like the Olympics inevitably will claim r

RIO DE JANEIRO -- As an assistant coach for Britains womens field hockey team, Craig Parnham always admired the United States.Now the head coach of the American womens squad, he recalled why in the moments after a 6-1 rout over Japan at the Olympics last week.USA have always had a huge heart, great spirit, great passion, great drive -- they never give in, Parnham said. When I was working with other teams, we would always see those as big threats of the USA, and when you see it firsthand, you see it for what it is.Just four years ago, those intangible qualities were about all the Americans had going for themselves when they faced elite programs. Parnhams job when the United States hired him in 2013 was to improve the teams skill and fitness and turn the Americans into contenders for major titles. The players bought into his approach, and now the 43-year-old British coach has guided a squad that finished last at the 2012 London Games to a 4-1 record in pool play four years later.The Americans are in a position to make a run at their first medal since earning bronze in 1984. They play Germany in the quarterfinals on Monday.We just are meshing, U.S. striker Katie Bam said. Its just our time.The players met shortly after Parnham became coach, and he left them to decide their goals. Once he learned they wanted to rank among the best teams in the world, he put them in position to make that vision realistic.Hes opened our communication lines, U.S. defender Lauren Crandall said. Hes really allowed us to drive our program. Hes given us the power. Hes told us, figure out your goals, figure out your vision and drive this bus forward.Because the players have the power, they correct themselves.He creates a culture where the team are accountable, USA field hockey executive director Simon Hoskins said. I think that really works with todays modern athlete. To me, he really is the epitome of the modern elite coach.There were plenty of losses along the way. But then, the United States won the Pan American Games in 2015 and finished third in the Champions Trophy event in June. Their No. 5 world ranking is their highest ever.The United States opened the Olympics with 2-1 victories over No. 2 Argentina and No. 3 Australia, then set a U.S. womens Olympic record with six goals against No. 10 Japan. The Americans beat India, then faltered late to drop their final pool play match to Britain. The United States finished second in the pool and already has set a program high for wins at an Olympics.Its been 3+ years of hard work, Parnham said. We got together and established a program we thought was going to be useful. Weve been working on all aspects of our game -- physical, mental, technical, tactical. Im pleased for the team, Im pleased for U.S. hockey. Things are moving along nicely.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAP Custom Johnny Bench Jersey ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. Custom Reds Jersey China .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. http://www.customredsjersey.com/ . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. Cheap Custom Reds Jersey . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay. Custom Reds T-shirts . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. CTV Edmonton also says Pocklington gave a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the conditions of his bail, and that he will be out on bail until his appeal is heard. RIO DE JANEIRO -- The International Boxing Association removed an undisclosed number of referees and judges from the Olympics on Wednesday after determining they had not met the organizations standards of competence.AIBA declined to provide the judges names or the fights in which they failed. The results of all bouts will stand, however.In a statement, the governing body said its refereeing and judging committee reviewed all 239 bouts from the first 11 days of the Olympic tournament. The committee determined that less than a handful of the decisions were not at the level expected.The banished judges apparently didnt include some of the participants in the two most prominent disputed decisions.Russian heavyweight Evgeny Tishchenkos victory over Kazakh power-puncher Vassiliy Levit sparked a wide public outcry over the decision, which rewarded Tishchenkos retreat over Levits power and excitement. AIBA executive board member Tom Virgets told The Associated Press the result is likely to be a catalyst for changes in the organizations judging criteria.Judge Armando Carbonell Alvarado of Colombia, who joined his two colleagues in awarding that fight 29-28 to Tishchenko, was on the AIBAs list of judges and referees working Wednesdays fights.Irish bantamweight world champion Michael Conlan also complained vociferously and profanely after his quarterfinal loss to Russias Vladimir Nikitin on Tuesday, accusing AIBA and Russia of wholesale corruption. A Sri Lankan judge and a Brazilian judge from that fight were on AIBAs list of working officials Wednesday as well.In terms of the response from the boxing federation this morning, I think its a very professional response to some concerns people have about the judging system, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.Those disputed decisions and a handful of less-prominent calls took attention from an otherwise entertaining Olympic tournament. Coaches and fighters have piped up with their usual complaints about unfair scoring, but Levit in particular appeared to have such a strong case that even AIBA officials were clearly concerned.Its very, very subjective, U.S. coach Billy Walsh said. Some days the aggressor wins. The next day, the counterpuncher wins..ddddddddddddEach five judges have a different set of criteria. They can emphasize whatever they want. ... You sit a few guys down to look at any fight, and they might all come up with a different decision and interpretation of it. But these are highly educated and competent referees and judges that are on the circuit full-time, being paid, so they should know better than we do.Other fighters also entered the ring worried about fairness after the heavyweight title fight and Conlans loss to Nikitin, who bled profusely from a cut on his scalp from a previous fight.Im not a judge, but the fact Ive seen some pretty bad judging yesterday, especially people going against Russia, it did give me a little scare, said defending middleweight gold medalist Claressa Shields after her dominant victory over Russias Anastasiia Beliakova in her Rio debut Wednesday. But the judges cant be God.Indeed, amateur boxing is a notoriously difficult sport to score with its three-round fights and wide variations in skill sets. The dilemma extends to the entire sport, of course: professional boxing judges are routinely accused of incompetence and corruption by angry fans and fighters.The majority of fighters who reach the second half of a major tournament like the Olympics inevitably will claim robbery or incompetent judging, with almost every national team seeing a conspiracy against its fighters.AIBA moved from a long-reviled punch-counting system to a traditional 10-point pro scoring system three years ago. Many boxers and coaches have embraced it, but not Walsh, the longtime Irish national coach.To me, its back to what we were in 1988, when I fought in the Olympic Games and Roy Jones got robbed in the final, Walsh said. I havent seen it as bad since then. What happened after that? The computer came into the equation. Maybe we need to go back to the computer.AIBA picks its Olympic referees and judges from a pool of 36 men and women. Five judges score each fight, but a computer randomly throws out two of the scores.---AP Sports Writer Stephen Wade contributed to this report. ' ' '