McQuaid Drops 2020 Duty; Furlong Denies Allegations; IOC on Sochi Time Change

IOC Looks "Favorably" on Russian Time Change

The IOC tells Around the Rings it was asked for an opinion on a time change for the Sochi Olympics and would look "favorably" upon such a decision.

Russian media reported earlier Tuesday that the IOC said it had asked for Russia to move its clocks back an hour. That way, broadcasts would be two hours ahead of Europe, as opposed to three.

"The IOC did not ask for a change, we were asked for our opinion and we said that we would look upon it favorably, so long as the Games stakeholders were informed far enough in advance," an IOC spokesperson said in a statement emailed to ATR.

"The decision to make any change to standard time in Russia is clearly one for the government of the Russian Federation," he added.

McQuaid Steps Down from IOC Bid Panel

IOC member Pat McQuaid says he is too busy with Lance Armstrong fallout to continue as a member of the 2020 Evaluation Commission.

"It’s quite simple," McQuaid, the president of the International Cycling Union, was quoted Wednesday by The Associated Press. "I have too much going on and I can’t afford to be spending two weeks away from the office in March."

According the report, McQuaid will be replaced by International Basketball Federation secretary general Patrick Baumann of Switzerland.

The commission will make its inspections of the three bid cities – Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid – in March.

Furlong Denies Latest Allegations

Former VANOC CEO John Furlong says the latest allegations of sexual and emotional abuse against him by his former spouse, students and common-law spouse are "completely unfounded."

The comment came Wednesday in a statement from his publicist, who said Furlong"will be making a full and complete response to these allegations" soon.

"While John is confident he will ultimately be vindicated by the court, his primary concern right now is the irreparable harm being caused to his family by this unfounded attack on his character and reputation."

The latest allegations came following a defamation lawsuit filed by Furlong against Laura Robinson, a Vancouver reporter who first published allegations that Furlong abused his students.

Allegations of sexual assault are contained in the reporter’s lawsuit defense filed last week in a British Columbia court.

Schwarzenegger to Sochi: "I’ll Be Back"

Arnold Schwarzenegger says he will return to Sochi for the 2014 Winter Games.

"I’ll be back here for the Olympics," the action movie superstar and former governor of California was quoted as saying by RIA-Novosti. He was in Sochi promoting a new film.

"I think Russia and Sochi is going to do an extraordinary job. I think the world is going to be blown away by the great host that it will be and by the great events they will have there."

Russian Editor Suggests "Code of Conduct" Possible

Svetlana Mironyuk, editor in chief of RIA-Novosti, said Russian journalists may have to sign a code of conduct to cover the Sochi Olympics.

Mironyuk made the comments to the Sport Express outlet. She is also head of the Russian Olympic Committee’s Press Commission.

She said the IOC has complained about the "unbecoming behavior of some Russian journalists" and added: "maybe we’ll go as far as having a sort of code of ethics signed by journalists along with their accreditation for the Games."

She added "we intend to fix" the problems lodged against Russian reporters.

Written by Ed Hula III.

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