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In an unusually blunt public warning, a vice-president of the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday called the delayed preparations for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro "the worst I have experienced." John Coates, who has made six trips to Brazil as part of the IOCs co-ordination commission for Rio, said the Brazilians are behind "in many, many ways" and are in worse shape than Greek organizers were in preparing for the 2004 Olympics. Despite the critical delays, the Australian said there is no backup plan and the games will take place in Rio. Coates noted that the IOC had taken the unprecedented step of embedding experts in the host city to help the local organizing committee deliver the games. "The IOC has formed a special task force to try and speed up preparations but the situation is critical on the ground," Coates told an Olympic forum in Sydney, outlining that construction delays are just part of the problem. "The IOC has adopted a more hands-on role. It is unprecedented for the IOC, but there is no plan B. We are going to Rio." Brazil has also come under fire from footballs world governing body, FIFA, for long delays in construction of stadiums and other infrastructure and the overdue delivery of venues for the World Cup, which kicks off in June. Two years out from the 2016 Olympics, the situation on the construction front is just as bleak. "We have become very concerned. They are not ready in many, many ways," Coates said. "And this is against a city thats got social issues that also have to be addressed; a country thats also trying to deal with the FIFA World Cup coming up in a few months." Coates said dealing with three levels of government in Brazil made it harder for local organizers than it was for the heavily criticized organizers of the Athens Games, which were also plagued by construction delays and earned a "yellow light" warning from then-IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. "I think this is a worse situation than Athens," Coates said. "In Athens, we were dealing with one government and some city responsibilities. Here, theres three. "There is bureaucracy, there is little co-ordination between the federal, the state government and the city -- which is responsible for a lot of the construction. The flow of funds from the federal government is not happening quickly enough. We think we need to help facilitate that." Coates, who chairs the IOC co-ordination commission for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, said he thinks the IOC has put the message across in Brazil. "We have to make it (the Olympics) happen and that is the IOC approach, you cant walk away from this," he said. "If it comes off -- the first (Olympic) Games on the South American continent, in a magical city in so many ways -- itll be a wonderful experience for the athletes." Work hasnt begun at Deodoro, a complex for eight Olympics sports venues, and the course that will host golfs return to the Olympic program for the first time in more than a century doesnt have grass yet. Water pollution is a big worry for sailing and other sports. Concern over the delays has been building over time but hit crisis levels at the SportAccord meeting in Belek, Turkey, earlier this month. In a rare display of unified, open criticism against an Olympic host, 18 sports federations publicly aired concerns over Rios preparations, with some sports asking about "Plan B" contingencies. The IOC has decided to send a senior troubleshooter, IOC executive director Gilbert Felli, to Brazil as part of a series of emergency measures to tackle the delays threatening the games. Coates said other experienced, high-level staff will soon be appointed. Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes fired back last week at the complaints by sports federations, saying they were making too many unnecessary demands. Paes said the federations were asking for too many "large things" that wont be used by the city after the Olympics. Authentic Soccer Jerseys .Y. - Major League Soccer is prepared to start its season this weekend even if there isnt a labour deal with its referees and other on-field officials. Soccer Jerseys From China .What they got was a bevy of players chipping in to pick up the slack.Josh Smith scored 18 points and James Harden added 17 as the Rockets used a balanced scoring effort to outlast the Mavericks for a 99-94 victory. https://www.cheapsoccerjerseysjustwholesale.com/. Nick Holden scored two goals and had an assist and the Avalanche held off the Nashville Predators 5-4 Saturday night for their fourth straight victory. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys . Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina. Cheap Soccer Jerseys . Blown save in the ninth inning? No problem.TORONTO - First things first: Episode 3 of The Baseball Podcast is up for your listening pleasure. Toronto Star baseball columnist and TSN contributor Richard Griffin joins me for a half-hour of talk on manager John Gibbons strategy when it comes to his starting pitching and struggling bullpen, whether Brett Lawrie will see increased action at second base and Jose Bautistas great start to the season. Give it a listen here. GIBBONS LIKES HIS OFFENCE The Blue Jays entered Thursdays action with 166 runs scored in 34 games. Thats an average of almost 4.9 runs per game, good for fourth in the majors. Manager John Gibbons is in his seventh season, over two tenures skipping the Blue Jays. He believes this is the strongest offence hes had. "I would think this is probably the top," said Gibbons. "My last go around here we were really strong in the pitching department. We had some good offences but I dont think it equaled what we have here now. You need that in the American League. You need to be able to slug it out." Toronto boasts the league leader in on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) and walks. Hes Jose Bautista. Bautista and Colby Rasmus, with nine home runs each, are amongst the league leaders. Melky Cabreras 48 hits are the most in the sport this season. As a team, the Blue Jays rank second in home runs (44); second in slugging percentage (.432) and third in on-base plus slugging percentage (.761). ENCARNACION DISCUSSES FRANCISCO General manager Alex Anthopoulos has credited Edwin Encarnacion with helping to lure Juan Francisco to the Blue Jays. "Ive known Juan from a long time ago, he was playing with me in Cincinnati," said Encarnacion. "When he was young, I was older in here and hes one of my best friends. He had a couple of more (options) to go so I called him and asked him to come here because they can give him the opportunity to play here at this level.dddddddddddd" Francisco, 26, hit 18 home runs last season while playing with the Braves and Brewers but was cut by Milwaukee late in spring training. He signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays on April 2 and began the year at Triple-A Buffalo. His contract was selected on April 20 to replace Adam Lind, who went on the disabled list with a back injury. Aside from the opportunity the Blue Jays could afford him, Encarnacion was pressed Francisco to come to Toronto out of fear he would sign with another American League East team. The division, specifically the ballparks in the division, are friendly to power-hitting left-handed bats. "Thats why I dont want him to go to another team, like Tampa or another team," said Encarnacion. SANTOS STARTING FROM SCRATCH Sergio Santos pitched a scoreless eighth inning in Wednesdays 10-0 win over the Phillies. Thanks to the big lead it was a pressure-free inning. After two-straight outings featuring blown saves and three on the season, Santos is in the process of rebuilding his confidence. "It was nice to execute on the things that I wanted to do as far as locating my fastball, moving it in and out," said Santos. "It was nice. Its a nice first step, hopefully in the right direction." His stuff is good. Santos has struck out 18 hitters in 10 1/3 innings. The problem is hes walked nine and of the 12 hits hes allowed, three have been home runs. Santos expects more of himself. "Hopefully I can build off what happened (Wednesday) night and never look back again," he said. LAWRIE UPDATE Brett Lawrie took part in batting practice and fielded ground balls before Thursdays game. He left the fourth inning of Monday nights game in Philadelphia with lingering tightness in his right hamstring. Fridays game against the Angels may be more hopeful than reality. Lawries more likely to return on the weekend. ' ' '