only two of the last 10 Ryder Cups.My God, somebodys got to be t

RIO DE JANEIRO -- With the Rio de Janeiro Olympics set to open, worried IOC members grilled top organizing officials about traffic jams, water pollution, security, and the absence of signage that gives the games its own distinct look.International Olympic President Thomas Bach also turned up the pressure Wednesday by talking straight to organizing committee president Carlos Nuzman and CEO Sidney Levy, who tried to soothe almost 100 IOC members.Its delivery time, Bach said. Here we go now. It really starts. We are very confident we will celebrate great games here in Rio and the world will be surprised to see what will happen here.Bach also cautioned: All praise is premature now. ... Its too early to celebrate.Prince Albert of Monaco asked about Rios severe water pollution, which soils Olympic venues for sailing, rowing, canoeing, triathlon and open-water swimming. Rio treats about half of its raw sewage, dumping the rest into the waters surrounding the area of 12 million people.The media has said a lot about the preparations of these games, and they say a lot about the levels of pollution, Albert said. How worried should we be?Rio spokesman Mario Andrada repeated assurances that bacterial pollution levels fall within World Health Organization guidelines. However, organizers have been criticized for the astronomical viral levels in the waters, and for not testing for this kind of pollution.Then theres surface debris.We do have a few problems with the floating garbage, Andrada acknowledged, explaining plans to use a dozen garbage collection boats in the sailing venue. Rio is also using barricades to block the flow of garbage from streams, and helicopters to spot garbage flows.Swiss IOC member Denis Oswald asked about traffic jams in the run-up to the games, which open Friday.Those whove had the opportunity to get to some of the venues have had lots of difficulties, Oswald said.Rio official Leo Gryner said there were some constraints getting the Olympic lane system to work. The lanes are to help get athletes and officials around town quickly. He said city officials were making changes.They are making the flow quicker and making sure all the athletes get to training and competition on time, Gyrner said.Rio commercial officer Renato Ciuchini was asked why there was so little signage -- signs that give the games it distinct look and help direct fans to venues. It was suggested the number installed only reached 15 percent.We are very confident the supplier will now install everything, but I believe a few will be installed a bit late, Ciuchini said. IOC officials said Christophe Dubi, the Olympic Games executive director, was holding an emergency meeting with the supplier.IOC member Alex Gilady asked Levy about his three largest worries. Levy listed transportation, security -- despite a force of 85,000 police and soldiers -- and finances.He said transportation was going well between the two largest venue clusters -- the Olympic Park and the northern cluster of Deodoro. He said that comprised 75 percent of the trips. The problem area was in urban Rio around Copacabana Beach and the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon where rowing takes place.Its a real challenge, Levy said.He also acknowledged the operating budget is under stress. That is a budget of 7.4 billion reals ($2.3 billion) for operating the games themselves, but not for building venues and roads.Rio organizers have been getting cash advances from the IOC but still maintain their budget is balanced. Several reports say the IOC recently turned down a $70 million loan to Rio.Away from the venues, Brazil is in its deepest recession since the 1930s. Separately, President Dilma Rousseff has been replaced by interim president Michel Temer as she awaits an impeachment trial in the federal senate.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP .His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade Air Max 1 Clearance . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. Nike Air Max 1 Discount . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. http://www.wholesaleairmax1.com/ . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Air Max 1 Outlet Sale .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. Cheap Nike Air Max 1 . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. CHASKA, Minn. -- Give Phil Mickelson credit for being prepared for a Ryder Cup that has his fingerprints all over it.He tees off Friday morning secure in the knowledge that this is his team, even if the official title of captain belongs to Davis Love III. Hes paired with his choice of partners, and doesnt have to worry about Tiger Woods stealing any of the credit for what he surely believes will be the biggest U.S. win ever.Just to make sure he hasnt forgotten anything, Mickelson went over his list of things to do while waiting for play to actually begin:- Welcome rookies with tales of Ryder Cup failures of the past. Check.- Give out gift of dog tags to teammates to signify just how important this is. Check.- Make sure the pingpong table in the team room has extra balls. Check.- Publicly trash former captain Hal Sutton for a Ryder Cup debacle from 12 years ago. Double check.Its been a busy week for Mickelson, who shoulders the burden of being both the leader of the Ryder Cup team and the smartest guy in golf. With all thats been going on, its amazing hes even had time to practice.Still, everything finally seems to be like Phil wants it as he tees off in his 11th Ryder Cup.Hes playing a ball he likes. Hes playing clubs he likes. Hes playing with whom he likes.Not having to answer to any captain? Well, that he really likes.That wasnt the case two years ago when Mickelson publicly grumbled about how bad a captain Tom Watson was. It certainly wasnt the case 12 years ago when Mickelson and Woods were put together in a dramatic pairing by Sutton.Mickelson took it upon himself Wednesday to dredge up the past failure, complaining that Sutton didnt give him enough time to get used to Woods and a different golf ball in the alternate-shot foursomes format. For reasons unknown to anyone but Lefty, he tossed Sutton under the bus without being prompted.It all starts with the captain. I mean, thats the guy that has to bring together 12 strong individuals and bring out their best and allow them on a platform to play their best, Mickelson said. Thats the whole foundation of the team. I understand and I hear, `Well, guys just need to play better or they just need to putt better. Absolutely you do. But you play how you prepare.Mickelsons preparations apparentlly havent been that great during much of his Ryder Cup career.dddddddddddd Hes played on only two winning teams since 1995, and has an overall record of 16-19-6.Hes the leader of this Ryder Cup team only through longevity and the force of his own personality. Still, he seems sure that only he understands the key to getting 12 players to work together over three days to win back the Ryder Cup.When you look back on what the difference is, when players are put in a position to succeed, more often than not they tend to succeed, Mickelson said. And when they are put in positions to fail, most of the time they tend to fail.Mickelson backed off a bit Thursday, saying he didnt mean to disparage Sutton like he did. But words hurt, and Sutton was taken aback when told what Mickelson said.Making it worse was that Sutton is here as part of a U.S. plan to bring former Ryder Cup captains together to foster some camaraderie for a team that has won only two of the last 10 Ryder Cups.My God, somebodys got to be the fall guy, Sutton told Golfweek magazine. If it needs to be me, I can be that. I dont have anything to say to that. My God. The world saw what happened. They saw it. I didnt have to cover it up.The world did see what happened, and on the U.S. side it wasnt pretty. Mickelson and Woods lost both their matches, and the Europeans ended up trouncing the American squad.What Mickelson failed to mention this week, though, was that he had just switched equipment companies right before the Ryder Cup, something that may have been as much to blame for his bad play as having to play an unfamiliar ball.No reason to let the facts get in the way of his revised narrative.Sutton said hes surprised Mickelson isnt focusing more on what he has in front of him.I think Phil better get his mind on what he needs to have it on this week instead of on something that happened 10 years ago, he said.Thats the kind of advice that should come from a captain.But its hard to imagine Mickelson giving it to himself.----Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg ' ' '