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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Nearly 2-plus months after the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, hundreds of workers still havent been paid and are planning to sue the local organizing committee to get their money.Among those late getting paid are about 100 freelance contractors who worked as stadium announcers, show producers and DJs, and several hundred others who worked for the Olympic News Service, which produced written summaries about the sports and athletes at the Olympics and subsequent Paralympics.Im working with a legal firm that is already representing someone involved with Rio 2016, so they have a pretty good handle what is going on, Rocky Bester, a South African freelance show producer, told The Associated Press in an interview.Bester, a spokesman for the 100 contractors, said hes never experienced such problems at previous Olympics. This was his seventh, and he said all hes received from Rio organizers is silence and excuses.Weve had robust conversations at other Olympics about payments, but its always been an open conversation, Bester said. What is happening here is that no one is talking back. Were sitting in the dark. Were mushrooms at the moment.He termed it a basic lack of respect.Rio Olympic officials blamed the delays on late payments from their own sponsors, the Rio city hall and the International Olympic Committee.We are paying, but not all the money we need to have for payments has been received, Rio spokesman Mario Andrada told The Associated Press. We are struggling a bit in making the ends meet.Cash-flow problems, budget cuts and cost overruns dogged organizers throughout the run-up to the Olympics. As the games opened on Aug. 5, organizers needed millions in a bailout from the city and federal governments, breaking a promise to use only private money to fund the $2.8 billion operating budget.The amounts owed the freelancers are relatively modest. Bester declined to offer figures but said hed been paid about half of what he was owed, but said others have received nothing. He said many are living off credit cards, running up high-interest debt.The guys who are suffering are the youngsters, Bester said. Its their first Olympic Games, its a prestigious thing. The last thing that is going to enter their head is they are not going to get paid.Bester said some contractors were asked to buy their own air tickets, and many have not been reimbursed.Andrada, the Rio organizing committee spokesman, said several first-class international sponsors owe organizers, but he declined to name them.Some of the payment delays were due to a monthlong strike at Brazilian banks, which ended Oct. 7, Andrada said. Reports that organizers were slow to pay bills created a herd movement with creditors putting pressure on us, he added.Andrada estimated that Rio organizers owed creditors in the area of 100 million Brazilian reals ($32 million).He said the organizing committee had downsized from 5,000 employees when the games opened to about 400. The entity will be dissolved next year with only lawyers remaining to settle any disputed claims.Others have blamed some problems on outgoing Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, who was credited by the IOC with driving the games. He seems to have moved on from Olympic problems.Paes office said he is headed to New Yorks Columbia University on a short-term teaching assignment when he leaves office at the end of the year. His hand-picked candidate to succeed him -- Pedro Paulo -- was badly beaten in an October election.Paes committed a reserve fund of 150 million reals ($47 million) to help pay organizing committee debts. Now he appears to have backed off.Well meet our obligations as long as we have the resources, and they are really needed. To do this, the organizing committee needs to show us their audited expenses, Paes told the Rio newspaper O Globo.The newspaper Folha de S.Paulo has also reported that thousands of fans have yet to receive payments for ticket refunds. Some who have been reimbursed say the amounts dont match what they believe they are owed.Everybody will be paid, Andrada said. The trouble is the delay. We will pay the money. Christian McCaffrey Womens Jersey . 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It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. College football has the uncanny ability to surprise us every weekend and yet at the same time provide a little sense of déjà vu.For those who have been paying close attention to the College Football Playoff the past two years, some parallels can be drawn early. Take a look at how some previous playoff storylines have the potential to resurface under the guise of different programs:2016 Clemson is 2014 FSU: Close wins? A few scares? Dont say it ... not game control ...Then: The undefeated 2014 Seminoles never reached the No. 1 spot in the committees top four in large part because they won in unconvincing fashion. Everybody says game control, FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said after beating Boston College 20-17. Thats something made up. As a coach, you talk about one thing: Finish. Get it done. This team wins in every way, shape and form you can win. It was good enough for No. 3.Now: Clemson has beaten its past two unranked opponents -- Auburn and Troy -- by six points each. The Tigers dropped three spots to No. 5 in this weeks AP poll. So far, the ACCs other Atlantic Division heavyweight is following the Noles 2014 blueprint: finding a way to win the close ones, albeit in unimpressive fashion. I dont know about other people, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said last week, but I think that with our schedule, if we win every game by one point and were 13-0, I think well be just fine. Fine, yes. No. 1? Probably not.2016 San Diego State is 2014 Marshall: Undefeated? Yep. But who did you play?Then: Marshall was 10-0, ranked No. 18 in the AP poll, and still unranked by the selection committee because of its weak strength of schedule. It wasnt until Week 14 that the undefeated Herd snuck into the committees top 25 at No. 24 -- right behind a two-loss Boise State team.Now: The Aztecs are 2-0 and coming off an impressive win over Cal, but theres not one ranked opponent currently on their schedule. ESPNs Football Power Index ranks San Diego States strength of schedule No. 118. Marshall entered bowl season ranked No. 127 of 128. The highest-ranked champion from a Group of 5 conference is guaranteed a spot in a New Years Six bowl, so the Aztecs are a team to keep an eye on in that regard, but they could face a similar snub from the committee -- even if undefeated.2016 Oklahoma is 2014 Ohio State or 2015 Stanford: Theyre done. Toast. Kaput.Then: The Buckeyes at home too an unimpressive Virginia Tech team in Week 2 and were instantly discredited in the CFP race.dddddddddddd Instead, they ran the table with their third-string quarterback, won the Big Ten title and earned a spot in the committees final top four of the season. Stanford was also written off last year after its season-opening loss to Northwestern, but was still in the conversation even as a two-loss Pac-12 champ.Now: Oklahoma is trying to rebound from its season-opening loss to Houston (granted, not nearly as bad of a loss as the one the Buckeyes suffered to the Hokies), but OU and the entire Big 12 have practically been discounted. (Psst, its just one loss). The Sooners now likely have to run the table -- a tall task with Ohio State looming this Saturday -- but the Buckeyes will remind you, it can be done.2016 Bama is potential 2015 and 2014 Bama: Rewind, repeat ... rewind, repeat ...Then: In 2014, Alabama finished No. 1 in the selection committees ranking, in spite of losing to Ole Miss. In 2015, Alabama finished No. 2 in the committees final ranking, in spite of losing to Ole Miss.Now: Here comes Ole Miss. Nick Saban certainly doesnt want to lose three straight to the Rebels, but as far as the playoff goes, it clearly doesnt matter if he does.2016 Pitt is potential 2015 Iowa: Just how good are they?Then: The Hawkeyes cruised through the weaker Big Ten West division, and ran the table during the regular season, making it impossible for the selection committee to leave an undefeated Power 5 team out of its top four. Iowa had faced just two ranked teams during the regular season -- Wisconsin and Northwestern -- and it was hard to tell just how good they were until the title game (a 16-13 loss to Michigan State) and Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (a 45-16 Stanford rout).Now: Like Iowa, Pitt hails from the weaker of its divisions, and it currently has only two ranked opponents on its schedule (No. 25 Miami and No. 5 Clemson). If Pitt can survive upcoming back-to-back road games against Oklahoma State and North Carolina, it could be 8-0 heading into the Miami game. The difference here is that Pitt could wind up playing both FSU and Clemson, but the Panthers could be deceivingly good heading into November. ' ' '