gloves, with fighters rewarded for lig

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Carmelo Anthony took aim and shot to the top of U.S. basketball history.Anthony scored 31 points -- and the Americans needed every one of them -- as the overwhelming gold-medal favorites in the Rio Games outlasted Australia 98-88 on Wednesday night.The first American male basketball player to appear in four Olympics, Anthony also passed LeBron James as the most prolific scorer to ever wear a USA jersey. Anthony opened the game by making three 3-pointers and then moved past James, his close friend, with another 3 from the left wing with 1:08 left in the first quarter.Of course I was conscious of it, Anthony said of the scoring mark. My teammates was making sure I was aware of the situation, but tonight was one of those nights where I wanted to let the game come to me and take the shots that was given to me, take the open shots and kind of play basketball.And at the end of the day I was in my zone, I was playing basketball.Anthony knocked down nine 3-pointers -- one shy of his U.S. record -- and finished 11 of 21 from the field. He added eight rebounds, two steals and may have saved the Americans from a loss by scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter.Carmelo was magnificent, said U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski.Anthony has scored 293 points in Olympic competition, 20 more than James, who skipped a chance to play in his fourth games after leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to an NBA title this season. David Robinson (270) is third on the scoring list followed by Michael Jordan (256) and Charles Barkley (231).For comparisons sake, Brazilian legend Oscar Schmidt scored 1,093 points during his Olympic career, but unlike Anthony, he didnt have his minutes restricted while playing on powerhouse teams.Anthony was delayed in attending his postgame news conference, and when he arrived wearing a white USA baseball cap adorned with the five Olympic rings, Krzyzewski congratulated the New York Knicks star on his accomplishment.We have had great, great players and great teams play for the United States, Krzyzewski said. His commitment to USA Basketball and international basketball, hes one of the best players in the world, but over this last decade he has proved to be one of the best international players.Although James and some other NBA stars passed on a chance to play in Brazil, Anthony signed up again and is making the most of what will undoubtedly be his final games.He was wanting that moment, teammate Paul George said after the Americans escaped an upset. He was special tonight. We joke about it, this being his farewell tour.Anthonys Olympic odyssey began with a disappointing performance in Athens, where the Americans staggered to a bronze medal and worldwide embarrassment. But hes been a major part of the U.S. programs resurgence.His leadership has really blossomed big time, said Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketballs director. I would say if Carmelo played on any team long enough he would be the leading scorer, thats the kind of scorer that he is.Vapormax Plus Pánská . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. Vapormax Boty Cz . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. http://www.vapormaxlevne.cz/ . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Vapormax Plus Bílé . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay. Nike Vapormax Levne . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Olympic boxing is bloody again.Men are fighting without headgear for the first time in 36 years, making the sport debatably safer and undoubtedly more attractive to fans. But the most tangible consequence is gore: More than a dozen boxers at the Rio Games have already incurred significant facial cuts in the first six days of the tournament.Algerian middleweight Ilyas Abbadi was unsure how he got the 1 1/2-inch gash outside his left eye during his victory over Congos Mpi Ngamissengue on Tuesday, but blood trickled down his face during the bout. The cleaned-up wound still gaped to reveal bloody tissue afterward, and he could only hope his training staff could close it satisfactorily before his next fight Friday.Now I know the value of the headgear, Abbadi said through a translator. I think for the amateurs, that would be better. I would prefer to fight with headgear, but this is how it is.The Olympics are the amateur games biggest showcase by far, and the sport desperately hoped a major cut wont ruin a fighters hopes through medical disqualification. It happened for the first time Thursday, when a 2-inch cut near Armenian welterweight Vladimir Margaryans right eye forced the stoppage of his bout with Cuban gold medalist Roniel Iglesias after just 87 seconds.Margaryans coach, Karen Aghamalyan, said his fighter already had a cut from his first Olympic bout four days earlier. Ringside physicians couldnt close the gash when it re-opened in the first minute against Iglesias, who was a heavy favorite.In pro boxing, the sight of blood on a fighters face and chest is common -- and an undeniable part of the sports primal lure. But that visceral reminder of the sports inherent violence had been rare in the modern amateur game until the International Boxing Association (AIBA) removed headgear from its fighters in 2013, citing scientific studies claiming protective padding actually increases brain injury.Although AIBA has worked to improve its boxers fighting styles to minimize head clashes, cuts have become a steady occurrence at major tournaments ever since, often when two skulls collide in an up-close exchange of punches.The absence of headgear has led to several grisly, compelling scenes in preliminary bouts.Russias Adlan Abdurashidov and Algerias Reda Benbaziz both were cut Tuesday during their lightweight bout, which was stopped twice in the second round for Abdurashidov to receive medical attention. Blood dripped steadily from Benbazizs face in the third.The guy was using his head a lot, and he received a warning from the judge, Benbaziz said after winning the decision despite a 2-inch cut through his right eyebrow, which was already swelling moments after the bout. Yeah, it will aaffect my next fight, but we will have to fight with an injury.dddddddddddd. I wish I could be using the headguard.Abdurashidov could only grimace in frustration, blood caked to his upper chest above his tank top.The first minute after the cut, it was very uncomfortable for me, Abdurashidov said. I took some punches because of my eye. It was from a head-butt. Usually, its very good to fight without headgear, but today it was a minus. In general, its better for me without.Abdurashidov echoed the feelings of many fighters, who appear to be roughly split on the change. Despite the risk, many boxers prefer the increased peripheral vision and freedom of movement allowed by an uncovered head.I dont like getting cut, but I prefer to fight without headgear, said Irelands David Oliver Joyce, who was left bloodied by a clash of heads in his loss to Azerbaijans Albert Selimov. Im more of a pro-style boxer, and for the past couple of years, the amateur system suited me.Amateur boxers began wearing headgear between the 1980 Moscow Games and the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Organizers believed the cushions around the skull and cheeks would cut down on concussions and other serious head injuries, but they also protected fighters from bloody damage, allowing them to compete in a multi-fight tournament with almost no cuts.With fighters faces hidden behind bulky padding, the amateur sport gradually lost its long-held status as a must-see Olympic event. The headgear era roughly coincided with the move to a computer-based, punch-counting scoring system.Both factors contributed to Olympic boxings evolution into a sometimes plodding sport derided as fencing with gloves, with fighters rewarded for light punches and elusiveness over power, toughness and combinations.AIBA has returned to a pro-style scoring system since the London Games. The resulting sport is more attractive in almost every manner, and the bouts in Rio have generally been more compelling -- but the blood on the fighters faces portends a potential problem.Professional boxers get several months of recovery time between bouts. Olympic boxers must fight up to five times in a nine-day span, with no time for significant cuts to heal in any meaningful way.So fighters will punch and pray.Russian bantamweight Vladimir Nikitin bled all over himself while beating Vanuatus Boe Warawara on Wednesday. A deep cut in the scalp on the left side of Nikitins head sent blood pouring down his face and neck, but he smiled through the reddened mess when his hand was raised in victory.Nikitin believes hell have no problem fighting again Sunday. ' ' '