in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Nearly 2-plus months after the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, hundreds of workers still havent been paid and are planning to sue the local organizing committee to get their money.Among those late getting paid are about 100 freelance contractors who worked as stadium announcers, show producers and DJs, and several hundred others who worked for the Olympic News Service, which produced written summaries about the sports and athletes at the Olympics and subsequent Paralympics.Im working with a legal firm that is already representing someone involved with Rio 2016, so they have a pretty good handle what is going on, Rocky Bester, a South African freelance show producer, told The Associated Press in an interview.Bester, a spokesman for the 100 contractors, said hes never experienced such problems at previous Olympics. This was his seventh, and he said all hes received from Rio organizers is silence and excuses.Weve had robust conversations at other Olympics about payments, but its always been an open conversation, Bester said. What is happening here is that no one is talking back. Were sitting in the dark. Were mushrooms at the moment.He termed it a basic lack of respect.Rio Olympic officials blamed the delays on late payments from their own sponsors, the Rio city hall and the International Olympic Committee.We are paying, but not all the money we need to have for payments has been received, Rio spokesman Mario Andrada told The Associated Press. We are struggling a bit in making the ends meet.Cash-flow problems, budget cuts and cost overruns dogged organizers throughout the run-up to the Olympics. As the games opened on Aug. 5, organizers needed millions in a bailout from the city and federal governments, breaking a promise to use only private money to fund the $2.8 billion operating budget.The amounts owed the freelancers are relatively modest. Bester declined to offer figures but said hed been paid about half of what he was owed, but said others have received nothing. He said many are living off credit cards, running up high-interest debt.The guys who are suffering are the youngsters, Bester said. Its their first Olympic Games, its a prestigious thing. The last thing that is going to enter their head is they are not going to get paid.Bester said some contractors were asked to buy their own air tickets, and many have not been reimbursed.Andrada, the Rio organizing committee spokesman, said several first-class international sponsors owe organizers, but he declined to name them.Some of the payment delays were due to a monthlong strike at Brazilian banks, which ended Oct. 7, Andrada said. Reports that organizers were slow to pay bills created a herd movement with creditors putting pressure on us, he added.Andrada estimated that Rio organizers owed creditors in the area of 100 million Brazilian reals ($32 million).He said the organizing committee had downsized from 5,000 employees when the games opened to about 400. The entity will be dissolved next year with only lawyers remaining to settle any disputed claims.Others have blamed some problems on outgoing Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, who was credited by the IOC with driving the games. He seems to have moved on from Olympic problems.Paes office said he is headed to New Yorks Columbia University on a short-term teaching assignment when he leaves office at the end of the year. His hand-picked candidate to succeed him -- Pedro Paulo -- was badly beaten in an October election.Paes committed a reserve fund of 150 million reals ($47 million) to help pay organizing committee debts. Now he appears to have backed off.Well meet our obligations as long as we have the resources, and they are really needed. To do this, the organizing committee needs to show us their audited expenses, Paes told the Rio newspaper O Globo.The newspaper Folha de S.Paulo has also reported that thousands of fans have yet to receive payments for ticket refunds. Some who have been reimbursed say the amounts dont match what they believe they are owed.Everybody will be paid, Andrada said. The trouble is the delay. We will pay the money. Old Skool Pas Cher Chine .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Old Skool Acheter . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. http://www.pascheroldskool.fr/ . LOUIS -- St. Vans Old Skool Sortie . -- Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts will likely be a game-time decision whether hell play Sunday in the Jaguars home game against the San Diego Chargers. Vans Old Skool Soldes . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. CAMDEN, N.J. -- After Philadelphia 76ers players voices were heard in a team meeting, the organization on Friday issued an apology to singer Sevyn Streeter, saying it should have allowed her to perform the national anthem Wednesday night.We are sorry that this happened. After receiving feedback from our players, basketball operations staff and ownership group, we believe that the wrong decision was made, and Sevyn should have been welcomed to sing, the team said in a statement.We apologize to her, and in an effort to move the conversation forward, we have reached out to offer her an opportunity to return and perform at a game of her choice. We are waiting to hear back.Streeter was slated to sing before the 76ers season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but she said in an interview with The Associated Press late Wednesday that she was told she would not sing just minutes before her performance because she was wearing a We Matter jersey.The anthem issue has been a major topic in the sports world in recent months, starting with the decision by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick?not to stand while it is played. Kaepernick cited racial injustice and police brutality among the reasons for his protest, and athletes from many sports -- and many levels, from youth all the way to professional -- have followed his lead in various ways.Sixers players were informed of the Streeter situation by a team representative Thursday before holding a team meeting to discuss the issue and what they wanted to do moving forward.I didnt think it was right, Sixers guard Gerald Henderson said. We talked about it and collectively we thought that was the best decision [to let her sing in the future]. We felt like she should have been able to sing, and for whatever reasons, that didnt happen. I think it is a good idea to reach out to her, and hopefully she can come back and sing her song.Forward Jerami Grant also said he is hopeful that Streeter will accept the offer to come back and sing -- but added that if she doesnt, the players will talk about something else they want to do as a team.We havent figured that out yet, he told ESPNs Jeff Goodman.Coach [Brett] Brown came to us and allowed us to come up with an idea of what to do, Grant added. He gets it. He knows how we feel about this, he knows me and a couple other guys didnt like what happened with the decision not to allow her to sing.We need to move forward. We cant change the past, but were trying to right the wrong.Grant also addressed Streeters We Matter jersey.I dont really look at it as a political statement. It was just a statement in general. We matter. We matter as people, he said.Brown said he wanted his players to share their thoughts in the meeting and said our players voices were heard.If we as an organization had to do what we did again, that decision would not have been made, Brown said after practice Friday. I applaud the ownership group because it happened real quickly yesterday. Immediately we had [a representative] come out. ... I sat with my players, I said, Thiss is whats happened.dddddddddddd Youve heard it and in your perfect world, what do you wish would happen? And clearly there was some anxiety with that decision.We made a mistake and we move on, Brown later added on behalf of the organization. Our players voices were heard, and that was their choice, too, to extend an invitation and bring her back.Streeter said she was told two minutes before walking out to perform the anthem that she could not wear my shirt while singing the national anthem. ... I was never given any kind of dress code. I was never asked beforehand to show my wardrobe.Streeter has written songs for Chris Brown, Ariana Grande and other stars. In 2013, she had a top-40 hit with It Wont Stop, a duet with Brown that reached Recording Industry Association of America gold status.The singer, born Amber Denise Streeter, said she was very hurt by the NBA teams actions.I was angry -- extremely, extremely angry -- and disappointed and honestly brought to tears by all of it. It broke my heart, she said. Honestly, I was very excited about being able to perform the national anthem. I was really looking forward to that.A source told ESPN that any on-court performer -- singer, dancer, entertainer -- must sign a contract that gives the 76ers the right to cancel a performance if the standards described in the contract are not met. The Sixers declined to say why Streeters performance was canceled, but according to a report by CBS Philly, the contract prohibited political statements. The 76ers offered her an alternate shirt, but she refused it, the report said.I also felt it was important to express the ongoing challenges and ongoing injustice we face as a black community within the United States of America -- thats very important to me, Streeter said. Yes, we live in the greatest country in the world, but there are issues that we cannot ignore. This cant be ignored.The Sixers play at home Saturday afternoon against the Atlanta Hawks,?and players did not say whether the team has anything planned for the anthem.We talked about some things as far as declaring something to make our stand, Brown said. We are not in a position to do that. I think our best effort to date has been Jerami and Hollis [Thompson] and organization presenting [a $10,000 community initiative check to the International Institute For Advanced Instruction/Gateway to Re-Entry nonprofit]. Trying to do it in ways that we feel is responsible and still bold enough to make the stance we want to make.We simply want to say that we apologize. We made a mistake and we want to move on.The Sixers players, though, made it clear they want to see Streeter sing the anthem at one of their games.She wanted to wear a T-shirt that she felt was important, Henderson said. I dont know if telling her that she couldnt sing was saying that her statement was unimportant. But she should be able to do what she chooses and that is why we are going to call her back. ' ' '