Pirate Galaxy » We were able to get rolling in the first innin

ZHUKOVSKY, Russia -- Long jumper Ekaterina Koneva says shell cry. World hurdles champion Sergei Shubenkov says hell drown his sorrows.A day before a sports court rules on Russias appeal against the ban on its track and field team from the Olympics, star Russian athletes at a meet near Moscow pondered how they will react if they lose their case and cant go to Rio de Janeiro.What if we are not admitted, what do we do? asked Koneva, a world championship silver medalist who would be a contender for gold if allowed to go to Rio. I hope they will tell us something good.Shubenkov said: I will get drunk.The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland will rule Thursday on an appeal filed by Russias Olympic track and field team of 68 athletes against a ban imposed by the sports world governing body, the IAAF, following allegations of state-sponsored doping and cover-ups.As it stands, the IAAF has approved just two Russians to compete, as neutral athletes, after they showed they had been training and living abroad under a robust drug testing regime. One is doping whistleblower Yulia Stepanova, the other is Florida-based long jumper Darya Klishina, who has received threats online from Russian fans who think she would betray her country by competing if the rest of the team is banned.Thursdays ruling is likely to weigh heavily on whether the International Olympic Committee could exclude the entire Russian team -- across all sports, not just track -- following new allegations of a vast state-sponsored doping program that covered many Olympic sports.Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, who was commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, issued a report Monday that accused Russias sports ministry of orchestrating a vast doping program that affected 28 summer and winter Olympic sports.The Russian appeal of the track ban was heard by a CAS panel on Tuesday in Geneva, with two-time Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva on hand to represent the athletes. IAAF President Sebastian Coe also attended the hearing.Two high-profile sports lawyers presented each side -- California-based Howard Jacobs for the Russians, British attorney Jonathan Taylor for the IAAF.The decision will be closely scrutinized by the IOC, which said Tuesday it would explore the legal options for a possible total ban on Russia but would wait until after the CAS ruling before making a final decision.If the IAAF ban is thrown out and the Russian track athletes are let back in, that would seemingly rule out the IOC imposing a blanket ban. If the ban is upheld, however, it would keep the option open.The uncertainty is weighing heavily on Russian athletes.It puts a lot of pressure on us, said Koneva, who herself once served a two-year doping ban.But the legal wrangling may not be over yet. Should the IOC then impose a total ban across all sports, Russian athletes -- though probably not the track and field team -- could conceivably appeal again to CAS.The case dates back to November, when the IAAF suspended Russias track and field federation following a World Anti-Doping Agency commission report that alleged systematic and state-backed doping in the country. The International Association of Athletics Federations upheld the ban last month, a decision accepted by the IOC.The Russian appeal questions the validity of the IAAF decision and seeks to ensure the participation in Rio of any Russian athlete who is not currently subject to any period of ineligibility for the commission of an anti-doping rule violation.The CAS case hinges on a central issue: Can all of the countrys track athletes be banned collectively and is it right to punish those who have not been accused of wrongdoing?In extending the ban, the IAAF said Russias entire drug-testing system had been corrupted and tainted and there was no way to prove which athletes were clean. Letting Russian athletes compete in the games would undermine the credibility of the competition, according to the IAAF.For now, Russias track athletes remain in limbo.Its very sad and frustrating, all these thoughts in our heads, Koneva said. But hope dies last.---Wilson reported from London. 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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.SAN FRANCISCO -- For his second start in the majors, Ty Blachs task was pretty simple: Beat Clayton Kershaw, boost San Franciscos playoff chances.Easy.The rookie left-hander outpitched Kershaw, and the Giants held onto their lead for the last NL wild-card spot going into the final day of the regular season, blanking the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 Saturday.Anytime you get the chance to go out there in a playoff race and give your team a chance, its a lot of fun, the 25-year-old Blach said. I appreciated the opportunity and tried to make the most of it.The Giants stayed one game ahead of St. Louis for the second NL wild-card slot. The Cardinals beat visiting Pittsburgh 4-3 earlier in the day.Matt Moore will start for the Giants on Sunday, and a win -- or St. Louis loss -- puts them in the playoffs. The New York Mets will host the NL wild-card game on Wednesday night.Were not getting too giddy here, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. We have work to do.Blach (1-0) earned his first big league victory, pitching eight innings of three-hit ball. He struck out six and walked one, and also got his first two hits.This was the fourth game in the majors for Blach since he made his major league debut in September.Thats one of the best pitching performances Ive seen, with this kid having a month in the major leagues, the stage he was on, whats at stake, who he was going against, Bochy said. He just had great focus and great command. This kid was locked in. Its hard to go pitch a better game than he did today.Sergio Romo pitched a hitless ninth for his fourth save.Kershaw (12-4) gave up three runs, two of them unearned, in seven innings. Angel Pagan homered in the fifth to break a scoreless tie.Kershaw is already set to pitch the opener in the best-of-five Division Series against Washington. The Dodgers loss gave the Nationals home-field advantage in that matchup.Were on a little bit of a slide here, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said following his clubs fourth loss in five games. Today wasnt a good day for the quality of at-bats. Some with the lack off familiarity (with Blach), but even with that I think we gave away a lot of at-bats.ddddddddddddThe Dodgers-Giants result was posted on the videoboard at Nationals Park in the seventh inning while Washington played Miami. It was announced that the Nationals had clinched the home field, and the crowd responded with a standing ovation.One day after gaining national attention for body-slamming a fan who had run onto the field, Pagan hit a 1-1 pitch from Kershaw into the left-field stands. It was Pagans 12th home run of the season and his first off Kershaw in 68 career at-bats.The Dodgers were limited to three singles and got only one runner to second base.Blach got Joc Pederson to ground into an inning-ending double play in the second after the Dodgers put two on, struck out the side looking in the third and retired 11 straight during one stretch.No matter how big the stage is, you have to go out and do the same thing as a pitcher, Blach said. I felt pretty good. We were able to get rolling in the first inning and after the second, with a couple guys on, was able to bounce back and just get into cruise mode from there and execute pitches.Los Angeles third baseman Justin Turner also committed a throwing error in the seventh when the Giants scored a pair of unearned runs off Kershaw.Kershaw retired 12 of the first 13 before Pagans one-out homer leading off the fifth.TRAINERS ROOMGiants: Eduardo Nunez ran on a treadmill but is all but certain to sit out the regular season finale and likely the wild card round of the playoffs. The team is optimistic that the veteran infielder can return if San Francisco gets deeper into the postseason.UP NEXTDodgers: Kenta Maeda (16-10) pitches the finale at AT&T Park on Sunday. The right-hander is unbeaten in three career starts against San Francisco.Giants: Moore (12-12) faces the Dodgers after matching his career-high of 11 strikeouts against Colorado in his previous start. ' ' '