TOKYO -- An independent panel commissioned by the Japanese Olympic Committee has found nothing illegal in a payment made to a Singapore consulting firm in connection with Tokyos bid to host the 2020 Summer Games.A report by the panel released Thursday said a $2.8 million Singapore dollar (then $2.3 million) payment to the consultancy Black Tidings for bid planning services and lobbying advice in 2013 was legitimate.The panel concluded that Tokyo bid executives had no knowledge of the link between the head of Black Tidings, Ian Tan Tong Han, and the son of former IAAF president Lamine Diack, who is facing corruption charges in France.The investigation concludes that the contents and execution process of the payment are not in violation of any Japanese law, lawyer Yoshihisa Hayakawa, who headed the panel, told a news conference. Any violation of the IOC code of ethics also could not be found.The panel, consisting of two lawyers and a certified public accountant, said Tan deserved the payment based on detailed reports he provided the committee that demonstrated his ability to lobby effectively and provide useful information for the bid committee.The findings are in line with what we expected, and we are relieved, said JOC president Tsunekazu Takeda, who headed the bid committee.The report noted, however, that the payment was twice the average of what the Tokyo bid committee paid to other consultants. Hayakawa said the team also did not receive an exact accounting of how Tan spent the money.In addition, the investigation team was unable to speak directly to Tan, Diack or his son, Papa Massata Diack, in part due to the ongoing French corruption investigation and didnt have access to data stored in computers issued by the committee that had been destroyed when the bidding process ended. The team largely relied on documents that had been kept by former committee members.Personally, I regret we could not interview them. If we could have met Mr. Tan, especially, Im sure we could have examined what exactly happened in this case, Hayakawa said.Suspicion about the Black Tidings payment arose in the course of the French investigation into Diack, once one of the most influential men in sports, and his son, who is wanted in France on bribery, money laundering and corruption charges.Tan is one of Papa Massata Diacks close friends. They were so close that Tan named his child, born in 2014, Massata, according to a World Anti-Doping Agency investigation into Russias athletic doping scandal.According to French prosecutors, the payment is thought to have been transferred from Japan to the Singapore account of Black Tidings in two installments in July and October 2013.The Japanese investigation also found the payment to Tan was made in two installments. The first contract for U.S. $950,000 was signed in July 2013 for Tans lobbying and consulting work, and the remainder of the money was transferred to him three months later as a bonus for winning the bid, the report said. The contract did not include a specific reference prohibiting bribery.Details of the payment procedures were not shared among the committee executives, and the lack of communication might have invited suspicions, the report said. It also noted that future bidding activity for international athletic events should pay more attention to transparency and compliance to stricter rules.Tokyo was chosen in September 2013 as the Olympic host, and the elder Diack, then an International Olympic Committee member, had a vote and influence over blocs of other votes as a high-profile figure in the organization.The widening of the French inquiry into the 2020 Olympic bidding process has put heavy pressure on Tokyo organizers and the IOC, which has sought to distance itself from the FIFA and IAAF corruption scandals and insisted that it had cleaned up since a bid scandal over the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Corey Seager Womens Jersey . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Kenley Jansen Dodgers Jersey . 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Ohio State dropped four spots to No. 6 in The Associated Press college football poll after its first loss of the season, and Penn State moved into the rankings for the first time since 2011 after upsetting the Buckeyes.Alabama is No. 1 again, receiving all but one of the 61 first-place votes from the media panel on Sunday. Michigan moved up to No. 2, Clemson is No. 3 and Washington No. 4.Louisville moved up to No. 5 ahead of the Buckeyes, who blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead and lost 24-21 against Penn State on Saturday night. The Nittany Lions entered the rankings at No. 24.Nebraska is No. 7 and Baylor is eighth. Texas A&M slipped three spots to No. 9 after losing for the first time this season.---POLL POINTSUP- West Virginia (6-0) moved up two spots to No. 10 in the rankings, the Mountaineers best showing since 2012. Those Mountaineers with Geno Smith and Tavon Austin were undone by a faulty defense and ended up finishing the season unranked after peaking at No. 5 in early October. These Mountaineers have the second-best defense in the Big 12 and rank 32nd in the nation in yards per play at 5.14.- No. 15 Auburn moved up six spots after the second-most lopsided SEC victory in the history of the program. The Tigers beat Arkansas 56-3 and have won four straight since a 1-2 start.- No. 19 LSU moved up six spots after trouncing Mississippi.- Washington matched its best ranking since finishing No. 3 in 2000.DOWN- Ohio State had the biggest drop of the week, but it still ran its streak of top-10 rankings to 31, the longest current streak in the nation, dating baack to November 2014.ddddddddddddIN- Penn State was last ranked Dec. 4, 2011. It had gone four full seasons without being ranked, the longest string of seasons without a ranking since the Nittany Lions made their first poll appearance in 1940. The Nittany Lions also are ranked without Joe Paterno as coach for the first time since 1954.- No. 23 Colorado and No. 25 Virginia Tech moved back into the rankings for a second time this season.OUT- Houston tumbled out of the rankings for the first time this season after getting routed by SMU. The fall from No. 15 to unranked is tied for the fifth-largest drop since the rankings went to a Top 25 in 1989.- Mississippi, which was the first 3-3 team since 2009 to be ranked last week, is out for the first time this season after dropping to 3-4 with a loss to LSU.- Arkansas, which started the season unranked, is out again.CONFERENCE CALLSEC -- 6Big Ten -- 5ACC -- 5Pac-12 -- 3Big 12 -- 3American -- 1MAC -- 1Mountain West -- 1RANKED vs. RANKEDNo. 3 Clemson at No. 12 Florida State. The toughest game left on the Tigers schedule.No. 4 Washington
