RIO DE JANEIRO -- Rows of empty seats, green water, controlled explosions, stray bullets, the killing of a young policeman in a favela, muggings of team officials, an attack on a media bus, spotty weather, snarled traffic, long travel distances and lack of a Carnival atmosphere.Halfway through the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro is still struggling with a litany of problems that have underlined the challenges of taking the games away from their traditional territories, and made clear they may not go to untested regions again in the near future.The athletes and sports competitions have risen to the occasion, the Brazilians have been welcoming and friendly, and TV pictures beamed around the world have featured Rios beautiful scenery and backdrops at their best.Overall, though, Olympic officials and veterans say Rio has been beset by so many organizational issues that South Americas first games have been more of a disappointment than a delight.It has been along the lines of what experienced Olympic observers and organizers would have expected, said Dick Pound, the IOCs longest-serving member, in an interview with The Associated Press. Then you add the political and corruption issues, and they didnt have a chance to get everything done the way they would have liked to.IOC vice president John Coates told the BBC: This has been the most difficult games we have ever encountered.Seven years ago, the International Olympic Committee selected Rio over Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago as the 2016 host city. Rio won because IOC members were convinced the time had come to go to South America. Back then, Brazil was a rising economic and political star on the world stage.Today, Brazil is mired in a crippling recession, its suspended president is facing impeachment, and many politicians and business leaders are locked up in a massive corruption scandal. Budget cuts and cash flow problems forced Olympic organizers to scale back.There were two or three other candidates in that (2016) race that would have done a much better job, Pound said. There is a reason the games havent been held here before. Every day is a challenge.In many parts of Rio, its hard to tell the city is hosting the Olympics. Dressing up the venues with the look of the games branding -- logos, banners and other designs -- has fallen short after a Ukrainian supplier failed to deliver.The good part is that the Brazilian fans are great and the Brazilian people are as helpful as can be, Olympic historian David Wallechinsky told the AP. The negative part is they are simply not prepared. They had seven years. They should have been able to get it together. They just didnt.Wallechinsky, who is attending his 17th Olympics, added: The negative part combines the last-minute preparedness of Athens 2004 with the incompetence of the organizers of Atlanta 1996 -- the worst of the two.Rio organizers remain publicly upbeat.We need to finish what we have started, Rio organizing committee spokesman Mario Andrada said Saturday. Ill be glad to come to you after the games and give you a full detailed report on everything we did well and everything that we did wrong. But we have a lot of celebrate.IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: I think well look back on these games as being a really good thing for the Olympic movement.The games have gone forward without any major disruption. Security is tight throughout the city, and more than a dozen Brazilians have been arrested after declaring loyalty to Islamic State.Among the problems that have surfaced so far:- An Olympic security officer was fatally shot after taking a wrong turn into a dangerous slum.- Two Australian rowing coaches were attacked and robbed by two assailants, one with a knife, in Ipanema, and Portugals education minister was held up at knifepoint on a busy street nearby.- Stray bullets have twice landed in the equestrian venue at the Olympic complex in Deodoro.- Two windows were shattered on a bus carrying journalists; Rio organizers blamed rocks, some claimed it was gunfire.- A German Olympic canoe coach, Stefan Henze, suffered life-threatening head injuries when a taxi he was riding in crashed into a concrete barrier near the Olympic Park.- Bomb squads set off several controlled explosions after finding unattended bags at venues and across the city.- The water at the diving and water polo pool turned green. Organizers blamed a contractor for mistakenly dumping hydrogen peroxide into the pool. The embarrassment wont last forever, Andrada said.- Some venues, including the track and field stadium for Fridays opening day of athletics competition, have been plagued by empty seats and small crowds. High ticket prices and lack of interest among Brazilians in some sports have been blamed.- Because of a shortage of concession stands at some venues, organizers have had to open the gates to let fans out to find food and water.Sergio Praca, a Brazilian political scientist, said his friends tell him: `Weve always known it was going to be a disaster in organization, but now that the games are started, lets just make the best of it. I think we as Brazilians never overestimated our capacity or organize anything.The situation looks more stable for the coming Olympics, with the next three in Asia -- the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea; the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.Four cities are bidding for the 2024 Olympics -- Los Angeles, Paris, Rome and Budapest, Hungary.Several cities and countries are already mulling bids for the 2026 Winter Games, including Switzerland; Italy; Calgary; Stockholm; Oslo; and Almaty, Kazakhstan.Africa is the last of the five continents represented by the Olympic rings that has yet to host the games. South Africa could potentially make a bid for the 2028 or 2032 Games.Adams, the IOC spokesman, said spreading the games around the world remains the goal.Its important, he said, that the Olympics isnt just a kind of little European or American club.---AP Sports Writer Stephen Wade contributed.---Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: -www.twitter.com/stevewilsonap. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wilsonScarpe Air Max Tavas Scontate . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Scarpe Air Max 200 Scontate . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. http://www.airmaxitaliascarpe.it/scarpe-air-max-270-scontate.html .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Air Max 200 Uomo Bianche . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Scarpe Air Max 97 Scontate . JOHNS, N. TOKYO -- IOC President Thomas Bach expressed willingness Tuesday to work with Tokyo officials to achieve a significant reduction in costs for the 2020 Olympics, but suggested the effort should stick to the current venue plans.Bach arrived in Japan amid growing tension between Olympic organizers and recently elected Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, who is pushing to cut costs. A preliminary report from a city expert panel late last month proposed moving three sports from planned new venues to existing ones -- including relocating rowing to a site hundreds of miles outside the capital.Bach reminded the governor that Tokyo should respect the agreement it signed when it was awarded the games three years ago.I think it is in the interest of Japan, Tokyo and IOC that we do not change the rules of the competition after the election, Bach said. By respecting these principles we can very well look into the budget of Tokyo 2020 and we can look at the cost. We can see together how we can make it even more feasible.Bach proposed four-party talks among the International Olympic Committee, Tokyo organizers, the city government and Japans central government to agree on additional cost reductions, starting as early as November after Tokyo releases a final report. Bach declined to discuss specific proposals, saying he only knew about them from media reports.The Tokyo metropolitan government will finalize its internal study, then well discuss it with the other stakeholders ... and then I am confident that you will see a significant reduction in the cost compared to what we have seen so far from the press, Bach told reporters after a 40-minute televised meeting with Koike.The Tokyo panels preliminary report said the overall cost of the Olympics could exceed $30 billion -- four times the initial estimate -- unless drastic cuts are made.The review focuses on whether each venue can be cost-effective while also contribute to the reconstruction of the area hit by the 2011 tsunami and Fukushima disaster.Thats how we have promoted to attract the games, Koike said. We need understanding of the residents of Tokyo as we are relying on their money.The IOC has suggested the possibility of moving rowing to an existing site in South Korea in case there is no resolution over the Japanese venue, the Asahi newspaper reported, quoting unidentified Japanese sources as saying. The South Korean venue in Chungiu City hosted the 2013 world championships and rowing at the 2014 Asian Games.ddddddddddddAsked about the report at Tokyos Haneda airport, Bach said: I will not comment on any kind of rumors. Japanese Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa told reporters she could not confirm the report.Tokyo won the right to host the games in 2013 by promising a compact bid with 28 of the 31 competition venues within a five-mile (eight-kilometer) radius of the Olympic Village. Originally, only shooting, modern pentathlon and one soccer venue were to be outside the radius.Already, the venues for basketball, taekwondo and cycling have been moved outside of Tokyo to reduce costs by using existing facilities. Cycling was moved to Izu, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of the capital.After her election at the end of July, Koike convened a panel of independent experts to review Olympic venues and costs.Its most drastic proposal has been to suggest moving the rowing and canoeing venue to an existing facility about 250 miles (400 kilometers) north of Tokyo, after the projected cost for a new venue in Tokyo Bay rose to 49 billion yen ($490 million), seven times the initial estimate.John Coates, an IOC vice president and former rower who heads the coordination commission for the Tokyo Games, was asked about the costs of the rowing site in Tokyo.The figures are very large to us, he said. We can certainly reduce those numbers.Meanwhile, the Japan Rowing Association and Japan Canoe Federation issued separate statements calling for the venue to stay in Tokyo.The local organizing committee in Tokyo has objected to the possible move, arguing the competition should remain at the planned Sea Forest Waterway.It said the existing facility that Koike is exploring in northern Japans Miyagi prefecture lacks infrastructure, accommodation for spectators and will be inconvenient for athletes.Tokyo organizers also said the final construction cost for the Sea Forest Waterway will likely be lower than estimated, while additional costs for transportation, security and infrastructure to move the events to Miyagi would add up.The expert panel has also suggested sticking with the planned venues, but reducing their scale to save money.---Follow Mari Yamaguchi at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchiFind her work also at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/mari-yamaguchi ' ' '