RIO DE JANEIRO -- In a timely boost for Los Angeles bid for the 2024 Games, the United States is getting a second member on the International Olympic Committees ruling executive board.Former Olympic ice hockey gold medalist Angela Ruggiero was elected as chair of the IOCs athletes commission on Monday, a position which automatically gives her a seat on the policy-making board.Ruggieros term will begin at the close of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Aug. 21. She replaces Claudia Bokel, a former Olympic fencer from Germany whose four-year term is expiring.After years without any voice at the higher echelons of the IOC, the U.S. will now have two delegates on the 15-member executive board. Ruggiero will join former rower Anita DeFrantz, who was elected as a board member in 2013.It is an important time within the Olympic movement and our commission has a great responsibility, Ruggiero said. I will make sure our voices arent just heard, but that they are effective and that we empower athletes around the world to do the same.Ruggiero won a hockey gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, along with silver medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City and 2010 Vancouver Games, and bronze in Turin in 2006.We will welcome her to the IOC executive board, IOC President Thomas Bach said. I am sure that, with her determination and her great experience, she will make a huge contribution.Ruggieros elevation comes at a crucial time for the U.S., with Los Angeles seeking to bring the Summer Games back to the country for the first time since Atlanta hosted the 1996 Olympics.Los Angeles is competing against Paris, Rome and Budapest, Hungary. The IOC will select the host city in September 2017. New York and Chicago mounted failed bids for the 2012 and 2016 Games, respectively.All four 2024 bid cities will have representatives in Rio to promote their candidacies, including French President Francois Hollande and Italian Premier Matteo Renzi. Mayor Eric Garcetti heads the 24-member Los Angeles delegation to Rio.Until DeFrantz made it back to the executive board in 2013, the U.S. had been without a member at the top table since 2006. U.S. Olympic Committee chair Larry Probst joined the IOC as a regular member in 2013.The 36-year-old Ruggiero, a graduate of Harvard, joined the IOC in 2010 and has served as vice chair of the athletes commission since 2014. She also sits on the USOCs board of directors, and chaired the IOC coordination commission for the 2016 Winter Youth Games in Lillehammer. Jace Sternberger Super Bowl Jersey . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Montravius Adams Super Bowl Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/Elite-Jamaal-Williams-Packers-Jersey/ . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Corey Linsley Super Bowl Jersey . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Dean Lowry Super Bowl Jersey . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p.NEW YORK -- The Yankees plan to activate Andy Pettitte from the disabled list on Monday and start the left-hander that night against the Cleveland Indians. Pettitte, who turns 41 next month, came out of a start against Seattle on May 16 because of a tight left trapezius muscle, near his pitching shoulder. He went on the DL the following day. Pettitte said Thursday that the injury essentially was a back spasm. He threw 76 pitches in a simulated game Tuesday in Florida. "I was pretty locked up back there. If I had to miss a start where we were, with the rotation and stuff like that, it was probably the best thing to do for the team," Pettitte said. "I felt pretty confident that it would just be the two weeks." Pettitte missed a start in April because of lower back spasms. Hes been unable to get into a rhythm between starts. "Thats been frustrating for me just because I have a certain routine, and I want to be on it," he said. "And, obviously, youve got everyone saying you may be doing too much, you might be doing this, you might doing that." First baseman Mark Teixeira and third baseman Kevin Youkilis are likely to be activated for Fridays series opener against Boston following two-day minor league injury rehabilitation assignments at Double-A Trenton. Teixeira had a partially torn tendon sheath in his right wrist, sustained while taking batting practice with the U.S. at the Worrld Baseball Classic on March 5.dddddddddddd Youkilis has not played since April 27 because of a back injury. "If theyre here tomorrow, Ill be happy. If theyre here the next day, Ill be happy," manager Joe Girardi said. "So when they get here, they get here." Girardi said he wasnt sure whether he would keep Robinson Cano batting second when the pair return. "You want him to have as many at-bats as possible," Girardi said. "Thats the bottom line." NOTES: OF Hideki Matsui intends to sign a one-day minor league contract with the Yankees on July 28 and again announce his retirement that day. The Yankees plan to honour the 2009 World Series MVP during a pregame ceremony that day and will give the first 18,000 fans Hideki Matsui bobbleheads. Matsui wore No. 55, and July 28 is the Yankees originally scheduled 55th home game. Matsui played for the Yankees from 2003-09 and announced his retirement in December after 10 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants in Japans Central League and 10 in the major leagues. He played for the Yankees from 2003-09, driving in six runs in the 2009 World Series finale, then spent one season each with the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland and Tampa Bay. "Even through his knee injuries, he found a way to always get big hits for the New York Yankees," Girardi said. "You will hear every player to a man say what a great teammate he was." ' ' '