the boards.According to the Tampa Bay Times, Stamkos clutched the back of his right knee after the collision and stumbled as he

Forget rival boxers, Britains Josh Kelly has been fighting the flab to realise his dream of claiming an Olympic medal in Rio.The welterweight nearly blew his chances of making the Team GB squad when he fell out of love with the sport and packed on an extra two stone as he let his diet go to the wall.Eventually tipping the scales at 81kg -- some 12kg over the welterweight limit -- Kelly realised almost too late that he was sabotaging his own chances of standing on the podium in Rio.I had a couple of injuries and fell out of love with the sport, Kelly told ESPN. I didnt want to do it. People would mention the Olympics to me and I just didnt want to know.Ive got the body type thatll put loads of weight on, but I just started eating like a normal kid. I wasnt eating daft, I was just eating normal meals, chilling out and not training.Over Christmas [last year] I had too much of a layoff. I was having such a good year in 2015, but at Christmas time I just thought Id sit back a little bit and relax. The other lads were in the gym for hours, but I was letting them slap me here and there.There is little doubt about Kellys talent. The 22-year-old notched a bronze at last years European Games in Baku, falling in the semifinals to home fighter Parviz Baghirov via a questionable decision.However, after losing his edge over the winter, Kelly was in no shape to enter the European Olympic qualifying event in Turkey in April. And it was at that moment the fighter realised he was putting his Rio dream in jeopardy.Being the weight I was, I was never going to get to [Turkey], he explained. It came too quick. If I had to drop the weight I wouldnt have been healthy for it. When they selected another lad for that competition, the penny dropped.The coaches said if I didnt have the natural talent, theyd be wasting their time on me. But they said they could see a potential medallist, so I was worth sticking with. I kept thinking, when I make this weight Im qualifying.But the motivation for Kelly to return to the sport did not just come from seeing other boxers given the nod ahead of him. As is often the way with young men, Kelly had to be told by a parent.There was a time I was sat there with my dad and he said, you dont want any regrets when youre older. Now you might think it [quitting] is a good choice, but when youre older youll think about what could have been.After missing the European qualifiers in April, Kelly faced a race against time to turn his life around and reach Rio. Newly motivated, his chance came at the final Olympic qualifier in June, back in Baku.The return to the Azerbaijani capital saved Kellys amateur career. After a ferocious training schedule and a new diet -- based on boring fruit, veg and water -- he qualified for Rio with victory over Trinidad and Tobagos Aaron Prince in the quarterfinals.Proudly taking his place among the biggest British boxing team at an Olympics for 32 years, Kelly faces a tough opener against Egypts Walid Sedik Mohamed on Monday night. But after battling so hard just to book his seat on the plane, theres no way Kelly has flown to Rio just to make up the numbers.If youre going there, youre going to get gold, he said. Youre not going there to mess about. Ive got high expectations of myself. Obviously I need to go there and enjoy the experience. Hopefully thatll let me perform to the best of my abilities.Improbably, when hes not in the ring, Kelly is often to be found in front of the camera. The Sunderland native has found work as a part-time model, but he is prepared to lay his good looks on the line for a shot at gold in Rio.I guess Im not too bad on the eye, Kelly joked. My stylist says I should avoid getting hit, but Im not one of those kids who stands there and slugs it out. Im in and out from different angles. Its done me good over the years.The Olympics changes your life. If I can make it at the Olympics, it would finish my job as an amateur. The next stage is a medal, its just the pinnacle of the sport. Chris Mullin Jersey . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. DAngelo Russell Warriors Jersey . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. 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Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos?underwent surgery on the lateral meniscus tear in his right knee and is expected to miss approximately four months, the team announced on Thursday.The Lightning said Wednesday that Stamkos was out indefinitely, but coach Jon Cooper said the center would be back in time for the playoffs in April.?If we put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs, hes going to be back, Cooper said Thursday. And thatll be better than any trade deadline acquisition that anybody else is going to get.Youve got to take your head out of the sand, dig your heels in and march on. And unfortunately, this has happened to us before and the guys have found a way.TSN was first to report that Stamkos needed surgery.He left the ice in the first period against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, favoring his right leg after getting tangled up with Detroits Gustav Nyquist along the boards.According to the Tampa Bay Times, Stamkos clutched the back of his right knee after the collision and stumbled as he made his way toward the Lightning locker room. He did not return and there was little in the way of updates ffrom Cooper after the Lightnings 4-3 victory.ddddddddddddStamkos was off to a tremendous start to the season. His first-period goal Tuesday gave him nine goals on the season, and his 20 points are tied for third among all NHL players.Stamkos missed all but one of Tampa Bays postseason games last spring with a blood clot issue. But after signing an eight-year contract extension that pays him $8.5 million annually to remain with the Lightning, Stamkos returned in full health and played for Canada at the World Cup of Hockey.Stamkos has collected points in seven of the past nine Lightning games, and Tampa Bay is tied for second in the Atlantic Division with Ottawa with a 10-6-1 record.You live in this reality now, and weve just got to have to face it,?defenseman Victor Hedman?said Thursday. Itll be a good test for us. But at the same?time, we know we can handle it, and we know we can win hockey games even though were going to miss him.Information from ESPNs Scott Burnside was used in this report. ' ' '