MONACO, Monaco - Athletes from Kosovo will be able to compete at the 2016 Summer Games after being granted full recognition on Tuesday by the International Olympic Committee. William Jackson Jersey .The full IOC formally ratified a decision made in October by the executive board that clears the way for Kosovo to compete as an independent nation.Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, becomes the 205th national Olympic committee recognized by the IOC.This is one big day, one historical day for athletes of Kosovo, Besim Hasani, head of the Kosovo Olympic Committee, told the assembly. This is the beginning of a new era for the Olympic movement in Kosovo.IOC President Thomas Bach said: This was a very important decision, particularly for the athletes of Kosovo. Now they can start to prepare for Rio.Serbia has refused to accept Kosovos independence and Olympic recognition had been fiercely opposed by Serbian officials.But Hasani went out of his way in his speech to thank my colleagues from the Serbian Olympic Committee for their friendship and all our international partners for their support.Bach said Serbian Olympic Committee president Vlade Divac, the former NBA star, had not been happy with the initial IOC decision but accepted it in the interest of the athletes and in a gesture of sportsmanship.This is really a good example for the Olympic movement, Bach said.Serbian Sports Minister Vanja Udovicic, however, attacked the IOCs decision as a precedent that could have serious consequences for the global system of sports.What were the motives to accept the so-called European state that is not recognized by the United Nations? Udovicic said in a statement. And that is happening in a pre-Olympic year with the games taking place in Brazil, a country which did not recognize Kosovo.Kosovo plans to send a team to the inaugural European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, next year, and up to 10 athletes are expected to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, including in the sports of judo, boxing and wrestling.We already have some very good athletes who in recent years achieved world gold medals and medals from European championships, Hasani said. Its a good example of what can be achieved through sports and through autonomy and thanks to diplomacy of sports.Kosovos best known athlete, Majlinda Kelmendi, is a reigning judo world champion. She had hoped to represent Kosovo at the 2012 London Olympics, but competed for Albania instead. She has Kosovo and Albanian citizenship.The IOC said Kosovo met the sports and technical requirements for acceptance, including the definition of a country in the Olympic Charter as an independent state recognized by the international community.Kosovo has not been accepted as a U.N. member. While more than 100 nations have recognized Kosovo, Russia and China have not. Most European Union members have also recognized Kosovo, with the exception of Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia.The IOC said Kosovos national Olympic body, set up in 1992, has more than 30 affiliated national sports federations, including 13 from Olympic sports. Six of those are full members of international federations.Kosovos top sports official, Memli Krasniqi, welcomed Tuesdays vote as a truly historic moment.The IOC has finally ended two decades of injustice and isolation which has plagued Kosovo sport and which has prohibited the thousands of Kosovo athletes to be equal on the world stage, Krasniqi told The Associated Press in Pristina.___Associated Press writers Nebi Qena in Pristina, Kosovo, and Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade contributed to this report.___Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stevewilsonap Jeff Driskel Jersey . Bale has had a successful debut season in Spain, and Ancelotti appears ready to reward him with a starting role on Saturday. Ancelotti says "Gareth had some problems at the beginning (of the season) but when he found good physical condition he scored a lot of goals, he had a good impact on the team. Dre Kirkpatrick Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan examines a team facing some challenging times as GM Bryan Murray tries to put together a roster for next season. Perhaps the first challenge facing Murray is that its expected he will be moving out Jason Spezza, a premier point producer who is about to enter the final year of his contract. http://www.bengalsauthenticproshop.com/Youth-Brandon-Lafell-Bengals-Jersey/ . Vonn had another scary moment at Saturdays World Cup downhill in Val dIsere, ending up clutching her knee in pain after losing her balance and missing a gate. But she gave a reassuring answer shortly afterward, saying no new damage had been done to the surgically repaired knee, and that her plans for the Sochi Olympics were still intact.ALAMEDA, Calif. - Jack Del Rio picked the same offensive co-ordinator to start his tenure in Oakland as he did more than a decade ago in Jacksonville.Thats even after he fired Bill Musgrave two years into his stint with the Jaguars.Musgrave said Tuesday he harbours no hard feelings toward Del Rio over his firing 10 years ago and said he looks forward to working with Del Rio again with the Oakland Raiders.Jack and I are always pulling in the same direction, Musgrave said. We had some real positive times there in Jacksonville. ... I really learned a lot. I sure wish we would have won enough or won the tiebreaker to get in the tournament that year, but it didnt work out. Jacks very competitive, just as I am, so I definitely understood the decision.Musgrave helped develop Byron Leftwich after he was drafted in the first round by Jacksonville in 2003 and relied heavily on running back Fred Taylor, who rushed for 2,796 yards the two years under Musgrave.The Jaguars ranked 18th in the league in passing, 11th in rushing and 28th in scoring in Musgraves two years there with Del Rio and he was fired after the team went 9-7 in 2004.Since leaving Jacksonville following the 2004 season, he has had success at a variety of stops. He served as quarterbacks coach in Washington in 2005 when Mark Brunell helped the Redskins make the playoffs; spent five years as quarterbacks coach in Atlanta where he helped develop Matt Ryan; was offensive co-ordinator for three years in Minnesota, including when Adrian Peterson rushed for 2,097 yards in 2012; and quarterbacks coach in Philadelphia last season.Musgrave said he learned a lot from Eagles coach Chip Kelly and plans to incorporate some of the spread offence and hurry-up tactics that were so successful in Philadelphia if they fit the personnel in Oakland.Were going to do quite a bit if it fits what the players can do there in Oakland, Musgrave said. Were looking foorward to getting out on the field in the spring and really finding out where their strengths lie. George Iloka Jersey. We talked about tailoring our system to fit them, but Ive got a hunch that a lot of the things we did here in Philadelphia will match up real nice and be effective.In five years as the play caller in Minnesota and Jacksonville, Musgraves teams always ranked in the top half in the league in percentage of run plays. The Raiders were last in that category last season under Greg Olson and would like to to do a better job establishing the run this season.The Raiders were one of the NFLs worst offences last season. Oakland finished last in total offence (282.2 yards per game), second worst in scoring offence (15.8 points per game), last in rushing offence (77.5 yards per game), and 26th in passing offence.Im definitely not going to come in with a system and force anybody to do something thats not natural, Musgrave said. Were definitely going to try to customize and tailor the Raiders system to fit the Raider players. Philosophically, I do believe in running the football. I definitely want to be a physical outfit that runs the ball and imposes their will on the defence.Despite the lack of production, Musgrave said he was attracted to the job because of the presence of quarterback Derek Carr. Carr started all 16 games and became the seventh rookie to top 3,000 yards passing and 20 touchdown passes in a season.Musgrave said he will be involved in filling out the rest of the offensive coaching staff. The team has already hired Mike Tice to coach the offensive line.Musgrave also served short stints as offensive co-ordinator with Philadelphia and Carolina before joining the Jaguars. He got his coaching start in 1997 as the quarterbacks coach in Oakland when Jeff George threw 29 TD passes and nine interceptions.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '