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The Russian flag won't be flying in South Korea this February. This afternoon, IOC President Thomas Bach announced that the Russian Olympic Committee would be banned from competing in PyeongChang, South Korea when the XXIII Winter Olympic Games get underway in February. The Russians have been under intense scrutiny following widespread doping allegations throughout the organization surrounding the 2014 Games the country hosted in Sochi. Some athletes will still be allowed to participate, provided they can pass a rigorous and thorough examination. The "Olympic Athletes from Russia" who are admitted will compete under the Olympic flag  will certainly draw plenty of attention, but it'll be the athletes missing from the games who will be the primary talking points in the lead-up to and throughout the Olympics. Among the highest-profile sports hit by the verdict will be ice hockey. The NHL announced several months ago that it would not release its players and p...

Earlier this morning, the draw was held to determine the groups for the 2018 World Cup. Obviously the United States won't be participating , so instead of focusing on how they would have done, let's take a look at the tournament as a whole.  --- Group stage --- The lack of a true group of death means Cinderellas will be less likely and big time, big money favorites will go deep, ensuring FIFA's pockets get deeper. Group A: Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay I dunno if we’re talking Human Rights Group A is the Group of Death tbqh — Ryan Keefer (@reefa_k) December 1, 2017 Somehow not even a top-three contender for the most controversial host of this millenium, the Russians drew a fairly easy group to contend with. I'm sure that sits well with Russian football authorities who will be hoping the national team can advance to the knockout stage for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union.  Arguably the strongest contender in the group is...