SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- It took only one free agent visit to NFC south rival Tampa Bay to convince defensive end Charles Johnson of what hed known all along -- he only wanted to play for the Carolina Panthers.His heart was in Carolina, and that was never going to change.Its why the 30-year-old Johnson took an $8 million pay cut this offseason to return for his 10th season with the defending NFC champion Panthers and a chance to chase that (Super Bowl) ring.All I know is Carolina. All I have wanted to know is Carolina, said Johnson, who was selected in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Panthers. Its kind of hard to leave something that you have invested so much in. The sky is the limit for this team. I want to help take this team to where we need to be.Being a business owner himself -- Johnson plans to open a restaurant this fall in Charlotte, North Carolina -- he understands the teams decision to release him in March after he tallied just one sack in 2015 and spent seven games on short-term injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Johnson was set to make $11 million in 2016, so he saw the move coming.But even as the Panthers cut Johnson, they left the door open for his return. They told him to explore the free agent market, but to think about re-signing in Carolina before agreeing to go elsewhere.Johnson received interest from a handful of teams, but decided to come back to Carolina on a one-year, $3 million deal, turning down an offer from another team worth twice that much, according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus.What this deal signifies is Charles is a man of his word and in his heart he bleeds Carolina blue, Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman said in March.It is clear Johnson is returning with something to prove -- at least to himself.Hes dropped 10 pounds this offseason to get down to 275 in hopes of getting a little quicker. He said he feels lighter on his feet. Hes also worked tirelessly to strengthen his nagging back and hamstring problems.He said he feels great.Johnson, who had 52 1/2 sacks during a five-year span from 2010-2014 before last years injury-plagued season, said he has another double-digit sack season left in his tank.Im only 30, said Johnson, who is set to start at defensive end opposite Super Bowl standout Kony Ealy. There are other guys that are way older than me that are putting up numbers.Nonetheless, Johnson views this as a make-or-break season in terms of his NFL career.If hes not productive or struggles again with injuries, he could fall off the NFL radar and out of the league completely. On the other hand, a productive season could propel him to another big contract and a longer career with the Panthers.Im always going to want to stay where Im at, Johnson said. Im always thinking about coming back to the Panthers. I didnt know how everything is going to be, but my mindset was always to come back to the Panthers.Game notes Backup defensive end Chas Alecxih was carted off the practice field Sunday with a left knee injury. Although the extent of the injury will not be known until Monday, coach Ron Rivera admitted it did not look good. Alecxih pounded the ground after his injury and his defensive line teammates gathered in a huddle to pray. ... Rivera said the team is limiting wide receiver Kelvin Benjamins reps in practice, but he will play Thursday night against Baltimore.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Nate Davis Jersey . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Earl Campbell Titans Jersey . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. http://www.authentictitanspro.com/Eddie-george-titans-jersey/ .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. Jeffery Simmons Womens Jersey . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. Corey Davis Jersey The World Anti-Doping Agencys executive board wants the International Olympic Committee to ban all Russian teams from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics following a report showing the scope and length of state-directed doping in the country.WADA issued a seven-point list of requests after it published a report from Canadian law professor Richard McLaren that confirmed claims of state-backed Russian cheating at the Sochi Olympics and beyond.WADA also wants Russian government officials to be denied access to international competitions, including the upcoming Olympics.The anti-doping watchdog also called on the world governing bodies of sports implicated in the report to consider action against Russian national bodies.McLarens investigation found that Russia falsified at least 312 results from 2011 through at least last years world swimming championships.Calling the report a shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sports and on the Olympic Games, IOC president Thomas Bach said the committee will not hesitate to take the toughest sanctions available against those implicated. The IOC executive board will meet via conference call Tuesday to make initial decisions on possible sanctions for the Rio Games.McLaren dubbed Russias program the disappearing positive methodology in the report, which was released Monday by WADA.The investigator said allegations made by Grigory Rodchenkov, Moscows former anti-doping lab director, about sample switching at the Sochi Olympics went much as described in a New York Times story published in May. That program involved dark-of-night swaps of dirty samples with clean ones, which prevented Russian athletes from testing positive.In short, Russias deputy minister of sports, who was also part of Russias Olympic Committee, would direct workers at Moscows anti-doping laboratory of which positive samples to send through and which to hold back. Assisting the plan was Russias national security service -- the FSB, the current version of the Soviet Unions KGB.McLaren said out of 577 positive sample screenings, 312 positive results were held back -- or labeled Save by the lab workers -- but that was only a small slice of the data that could have been examined. More than 240 of the 312 Saves came from track and field and wrestling, and other sports involved included swimming, rowing, snowboarding and table tennis.Minister of Sport Vitaly Mutko personally intervened to cover up a doping case of at least 1 foreign [soccer player] in the Russian League, according to McLaren. The report says 11 positive tests by Russian soccer players were made to disappear in the state-sponsored doping program.It was inconceivable that Minister Mutko was not aware of the doping cover-up scheme, according to evidence from Rodchenkov.Russian President Vladimir Puttin says the officials named in the report as directly responsible for the widespread doping will be suspended pending a thorough investigation in Russia.ddddddddddddPutin gave no names, but his statement appears to apply to Mutko and his deputy, Yuri Nagornykh, who are both discussed in the report. The report by the WADA investigator says Nagornykh directed workers at Moscows anti-doping laboratory on which positive samples to send through and which to hold back.In the statement released by the Kremlin, Putin asks the WADA commission to provide more complete, objective, evidence-based information about its findings to Russian investigators.McLaren said Russias cheating also included the 2013 track world championships in Moscow and the 2015 swimming world championships in Kazan.The 97-page McLaren report is the result of a two-month investigation. McLaren said he is confident the document was not leaked and stands by its credibility.Several athlete and anti-doping groups, including the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, were gearing up over the weekend to send letters to the IOC urging that Russias entire delegation be banned from next months Rio Games.Olympic leaders had said those moves undermined the report and called it disappointing that the groups would try to have Russia banned in such an underhanded way.McLaren said the moves to send the letters were based on nothing more than speculation. He did not include a recommendation for punishment in the report?and urged the IOC and others to absorb the information and act upon it as they wish.Travis Tygart, the CEO of USADA, called the report proof of a?mind-blowing level of corruption and?urged the international community to come together to ensure that what he called an unprecedented level of criminality never threatens sports again.Tygarts statement did not include a call for a full ban of the Russian team from the Rio Games.?Last week, he said if the report was as damning as expected that he would push for such a ban.U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said in a statement that the report confirms what we have stated previously: the current anti-doping system is broken and urgently requires the attention of everyone interested in protecting clean athletes.In the meantime, we are focused on preparing Team USA to compete at the upcoming Rio Games and will rely on the IOC, WADA and the international federations to impose sanctions that are appropriate in relation to the magnitude of these offenses, and that give clean athletes some measure of comfort that they will be competing on a level playing field in Rio, Blackmun said.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. 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