DOHA, Qatar -- IOC President Thomas Bach defended his handling of the Russian doping scandal, attacked critics of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and claimed no cities would have bid for the 2024 Games without his Agenda 2020 reform program.In a speech to the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees on Tuesday, Bach appeared determined to counter the negative public perception surrounding the Olympic movement following a turbulent year of doping crises, the troubled buildup to Rio and continuing concerns over the costs of hosting the games.Bach cited media headlines in the months ahead of the Rio Games about security, water quality, the Zika virus and allegations of state-sponsored doping in Russia. Citing Donald Trumps victory in the U.S. presidential election last week, Bach said the Rio Games were a case study in the difference between published opinion and public opinion and between perception and reality.Bach said the Rio Games were a great success, citing record global television viewership and social media interest, though he made no mention of the empty seats and organizational glitches that also affected the event. Bach said the success of the games was a miracle in light of the severe recession and political turmoil that Brazil has been going through.He also went to great lengths to defend the International Olympic Committees decision not to impose a total ban on Russia from the games, saying he has received support from dozens of world leaders on the issue.The World Anti-Doping Agency had called for the complete ban following a report by investigator Richard McLaren that detailed systematic, state-assisted doping in Russia. The IOC instead allowed international sports federations to decide which Russian athletes could compete.Bach said he has met with many heads of state and government since the games and all backed the IOCs position.They appreciated and acknowledged we did not take a political decision but we took a decision that took in the interest of sport and respected justice for clean athletes and protecting the clean athletes worldwide, he said. To see this acknowledgement and this appreciation by so many political leaders was a confirmation of our decision and is a great encouragement for all of us.McLarens final report is due out next month and will focus on allegations of Russian doping and manipulation of samples at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. Two IOC commissions are also looking into the allegations, which could lead to calls for sanctions on Russia for the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.Bach said once the investigations and hearings are completed, the IOC will take the necessary measures and all the sanctions because if only part of this would be true, it would be an unprecedented attack on the integrity on the Olympic Games and on the Olympic competitions.On a separate issue, Bach said no cities would have come forward as candidates to host the 2024 Summer Games had the IOC not passed his Olympic Agenda 2020 project, which aims to reduce the cost of hosting the games and insists on maximum use of existing and temporary facilities.Several cities pulled out of bidding for the 2022 Winter Games over financial and political concerns. Last month, Rome withdrew from the 2024 race because of opposition from the citys new mayor. That decision leaves Los Angeles, Paris and Budapest, Hungary, as candidates.Without `Olympic Agenda 2020, we would have had zero candidates, Bach said. There would have been none. All of the candidates who you will see now and the others who were in the race or considering in the race, they can confirm this to you. They told us this.Bach also said that high-ranking Olympic official Patrick Hickey, who was arrested during the Rio Games on ticket scalping charges, deserves the presumption of innocence pending the resolution of his case. Hickey, who is not permitted to leave Brazil, has temporarily stepped down as a member of the IOC executive board and president of the European Olympic Committees.Bach said Hickeys arrest shows Olympic officials are not immune and must obey the laws and rules in other countries.What was in the past something that just concerned us in an organization is now concerning the rules and the laws of a country, Bach said. 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Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars.WASHINGTON -- The Washington Redskins are asking a judge to dismiss a former NFL players lawsuit that accuses the team and former assistant coach Gregg Williams of running a bounty program that encouraged players to intentionally injure opponents. The former player, linebacker Barrett Green, says he was targeted by the Redskins during a game on Dec. 5, 2004, resulting in a career-ending knee injury. Green was playing for the New York Giants at the time. He played for New York and for the Detroit Lions between 2000 and 2005. He filed a lawsuit earlier this year against the Redskins, Williams and the player who hit him, Robert Royal. The team said in a response filed Friday in federal court in Greenbelt, Md., that Greens claims are "utterly baseless." But, even if they were true, his lawsuit is pre-empted by an NFL collective bargaining agreement and was filed too late, lawyers for the team wrote. The team argues that an NFL collective bargaining agreement in place at the time required Green to exhaust grievance and arbitration procedures before filing a lawsuit, which he did not do. The team also says the statute of limitations for all Greens claims is three years from the time of his injury. Green said in his lawsuit he was suspicious he may have been targeted when he was hit in 2004, and team laawyers wrote he had enough information then to pursue his claims if he wanted.dddddddddddd The allegations of a bounty program came to light more recently. Redskins coaches and players told The Associated Press in 2012 that Williams offered cash rewards for big hits and other plays -- a violation of NFL rules -- when he was coaching Washingtons defence from 2004 to 2007. But they differed on whether it was a true bounty scheme that targeted specific players. Williams conduct in Washington was investigated, but didnt result in sanctions. Instead, Williams was suspended by the NFL last year for being the mastermind behind a bounty scheme at another team, the New Orleans Saints, where he was defensive co-ordinator from 2009-2011, including the teams Super Bowl-winning 2009 season. Williams is now a senior defensive assistant with the Tennessee Titans. He started his career with the Titans/Houston Oilers organization, where he coached for 11 seasons, and also was head coach of the Buffalo Bills for three seasons and defensive co-ordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars for one year. Judge Peter J. Messitte, who is overseeing the lawsuit, set a hearing in the case for Sept. 24. An entry in the case file online, however, says Messitte could decide the case on the documents alone ahead of that date. ' ' '