centre. Posey also homered in the eighth off reliever Brooks B

LONDON -- The Ukrainian city of Lviv withdrew its bid for the 2022 Winter Games on Monday, becoming the third contender to drop out of the race for an Olympics that no one seems to want. Lviv pulled out because of the continuing political and security crisis in Ukraine, where government forces are battling an insurgency by pro-Russian separatists. Lviv officials said they would now focus on bidding for the 2026 Winter Games instead. The decision to withdraw, which had been widely expected, followed talks between Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and IOC President Thomas Bach. "We concluded that it would be extremely difficult to pursue the 2022 bid under current circumstances but that a future bid would make sense for Ukraine and Ukrainian sport," Bach said in a statement. The announcement came exactly one week before the International Olympic Committee selects a short list of finalists for the 2022 Games. Three cities remain in contention: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing, and Oslo. With Lviv out, the IOC executive board is likely to retain all three and not cut any of the candidates. The host city will be selected by the full IOC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 31, 2015. "We have always said that we will only continue if we can be certain to deliver on all our promises," Lviv bid CEO Sergei Goncharov told The Associated Press. "Due to the current circumstances in Ukraine, we, however, felt that a bid for 2026 would make more sense. We remain convinced of the positive impact that hosting Olympic Games would have for the city of Lviv and the whole country." Lvivs withdrawal follows the earlier pullouts of Stockholm and Krakow, Poland. The Swedish capital dropped out in December after politicians declined to give financial support. The Polish city withdrew last month after 70 per cent of residents rejected the bid in a referendum. The future of Oslos bid also remains uncertain. The Norwegian government has yet to back the project and wont make a decision until the autumn. In addition, recent polls have shown that more than half the population opposes the games. If Oslo drops out later, that would leave only two cities standing. Almaty, commercial capital of the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia, hosted the 2011 Asian Winter Games and would shape up as the favourite. Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Olympics, is bidding to become the first city to stage both the Summer and Winter Games. Beijing proposes holding Alpine events 120 miles (190 kilometres) away in the northern Chinese city of Zhangjiakou. And with Pyeongchang, South Korea, hosting the 2018 Winter Games and Tokyo the 2020 Olympics, the IOC would normally be reluctant to send the games to Asia for a third straight time. Even before the start of the official 2022 campaign, two potential serious contenders stayed away. St. Moritz-Davos and Munich cancelled proposed bids after voters in Switzerland and Germany voted "no" in referendums. The troubled race poses a crisis for the IOC, which is running out of potential sites for the games. Potential host cities, especially in Western Europe, are concerned about the financial costs of the games. Many have been scared off by the $51 billion price tag associated with Februarys Winter Olympics in Sochi. Russia spent much of the record sum on long-term infrastructure projects for the entire region. Rio de Janeiros delayed preparations for the 2016 Olympics are also a major concern. Changes to the bidding process and efforts to reduce the cost of the games are among the key issues being addressed by the IOC as part of Bachs "Agenda 2020" -- his blueprint for the future of the Olympic movement that will be voted on in December. Despite their withdrawal, Lviv bid officials have travelled to Pyeongchang this week for debriefings on the Sochi Games. Bach said the IOCs preliminary assessment of the Lviv bid found "a huge potential for future development." "We will continue to pursue our dream," Goncharov said. "We have learned a great deal during our first ever bid and we will come back stronger." Kevin Durant Jersey . - Ryan Spooner scored twice to lead the Boston Bruins to a 6-1 victory over the New York Islanders in a preseason game Friday night. Mike Muscala Thunder Jersey . Thats 14 consecutive losses to the two-time defending champs, and most of them were over before they even began. Result notwithstanding, Sundays game had a very different feel to it. https://www.thunderrookiesshop.com/Shawn-Kemp-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Its the second of three meetings between these teams this season. Vancouver was a 2-1 winner on home ice December 22nd. Kyle Singler Jersey . FIFA said the suspension was requested by ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia, making Beckenbauer the first person to be punished as a result of the case. Beckenbauer refused "repeated requests for his assistance, including requests that he provide information during an in-person interview or in response to written questions provided in both English and German," FIFA said in a statement. Custom Oklahoma City Thunder Jerseys . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (4) – He had a strong game Sunday; was very good in tight with big saves on Crosby, Malkin and Neal in-crease.SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner wanted to waste a two-strike curveball in front of Rockies cleanup hitter Justin Morneau. He left the ball up just enough for Morneau to get a piece of it -- the only mistake on an otherwise memorable night for the San Francisco left-hander. Bumgarner pitched a one-hitter and matched his career high of 13 strikeouts, and the Giants beat the Rockies 3-0 on Tuesday night to snap a three-game losing streak. The two-time All-Star retired the first 21 batters before Morneau doubled down the right field line to end the bid for perfection. That was the only baserunner Bumgarner (15-9) gave up. He fanned the next three hitters. "I was going to try to bounce a curveball," Bumgarner said. "I think it would have probably bounced if he (wouldnt have) hit it. Hes a good hitter and he was in there being aggressive. He happened to hit it pretty good. No regrets on throwing it." San Franciscos husky left-hander was attempting to follow Tim Lincecums no-hitter at AT&T Park on June 25 against San Diego with another milestone for a sellout crowd of 41,050 on a pristine Bay Area evening. His 103-pitch gem kept the Giants in a wild-card spot. Matt Cain is the last Giants pitcher to throw a perfect game, on June 13, 2012. "That game was probably more impressive than a lot of no-hitters, thats how well he threw tonight," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "You look at the strikeouts, his stuff, the command ... it was a very, very impressive evening for him." Buster Posey homered twice for San Francisco. The hapless Rockies came close to breaking up Bumgarners bid for perfection in the top of the fifth. Matt McBride was thrown out by shortstop Brandon Crawford on a close play at first base. Colorado manager Walt Weiss came out to dispute the call but did not ask for a replay after getting a signal from his dugout.dddddddddddd Drew Stubbs hit a deep fly to left in the first, but Gregor Blanco made the catch near the wall. Colorado didnt come close to getting a hit otherwise. "Its unfortunate we had to lose," Morneau said. "It was a pitchers duel and they found a way to score some runs and we didnt." Its Bumgarners third career shutout and sixth complete game. He also became the first pitcher in franchise history with six games of 10-plus strikeouts with no walks. The Giants didnt do much offensively either until Poseys two-run home run in the sixth chased Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa. Hunter Pence drew a leadoff walk before Posey smashed a 3-1 pitch into the stands in left-centre. Posey also homered in the eighth off reliever Brooks Brown. Its the second multi-homer game of Poseys career. De La Rosa (13-9) struck out five and walked two in five-plus innings before leaving with a bruised left thumb he hurt while batting. "He was cruising," Weiss said. "Weve seen him hurt that thumb before and hes pitched through it a lot. It was hurting pretty good." TRAINERS ROOM Rockies: C Wilin Rosario missed his fourth straight game with a sore wrist. Rosario has done some light hitting in the cage, but the team has not ruled out placing him on the disabled list. Giants: Team officials were still awaiting word on backup catcher Hector Sanchez, who flew to Pittsburgh on Monday to meet with a concussion specialist. UP NEXT Rockies: LHP Franklin Morales (5-7) pitches the series finale and is making his second start since a two-inning relief appearance against Cincinnati on Aug. 17. Giants: RHP Tim Hudson (9-9) has a 4.35 ERA in 13 career starts against Colorado. ' ' '