MOSCOW -- The eccentric head of chess global governing body, who is under sanctions in the United States, says he has written to President Barack Obama to request U.S. citizenship in a bid to fight the measures.Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the wealthy Russian businessman and former regional governor who has headed the chess federation FIDE since 1995, was sanctioned by Washington last year for allegedly aiding members of Syrian President Bashar Assads circle.Ilyumzhinov was quoted by the Tass news agency on Sunday as saying he wrote to Obama to protect my rights and asking for U.S. citizenship, if necessary, for protection of my business reputation and dignity.Ilyumzhinov has attracted attention in the past for claims that he had met extraterrestrials and that chess was brought to Earth from another planet. http://www.bearsrookiestore.com/Bears-Pat-Odonnell-Jersey/ . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. http://www.bearsrookiestore.com/ . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. http://www.bearsrookiestore.com/Bears-John-Timu-Jersey/ . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. http://www.bearsrookiestore.com/Bears-Adam-Shaheen-Jersey/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. http://www.bearsrookiestore.com/Bears-Bryce-Callahan-Jersey/ . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. CHARLESTON, S.C. -- It was turkey time at the Charleston Classic for Wake Forest ??? and not just because its November.Demon Deacons coach Danny Manning said assistant coach Randolph Childress challenged their players to get three defensive stops in a row. We called it a turkey, Manning said.Wake Forest picked up several turkeys Sunday night in a 78-61 victory over College of Charleston to finish third in the eight-team tournament.Manning said he wanted his players focused on defense and Childress found a catchy way to do that. We had three turkeys in the first half, Manning said. Not sure how many we had in the second half, but the guys kind of rallied around that. I think were going to try and use that all year long.Especially if it leads to more defensive efforts like Wake Forest (4-1) had in beating the Cougars (3-2).The Deacons held Charleston to 33.3 percent shooting overall and 27.8 percent on threes. They had five blocks and out-rebounded their opponents 36-30 in finishing 2-1 at TD Arena.Bryant Crawford scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and John Collins added 15 points for Wake Forest.The Demon Deacons took control against the home-standing Cougars with a 15-6 run over the final six minutes of the opening half. They kept the pressure up after the break as Crawford had a 3-pointer and a three-point play to build a 62-42 lead midway through the period.College of Charleston (3-2) sliced that margin in half with 10 straight points, but could get no closer to lose for a second straight game.The shots were just falling, Crawford said. Coach gets on me a lot about missing layups, but today I made them.Crawford ended 7 of 12 from the field and had two of Wakes eight 3-pointers.Joe Chealey led Charleston with 19 points.Wake Forest closed an up-and-down event on a high note. It opened by hitting the 100-point mark for the first time eight years with a 103-81 victory over UTEP, then fell 96-77 to No. 3 Villanova despite shooting 50 percent from the field.ddddddddddddhis time, the Deacons mostly clicked throughout against the pesky Cougars. They finished over 50 percent (28 of 54) from the field, the fourth time in five games with such a high percentage.BIG PICTUREWake Forest: The Demon Deacons have a large group of athletic young players like sophomores Bryant Crawford, Keyshawn Woods and John Collins and freshman Brandon Childress who all saw extensive action at the Charleston Classic -- minutes that will serve them well once Atlantic Coast Conference play starts in five weeks or so. The 6-foot-10 Collins has led the Demon Deacons in four of five games this season, including all three at TD Arena this week.College of Charleston: The Cougars have to find their scoring touch if they hope to make a run in the Colonial Athletic Association this winter. Charleston shot less than 29 percent in a loss to UCF on Friday night and was struggling to make shots once more against Wake Forest.LOTS OF DEACONSWake Forest coach Danny Manning used 11 players, in part because of early foul trouble for starters Dinos Mitoglou and John Collins. Still, the team got solid showings from players not typically in the rotation. I really like our balance, Manning said. For us to get a win with John only playing 14 minutes and Dinos only 17, I think that speaks volumes to the balance we have on our team.COLD CHARLESTONCollege of Charleston struggled with its shooting throughout the tournament, something the Cougars know must improve in a hurry. Its early, Charleston guard Joe Chealey said. Its only the first five games of the season. Weve got to trust the process.UP NEXTWake Forest returns home to play Coastal Carolina on Wednesday night.College of Charleston travels to No. 3 Villanova on Wednesday night.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '