ing there.“I don’t think that Chris Gayle has lost the ability to

WASHINGTON -- A bill moving forward in Congress would block the IRS from taxing most medals or other prizes awarded to U.S. Olympians.The U.S. Olympic Committee awards cash prizes to Olympic medal winners: $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze. Thats in addition to the cash value of the medals themselves: about $600 for gold and $300 for silver. Bronze medals have little intrinsic value.Because the money is considered earned income, it is taxed -- a practice some lawmakers refer to the victory tax.The Senate passed legislation to make the winnings tax-free just before the Summer Olympics. The House approved a similar bill on Thursday, 415-1, and the bill now goes back to the Senate.The House bill would allow Olympic taxes on high-profile athletes such as swimmer Michael Phelps who earn more than $1 million a year.For Phelps, the tax bill for his five golds and one silver won in Rio could be steep -- as much as $55,000. Gymnast Simone Biles faces a possible $43,000 tax bill for her haul of four golds and one bronze.Unlike Phelps or Biles, the vast majority of Olympic and Paralympic athletes will never sign an endorsement deal or get paid millions of dollars to compete. Theyre school teachers, full-time students, retail workers and more, said Rep. Robert Dold, R-Ill.When the athletes return home with a medal for Team USA, the IRS forces our Olympic and Paralympic champions to pay a penalty for their success. Our bipartisan bill ensures that these athletes can remain focused on fulfilling their Olympic and Paralympic dreams without the fear of getting a huge tax bill in the mail, Dold said.Olympic athletes should be worried about breaking world records -- not breaking the bank- when they earn a medal, said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. After a successful and hard-fought victory, its just not right for the U.S. to welcome these athletes home with a tax on that victory.USA Luge chief executive Jim Leahy said the federal tax places a hardship on athletes and unfairly taxes them for representing the U.S. and reaching the top of their sports.---Follow Matthew Daly: http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC Custom Tracy McGrady Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Custom John Starks Jersey . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. http://www.customknicksjersey.com/custom-patrick-ewing-jersey-large-289w.html . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. Custom Knicks Jerseys . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. Custom Mark Jackson Jersey . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action.Chris Gayle’s brutal power rendered Zimbabwe’s attack powerless as he smashed his way to the highest ever World Cup score, says Mark Butcher. Gayle – who had registered just one fifty in his previous 19 ODI innings – cut loose to score 215 off just 147 deliveries as the West Indies ran up 372-2, Marlon Samuels contributing 133no. The opener smote 16 sixes – the joint-highest ever in an ODI innings – as he registered the third highest ODI score ever and the best in the World Cup, eclipsing Gary Kirsten’s 188no for South Africa against UAE in 1996.“If ever Chris Gayle was going to show the ball-striking that we know he can produce, then it’s going to be against a bowling attack that at times was absolutely hapless,” reflected Butcher.“There was nothing they could do against it – they simply didn’t have the talent to be able to stop him. Once the ball started finding the middle of the bat on a regular basis, it was a case of ‘how many?’“There’s no better player to watch in full flight than Chris Gayle, simply because of the pure power of the man. He has an extraordinarily brutal way of hitting the ball, which renders bowlers powerless.“The confidence that the rest of the team will gain from the fact that it has not just been the guys at six, seven or eight that has dug them out of trouble, or lifted their scores past 300, will be enormous.“All of the rest of the teams in that group – and perhaps in the quarter-finals if they get there, which is looking increasingly likely – will be very, very concerned about the West Indies batting power.”Gayle was slow out of the blocks after the West Indies chose to bat, surviving a strong lbw shout off his first ball, bowled by Tinashe Panyangara.Umpire Steve Davis gave it not out and Zimbabwe’s subsequent review failed – the replay showing the decision should stay with the umpire’s call on the basis of height.Gayle then eased into his work, scoring just 12 runs off his first 18 balls – a fact that did not surprise Butcher.“If you follow Chris Gayle’s batting, particularly in Twenty20 cricket over the last one or two years, it is no shock that he takes a little while to get himself in,” he said.“He quite likes his partner at the other end to go out and take a few risks; he might chew up as many as 15-20 deliveries in a T20 ggame before he plays his first shot in anger and then he decides that he’s going to go big and play all of the expansive shots that we’ve seen.dddddddddddd#8220;The difference has been that in 50-over cricket he hasn’t been able to get in – he’s been taking his time but then getting out without making any runs.“Looking at the bowling attack you thought ‘if he gets himself in today, it could be the day’ - but it could have be all over after just one ball.“In real-time, looking head on, it looks as though he’s plumb lbw first ball but Gayle, batting against bowlers of very little pace, decided to take his guard outside of the crease; he took a stride forward and that’s why Steve Davis gave him the benefit of the doubt.”Gayles record-breaking knock came days after he was inadvertently caught up in a Twitter gaffe committed by West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dave Cameron.“He’d been poked by Dave Cameron – the president of the West Indies Cricket Board – who re-tweeted somebody suggesting that Gayle ought to be sent for retirement,” explained Butcher.“This innings was a great answer to that particular accusation. If you are being questioned by people who are running your board, there ought to be a little bit of a sting there.“I don’t think that Chris Gayle has lost the ability to play like that over the years – perhaps what has been questioned is his desire to do it on a regular basis for the West Indies in longer form cricket or whether it was earning the bucks around the world in Twenty20 cricket that was floating his boat.”Gayle shared a partnership of 372 – the highest in ODI history - with number three Marlon Samuels, whose 133no came off 156 balls and featured 11 fours and three sixes.Butcher said it was a curious innings, reflecting: “He tried to give Gayle as much strike as possible – while trying to show the power that he has.“But to end up playing 53 per cent of your deliveries as dot balls against a bowling attack of this type - and basically having a strike-rate of about 50 per cent up until beyond the end of the 35th over – was quite extraordinary.“He’ll turn round and say ‘look, I ended up with 133no and we scored over 360, where’s your problem?’”Watch highlights of West Indies v Zimbabwe on Sky Sports World Cup at 1pm, 3pm, 5pm and 8pm. 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