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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Its taken rugby 92 years to get back in the Olympic Games, and yet Argentina great Agustin Pichot called it the right moment.Pichot, a key member of the team which got rugby sevens approved for Olympics inclusion in 2009 and who has become vice chairman of World Rugby, could barely contain his excitement on Friday, the day before the competition begins.In terms of modern milestones, he puts rugbys return up there with the first Rugby World Cup in 1987 and the game going professional in 1995, and he predicted big things, especially outside of its Anglo-Saxon strongholds.Being here, in a Latin country, in South America (where rugby wasnt very popular), is a great statement, Pichot said. The challenges are big but change will come.Were speaking English here (in the news conference), but many nations do not speak English, and what we will see now, from these games, is a lot of countries that are not Anglo-Saxon are going to start looking at rugby as a different option. Ive seen it in Colombia, Mexico, many countries. We have an opportunity to grow rugby really, really big.Growth has already been massive since the IOC voted 81-8 to approve rugby for the 2016 and 2020 Games. In the seven years since, global participation has doubled to 7.73 million, and the percentage of female players has risen from 10 percent to more than 30, according to World Rugby.So sure in the product was World Rugby, that chairman Bill Beaumont expects a huge upsurge in interest from the Olympic TV coverage.Im hoping, Im pretty confident, that clubs will be inundated at the start of next season in Europe, with girls wanting to play rugby. Youll find in schools, there will be a knock on the door of the PE teacher, and saying `Look, we want to play this game, Beaumont said. This is the biggest kickstart the games ever had, especially for women and girls, and its up to clubs, if they are sensible, to realize this is a fantastic opportunity for them to create a new market beyond the traditional Saturday afternoon, 15-a-side rugby club.Beaumont wasnt fazed by the lack of star power in the lineups. Stars of the 15s game such as Bryan Habana and Quade Cooper, and former NFL running back Jarryd Hayne failed to make their national squads, but Beaumont said new stars will emerge.World Rugby was also confident of ticking all the boxes needed to stay in the Olympics after 2020, boxes such as attendance, stadium atmosphere, TV ratings, and impact on social media.The Olympic competition follows the most successful annual rugby sevens world series, which started in 1999. The series drew 715,000 fans over the 10 tournaments, 6,000 hours of action broadcast to more than 100 countries for the first time, 61 million video views, and a 250 percent audience increase across all media platforms.Two-thirds of tickets for the Olympic sevens have been sold, said Brett Gosper, the World Rugby CEO. He said he was confident there will not be the disappointing gaps in the stadium crowds that have been seen at soccer matches.He said legacy -- whats left behind after the games move on -- was important to World Rugby, and he was happy with what has been done in Brazil, where rugby is not that popular, ranking below even skateboarding and table tennis.Since launching a legacy program in Rio de Janeiro in March 2015, World Rugby says more than 115,000 students are playing regularly in more than 450 schools and 1,450 coaches and teachers have been trained, plus 60 referees.We want to expand sensibly, we want it to be sustainable, Beaumont said. We want to be here in Brazil in 10 years time and say the 2016 Olympics was a catalyst to establishing the game in this country.To that end, they have enjoyed working with a significant but unexpected fan, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes.When Gosper, Bernard Lapasset, the then chairman of World Rugby, and Mark Egan, the head of competitions and performance, met with Paes last year when things were behind schedule, the mayor reassured them.He gave us his mobile number for any problems, Gosper said, and he actually picks up, answers, and gets things done. Its amazing.Without any major hassles, the 15,000-seat venue at Deodoro was unveiled in March, to acclaim from an impressed World Rugby.Paes delivered on his promise, and Beaumont said with a smile they will be keeping the mayors phone number to themselves: Its not available, by the way. Babe Ruth Braves Jersey . 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In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Greg Maddux Braves Jersey . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15.DETROIT -- The young Detroit Red Wings have made the mighty Chicago Blackhawks look vulnerable, beating them two straight times to gain an advantage in their last playoff matchup as Western Conference rivals. Gustav Nyquist and Drew Miller scored 31 seconds apart midway through the second period and Pavel Datsyuk restored a two-goal lead in the third to help Detroit beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 Monday night and take a 2-1 lead in the second round series. As good as the Red Wings have looked -- scoring six straight goals to earn momentum in the matchup -- their hard-driving coach isnt ready to celebrate. "We havent done anything yet," Mike Babcock said. Thats an understatement. If the seventh-seeded Red Wings keep playing like they are, the top-seeded Blackhawks will have a long off-season to wonder what went wrong in a season that looked like it was going to be special. On Thursday night at home in Game 4, Detroit has a shot to put Chicago on the brink of elimination. "It takes something like this to slap you in the face, so to speak, to really understand what adversity is and how tough the playoffs can be," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "A lot of guys in this room have been in tough positions before in the playoffs and thats never stopped us. We know this is a long series and were going to be fighting until the end." Chicagos chances will improve if Toews can end his goal-scoring skid. He doesnt have a goal in nine playoff games, dating to last year. He matched Patrick Kane with a team-high 23 goals in the 48-game, lockout-shortened season. Toews did have a game-high seven shots in Game 3, but Jimmy Howard and his backchecking, shot-blocking teammates wouldnt let him end his drought. "Im not going to let it get the best of me," Toews said. "I know Im doing good things. Im very confident that its going to come." Kane scored 4:35 into the third period to pull Chicago within one. About a minute later, the Blackhawks celebrated as if they tied the game, but Andrew Shaws goal was waved off because he was in the crease. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said he disagreed with the call that negated Shaws gaame-tying score.dddddddddddd "He didnt touch the goalie," Quenneville said. And Chicagos goalie, Corey Crawford, couldnt touch Datsyuks shot 6:46 into the final period that went in and out of the net before he saw it. Crawford finished with 27 saves. Howard stopped 39 shots. Chicago has lost consecutive games for the first time in nearly two months. The Blackhawks began the lockout-delayed season by setting an NHL record with at least a point in their first 24 games, ended it with a league-high 77 points and avoided having a three-game losing streak. "The team is facing a little adversity and I am on a personal basis," Toews said. "Not going to let that stop us or me." After a scoreless first period in a hot and steamy Joe Louis Arena, Detroit took a 2-0 lead with a pretty goal and a gritty one. Nyquist patiently carried the puck from right to left and waited for defenceman Brent Seabrook and Crawford to sprawl out to make a shot before shooting the puck into the open net. "Hes real good at hanging onto the puck," Babcock said. Miller crashed the net to stuff the puck into the net after Patrick Eaves got to his own rebound to keep pressure on Crawford. Blackhawks defenceman Michal Rozsival started the sequence with a turnover in the Chicago end. It was a sixth straight goal for the Red Wings, who lost the series opener 4-1 and gave up the first goal of Game 2 before going on to even the series with a 4-1 victory. "Theyre a real good team and theyre going to carry the play at times," Babcock said. "Were a good team and were going to carry the play at times." NOTES: Babcock won his 77th post-season game, matching Quenneville for the most among active coaches and trailing Pat Burns by one victory for 8th place on the NHLs all-time list. ... Chicago hasnt given up a power play goal in its first eight playoff games, matching the 2001 St. Louis Blues for the longest such streak since 1988, according to STATS. ... The Blackhawks put Viktor Stalberg back in the lineup, and scratched Daniel Carcillo, and Stalberg got shook up early in the game, missing a check and going head first into the boards. ' ' '