As owners descend on Florida this week for their annual December meetings, the league and the game itself are at a crossroads, with the NHLs almost-20-year relationship with the Winter Olympics hanging in the balance.Ive covered Winter Olympic tournaments in Italy, Canada and Russia, and I never thought it would come to this. But its time for the NHL to walk away from its longstanding love/hate relationship with the five rings.The International Olympic Committee seems content to let that happen. In April, the IOC announced it would no longer pay the travel and insurance costs of NHL players or the ancillary costs associated with shutting down the NHL on a quadrennial basis.The move has left the International Ice Hockey Federation in the unenviable position of having to beg for scraps from member nations in an effort to placate the NHL and its players. Commissioner Gary Bettman said during the Stanley Cup finals that hes pretty sure that our teams are not really interested in paying for the privilege for disrupting our season. Although?Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin told colleague Pierre LeBrun at the World Cup of Hockey that he plans to play for Russia?in the 2018 Games regardless of the NHLs decision, there appears to be a consensus among players and players association officials weve talked to that they shouldnt be paying to play in the Olympics, given that they do not receive any remuneration for doing so.That the IIHF would try to piece together enough money to cover the costs has already created outrage in the hockey community. Where would that money come from? Even if IIHF president Rene Fasel has the funds, presumably on some level they would come at the expense of developing the game in Canada, the United States and other hockey nations. And that would be a disgrace.Before the NHL first joined the Olympics, for the Nagano Games in 1998, it was hard to imagine what the tournament would look like, with the worlds best players all gathered in one place on sports grandest stage. Five Olympic tournaments later, its perhaps even more difficult to picture what the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, might look like without hockeys brightest stars.An Olympic hockey tournament without NHL players would definitely be different. Would it be diminished? Probably. But maybe less so than you might think.The fact that the NHL is on the verge of walking away from the Olympics -- a prospect more likely now that the players have rejected the leagues offer?to extend the current collective bargaining agreement by three years in exchange for Olympic participation?-- reinforces the fact that nothing about hockey and the Games is black and white.Have there been memorable Olympic moments? Of course.Sidney Crosbys golden overtime winner over the U.S. in Vancouver in 2010 capped one of the greatest games of all time and put a cherry on top of one of the greatest best-on-best tournaments ever. From start to finish, the Vancouver Games were chock-a-block with dynamic performances and compelling games.And there was Canadas seminal gold medal win in 2002 in Salt Lake City, with Wayne Gretzky at the helm, which erased 50 years of disappointment in mens Olympic hockey for the country. The semifinal game between Russia and the U.S., the team beaten by Canada in the 02 gold medal game, was among the most dramatic in international play.What about the other tournaments? Well, thats the problem.When the game is played on NHL-sized ice,?as was the case in Vancouver, rather than on an Olympic-sized rink, the game is more enthralling. Its as simple as that.When we talk about the Olympics in terms of growing the game, what game are we talking about growing? The NHL game and the Olympic one are sometimes mutually exclusive. Forget the time difference and the difficulties of scheduling Olympic games during North American prime time. The more important question -- and ultimate incentive for owners -- is: Did the Olympic games in Japan, Italy and Russia do anything to promote the NHL game globally?The answer is pretty simple: No.Olympic games played on international-sized ice, which is 15 feet wider, are not NHL quality. Its not even close. To be blunt, its often unwatchable.Can you name memorable moments from those non-North American Olympic tournaments?A few: Canadas shootout loss to the Czech Republic in the semifinals of the Nagano Games, in which Gretzky was inexplicably left on the bench. The U.S.s shootout win over Russia in a round-robin game in Sochi that made multiple shooter?T.J. Oshie (T.J. Sochi?) a minor celebrity outside the game for a few days was great theater. But it was ultimately a meaningless contest, as both teams finished out of the medals.Two shootouts, a device the NHL is working to weed out of its game back in North America -- thats what we think of.What else? How about the Swedes tacit acknowledgement that they tanked a round-robin game against Slovakia in 2006 to gain an easier route to the gold-medal game, in which they beat Finland? Or the Americans smashing up their dorm rooms in Nagano after an early exit from the tournament?Canada was defensively dominant in Sochi in a way that might never be matched in international best-on-best play. But werent we talking about growing the game? Im not sure watching Canada squash the life out of all comers for a fortnight is the best way to attract legions of new fans around the globe.If the powers that be could guarantee that the Olympics in South Korea would be played on NHL ice, Id be all for it. Same for Beijing in 2022. Bring it on.But that isnt going to happen. And for every shining, mark-your-life-calendar-by-it moment such as Crosbys overtime winner, therell be dozens of Olympic games that are pedestrian and largely forgettable.And so, as the NHL edges closer to making the seminal decision to quit the Games, we contemplate the clash of the Olympic mythology -- the idea that Olympic hockey is grand and important and compelling -- with the reality that, more often than not, it is none of those things.It makes it easier to let go when you look at it that way.Cheap Air Jordan 4 Uk . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. Cheap Air Jordan 4 Wholesale . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. http://www.cheapairjordan4uk.com/ .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. Cheap Air Jordan 4 Uk Sale . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Cheap Air Jordan 4 Sale . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- All the Washington Redskins needed to avoid a dreaded 0-3 start was a couple of fourth-quarter interceptions by backups and five field goals from a guy who had never made that many in a game.Dustin Hopkins kicked a 37-yard field goal with 1:51 to play and the defending NFC East champion Redskins got a much-needed 29-27 win over the penalty- and error-prone New York Giants (2-1) on Sunday.We needed to get that first win bad, said cornerback Greg Toler, who played most of the game after starter Bashaud Breeland hurt an ankle early. We couldnt lose the first three, and we hung in there and got some real contributions from everybody. You get everyone stepping up. The coaches treat all of us the same, coaches us up whether first- or second- or third- or fourth-string like we are starters.The guys who really stepped up were linebacker Sua Cravens and cornerback Quinton Dunbar.After Hopkins put Washington ahead, the Giants got a first down at their own 39 with 69 seconds to play. On the next play, Manning went over the middle to Shane Vereen and Cravens dived in front of the halfback and picked it off.Earlier in the quarter, Dunbar jumped a seam pattern pass to tight end Will Tye in the end zone and intercepted it, ending a Giants drive at the Washington 15 courtesy of an Odell Beckham catch-and-run. It kept Washington ahead 26-24.Josh Brown would put New York ahead with a 30-yard field goal midway through the quarter, but Washington came back.It was a game marked by Giants mistakes. They turned the ball over three times and had 11 penalties for 128 yards.Any time you lose against any team, no matter where they are at, it is a tough one to swallow, receiver Victor Cruz said. Especially one like this where we had some opportunities to put some points on the board, but you win some and you lose some, you have to learn from the losses and move on.The worst of the Giants penalties was a third-down hit to the helmet by Olivier Vernon that kept the Redskins game-winning drive alive.Everyone loves touchdowns. I love touchdowns, Hopkins said. When they call on me, I do the best I can to put the team in a position to win, whether they send me out there five times or once, its OK.Shane Vereen scored on a 1-yard run, Manning threw a 23-yard TD to Sheparrd and Orleans Darkwa scored on a 2-yard run for New York.ddddddddddddKirk Cousins threw touchdown passes of 44 yards to DeSean Jackson and 55 to Jamison Crowder as the banged-up Redskins handed new Giants coach Ben McAdoo his first loss.This was an NFC East matchup that see-sawed the entire second half after Washington rallied from a 21-9 deficit.BECKHAM VS. NORMAN: The fourth quarter was wild with the matchup of Beckham and Redskins cornerback Josh Norman, leading to big plays by Beckham, an ejection of Giants center Weston Richburg and a personal foul against Norman for a big hit on Sterling Shepard.We got it in us. We are fighters, fighters to the end. Scrapping. Savagery as they come, Norman said. Real gritty, all the way down to the bone and gristle. Fight, fight, fight.In the end, Washington made the big plays in avoiding the 0-3 start. Only three teams since 1990 have made the playoffs after losing three in row to start the season.INJURIES GALORE: The Redskins lost four players to injuries in the game: C Kory Lichtensteiger (ankle), G Shawn Lauvao (calf), CB Bashaud Breeland (ankle) and S DeAngelo Hall (knee). The Giants had CBs Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (groin) and Eli Apple (hamstring) leave.SPECIAL TEAMS: It was an exciting day for the guys from specials. Crowders 50-yard punt return and a 31-yard fourth-down pass by punter Tress Way to Dunbar set up two of Hopkins field goals. Dunbar, however, muffed a punt that led to Vereens TD early in the game. TheGiants had a blocked punt by Romeo Okwara nullified with just over 11 minutes to play by a personal foul against Andrew Adams, who was added to the roster Saturday.NEAR-COSTLY GAMBLE: The Redskins lost a cheap-shot field goal at the end of the first half when they elected to run a play from the Giants 4 with 6 seconds left. Jason Pierre-Paul had a sack and forced fumble on Cousins and the clock ran out.NUMBERS: Cousins finished 21 of 35 for 296 yards. Manning was 25 of 38 for 350. The Giants gained 457 yards in failing to gain their 700th franchise win. The Redskins gained 403 yards and had the ball for 33:26.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '