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BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- If locals hoped to get under Hope Solos skin by heckling the goalkeeper during much of the United States Olympic opener against New Zealand, they chose the wrong material.The chants of Zika that by the end of the game rang out loudly each time Solo kicked the ball were by most reckonings payback for what some fans perceived as the player maligning their country in social media posts showcasing the veritable arsenal of mosquito repellant that she brought to Brazil. But Solo, who previously apologized for any offense given, shrugged off the jeers.The fans got some entertainment. She got yet another clean sheet.If they really wanted to irk her, they should have questioned her workload.Few matters predictably elicit an icy response from Solo like a question, however well-intentioned, that she interprets as an implication that low save totals, or even scarce touches in some games, equals a light workload. She bristled at such a query after her 100th international shutout a month ago against South Africa, and after first diplomatically defusing the subject of the heckling Wednesday night, she again took umbrage at a familiar line of questioning.A lot of my shutouts have been very intense games, with a lot of shots on goal, so please dont take away from that, Solo said. But I will say shots on goal, its not the only stat that a goalkeeper should be judged by. Theres crosses, theres the kicking game, theres organizing the defense, theres positioning.Ive said it my entire career, that I hate stats. ... It really doesnt tell the whole story.The story of that career will presumably reach its 200th chapter when the United States plays France on Saturday (4 p.m. ET), and Solo should become the first goalkeeper to reach 200 appearances. It is a game of unusual stakes so early in the tournament. The winner, if there is one, becomes the prohibitive favorite to win Group G and face a third-place team in a quarterfinal. The team that finishes second in the group will play a quarterfinal against the winner of Group F, which without writing off Canada, could well be world No. 2 Germany.France is the rare opponent that cedes little if anything to the United States either physically or technically. It keeps putting itself on the brink of something special in major tournaments -- the semifinals in the 2011 World Cup and 2012 Olympics and a quarterfinal exit in the 2015 World Cup in which it arguably outplayed Germany but yielded in a penalty shootout.The stumbling point has been an inability to turn laudable possession into corresponding goals.And the best way to prolong that streak is to stop the chances before they happen.She organizes everything, co-captain Becky Sauerbrunn said of Solos effect on the U.S. defense. Any time Im out of step, shell let me know and Ill have to correct it, or Im going to hear it again and again and again. She demands perfection, and shell let us know when its not perfect. I think the sheer amount of shutouts shes gotten, its a testament to her and how she can organize us. Its just wonderful to play with someone behind there that demands that from the people in front of her. And I respect the hell out of her.An outside back more often out of earshot, especially in front of the kind of large and noisy crowds that flocked to the World Cup a year ago, Meghan Klingenberg nonetheless echoed Sauerbrunns sentiments on organizational skills.She also noted the second part of the résumé.She makes big saves when we need her to, Klingenberg said. When [stuff] hits the fan and we break down at the end, she makes big saves.Go back and watch some of the goalkeeping gaffes in the opening round of the mens and womens competition here to appreciate the value of that.The nature of the U.S. teams stay in Brazil could be in the hands of someone whose visit was once a question mark.In February, Solo told Sports Illustrated that if the Olympics were at hand, she wouldnt go because of concerns about the Zika virus. In explaining the evolution of that thought process, she said this week that she and husband Jerramy Stevens consulted three infectious disease doctors to educate themselves on the risks involved in traveling to the country most associated with the virus (although it has now spread as far as the mainland United States, with a recent outbreak in Miami determined to have originated there).We got to the point where we asked enough questions -- we prepared ourselves as best as possible, Solo said. And we got to a level of being as comfortable as we possibly can be. Im here now. I am very happy and proud to be here. As I said, we havent been to Rio yet; I have no idea what to expect in Rio. But it has been beautiful here. Its been beautiful.She went on to suggest the U.S. media was culpable for scaremongering and being unduly harsh on the Brazilian people in the Olympic buildup. It is never without some merit to point out the modern medias penchant for hyperbole, so point taken. At the same time, a prominent athlete going public with the idea that she wouldnt, based on the evidence she had at the time, go to the Olympics is the kind of thing that is going to generate coverage and feed the hyperbole.She can pass a couple of quarters our way, but she cant pass the whole buck.That quite possibly the best keeper who ever played womens soccer reaches an unequaled milestone in this manner is perfectly in keeping with the whole story of her career. It could have come in a forgotten friendly. Instead it will come in a defining game of these Olympics, against an opponent that might well be one goal away from a floodgate of championships opening.And it comes against the backdrop of headlines that whether overblown, as in the heckling here or her comments after being replaced in the 2007 World Cup, or legitimate, as in the domestic violence case that preceded last years World Cup, find her -- or vice versa -- with more regularity than shots.It isnt as simple as counting saves. There is always so much more to the story of a truly complex figure.I think there is a lot of negativity out there sometimes, Solo said, prophetically, before the opener. So I feel like Im always just trying to push forward and take another step towards a highlight in my career. I think thats just the way I handle things. I just keep looking for the next feather in my cap, so to speak. But more or less, I just want to win another tournament.I think going along with trying to win this Olympics, I will be reaching my 200th cap and who knows what else. The desire to win has allowed me to reach these other accomplishments.This much is clear.Saturday is the kind of game her team wouldnt want to play without Solo in goal.Then again, there are a lot of those games.Kevin Mitchell Jersey . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. Gil Hodges Jersey . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/870l-mike-bordick-jersey-mets.html . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. Luis Lopez Jersey . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. Ron Taylor Jersey . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies.The International Olympic Committee has called for very detailed and very worrying allegations of Russian state-sponsored doping at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics to be investigated immediately by the World Anti-doping Agency.Hosts Russia topped the medal table in Sochi with 33 medals, 13 of them gold, but a New York Times report claims performance-enhancing drug use was rife and covered up.Dr Grigory Rodchenkov, who was director of the countrys anti-doping laboratory at the time, alleges urine samples tainted by performance-enhancing drugs were exchanged, through a wall, for clean urine collected months earlier. People are celebrating Olympic champion winners, but we are sitting crazy and replacing their urine, Dr Rodchenkov told the New York Times. Can you imagine how Olympic sport is organised?WADA on Tuesday announced it would investigate allegations of doping at Sochi made in a CBS 60 Minutes documentary last Sunday. And the IOC called for further inquiries in response to the claims in the New York Times.An IOC spokesman said: These allegations are very detailed and very worrying and we ask the World Anti-Doping Agency to investigate immediately. UK Anti-Doping officials brought in to help clean up Russias sports are being met with resistance when they try and test samples The laboratory in Sochi was fully accredited by WADA. The IOC also relied on the work of its own international experts in the laboratory - the Games group.Additionally, to safeguard the excellence of the analytical work of the laboratory, 15 to 20 international experts from 10 WADA-accredited laboratories, including several laboratory directors supervised the activities of the lab.The organisation of the laboratory including the quality control system and chain of custody documentation was compliant with all international rules and regulations.A WADA independentt observer team monitored all anti-doping activities during the Sochi Olympic Winter Games and produced a satisfactory report following the Games.ddddddddddddBased on the findings of a WADA inquiry the IOC will not hesitate to act with its usual policy of zero tolerance for doping and defending the clean athletes. President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Sir Craig Reedie, is dismayed by new claims of Russian doping The Russian Ministry of Sport on Thursday night described the allegations as a major shock and questioned Rodchenkovs motives.A statement from the Russian Ministry of Sport read: The allegations made by the former director of the laboratories came as a major shock to us.Considering that he was fired from his position for manipulating tests it is very likely that he has other motives.If these allegations have any factual substantiation, they should be handed over immediately to relevant anti-doping organisations for a full investigation.Russias track and field athletes are currently the subject of a suspension which places their participation in the Rio Olympics in doubt.The ban was imposed following a WADA-commissioned independent report into allegations of drug use in athletics. Russia topped the medals table at Sochi UK Anti-doping was subsequently commissioned to undertake drug testing in Russia and has uncovered just two incidences of doping, according to Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko.In making the comments, Mutko omitted adverse findings for meldonium, which was banned from January 1, 2016.The Russian Ministry of Sport statement, responding to the New York Times allegations, added: We have never claimed that we do not have doping problems and we acknowledge that changes are needed and we understand that we have to regain international communitys trust for what we believe is a global issue.The only way that we can achieve this is through concrete steps proving our loyalty to clean and fair sport.We believe we have already proved Russias commitment to fight doping by inviting international experts recommended by WADA to all key positions responsible for doping control and this guarantees independence and transparency of procedures.We have nothing to hide. And we will continue this work.Also See:Schedule/ResultsOnes to WatchPhotosAthletics Video ' ' '