The Juice is Loose: Russia DISQUALIFIED, Individual Russians Deemed Clean Will Compete Independently

(BLOGGER'S NOTE:  I had actually written a preparatory story first -- the decision was actually publicized while I wrote that post, so I appended it.)

We're back to this story again.

The International Olympic Committee will announce sanctions today after a three-year investigation into the state-sponsored doping and Games-fixing that the Russians did to pad their medal count in the Homophobe-lympics in Sochi in 2014.  It is widely believed that disqualification is on the table.

A second McLaren report in 2016 (post-Rio) has alleged that over 1,000 Russian Olympic entities conspired to create a new Eastern Bloc-ish state drug policy to pad medal counts.  It took a whistleblower to get key access to Russian lab records from Sochi-era events.

Options appear to include:

• A fine
• Returning the process back to the individual sport federations, like Rio -- including direct pressure on the most-involved sports.
• The complete and final disqualification of Russia from all Olympic competition until the state-sponsored doping is deemed cleared.
• The last stop short of it:  Having to declare individual athletes, case-by-case, clean -- and then they don't compete under the Russian flag and anthem.  (They would end up "Independent Olympic Athletes".)

I mean, let's be blunt:  If there is a difference between the USA and Russia in this regard, the USA basically punts it's drugs to the individual-athlete level, and winks and nods at it.

This, if it's true, is another level entirely -- and, since the government, etc., is involved, complete disqualification is the only solution.

----------

EDIT TO ADD THE DECISION:

As I was typing this, the decision was announced:

They went with the "last stop short of it":  The Russian Olympic Committee has officially been suspended and thrown out of the Olympic movement.  No Russians will be accredited to attend the PyeongChang Games.

Individual athletes from Russia can apply with a special Olympic panel to compete in PyeongChang (and I would assume Tokyo and onward, unless the sporting community blackballs Russia completely), and, if found clean, will compete as "Olympic Athletes From Russia" (Olympic Code: OAR), under the Olympic flag and anthem.

I don't think it's enough.  I would've, at minimum, gone "Independent Olympic Athletes" to remove all reference to Russia.

But this is significant:  It's the first time a nation has been tossed, and this is permanent until compliance, for a drug situation.

I anticipate this will not be the last word on this matter.