The Red Wings had been shut out in their previous th

MARRAKECH, Morocco - Defiantly declaring that FIFA is no longer in crisis, Sepp Blatter said Friday the decision to hold the next two World Cups in Russia and Qatar wont be revoked and the governing body will publish a confidential probe into the process that picked those countries as hosts.The decision by the FIFA executive committee to publish ethics investigator Michael Garcias report, with witnesses names taken out, is aimed at lifting the cloud of suspicion that has dogged the 2018 and 2022 tournaments in Russia and Qatar and the December 2010 vote that sent the World Cup to those countries for the first time.Blatter said only if major new evidence of bidding irregularity comes to light could those votes be reconsidered.There is no reason to say that our decisions were wrong. So we will go on sticking to our decisions, Blatter said, speaking through a translator. There must be huge upheaval, new elements must come to the fore, in order to change this.The 78-year-old Blatter, who is seeking a fifth term as president, said the decisions by the FIFA executive committee will allow the governing body to move on from four years of controversy.We have been in a crisis, Blatter said. The crisis has stopped because we again have the unity in our government.All 25 voting members of the executive committee, including three of them placed under investigation by Garcia before he suddenly resigned in protest this week, agreed that the findings of the American lawyers two-year probe into the 2018 and 2022 voting should be published, Blatter said.That will happen after the investigations that Garcia initiated into those three people and two others are concluded, he added. Those probes are now in the hands of Cornel Borbely, Garcias former deputy now promoted in his place.There comes a situation where there must be shown unity and there must be shown a determination to end a situation which has created a lot of problems, Blatter said.The turnaround — FIFA had previously insisted that the 430-page investigation must remain confidential — follows Garcias resignation this week and parting accusations that FIFA leadership is weak and that the organization cannot be reformed. That increased pressure on FIFA to publish his findings.The pressure to do so was very, very strong, executive committee member Theo Zwanziger said. There were quite a few voices against the publication of the report but there was a very long discussion.The fallout from not publishing is worse than transparency, Zwanziger added. Its a good day for FIFA.Blatter noted, however, that Garcias work can only be published after FIFAs strict secrecy rules have been satisfied and the investigations against the five people have been closed.They include three current FIFA executive committee members — FIFA vice-president Angel Maria Villar of Spain, Michel DHooghe of Belgium and Worawi Makudi of Thailand. There are also cases against Franz Beckenbauer, the Germany great and former FIFA executive committee member, and former Chile football leader Harold Mayne-Nicholls, who led FIFAs inspection team that evaluated the nine World Cup candidates in 2010.If any of those five individuals are found guilty of wrongdoing they can appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport, potentially further delaying the publication of the full investigation.Let us hope that the report can now be published as quickly as possible. The credibility of FIFA depends on it, said UEFA President Michel Platini, a FIFA vice-president and member of the executive committee.Domenico Scala, who heads a FIFA audit panel and recommended to the FIFA executives that they should agree to publish Garcias findings in an appropriate way with some redactions, said he could not predict when the report will finally see the light of day.I hope fast, Scala said. Frankly speaking, I dont know.Until now, the only indication of what might be in Garcias report has come from a 42-page summary prepared by FIFA ethics judge Joachim Eckert. Garcia, however, complained that Eckerts summary misrepresented his findings. He appealed to FIFA and then resigned on Wednesday after his appeal was rejected.Blatter, sounding combative, again indicated that he will stand for re-election next year and brushed aside suggestions that his leadership is weak.It is not my duty to evaluate myself. If you claim that I am a weak leader, then kindly ask the members of the executive committee, Blatter said. This about weak leadership, lets leave that aside. I am what I am.Dealing with the Garcia report overshadowed other important decisions from the meeting. Notably, the executive committee said it wants an independent body to be created to ensure that Qatar tackles widely documented labour abuses. Hundreds of migrant workers have died, many apparently from cardiac arrest, in the huge construction drive to ready the Gulf nation for 2022.Regarding Qatar and the question of human rights ... FIFA is putting pressure on, Zwanziger said.In other decisions, FIFA:—Chose June 14, 2018, for the opening game of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, with the final on July 15.—Boosted prize money for the Womens World Cup by 50 per cent from $10 million to $15 million for the 2015 edition, with $2 million for the winning team.—Opened the possibility for international referees to continue beyond the age of 45 if they pass annual fitness tests.___AP Sports Writer Rob Harris in London and Ciaran Fahey in Berlin contributed to this report. Malik Beasley Nuggets Jersey ." The tournament was set to be held Sept. 15-21 and would have been the first ATP tournament held in Israel since 1996. But amid Israels military campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, ATP President Chris Kermode said "we do not feel we can proceed as planned given the situation in the region. Jamal Murray Jersey . 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Michael Porter Nuggets Jersey . -- Sami Salo joked that as the shootout went on and on, one thing went through his mind: "Youve got to tie up your skates.John Tortorella will try to lead the struggling Vancouver Canucks to a win as the fiery head coach returns to the bench for Mondays road test against the Detroit Red Wings. Tortorella has completed a 15-day suspension for his antics during a 3-2 shootout win against the Calgary Flames on Jan. 18 and returns to a club that has lost 12 times in its last 16 trips to the ice. The Canucks also tweeted that Henrik Sedin, who has missed the past six games with bruised ribs, will also return to the lineup. Angered by Calgary head coach Bob Hartleys decision to start that game with his fourth line, a move that helped instigate a game-opening line brawl, Tortorella tried to get at Hartley in the Calgary locker room between the first and second periods but he was restrained from doing so by Flames players and members of the Vancouver staff. While Tortorella wasnt allowed to have any contact with his team during the 15-day ban, Hartley was fined $25,000 for his role in the brawl. The Canucks, who are 4-9-3 over their last 16 games, went 2-4-0 while Tortorella was serving his suspension and the club has lost its last three tilts in regulation. Assistant coach Mike Sullivan handled the bench duties during Tortorellas absence and he relinquishes the reins with Vancouver still hanging onto the eighth and final playoff seed in the West. The Canucks are just one point ahead of Phoenix for that distinction. Like Tortorella, Canucks captain Henrik Sedin has missed the last six games, although his layoff has been due to a rib injury and not a suspension. Sedin, who had played in 679 straight games before bruised ribs led to the end of the iron man streak, participated in a full practice on Sunday but he expects to sit out another tilt today. Meanwhile, Daniel Sedin, Henriks twin brother and linemate, has gone 15 straight games without a goal. The winger has five assists during the goal- scoring drought. The Canucks were handed a 4-3 loss Friday in Winnipeg, as Devin Setoguchi scored the game-winner for the Jets with 2:56 to play in the third period. Ryan Kesler had a goal and two assists for the Canucks, while Eddie Lack allowed all four goals on 34 shots. "Well, it was frustrating because we fought our way back into the game," said Sullivan. "I give our guys credit for fighting back, but weve got to find a way to win that game."t; Vancouver ended January with a 4-9-2 record and the club lost six of seven on the road during the month.dddddddddddd The Canucks, who will make the second stop on five- game swing tonight, are 13-11-4 as the road team this season. The Red Wings have lost three of their last four games (1-1-2) and recently split a home-and-home series with Washington. Detroit won the home portion of the two-game series Friday night at Joe Louis Arena, claiming a 4-3 shootout victory, but the Wings fell 6-5 in overtime in Sundays wild battle at Verizon Center. Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal 2:37 into overtime to lift the Capitals to Sundays win. Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith was called for tripping at the 1:26 mark of the extra session. The Capitals moved the puck around and John Carlson fed Ovechkin for a one-timer from the left circle. Detroits Gustav Nyquist posted his first career hat trick and picked up an assist on Justin Abdelkaders goal that tied the game at 5-5 with 13:35 remaining in the third period. Henrik Zetterberg recorded three assists for the Red Wings, while Jimmy Howard surrendered all six goals on 28 shots in the loss. "Offensively we played really well," Zetterberg said. "Some mistakes cost us a few goals, and obviously theyre good when they get the power play." The Red Wings had been shut out in their previous three road games, so Sundays scoring outburst was a welcome sight. However, the club is tied with Philadelphia for the eighth and final playoff seed in the East and wouldve liked to have earned the extra point. The Red Wings and Flyers, who visit San Jose tonight, are only a point ahead of Carolina and Washington and two points in front of Ottawa and New Jersey. "We showed some good resilience tonight," Howard said. "We found a way to come back, scraping and clawing and getting a point. At the same time, we couldve easily been walking out of here with two points. Ive got to find a way to come up with a couple more saves for the guys." The Red Wings have won three of their last four on home ice but they are still only 10-11-8 at the Joe this season. Detroit recorded a 2-1 regulation win in Vancouver on Oct. 30 and it has won three of the past four meetings in this series. The Red Wings also have claimed two of the last three encounters in Motown. ' ' '