SFPD » te, Resting until hes right will be the best

MOSCOW -- As far as Vladimir Putins anti-doping troubleshooter is concerned, Russias doping problems are nothing more than a glitch.Brought out of retirement by Putin to lead Russias future strategy on doping, 81-year-old Vitaly Smirnov is being called on to use his contacts from five decades in Olympic politics to lobby for Russian interests and play down the accusations of state-sponsored cheating.Even as Smirnov tries to build bridges with the IOC and World Anti-Doping Agency, and plans to address WADAs board on Sunday, Smirnov vehemently denies that the Russian government ran an industrial-scale doping program and cover-up, including at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.What has happened is a glitch. It doesnt have roots in any kind of practice which was happening over a long period of time, Smirnov, a former Soviet minister who spent 44 years as an International Olympic Committee member, told The Associated Press in an interview in his spacious office at the Russian Olympic Committee. There was no organized doping system on the state level. We believe that the participants in this were individuals, who were pursuing their own goals.Putins love of sports as a judo black belt and recreational hockey player means the Russian government couldnt have sponsored an East German-style doping scheme, Smirnov said.Ive known our president for 25 years. I got to know him when we were preparing the Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg in 1994. I know him still. I know hes an athlete, Smirnov says he told Richard McLaren, the Canadian lawyer who produced the WADA report accusing Russian officials of complicity. And as an athlete and head of state, its incompatible.Among those named in McLarens report in July were Deputy Sports Minister Yuri Nagornykh and the ministrys anti-doping adviser, Nataliya Zhelanova, both of whom are facing investigations from the Russian authorities and have since left their jobs. Even if officials like Nagornykh and Zhelanova are found to have been complicit, they should be seen as bad apples rather than part of a government conspiracy, Smirnov argues.Certain officials ... it doesnt mean the whole system, the whole ministry was taking part, he said.The second part of McLarens report is due out next month and could further tarnish the legacy of the Sochi Games. Smirnov has been in contact with McLaren and WADA President Craig Reedie.However, Smirnov is scathing in his condemnation for Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory who turned star witness for WADA. Rodchenkov said he was involved in state-backed doping for years, providing doping substances to athletes and helping swap dirty samples for clean ones at the Sochi Games.Now living in the United States, Rochenkov is facing an investigation by Russian authorities over the destruction of doping samples.Smirnov suggests Rodchenkov was motivated by money, not Russian state prestige.If you take the case of Rodchenkov, theres pure criminality. They were just, over the course of a fairly long period of time, falsifying results and getting money for that, Smirnov said, later adding: I am counting on objectivity in this whole case. The McLaren report is sadly built on the evidence of just one man. That man is facing a criminal case and an investigation is under way.Formally, Smirnovs role is as head of the Independent Public Anti-Doping Commission, a body set up at Putins suggestion and backed by the Russian Olympic Committee to lead the charge against what the Russian government perceives as unfair accusations. Putin didnt formally appoint Smirnov, but nominated him on state TV as a man with an absolutely unimpeachable reputation. He was swiftly approved.The commission, which last met in October, includes numerous sports officials but also doctors, a state TV executive and even a concert pianist, though none of the commissions members are anti-doping scientists.Our commission is absolutely independent. The commission contains people, many of whom have no connection to sport at all, but carry a lot of weight in society, Smirnov said, defending the participation of pianist Denis Matsuev. Hes not just there because he can play 47 piano concertos, but because he loves sport and was invited to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics because of his musical skill, Smirnov added, though the commission also works with two experts from Australia and Lithuania sent by WADA to Russia to help with reforms.Smirnov is eager to repair relations with the IOC and WADA after a year of fierce rhetoric on all sides, and refers to former WADA president Dick Pound, author of last years first report into Russian doping, as my old friend. In a recent conversation with Reedie, Smirnov offered to appoint a foreigner to Rodchenkovs old job as head of the Moscow lab to reactivate its colossal capacity of 20,000 tests a year.Smirnovs overall message is clear though -- Russia is not a country of drug cheats.In the spirit of our people there is nothing about trying to deceive, to find a dishonest shortcut, he said. 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Three years ago, Jadeveon Clowney heard the same unsolicited advice that Leonard Fournette no doubt receives at every turn.Sit out your junior year.No more free licks.Dont risk injury when you can become a first-round NFL draft pick.Today, Clowney says he did the right thing in playing through criticism and injury during the 2013 season at South Carolina. He says he owed it to his teammates to help them chase championships.Id still have played, Clowney said Wednesday. You can get injured anywhere. It wasnt about me, it was about my team at the time. I loved the group of guys I was playing with. I like those boys like my brothers. Some of them I still talk to to this day. And I was not going to just quit on them.So I would have played and tried to win a national championship. That what its about, he continued. I always thought about it. I always wanted a ring and to go to the national championship. I didnt get it, but I knew I had the chance when I was playing for it instead of sitting at home not doing anything.Those words might as well have come directly from Fournettes mouth, although he has not been able to back up that sentiment lately. A preseason left ankle injury has hobbled LSUs All-American running back throughout the season, and Saturdays game against Florida will likely be the third hell miss by the seasons midway point.Fournette says he will keep playing once he is able to, despite what a growing number of skeptics insinuates each week while he watches from the sideline.Im fine, Fournette said the day after a Sept. 24 loss to Auburn, where the ankle visibly bothered him even as he rushed for 101 yards on 16 carries. Overall Im going to be here playing with my brothers each game. Thats not going to change. Im just ready to play again.Fournette has not played since making those comments on the day LSU athletic director Joe Alleva fired coach Les Miles and replaced him with Ed Orgeron. He sat out Saturdays 42-7 win over Missouri and Orgeron said Wednesday that he does not expect Fournette to be available against the Gators, either.But should he return at all? Fournette already plays a contact-heavy position, and his physical running style only adds to the punishment that his body absorbs.Thats part of the reason Fournettes family took out two $10 million insurance policies -- a detail first reported in May by CBSSports.com -- as he approached what will almost certainly be his final college season.But self-preservation isnt really Fournettes thing. Teammates expect to eventually see the same Leonard who happily bowled over tacklers in meaningless spring practices return to the lineup once his ankle heals.Most guys on this team dont have that sort of thing. We dont have insurance policies on our draft status, LSU fullback J.D. Moore said. But I think his goal right now, his mindset, is hes got to be as healthy as he can be. I dont think it does him or the team any good if hes playing one game and sitting out the next. Thats just not the way he wants to operate. So I think if it takes a little longer on the front end to get him healthy to have more success on the back end, where really thats the meat of our schedule at the end of the year, I think thats his mindset -- trying to be as healthy as he can be.Thats advice that Clowney would likely offer, as well. Playing is one thing. Potentially hurtingg yourself or your team by playing before your body is ready is another.ddddddddddddSay he would have went out there with not that good of an ankle, he might have hurt something else or he might have done something else, said LSUs Ethan Pocic, the?top senior center prospect?in?ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.s latest 2017 draft rankings. Say me for instance, if I cant go, Im not going to go and maybe put [running back Derrius] Guice [in jeopardy] or the quarterback, because if I cant do my job, I dont want to let my teammates down.Thats the fine line that a superstar with high-first-round potential must walk.Clowney dealt with heavy criticism when a series of minor injuries knocked him out of two games and affected his production during his junior season. Like Fournette in 2016, Clowney -- also a former ESPN No. 1 overall high school prospect and first-team All-American as a sophomore -- entered that fall as a Heisman Trophy contender whose name sat high atop NFL draft boards for the upcoming year.His junior-year downturn generated plenty of debate leading up to the 2014 draft, but Clowney still went No. 1 overall to the Houston Texans. And even if he doesnt go with the very first pick should he enter next years draft, Fournettes ceiling seems just as high. He currently occupies the No. 1 spot?on?ESPN analyst Todd McShays Top 32 list and trails only Texas A&Ms Myles Garrett on Kipers Big Board.As McShay wrote, Resting until hes right will be the best thing for his long-term future. After logging 513 total touches in his previous two seasons, Fournette has little left to prove to NFL scouts.In the meantime, Fournette has maintained his role as a team leader from the sideline, even as teammates recognize his frustration.We all know hes disappointed he isnt playing, Guice said, but whenever I come on the sideline, were hugging, were doing our little handshake or hes just giving me some advice, telling me how I did on the previous play or drive. To me, hes supportive on the sideline. So all the He looks mad, I dont know where that comes from.As Moore indicated, the meat of LSUs schedule still lies ahead. Although the Tigers lost twice in a disappointing September that led to Miles dismissal, they are still in the thick of the SEC West race since games against division rivals Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Texas A&M await them in the second half of the season. Fournette would be LSUs ace in the hole for that stretch run, assuming that he is healthy and engaged when that key portion of the schedule arrives.It remains to be seen how quickly Fournettes ankle will recover, but Orgeron, for one, does not expect to have any problems keeping his star running back engaged despite the personal interests that would convince many others to sit out.Sometimes it can be [difficult]. But you know, Leonard is a different cat, Orgeron said. Leonard has a high character. Hes a team guy. He wants the team to win, have success. I think he was happy to see the offense have success. I think he was happy to see Guice and Williams have such a successful night [against Missouri], and Im sure he wants to get back in there as soon as he possibly can.ESPN Texans reporter Sarah Barshop contributed to this report.? ' ' '