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RIO DE JANEIRO -- For Sale: One elite athlete, lightly used. Will swap citizenship, move to your country and even marry to compete for your Olympic team if the price is right. (Note: All marriage proposals must include a photo.)---When it comes to the Olympics, a lot more mercenaries -- er, athletes -- change allegiances than youd think.Here at the Rio Games, Bahrains delegation of 30 athletes includes exactly four Bahraini natives. Twenty-three of Qatars 39 athletes were born somewhere else. Its handball team of 14 players includes 11 foreign-borns, including Marko Bagaric, who helped lead the Qataris to an upset win over Croatia, the land of his birth.He felt bad for Croatia but got over it soon enough.The worst feeling was during the national anthem, Bagaric said. Ah, but what can I do?While oil-rich, Gulf states game the system most often, theyre hardly the only nations that seek to flip athletes like used-car dealers. The 550-plus strong U.S. delegation includes 46 athletes -- about 8 percent -- born elsewhere. China is so dominant in table tennis that one in five of the 140 competitors spread across 55 teams were born in the worlds most populous nation.The reasons for what noted Olympic historian David Wallechinsky calls a braun drain and others a passport swap or transfer of allegiance are varied. In some cases, like Chinas table-tennis players, American basketball and baseball athletes, or Kenyas long-distance runners, the talent pool at home is so deep that reserves with no chance to make the first team are still better than any other countrys best.Some athletes take advantage of their ancestry and others gain citizenship through marriage or relocation. But the International Olympic Committee rules governing such moves are so laughably lax that mercenaries in the games are every bit as prominent as in other big-time, big-money sports like soccer. All such moves require is agreement by both nations Olympic committees, some of that consensus no doubt influenced by cash.Qatar, for example, bought the entire Bulgarian weightlifting team in 2000 for a reported $1 million, awarding citizenship and new names to all eight athletes involved.But only one of them, Angel Popov -- renamed Said Saif Assad just in time for the Sydney Games -- returned to his new home with a bronze medal. That left some Qataris wondering whether the money would have been better spent making sure Bulgarias notorious doping program was included in the deal.Undaunted, the Qataris bought Kenyan long-distance runners Stephen Cherono and Albert Chepkurui three years later. That didnt work out much better.Nation shopping, yet another name for the practice, has become prevalent enough in track and field competitions that when the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) convenes Saturday, finding a way to tighten up the eligibility for the movement of athletes is near the top of their agenda.Soccers worldwide governing body, FIFA, may be the most corrupt outfit in sports, but their rules on nation shopping are both simple and effective: Once an athlete has played for a country in an internationally sanctioned tournament at the senior level, hes bound to that country for life. No exceptions.Both Wallechinsky and Bill Mallon, a historian and statistician with the U.S. Olympic Committee, would like to see the IOC adopt a similar measure. Wallechinsky also thinks a limit on foreign-born athletes on each national team, or the number allowed to compete in any given sport, might work as well.Mallon also said removing the exception allowing the national Olympic committees involved to override the rule already on the IOC books might turn the trick. It currently states athletes can switch countries provided at least three years have passed since the competitor last represented his former country.I think you could make very specific exceptions, for examples, like marriages, he said.But a moment later, Mallon pulls up a file on his computer screen and notes that of the 952 married couples that have competed in the games over the years, 190 have involved a couple where the husband or wife hails from a different country.He had no idea what the divorce rate for the group might be. But it seems someone who would walk away from his or her country wouldnt find it much harder to walk out on a spouse.---Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org or Twitter.com/JimLitke Custom Baseball Jerseys Outlet .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Cheap Custom Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.baseballjerseyscustom.com/ .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Custom Jerseys Sale . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Custom Baseball Jerseys China . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Austin Allen insists hes fine physically. Arkansas coach Bret Bielema says the same about his quarterback.What hasnt been fine lately for the Razorbacks (6-4, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) has been Allens play since he injured his right knee in a 56-3 loss to Auburn on Oct. 22.The junior, who led the SEC in passing efficiency through the first half of his first season as a starter, has struggled mightily over his last 2 + games -- including in a 38-10 loss to No. 16 LSU on Saturday . Allen was 15-of-31 passing for 210 yards and two interceptions in the defeat, leading to questions about the health of his right knee and what Arkansas can do to get him back to his first-half level of success.You never want to go out on a Saturday and play like that, Allen said. You get 12 opportunities and you kind of waste one. Im kind of sick to my stomach at the way I played. I feel like I let the seniors down, let everyone down.While Allen and his coaches say health isnt an issue, its difficult to ignore the fact Allens struggles have come after his right knee was rolled on by Auburn defensive end Carl Lawson in the second quarter of the Tigers win.Allen was helped off the field following the hit, and he returned to the game after missing one series -- completing his final four passes of the half. However, since then, the junior has completed only 35 of 71 passes (49.3 percent) and appeared less than willing to push off his back leg on several throws.Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos said footwork has been a problem the last few games for Allen, but he said the quarterbacks tthrowing mechanics are fine.dddddddddddd Enos also said Allen might be rushing some of his decisions as a result of the 25 sacks the Razorbacks have allowed this year -- nine more than they allowed in each of the last two full seasons.Hes been a little antsy, and when youre antsy sometimes youll make decisions too quickly or youll get off receivers too quickly, Enos said.Bielema said after the Auburn loss that Allen would not have been able to play the week following if Arkansas hadnt had a bye. After missing practice that week, Allen returned last week against Florida and overcame a shaky start -- completing three of his first nine passes -- to help the Razorbacks to a 31-10 win. Allen finished 15-of-26 passing for 243 yards in that win, but he did throw an interception that was returned for a touchdown and hes now thrown four interceptions since injuring his knee -- 10 for the season.The Razorbacks have already clinched their third straight bowl appearance, but they must now win out -- including a bowl game -- to increase their win total for a third straight season under Bielema.That would have to begin this week when Arkansas travels to Mississippi State (4-6, 2-4), where it will undoubtedly need Allen to return to his early season form to have a chance on the road.I think the same reason that we put (Allen) in the position is the same reason were believing hes going to come out of it, Bielema said.---More AP college football at http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '