Pirate Galaxy » season? Missy Franklin and Carli

MOSCOW -- The International Olympic Committee says it is exploring the legal options for a possible ban of the entire Russian team from next months Olympics in Rio de Janeiro as a result of the countrys repeated doping scandals. Russia finished fourth in the gold medal table at the 2012 Olympics in London and third in the overall medal table. Its absence in Rio would shake up both tables. Here are five Russian stars who could miss out:Aliya MustafinaShe led the Russian gymnastics team which narrowly failed to beat the U.S. to gold in the womens all-around in 2012 and also won individual gold in the uneven bars. While Mustafina has been plagued by injuries since, she bounced back with two European championship gold medals last month. Russia has arguably the worlds richest tradition of excellence in gymnastics, and if its athletes arent in Rio, the U.S. and China will benefit in the medal table.Yulia EfimovaOne of the worlds top breaststroke sprinters, Efimova spearheads the Russian swim team for Rio despite previous brushes with the anti-doping authorities. She bounced back from a drug ban to win 100-meter gold at last years world championships in a fiercely competitive race with her longtime rival, Lithuanian teenager Ruta Meilutyte, who would become the hot favorite for gold if Efimova is forced to miss Rio. Efimova missed four months this season after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium but was given a reprieve and won the 200 at her comeback meet in Los Angeles on Sunday.Yelena IsinbayevaThe world record holder in the pole vault and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, Isinbayeva would compete at her fifth games in Rio, but she faces extra obstacles to get there. Russias track and field team is already banned from the games due to widespread doping, and Isinbayevas hopes rest on a successful appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. She represented Russias athletes at a crucial CAS hearing on Tuesday in Switzerland and even posted a selfie online from inside the closed session. Her absence in Rio would help Brazilian, Greek and U.S. athletes, among others.Nataliya IshchenkoWith three Olympic and 19 world championship gold medals to her name, Ishchenko typifies Russias total domination of synchronized swimming -- its won every Olympic event this century. If no Russians compete in Rio, China and Spain would fight for the two gold medals on offer. Russia is similarly dominant in another female-only Olympic sport, rhythmic gymnastics, where former Soviet nations Ukraine and Belarus usually compete for the silver behind Russias winners.Maxim MikhailovTop scorer when Russia won the mens volleyball competition at London 2012, Mikhailov would be a formidable opponent in Rio. Host nation Brazil had to settle for silver four years ago but is fired up for a gold medal in front of its home crowd. The absence of the Russian team would make that mission significantly easier. Botellas Niño Hydro Flask . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Hydro Flask 40 Oz . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. http://www.botellashydroflask.es/ . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Hydro Flask Estándar Boca . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Botellas Hydro Flask . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. Need some stocking stuffers for the holiday season? Missy Franklin and Carli Lloyd have got you covered.Franklins book, Relentless Spirit, was released Tuesday, and the swimming star hosted a Facebook Live chat about the novel. Its pretty boss, and the book looks pretty cool, too.On top of that, Lloyd has a heartfelt memoir releasing Wednesday. Its appropriately titled All Heart, and if Twitters any sign, shes pumped.Franklins sstory is available from Random House for $27 in hardcover, $13.dddddddddddd99 as an e-book and $20 as an audiobook. All Heart is on most commercial online retailers if you want to get a head start, too. Its listed for $16.99 and $9.99 on Kindle, but Amazon already has some discount copies available. ' ' '