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Elana Meyers Taylor and Steven Holcomb are dealing with the same problem. Both want to compete in this seasons world bobsled championships, since it this will probably be their final opportunities to do so before retirement.Except, for now, those races are scheduled to be in Russia.And I dont see how its safe for any athlete, Meyers Taylor said.Theres plenty of drug testing at world championship meets, and put simply, the trust level among plenty bobsled and skeleton athletes that their samples would be secure in Russia is below minimal -- especially after the second report issued by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren on Friday showed systemic tampering with such tests.So some tricky decisions await.Will athletes have to skip a world championships in Sochi out of fear that going there might make them susceptible to doctored tests -- which Fridays report showed the Russians are extremely capable of doing -- that come back positive and leave them banned to compete at the 2018 Olympics? Or will the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation simply move worlds elsewhere?Theyre running the doping control? Thats just dumb, Holcomb said. Youre telling me the biggest country in the world, that just cheated with the biggest doping plan in the world, and youre going to take my urine sample and go test it? Thats insane. Im not going to let you take that. They havent really come out and said what theyre going to do about that. I dont know. Nobody knows.To be clear, athletes have been talking about their fears about racing in Russia for months. What came out on Friday only heightened concerns, especially after that report showed proof of how in-depth the practice of tainting samples has been.A handful of athletes -- including Britains Lizzy Yarnold, who won Olympic gold on the Sochi track in 2014 -- have also talked about boycotting, though few national federations have openly suggested that as an option.I want to compete in a World Champs thats drug free & safe for all. Russia, is not an option, U.S. bobsledder Lauren Gibbs tweeted.It is not a unanimous thought right now.The Russian reaction to talk of moving the worlds is essentially this: The Americans fear losing on unfamiliar ice. When U.S. bobsledder Lolo Jones -- an Winter Olympian in sliding, and a past Summer Olympian in hurdles -- asked on her Facebook page about why worlds arent being moved from Russia, some of the first reactions she received suggested the Americans should be investigated as well.U.S. officials are backing their athletes, and acknowledge their concerns are real.We cant pretend like we havent had cyberattacks or we havent had privileged athlete information publicized, USA Bobsled and Skeleton CEO Darrin Steele said. Our athletes have been targeted and we cant ignore that. Now how far that goes, I dont know. But Im not going to tell an athlete, `Youre being silly, nothing could happen to you.Do I think the foods going to be tampered with or samples going to be tampered with? I personally dont because I think Russias got something to prove, Steele added. But I cant guarantee anything. Im not going to tell an athlete they need to go. Well respect the positions of those who opt out and those who compete.For now, its unclear if anyone will go, or anyone will skip the worlds.The athletes want answers, and right now have nothing but questions.If I had to decide today, would I go? Good question, Meyers Taylor said. I dont think Ive made a clear-cut decision yet, because I want to make the most informed decision I can and Im still in the fact-finding stage. But if it comes down to it and Im in a position where Im not comfortable, I will definitely not go.Cheap Nike Air Max 90 . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. Nike Air Max 90 Sale . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. https://www.cheapnikeairmax90china.us/ .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Nike Air Max 90 Outlet . PAUL, Minn. Fake Nike Air Max 90 . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals.The competitive balance for a major esport, regardless of the title, is a delicate and ever-changing beast. In a scenario where millions of people can play a game for a myriad of different reasons, finding the right recipe of what works and satisfying the masses is a daunting task.From the properties of in-game weapons and items to the spectator experience, game developers for esports titles have the power to change what they want, when they want. Players dont like the absence of a Baron buff at the beginning of the game? Add the Rift Herald. Think a pistol is too powerful? Nerf it. A power weapon too exposed to make it worth picking up? Move it elsewhere.This property of esports contrasts sharply with traditional sports, which very rarely tolerate changes to the rules and tools of the game. If its too difficult to land three-pointers in basketball, you cant just make the rim diameter larger. If batting averages are too low, you cant just move first base closer to home.The way a developer can manipulate its game can have powerful and dangerous effects. Sometimes a change is met with an overwhelmingly positive response, other times a change is reverted within a matter of days due to causing a lot of pain in the [games] community. In order to ensure that the right call is made the first time around, Halo developer 343 Industries has taken a direct approach to solving the issue of competitive balance. The creators of esports titles Halo 4, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and Halo 5: Guardians have invested in the longevity of Halo esports in the past; initiatives like hiring an advisory Pro Team-- a group of former professional Halo players -- have helped them design the landscape of how Halo is played competitively.More recently, 343 established the HCS Council in order to determine the rules that will be used for the inaugural Halo Championship Series: Pro League that started this week. Andy Bravo Dudynsky (Community Manager, Halo Championship Series Lead) and Quinn DelHoyo (Multiplayer Designer) are two of many people that have been intimately involved in the development of Halo esports from the very beginning. They played a large role in the establishment and operations of the HCS Council.The goal for the HCS Council is to ensure that were growing Halo esports in the best way possible, across all aspects of the league. In order to do it right, its important to work alongside our top players, leverage their knowledge and expertise, and partner with them on continuing to grow Halos competitive scene. We want to create a league were proud of, a league that players love playing in and a league that fans love watching, said Bravo.343 sought direct input from the players themselves when deliberating over the competitive ruleset. It conducted weekly calls with current professional players to ensure that no stone was left unturned in its quest to offer the best competitive Halo experience possible to both pro players and the community.When it comes to Halo multiplayer, Halo has a ton of fans and lots of different communities that have an opinion on the game. With that in mind, we think its always important to get feedback from as large a variety of players as possible. The HCS Council is important because it provides an opportunity for pro players and us to have a direct link to facilitate conversation on the state of the game. These guys compete in Halo at the highest level so their feedback is very valuable as it gives us an improved perspective at that level of play, said DelHoyo.The calls have been beneficial to both the players and the developers, according to DelHoyo. The calls have been good. Any time you get a bunch of passionate people together in a room youll get active debate on cchanges and exciting discussions around future ideas.ddddddddddddhe process has not been simple though, as is expected when many voices speak their opinions on something they are passionate about. Its difficult to get everyone to agree on everything, but thats also not the expectation. There are times when players debate power weapon locations, map/game type combinations, and everything in between. There may be five different opinions expressed, sometimes more. This type of feedback is exactly what were looking for, though: what is working well, what do some teams love, what do some teams dislike, and, most importantly, why? These calls give us an opportunity to have meaningful conversations about all sorts of things, and the design teams here at the studio can take this feedback to answer the question of how can we build the best Halo multiplayer experience? added Bravo.The partnership goes beyond the players and the developers in this case. 343 has also been partnering with ESL, producers of the HCS Pro League, to ensure open lines of communication across the board.We debate, we laugh, we argue, and in the end we collect all feedback and determine next steps with our dev team here and our partners at ESL. If something isnt working, we go back to the drawing board and revisit. If something should be changed but needs development time, we can communicate with players directly that were evaluating changes for a future season, and let them know what stage were at with the actual development work. Ultimately, its about providing an open and regular line of communication and collecting feedback on all things from the best players in the world, explained Bravo.The players themselves reflected this positive perspective. The weekly calls with 343 were brilliant. It felt good having an influence on what the settings would be for pro league which we would be playing on. During the calls they would ask us if anything played right or wrong, and if we wanted anything to be changed, shared Sal eL TowN Mohanan, pro player for Team EnVyUs. Carlos Cratos Ayala of Enigma6 also added, They made changes to the maps and asked us for our feedback. They were always quick to apply what we discussed.343s diligent attention to detail impressed its pro players. I thought the calls were pretty helpful! said Enigma6 player Jesse bubu dubu Moeller. We were given maps and gametypes every week and gave feedback after playing them for a bit. Then we gave 343 input from what we thought until it was finalized.The esports industry is growing at an unprecedented rate, and it shows no signs of slowing down. With developments like ELeague (a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league produced by TBS) firmly in mind, game developers have to consider their impact on the esports landscape in both the short term and long term. While 343 has a focus on the future of Halo esports, it also knows how to enjoy the successes it has now.We have come away with some key findings that well look to improve going forward, said Delhoyo. Bravo also added, I think theres a lot of potential in this initiative and I hope players and fans do too. Well absolutely utilize the HCS Council moving forward, and weve learned a great deal about how to collect feedback, the best ways to get proposed changes in front of players, and more. Im looking forward to seeing how the Summer Season plays out and where Halo esports will go from here.Fans loyal to Halo have been through highs and lows when it comes to the esports side of things, and it seems that 343 is invested in ensuring that the experience is smooth sailing from now on. ' ' '