DS Talk » bid only after the IOC changed its rules with Age

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Venus Williams isnt used to taking the court in doubles uncertain whether she can win.Thats why the four-time gold medalist sat in her changeover chair after an Olympic semifinal victory Saturday with her face in her hands, her jaw dropped in stunned elation.With Serena, I expect to win -- Ive got to be honest, she said of her younger sister, with whom she won three of those golds.But in the only draw in which shes still in contention in Rio de Janeiro, Venus mixed doubles partner is someone with whom she had never played before: American teammate Rajeev Ram.We had no idea how we were going to play together, she said, so the emotion is almost even bigger because ... you dont know what to expect. Its a wild feeling.The 36-year-old Williams couldnt stop jumping up and down after she and Ram rallied for a 2-6, 6-2, 10-3 tiebreak victory over Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna of India. Shes guaranteed a record-tying medal and will play Sunday for gold -- and more milestones -- in the final.To feel what I feel with Serena with someone else, I never thought that would happen, she said.I could double for Serena, Ram joked.The champions will be Americans: Williams and Ram face the other U.S. team, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock.Williams fifth medal will match the most in Olympic history; Kathleen McKane won five (one gold) in the 1920s. With a victory Sunday, shed become the first five-time Olympic tennis gold medalist, moving one ahead of her sister in that category. It would also make her the first player to win gold in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.The Williams sisters have always treasured the opportunity to go to the Olympics, where Venus was the singles champion in 2000 and Serena in 2012. They were undefeated in doubles together through their first three Olympic tournaments, but everything seemed to go wrong this time around.Venus was battling a virus even before she left for Rio de Janeiro, and she was upset in the first round in both singles and doubles. Serena fell in the third round.Venus wasnt initially expected to compete in mixed doubles, but after her early exits, she and Ram entered the 16-team draw.Ive got to be honest -- I was secretly hoping to be in this position when we first got in, said Williams, who was still coughing Saturday. I think we probably both were if we admitted it. But we were saying, `Oh, you know, we dont know whats going to happen.Ram wasnt even supposed to be at the Rio Olympics, added to the roster a few days before the opening ceremony when the 2012 mens doubles gold medalists, Bob and Mike Bryan, withdrew. He paired with Brian Baker in mens doubles, and they lost in the second round.The 32-year-old Ram, a first-time Olympian, is coming off a mens doubles semifinal appearance at Wimbledon.We get along; weve known each other for years, he said of Williams. To come out and actually be able to do something this special with Venus is fantastic. San Francisco Giants Pro Shop . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. San Francisco Giants Shirts .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. https://www.cheapjerseysgiants.us/ . 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ROME -- Irresponsible, unsustainable and unaffordable.Refusing to put up with more debt in a city besieged by corruption and poor public services, Mayor Virginia Raggi rejected Romes bid for the 2024 Olympics on Wednesday, effectively dooming the capitals candidacy for the second time in four years.This city is unlivable, Raggi said in a news conference at city hall atop ancient Capitoline Hill. We need to focus on that.We have a much more ambitious project for Rome than the one for the 2024 Games, Raggi added. We want to upgrade the services, give back to citizens a city that is as worthy as any other European capital.If approved by Romes city assembly, Raggis motion to withdraw the bid would leave only Los Angeles, Paris and Budapest, Hungary, in the running for the 2024 Games. The International Olympic Committee will decide on the host city in September 2017.Raggis rejection comes after then-Premier Mario Monti stopped Romes plans to bid for the 2020 Olympics because of financial concerns.Weve lost all credibility, if we pull out, Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malago said, ruling out an eventual bid for the 2028 Games, even from another Italian city. Because theyll think people in Italy are not serious.Raggi said it would be financially irresponsible to pursue the bid any further given the city is barely able to get its trash picked up. She highlighted the debts that previous Olympic host cities have incurred and the unfinished infrastructure already blighting Rome from previous sporting bids as reasons to justify the withdrawal.In light of the data we have, these Olympics are not sustainable. They will bring only debt, she said. We dont want sports to become another pretext for more cement foundations in the city. We wont allow it.Raggi drew up a motion to withdraw the bid Wednesday and put it before the city assembly, which has the final say. There was no immediate word if and when the council would take it up.Malago said the committee would continue working on the bid in the absence of a formal vote, noting the next dossier must be submitted to the IOC on Oct. 7.If theres no formal act, we can continue, he said. They cant just declare it in a news conference.Indeed, rival cities werent ready to count Rome out altogether.There is no confirmation that Rome has departed from the 2024 race and as such it is not appropriate for us to offer any comment except to wish our Italian colleagues well during this period of difficult time, the Budapest Olympic committtee said.ddddddddddddRaggi, a 38-year-old lawyer who is Romes first female mayor, was elected in June representing the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement.The Rome bid was approved by the city assembly last year with 38 votes in favor and only six against -- meaning Raggi will have to put the issue up for another vote to officially end the candidacy.The IOC requires bidders to have support from the government and city.Previous Mayor Ignazio Marino, who was forced out over an expense account scandal, had supported the bid. And Premier Matteo Renzi has been a big fan of the candidacy since he helped launch it in 2014. He has said the bid would be doomed if Romes mayor doesnt support it.A budget of 24 million euros ($27 million) has already been allotted -- much of it spent -- to the bid committee, even though candidacy head Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has no salary.Raggis rejection was another stinging blow for the IOCs Olympic Agenda 2020 program, which was designed to make bidding for and hosting the games more flexible and more affordable.Rome was able to bid only after the IOC changed its rules with Agenda 2020 and reduced the costs of putting together a candidacy, Malago said.The bid had been slated to be centered around Romes historic monuments: a cycling sprint alongside the Roman Forum, beach volleyball at the Circus Maximus and the marathon passing through St. Peters Square and finishing under the Arch of Constantine. Plus, a nightly parade of athletes at the Colosseum.Relying on many venues that were used for the 1960 Olympics in Rome, the candidacy proposed using existing structures for 70 percent of the required sites. The budget had been projected at 5.3 billion euros ($6 billion) -- 2.1 billion euros for the construction of permanent venues and the balance for temporary venues.The withdrawal is another clear signal that the IOC still has a lot of work to do to convince cities that hosting the games is a boon and not a burden.Voters in Hamburg rejected the German citys 2024 bid in a referendum. Boston also dropped out last year amid a lack of public and political support and was replaced by Los Angeles.Its very upsetting, Rome bid vice president Luca Pancalli said. Its like we started a race and someone gets out of the pool in the middle of the race and says were not racing any longer.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf ' ' '