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SAO PAULO - A group of Brazilian athletes is condemning the appointment of a new sports minister who has virtually no background in sports, saying the ministry is being used merely for political bargaining. Marcus Smart Celtics Jersey .The non-governmental organization Athletes For Brazil said Monday it was disappointed with last weeks decision by President Dilma Rousseff to replace Aldo Rebelo with George Hilton, who describes himself as a radio and television presenter, as well as a theologian. He is also an evangelical pastor.The 43-year-old Hilton, who will be the government official in charge of helping organize the 2016 Rio Olympics, had very few projects related to sports issues throughout his political career.Rebelo, who was in charge of Brazils World Cup preparations, is leaving to lead the Science, Technology and Innovation ministry.Athletes For Brazil said Dunga, Kaka, Dani Alves, Rogerio Ceni, Cafu, Leonardo, Jorginho and Rubens Barrichello are among its members.We demand a lot more respect and attention to everything related to sports in Brazil, something that is far from happening considering the criteria, or the lack of, used to choose the new minister, the organization said in a statement. Unfortunately, for years the sports ministry has been used for political bargaining. Its not about whos the best person for the job, its about which party has the right alliances.The organization said ministers have been chosen despite not having any familiarity with sports, which creates great damage to sports and to the country in a sector which is responsible for significant investments in mega events.On the eve of the Olympics, President Dilma relinquished an opportunity to improve sports, thus disappointing athletes, journalists, entrepreneurs, organizations, workers and sports lovers in general, Athletes For Brazil said.The Brazilian football confederation expressed its support for the new minister.Contrary to the opinion of some athletes, we have full trust in the appointment of Mr. George Hilton as the future sports minister, confederation president Marco Polo del Nero said. We should wait for his actions before we criticize him or not.Hilton is a member of the Brazilian Republican Party, which said the invitation to lead the sports ministry came as recognition for the partys good work heading the fishing ministry the last two years.Rebelo, a member of the Communist Party of Brazil, also had very few connections to sports when he took over the post. His administration was marked by a difficult relationship with FIFA before the World Cup, although in the end both sides worked well together and the tournament was considered a success despite minor setbacks.___Follow Tales Azzoni on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/tazzoni Marcus Smart Jersey . Philbin said Thursday he wants players to treat one another with civility and he wont tolerate anything less. In taking questions for the first time since Ted Wells released his report into the bullying scandal that rocked the league, Philbin made it clear things would be cleaned up. Bill Russell Celtics Jersey . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. http://www.authenticcelticsproshop.com/Jaylen-Brown-Jersey/ . - The infectious smile was missing from Nam Nguyen last week.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca! Hi Kerry, I was wondering what influence, if any, the home team fans can have on the on-ice officials? If a referee misses or blows a call, but its not missed by the other 18,000 refs in the arena and lets the referee know about it by booing and such, does that impact any future calls or how the game is further officiated? Does the name calling and heckling by the fans get under your skin or just fall on deaf ears? Always looking forward to your column, Stephen Lee Stephen, In theory the objective of every sports official is to remain focused and in the moment, regardless of mistakes that have been made. Dwelling on a missed/wrong call or to be intimidated by the fallout from players, coaches and of course, the fans is a recipe for a ref to compromise his integrity and/or commit further errors. It is best to keep all mental thoughts in perpetual motion to allow your brain to function in the moment. A missed opportunity is one youll never get back. A makeup call diminishes any credibility and respect that every official works so hard to achieve. In practice however, we must recognize that refs arent mechanical robots but human beings with feelings, emotions and individualized character traits. These traits are developed over a lifetime but especially during the early formative years. Positive and negative elements of an individuals personal makeup and self-worth are brought into the arena every game and will often dictate how an official responds in stressful situations. One of the most basic human instincts is a desire to be loved; okay maybe way over the top here but how about a need to be liked, appreciated and accepted? If we can agree on that premise then, now place yourself as a referee in front of 20,000 out-of-control hockey fans chanting in unison "Ref, You SUCK," throwing debris at you and threatening your personal safety. How would that make you feel? More importantly, how would you respond? Would you have the courage and personal strength to stand tall in the face of adversity or would you give in to the pressure and alter your judgment in their favor? The flip side is, if you possessed a combative nature, stubbornness and/or arrogance as dominant traits, you just might stick it to someone! What Im really saying here is that the response and action taken by an official when hes pushed to the wall results from his unique internal makeup. All referees will rely on their strengths (skating, judgment, positioning, communication skills etc.) but I found it was most important to recognize my personal deficiencies and keep them in check. I never lacked courage but I recognized very early in my career that positive trait could quickly erode to a stubborn Ill show you attitude that was very counterproductive once my authority was challenged. I have observed a potential infraction and, as the information was being sifted through my brain, the crowd reaction beat my switch to pull the trigger, giving the impression that the crowd made the call. John Havlicek Celtics Jersey. We have all witnessed situations (or been involved in them) when the ref has been jolted to a better sense of awareness as a result of the crowd reaction. Whenever the ref raises his arm, the call should be scrutinized based on its merit and not through the reaction time it took for the referee to make it. I saw old-school referee Wally Harris (excellent ref and great guy) call an infraction that happened behind his back when he caught the reflection of the play in the glass. It was a legitimate infraction but unorthodox in Wallys detection method. Nothing ever phased Wally. A game was held up for over 20 minutes in the Boston Garden to clear debris from the ice that was thrown at this courageous ref. While I experience many emotionally charged moments from fan vitriol, allow me to share one unusual incident. It resulted from ejecting Blackhawks coach Orval Tessier from a game in the Chicago Stadium just prior to him being terminated and replaced by Bob Pulford Feb. 4, 1984. Tessier was feeling intense pressure with speculation of his imminent termination. His players were still smarting from the coachs public suggestion they required heart transplants from the Mayo Clinic. The comment backfired and their ongoing play reflected a seeming lack of interest. When Mt. Orval erupted to incur the game ejection, Hawk fans (21,000 strong) started throwing everything that wasnt nailed down. I was their intended target and the ice became a sea of debris. A chair even flew over the glass from the high-priced seats. I took safe refuge underneath the big clock above centre ice. Coach Tessier walked across the ice to make his way to the Hawks dressing room and slipped as he kicked at a popcorn box in his path. My mouth was dry as sawdust and the blood felt like it had drained from my entire body, causing numbness in my extremities as shock and awe rained down from the rafters in the Madhouse on Madison. My emotions were raw. I felt vulnerable and alone as Hawk fans did their very best to inflict some form of retribution against me. Moral support then came to me from the most unusual of places. Captain Doug Wilson and alternate captain Bob Murray skated up to me. I was expecting additional protests to be lodged against me by the two captains. Instead, they thanked me for ejecting their coach and expressed a wish that I had done so earlier in the game! I thank them sincerely for the support they provided but suggested they should move away since the three of us made a bigger target and I feared for their personal safety. When the fans had nothing left to throw, the rink attendants filled wheelbarrows with the trash and the game resumed without further incident. Buoyed in part with the support I had received from the Hawks captains, in addition to my personal character traits, I weathered the storm. I did not allow the fans to dictate what I called moving forward in that game. After all, they had nothing left to throw at me! ' ' '