ourt, and U.S. District Judge Richard Berman overturned

VANCOUVER -- Dylan Armstrong can almost feel a 2008 Olympic bronze medal in his hands now. Armstrong, a 32-year-old Kamloops, B.C., native, was awarded a bronze medal in mens shot put from the 2010 World Indoor Championships on Thursday after the International Association of Athletics Federation annulled the results of Belarusian Andrei Mikhnevich. Armstrong feels that, with the IAAF decision, he has cleared the final hurdle before being awarded the 2008 Olympic bronze medal that Mikhnevich won after doping, while he was relegated to fourth. "Its just another step forward," said Armstrong in an interview from Copenhagen. "Its looking better and better. I trust the IOC to make the right decision and go from there." The organization announced that Mikhnevichs results have been annulled from August 2005. "I feel grateful to the IAAF that theyve gone back and re-tested and taken the appropriate steps to resolve this case," said Armstrong "Theyve obviously done the right thing." Mikhnevich won silver at the 2010 world indoors event, but the IAAF issued him a lifetime ban when he was caught for a second career doping violation after renewed tests from the 2005 world championships in Helsinki found evidence of a banned substance. As a result, Armstrong moved up from fourth to third with his throw of 21.39 metres. "It was definitely a memorable championships," recalled Armstrong. "It was a really tough competition there." Germanys Ralf Bartels upgraded his bronze for silver with a throw of 21.44 metres. American Christian Cantwell (21.83) won the event. The IAAF decision came after Belaruss athletics federation handed Mikhnevich a lifetime ban in June as a result of the renewed testing. The Canadian Olympic Committee has anticipated since then that Armstrong would get the world indoor medal and Olympic bronze eventually. Armstrong missed a medal by less than a centimetre -- about the width of a dime -- at the 2008 Games. He had long suspected the Belarusian of continuing to use drugs after he was caught in 2001 and received a two-year ban, and came back throwing even better -- but was competing primarily in domestic events instead of internationally. "When you hear the real truth when it comes out, its disappointing," said Armstrong. "But I just wasnt surprised, Ill be honest with you." The International Olympic Committee has yet to decide whether Mikhnevich should be stripped of his bronze medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But Armstrong feels its just a matter of time before the IOC takes action. "For me, this is super-satisfying, because I did work hard," he said. "I have achieved all of these medals. It will definitely be all of my goals completed -- a world indoor medal, a world outdoor medal and an Olympic medal. "(The Olympic bronze), its the most important one. The Olympic medal, I dont think it really matters what colour it is. Its a dream that came true. I worked really hard for that. It was a childhood dream. I always wanted to go to the Olympics and try to be successful there. Its definitely a big achievement for me personally." Armstrong said he has not heard informally from the IOC on his anticipated Olympic medal, but he expects to hear from the Games governing body in the near future. "Im sure Ill be finding out shortly on whats going to be an obvious process," he said. When asked if he had gained a degree of justice, Armstrong replied: "It just doesnt pay to cheat, especially now. (Governing bodies) are advancing testing. But its all good. The testing is better. "Im definitely not the first one and only one (to be awarded a medal after someone is caught cheating.) This is all good. ... I see it as a good thing that theyre trying to clean up the sport." Mikhnevich was one of six athletes caught in the re-test from 2005, and the IAAF and World Anti-Doping Agency have vowed to continue investigating past results. The IAAFs decision has also inspired Armstrong and, he suggested, shown what a clean athlete can do. Accordingly, he is aiming to reach new heights as he works toward his third Olympics. "It just shows that you can win an Olympic medal," said Armstrong. "Its just a good thing. If you have the right behind and the right support, if you have a lot of good people around you that believe in what you do and you have a good coach (Anatoliy Bondarchuk), and you make the right decisions along the way, big things are possible." The IAAF decision on Mikhnevich has also given Armstrong more motivation to excel in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, which would be his "last" Games. Armstrong had been wavering on his decision to compete after being plagued by an elbow injury that forced him to perform in pain throughout 2012 and finishing fifth at the London Games. But now that his elbow has healed, he is aiming to excel on the Olympic stage again. "Im not done yet," said Armstrong. "Id like to try and get a few more (medals) if I can." Armstrong succeeded in earning a medal Thursday night as he claimed gold at the Copenhagen Athletic Games. He will now head to a Canadian team training camp in Sweden in preparation for the upcoming 2013 world outdoor championships in Moscow, where he hopes to earn another medal. "It was a good result (in Copenhagen), so Im sure looking forward to competing in Moscow," he said.Puma España Rebajas .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Puma Zapatillas Nuevas . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. http://www.barataspumazapatillas.es/ .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Zapatillas Puma Rebajas . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Venta Zapatillas Puma Baratas . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov.NEW YORK --?New England Patriots?quarterback Tom Bradys latest attempt to avoid serving a four-game Deflategate suspension to start the new season was flatly rejected Wednesday by an appeals court.The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued a one-sentence rejection of requests by the National Football League Players Association and Brady to reconsider an April decision that found that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell acted?within his powers by suspending the star quarterback for his role in a scheme to doctor footballs used in a January 2015 playoff game.We are disappointed with the decision denying a rehearing, as there were clear violations of our collective bargaining agreement by the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell, the NFLPA said in a statement issued Wednesday. Despite todays result, the track record of this League office when it comes to matters of player discipline is bad for our business and bad for our game. We have a broken system that must be fixed.We will review all of our options carefully on behalf of Tom Brady and all NFL players.The NFL declined comment.The courts action leaves intact the 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel that affirmed wide-ranging powers given to the commissioner by the NFLs collective bargaining agreement. It is a setback for organized labor groups arguing for due process in employee discipline.The players association and Brady had requested that the three-judge panel reconsider the case or that all the 2nd Circuit judges hear arguments and decide anew.Bradys remaining hope is to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.Sources close to Bradys legal team told ESPNs Mike Reiss on Wednesday that the denied appeal was the expected result and that no decision has been made concerning the next step.We wish the result were otherwise, but respect and understand the decision and know that it is extremely rare for the Second Circuit to grant en banc review,?Anthony Barkow, a lawyer who submitted a brief on behalf of longtime arbitrator Kenneth R. Feinberg, told The Associated Press.An en banc review would be a new hearing in front of the complete circuit.The Patriots open the season Sept. 11 at Arizona. If Brady remains suspended, backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo?is expected to take his place against the?Cardinals,?Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills.Despite the courts denial, the Patriots remain the odds-on favorite?-- at 6-1, with a regular-season win total of 10.5 --?to win Super Bowl LI, according to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.Brady, who signed a two-year contract extension during the offseason that dropped his 2016 salary from $9 million to $1 million to save himself almost $2 million in lost salary during the suspension, would then make his regular-season debut in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns. His renegotiated deal?deferred $8 million of hiss 2016 salary to later in the contract.ddddddddddddWhat began as an accusation of cheating in the 2015 AFC Championship Game has grown into a multimillion-dollar legal battle over three NFL seasons involving not just an MVP quarterback but also some of the elite lawyers and scientists in the country.As it developed, it evolved from a dispute about the air pressure in footballs into a referendum on the powers of a sports commissioner and the right of all unionized employees to due process in a disciplinary hearing.Joining the case along the way were longtime league adversary Jeffrey Kessler and former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson, who was involved in the Bush v. Gore lawsuit that settled the 2000 presidential election and the case that overturned Californias ban on same-sex marriage in 2010. The AFL-CIO and scholars from some of the top legal and scientific institutions in the country also piped in with briefs.At stake for the Patriots was not only the availability of their quarterback for one-quarter of the season but also their legacy as an NFL dynasty. Goodell had already penalized the Patriots for cheating -- in an illegal-videotaping scheme in 2007 that came to be known as Spygate -- and they saw the suspension as an attack on their legitimacy of the four Super Bowl championships earned under Brady and coach Bill Belichick.The suspicions boiled over on Jan. 18, 2015, when the league tested the footballs provided by the home team for the AFC title game against the Indianapolis Colts and found them to be underinflated.After three months of analysis, league investigator Ted Wells found that the Patriots intentionally used underinflated footballs in the game and that Brady was at least generally aware of the scheme. The NFL suspended the four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback four games and docked the team $1 million and two draft picks.Brady appealed, first within the league, and Goodell affirmed the decision. The quarterback appealed to federal court, and U.S. District Judge Richard Berman overturned the suspension in September 2015. The league appealed to the 2nd Circuit, and the three-judge panel reinstated the original penalty.An en banc review was unlikely, but Bradys last chance is an even more unlikely hearing at the Supreme Court.Thats always an option to litigants, Olson said after joining the case in May. It is not something we have resolved ourselves to doing.New England fans rallied behind their quarterback, putting Free Brady on T-shirts, reciting the ideal gas law from memory and giving a heros welcome to the quarterback when he took the field for the 2015 regular-season opener.ESPN Staff Writer Mike Reiss and The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '