asis.The SEC does not provide waivers of SEC rules absent circumst

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Head held high as she took the court moments after her Chinese team entered the arena, Jenny Lang Ping waved and smiled in several directions then paced around the floor observing Chinas championship opponent from Serbia.She proudly sang through the national anthem, then guided her team to a come-from-behind gold -- and made her own history, too.Lang Ping became the first person to win volleyball gold as a coach and player, her China team rallying from one-set down to defeat the upstart Serbians 19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-23 on Saturday night in the Rio championship match at Maracanazinho arena.Early on in this tournament, Lang Ping -- who captured an Olympic title with the 1984 Chinese national team in Los Angeles then later spent a four-year stint coaching the Americans -- challenged her players to find ways to grow from their struggles with the world watching.All along, Lang Ping believed her emotional China players had the talent and determination to compete with the top programs in the world.And oh, did they show it. Once they found a groove.China took a 23-22 lead in the fourth set when Ting Zhus kill sent Maja Ognjenovic to the floor with a hard ball to the face, and the match was over shortly thereafter. Lang Ping raised both arms in the air and Fangxu Yang sprinted over to embrace her. Many more hugs followed.The Chinese exhibited that same fire and fight a year ago while winning the World Cup in Japan, then got to Rio de Janeiro earlier this month and worked through some initial rough, inconsistent Olympic moments.When the Chinese squad lost its Olympic opener in five sets to the Netherlands back on Aug. 6, Lang Ping challenged her players: to learn, to support one another through the ups and downs, to grow from each defeat and triumph on the pressure-packed Olympic stage.China responded, and seemed to play better when the moments got bigger.Lang Pings group of women found its top level of volleyball over the recent days in Rio de Janeiro and spoiled things for a volleyball-crazed country in the process. China took down the two-time defending Olympic champion Brazilian women on their home turf in Tuesdays quarterfinals to show this team had arrived -- and, until Saturday night, that had been Chinas shining moment.The Chinese had much more fight still in them.Serbia had pulled off an improbable upset of its own by taking down the top-ranked U.S. women in a thrilling five-set semifinal Thursday.The Serbian women wore their socks pulled up Saturday, the words Play to Win written on the back. Their hands entwined, they sang in unison during the national anthem in an undeniably proud moment for the players, their supporters in the Rio stands and all of those others back home.For Serbia, there will still be so much to celebrate from this remarkable run to the championship in Rio. This is the programs first Olympic medal, ever.In this moment I must inform you about small history. In Europe, in the youth category Serbia is No. 1, in junior category Serbia is No. 1, said Aleksandar Boricic, President of the European Volleyball Confederation. We wait for the result in the Olympic Games if the senior team can be No. 1. Its a great future, they have many young players. In this kind of competition, Olympic Games, world championships, sometimes you need more lucky balls.Spains Susana Rodriguez and Patricia Rolf of the U.S. made the first all-female referee tandem for an Olympic gold-medal match. Sean Wotherspoon Air Max 97 Nz . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Nike Air Max NZ Wholesale . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. http://www.airmaxnzwholeale.com/cheap-air-max-97-nz/max-97-mens.html . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Air Max 97 Nz Cheap . 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. Nike Off White Air Max Nz . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama?has cleared the way for defensive back Maurice Smith to transfer within the SEC, with the school granting him a full release,?his mother confirmed to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.?The Tuscaloosa News first reported the decision.Smith will have to be granted a waiver from the SEC, which has restrictions on athletes with less than two years of eligibility remaining transferring to league schools, including graduate transfers. Smith graduated earlier this month.His mother,?Samyra Smith, cautioned that Maurices battle is not over, but she told the AJC a decision from the conference is expected within the next 24 hours.Maurice Smith has been trying to follow former Alabama assistants Kirby Smart and Mel Tucker to Georgia?but was blocked from moving to another SEC school.A statement from the SEC said the league doesnt comment on such waiver requests, but they are reviewed on an individual basis.The SEC does not provide waivers of SEC rules absent circumstances that demonstrate a clear reason for granting an exception to those rules, the league stateement said.dddddddddddd Each waiver request is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.The requirements for granting of a waiver include that the athletes athletic scholarship was not renewed.After Wednesdays practice, coach Nick Saban said Alabama had done everything it could to allow the conference to make the decision about whatever they decide is in the best interest of the conference and the SEC rules relative to Maurice Smith.So that is past us now, Saban said. It is beyond us. We dont really need to talk about that anymore, and I dont have any other comments to make about it.Smith was a first-team nickelback for the Tide during the spring. He played in every game last season, making 15 tackles.Smart, now Georgias head coach, disagreed with Sabans decision to block Smiths transfer and has said that he would absolutely support a graduate transfers right to transfer to another SEC school.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ' ' '