TOKYO -- IOC President Thomas Bach met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday and suggested staging some events for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the northeastern region of Japan hit by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.Bach said the International Olympic Committee is considering holding some of the baseball and softball games in the affected areas as one of the options.Fukushima is reportedly a strong candidate. Baseball and softball were dropped from the Olympics after Beijing 2008 but are among five sports added to the program for the 2020 Games. Both are very popular in Japan and an event in the disaster-affected areas could send a powerful message of reconstruction.Bach said Abe welcomed his proposal.We discussed ... the idea of the IOC to have some events of the Olympic games of Tokyo 2020 in the disaster-affected areas, to contribute to the regeneration of the area, to show the world by 2020 how this regeneration is making progress, Bach said.Baseball and softball are one of the options under discussion given the great popularity of the sport here in Japan, he told reporters. So an inaugural match for baseball with the participation of the Japanese team, I think, could be a very powerful message.The primary venue for baseball and softball is expected to be the Yokohama Stadium.Bach is in Japan amid tension between Olympic organizers and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who is pushing to cut costs. A Tokyo government panel set up by Koike said the cost of the Olympics could exceed $30 billion -- four times the initial estimate -- unless drastic cuts are made.The city panel also proposed moving three sports from planned new venues to existing ones -- including relocating rowing to a site hundreds of miles outside the capital.The IOC has suggested the possibility of moving rowing to an existing site in South Korea in case there is no resolution over the Japanese venue, the Asahi newspaper reported, quoting unidentified Japanese sources as saying. The South Korean venue in Chungiu City hosted the 2013 world championships and rowing at the 2014 Asian Games.Speaking at Tokyo 2020 headquarters, Bach did not address reports of the rowing and canoe sprint events possibly being moved to South Korea.Earlier, Bach rejected calls to expand four-party talks aimed at reducing the costs of the Tokyo Games.Bach said negotiations between the IOC, Tokyo organizers, the city government and Japans central government should result in cost reductions.Koike had suggested including international and national sports federations in the four-party talks but Bach said the makeup of the group has been agreed on.We have an agreement about this four-partite working group, Bach said. And this was very well perceived by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and by the governor, and we will follow this agreement we had yesterday. Black Friday Shoes China . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. 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Black Friday Shoes Deals . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Two drivers arrive at Michigan this week fresh off announcements of their Darlington paint schemes.During those events, the typical optimism reigned. There was at least the mention of one of these drivers winning the Labor Day weekend race. The Southern 500 remains one of the biggest events on the NASCAR calendar not only for prestige, but also because it sits as the next-to-last shot for drivers to win their way into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.The drivers spoke with at least some hope of winning and earning such a berth.Those drivers: Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne.Yes, that Greg Biffle. The one who drives for Roush Fenway Racing and has led just 21 laps in three races in 2016 and has one top-5 this year. He does have 19 career wins, but sits 22nd in the points. Biffle enters the Pure Michigan 400 this weekend at Michigan International Speedway winless in his last 116 starts.Yes, that Kasey Kahne. The one who drives for Hendrick Motorsports and has led no laps this year. Zip. He has two top-5s and his consistent finishes between sixth and 20th (14 in 23 races this year) has him 17th in the points. Kahne, who has 17 career Cup wins, enters Michigan winless in his last 70 starts.Neither driver has had much fun the last couple years in trying to find speed to get back to Victory Lane. They hope their fortunes will turn this weekend.You can lead a lap easily, Kahne said. You dont even have to be fast to lead a lap, and we havent led a lap. ... Its terrible to not lead a lap in this series, as good a team as we have and a company we race for.We need to figure out a lot of things.Many drivers in their careers find themselves mired in a slump. Biffle, second in the 2005 championship standings and third in 2008, feels his team has started to turn things around.His three top-10s this year came in consecutive races at Daytona, Kentucky and New Hampshire in July.Were here to win, Biffle said. Kasey Kahne is in this sport to win. Were all in this sport to win. The commitment level of all those drivers, were here to win and not just race.The last couple of years [before 2016], I felt like our cars really werent capable of winning. ... Did I think that was my ability? Absolutely not.Biffle feels that way because during his years at Roush Fenway, he had seasons where he had more wins than Matt Kenseth and seasons where he had more wins than Carl Edwards. Those drivers now consistently win at Joe Gibbs Racing.I feel like I can win races, Biffle said. I know I can win races. Thats why Im still in the uniform. And I will tell you this: I will probably retire before I say I cant win races anymore.Biffle has one more year left in his deal at Roush Fenway. Kahne is signed through 2018 and has sponsorship backing him specifically from Great Clips. Kahne doesnt view Hendricks hiring of 18-year-old William Byron as a sign Hendrick is grooming his replacement.If I havent performed by 2018, its time to do something different, said Kahne, who finished fourth in the 2012 championship standings in his first year at Hendrick.dddddddddddd. Its just the way racing and life is.Kahne said it comes down to having the speed he needs to go fast. He hasnt had, in recent years, the feel in the cars he yearns to have.Its been going on for a long time on my front, Kahne said. Its just not where I want to be in the sport. ... You can look at it and tell were just about kind of as good as we are.Something needs to happen, whether the car gets changed or the setup gets changed -- things have to happen for us to be much better. Were working hard and were just 13th to 18th. Thats just where were at.The working hard is the cause of the frustration, Biffle said.Last year was just ... bad, Biffle said. What is the frustrating part about last year is everybody was working so dang hard. That happens.When you run bad, or you dont have fast cars, you work three times as hard and three times as much as other teams.Dealing with that frustration forces a driver to focus on whats ahead. He said a driver must enter Michigan this weekend believing he can win if everything goes right.Our team is capable of running between fifth and 15th right now, we feel like, Biffle said. We want to run more consistently in the top 5. Thats what produces wins.Biffles last back-to-back races in the top 5 came in June 2013; Kahnes came in November 2013.Because of NASCARs rules, drivers dont get to test except for Goodyear tests and the occasional NASCAR test, where one driver from each organization can get behind the wheel. Teams often rely on simulation programs to determine their next move on how to make the cars go fast.When you get behind and you cant test, its hard to get that feel back that youre looking for, Kahne said. When you dont have it, you cant go fast.Its different for everybody. Every driver drives different. Im missing out on something and I need it to go fast.While the drivers know they have three final chances to make the Chase by winning a race -- Michigan and Darlington are followed by the regular- season finale at Richmond -- they also know that making the Chase doesnt cure all ills.Biffle and Kahne both made the Chase in 2014, with winless Biffle finishing 14th in the standings and Kahne -- who had won in the next-to-last regular-season race at Atlanta -- at 15th. Last year, neither made the Chase, with Kahne 18th in the final points and Biffle 20th.Kahne said the biggest role he plays remains working as hard as he can and respecting the work his team puts in on a daily basis.Im more focused on just getting better week to week, Kahne said. Making the Chase would be great, but if you cant finish in the top 15, then whats it really matter in the Chase? Youre going to be out in the first round anyway. ' ' '