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RIO DE JANEIRO -- For the first time, the U.S. will have a defending Olympic judo champion when the Rio de Janeiro Games begin -- and she will be backed up by arguably the strongest team ever produced by the Americans in the Japanese martial art, with a serious chance of taking three medals.Kayla Harrison made history when she became the first American to win a judo gold at the London Games in 2012 and even though she had intended to quit -- and become a firefighter instead -- the lure of defending her title was too great. She will be joined in Rio by two other leading medal contenders: Marti Malloy, who won a bronze in London and Travis Stevens, who finished fifth.U.S. judo has had an unprecedented run with these three athletes, said the teams head coach Jimmy Pedro, noting their numerous recent medals at major global competitions.Realistically, three medals would be the ultimate, he said, when asked to predict the teams hardware count. I would absolutely love to see two golds, but we will have to see what happens in Rio. All three of them have proven that they can beat anyone on the right day.The top-ranked Harrison is expected to meet her biggest rival, second-seeded Mayra Aguiar when the 78-kilogram womens division is fought on August 11, either in the final, or should things not go according to plan, a bronze-medal match. Even though Brazilian native Aguiar will undoubtedly have the home-crowd advantage, Pedro doesnt expect Harrison to be bothered by thousands of fans cheering on her opponent.Kayla is very poised and will thrive on the energy of the crowd, he said. On all the big stages -- the World Championships, the Pan-Am Games -- Kayla always comes out on top. Still, Aguiar might yet pull off a victory; she caught Harrison off-guard at a competition in Paris earlier this year and won with a match-ending throw.Malloy will likely be the teams first shot at a medal, when the Washington state native competes in the 57-kilogram category.Theres nobody in Martis division that she cannot beat, Pedro said, adding he is confident that her acquired experience since the London games will help her remain focused.And while Stevens didnt pick up a medal in London, he did recently win gold at the World Masters tournament in May, which includes only the worlds top-ranked judoka. The two-time Olympian also picked up a gold at Torontos Pan-American Games last summer and has a mental toughness that makes him a force to be reckoned with on the judo mat, according to Pedro.Rounding out the U.S. squad are first-time Olympians Angelica Delgado and Colton Brown, and Nicholas Delpopolo, who was disqualified at the London games for marijuana use.These guys are getting stronger every day and they can compete at the highest level, Pedro said.I would love to see some of these young kids get to the medal rounds, he said. I have no doubt that this team can take home three medals, and any of our athletes can do that. Anything can happen at the Olympics.---This story has been corrected to show the judo athletes name is Travis Stevens, not Travis Taylor. Rudy Gobert Jersey . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Jeff Hornacek Jazz Jersey .ca. 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After a morning meeting with management following a missed team flight last week, Sacramento Kings guard Ty Lawson was cleared to rejoin the team and practice ?Monday.General manager Vlade Divac told reporters in Sacramento that the team is satisfied with Lawsons explanation that a personal issue caused him to miss the flight Friday from Las Vegas to Kentucky ?for the Kings Saturday night preseason game against the Washington Wizards at Rupp Arena.ESPN.com reported Sunday that Lawson was late for a team shootaround before Thursdays preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers in Vegas, and then missed the flight to Kentucky.We handle it inside [the] house, Divac told local reporters in reference to Mondays meeting with Lawson.He got the message, and we move forward.Kings coach Dave Joerger insisted after practice that there is no situation ?with Lawson, who signed with Sacramento one month before the start of training camp after a string of legal woes.Ty had a personal issue, and that stuff is non-basketball-related, Joerger told reporters Monday.Its in my hands. The decisions that were made of the plane and all this stuff, thats on me. Its a personal issue. Its, I think, been very inaccurately reported.Sacramento was forced to start the season without the suspended Darren Collison?and signed Lawson on Aug. 31 to a one-year minimum deal that was non-guaranteed, hopeful that the former Denver Nuggets point guard would seize the opportunity to resurrect his career and fill a void in the Kings backcourt.But Collison was ultimately suspended for just the first eight games of the regular season after a misdemeanor conviction for domestic assault. The Kings signeed Lawson only after considerable internal deliberation given the veteran guards history of legal woes, so it remains to be seen how much patience theyll show.dddddddddddd.Hes not going to be suspended, Divac told reporters Monday. Asked whether Lawson would be fined, Divac said: Well, well see.The Kings also recently signed veteran point guard Jordan Farmar, who played in Memphis last season under Joerger, to help them cope with Collisons absence.For much of training camp, the Kings have been publicly optimistic about Lawsons ability to contribute, with Joerger praising Lawsons defense in a recent exhibition outing against the Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry and saying: He has good leadership qualities. You can tell why hes been a winner.Lawson, 28, has been arrested four times for driving under the influence, including twice in a seven-month span in 2015. He didnt last a full season with the Houston Rockets in 2015-16 before his March release, and then finished last season with the Indiana Pacers.Through his first six seasons, Lawson was a key member of the Nuggets, earning a contract extension in 2013 that was $4 million richer than Currys four-year, $44 million deal that expires after this season.In a July interview with The Undefeateds Marc J. Spears, Lawson said: It would be big to be back to my old self again. Also, its not for just me, its for my parents. They have had a hard time seeing what Ive been going through. I know they hear the little comments at NBA games. To make them proud again would mean the world to me. ' ' '