

Croatia was no match for Spain as the Spaniards took all the quarters 23 – 18, 24 – 18, 16 – 12 and 29 – 18 respectively to win the bronze-medal playoff match. Bojan Bogdanovic netted game-high 22 points for Croatia while Sergio Llull netted 21 points for Spain. The final of the championship will be played between France and Lithuania. . 3 votes

Melzer's last appearance on tour came at the Shanghai Masters in October, when he lost in the second round to Kei Nishikori. He then missed the final weeks of the 2013 season with a shoulder problem. Melzer, an Austrian ranked No. 27 in the world, confirmed on his official Twitter account that he will miss the year's first grand slam. He wrote: "Unfortunately I have to withdraw from this years @AustralianOpen due to my ongoing left shoulder problems....