MOSCOW -- At least 85 athletes from the 387-strong Russian Olympic team announced last week have so far been barred from the Rio Games in connection with the countrys doping scandal.International federations in canoeing and modern pentathlon ruled out seven on Tuesday, including an Olympic gold medalist, following earlier rulings in swimming and rowing. Some appeals are likely.Russian President Vladimir Putins spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told Russian media that Putin had discussed the doping issue with his national security council.The topic of the recent International Olympic Committee ruling relating to Russian athletes was raised ahead of Putins planned meeting tomorrow with the Russian Olympic team, Peskov was quoted as saying.The vast majority of the Russian athletes who will miss out are in track and field, where 67 athletes were ruled out when a ban on the Russian team was upheld at the Court of Arbitration for Sport last week.More are falling foul of new rules imposed in the wake of the countrys doping scandal.While Russia avoided a blanket ban from the International Olympic Committee, it has lost several medal contenders to new IOC rules imposed Sunday banning Russia from entering athletes who previously doped.Alexander Dyachenko, an Olympic champion in 2012, was among five canoeists ruled out after being named in a recent report by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren alleging a state-sponsored doping cover-up.McLarens report last week specifically detailed how Russian state officials allegedly intervened to cover up hundreds of failed drug tests.Dyachenko won gold in the mens double kayak 200 meters at the 2012 London Games.The ICF will continue its strong zero-tolerance stance and remove all athletes that contravene its rules in anyway, said Simon Toulson, the International Canoe Federations general secretary. If you step out of line you wont make the start line.The four other banned canoeists are Alexei Korovashkov -- a 2012 bronze medalist in the C2 1,000-meter event -- Andrei Kraitor, Elena Anyushina and Nataliya Podolskaya.The ICF also said that Russia would not be allowed to enter boats in four events in which the excluded athletes would have raced. Therefore, Austria, Germany, Sweden and Iran are in line to receive their places.Meanwhile, the International Modern Pentathlon Union named the two Russians it had suspended as Maxim Kustov and Ilya Frolov, saying they both are featured in the McLaren report. Kustovs place in the mens event passes to a Latvian athlete; Frolov had only been entered for Rio as a reserve.Three Russian rowers have also been excluded. Ivan Podshivalov and Anastasia Karabelshchikova were excluded because they previously served doping bans, while Ivan Balandin from Russias mens eight was implicated in the McLaren report, World Rowing said.Meanwhile, volleyball player Alexander Markin told local media he had been dropped due to a positive test earlier this year for the banned substance meldonium, even though he had not been banned. The international volleyball federation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The head of the Russian Wrestling Federation told the R-Sport agency that two-time world champion Viktor Lebedev was ineligible because he was given a doping ban in 2006.On Monday, swimmings world governing body FINA ruled out seven Russians, including reigning world 100-meter breaststroke champion Yulia Efimova.Legal challenges are looming.Efimovas agent has said he is preparing an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the Russian Canoe Federations general secretary, Irina Sirayeva, said that the five banned could follow suit.The intention to defend the athletes is there, she told R-Sport.Triple jumper Ekaterina Koneva -- a former world championship silver medalist -- told local media she was considering a lawsuit in civil court.There was good news for Russia as its team of 18 shooters received approval to compete from the sports international federation. Also, Russia also looks set to field a full team of four players in Olympic badminton, the Russian Badminton Federation said Tuesday, citing assurances from the Badminton World Federation.Previously, archery and equestrian world governing bodies said they had no objection to the Russians entered in their sports.Lists of Russian athletes approved by international federations must still be approved by CAS arbiters who can reject athletes not tested outside Russia.The IOC refused to accept testing done by Russian agencies because of evidence that the process was corrupted. Devin Booker Suns Jersey .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Deandre Ayton Suns Jersey . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. http://www.officialsunsfanstore.com/george-king-suns-jersey/ .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Jamal Crawford Jersey . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Kevin Johnson Jersey . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. Last week, we speculated over the potential landing spot of the League of Legends offseasons biggest free agent, AD carry wunderkind and three-time Worlds quarterfinalist Kim Deft Hyuk-kyu, after he announced he is leaving the Chinese region in hopes of joining a South Korean club in 2017.The second hottest League free agent, former Summoners Cup winner and Worlds MVP Cho Mata Se-hyeong, also departed from the LPL region, turning down more money in China to return home to the LCK region for the upcoming split.One of the best leaders in the games history -- although obviously not the offensive ace like Deft -- Mata might even be more valuable for teams looking to get over the hump in the worlds most difficult region. What would the South Korean League of Legends landscape look like when Mata finds a new home?SKT Mata?Like with Deft, people are going to be quick to insert Mata into the SK Telecom T1 lineup and gush over how the greatest team in the world just got better. Of course, on paper the swap of Mata for Lee Wolf Jae-wan seems like a no-brainer; however, for all of Wolfs shortcomings, his chemistry and partnership with star marksmen Bae Bang Jun-sik is unquestioned. Their bot lane partnership dates back to NaJin Shield in late 2012 and early 2013. Two world championships and four years of being by each others side is something you cant just simply brush aside for something shinier in the rearview mirror.Would SKT Mata be interesting? Yes, and it might be the added piece that helps SKTs macro game reach the levels it did back in 2015, when the team only dropped one game at the World Championships. Logically, though, would you break up a back-to-back world champion bottom lane to sign your teams former greatest rival?ROX Mata?As we mentioned with Deft, the ROX Tigers are only the Tigers because of the friendship between the players and coaching staff within the organization. You start moving players around and bringing in bigger names just for the sake of celebrity, and theyre no longer the ROX Tigers but some other sort of animal entirely. Also, is Mata even better than ROXs current starter in Kang GorillA Beom-hyeon? Gorilla didnt reach the same heights as he did in his breakout 2015 season, but he is firm in his position as one of the worlds elite supports.Out of all the teams in the LCK, ROX Mata seems the least likely.SSG Mata?Could the captain return home to the organization he led to a world title in 2014? It would be quite poetic for the maestro to sign with Samsung after the club came up one game short of winning the 2016 Summoners Cup. The only roadblock would be, well, money, which is why Mata left the team in the first place. And dont forget a guy named Jo Core JJ Yong-in, whose play at the World Championships could have possibly netted him his own MVP award if Samsung had won the fifth game over SKT in the finals. After playing AD carry for all of his professional career, Core JJ changed positions in hopes of becoming the best support in the world, and lless than a year into his transition, hes already making a case for himself.ddddddddddddWhile nostalgia is strong, Samsung were diligent in their rebuild of the roster without taking any shortcuts. Now after finally achieving their goal of reviving the franchise, the club has a bottom lane duo of Core and Park Ruler Jae-hyuk that hasnt even nearly reached their full potential together.KT Mata?Pull the trigger, KT. Do it. If there was one place where it would make sense for both parties, it would be KT Rolster. Mata would be joining a top team with chances of contending in the spring, and KT could sign the player that will ultimately get them over the hump of never making it to a Worlds final. Although KT has been a contender the past four years, they failed to make a semifinal of a World Championship, having to watch at home as SKT T1, their arch-nemesis of over a decade in esports, won a trio of titles.Ha Hachani Seung-chan, the teams current starter, has been maligned for a majority of his career despite putting together a strong split last summer. Unfortunately, Hachani, regardless of how good hes gotten, is not Mata. And unlike Core, you dont have the same feeling of belief that there is still a higher ceiling he can reach. The Hachani we see in front of us is probably the Hachani that we will have from now on: an above average, starter-level player in Korea, but not a standout or game breaker.Mata is a game breaker. He can be the difference between a middling team going nowhere and one raising hardware. Be it with KT Deft or the teams current starter in No Arrow Dong-hyeon, the addition of Mata would change the entire complexion of KT Rolster. The farthest KT Rolster has ever gotten at Worlds -- well, their only time going to Worlds -- was when the brain trust of Go Score Dong-bin and Lee Piccaboo Jong-beom led the roller coaster ride to the quarterfinals before losing to the Tigers. The tandem of Score and Mata would be unmatched in South Korea when it comes to game knowledge and experience.Longzhu Mata?Longzhu has a lot of money. They could probably get Mata and Deft if they wanted. Although KT Rolster would be a better fit for Mata, the temptation of playing at home while also making money could be appealing to him. Its the best of both worlds. And maybe, just maybe, with a leader in Mata, the inept late-game of Longzhu could turn into a strength. Longzhu was one of the best teams in the laning phase during the 2016 year but had no clue what to do come the mid-to-late game. If Longzhu had to choose between Deft, an elite carry, and Mata, an elite leader, the latter would be more beneficial for the club over the long run. The team as it stands is already talented -- now they just need a frontman to conduct them.After a pitiful display at IEM Oakland, its less Longzhu should want Mata, and more that the deflated super team needs Mata. ' ' '