Olympic Newsdesk -- Rogge, Putin Meet; NHL on Olympics

Putin and Rogge discuss Sochi 2014 Plans

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin assured IOC President Jacques Rogue on Wednesday that Russia is fully committed to the development plan for the Sochi 2014 Olympics.

Putin and Rogge met on Wednesday outside of Moscow. The two leaders discussed infrastructure and the progress of venues.

"We are concentrating on Olympic facility construction," Putin was quoted in a transcript provided by his office.

"A total of 14,500 people are employed at the construction site and over 2,000 construction machines are being used. Of all the facilities planned, 123 are at the design stage; 42 are already past that stage; and construction is underway on 49 sites.

"The grand ice arena is at an advanced stage of construction. Local infrastructure is also being developed - the Sochi bypass highway is near completion."

Rogge told Putin that he was pleased with preparations and praised the relationship between organizers, the government and the IOC.

"We attended a presentation of an extremely creative and innovative logo yesterday," Rogge told Putin. "Allow me to thank you personally for your support of this project, which keeps it going smoothly and effectively. Thank you for confirming the progress of Olympic preparations."

Rogge also expressed condolences for the Monday bombing of a railroad line between the Russian town of Tyumen and Azerbaijani capital of Baku.

Australia Could Have Smaller Olympic Teams

Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates said the Australian Government decision to cut funding for the AOC could result in smaller Olympic teams.

''It is already more and more difficult for many of our sports just to qualify,'' Coates was quoted by Australia media.

''If additional funding for our sports is not forthcoming it will be the case [that] some of our sports won't get there or will do so with token representation.''

A recent government study suggested the government should reprioritize funding for sports that aren’t widely popular in Australia.

Coates and a group of top athletes banded together to fight the proposed funding cuts, in a group dubbed ''Coates' Army''.

Coates met with sports minister Kate Ellis on Sunday to work out their differences and he claims the most contentious issues

were diffused.

"She said it was her intention to push the government for more funding for both community sport and elite sport," he said.

Coates stressed an influx of immigrants means sports that aren’t popular today, could be popular tomorrow, highlighting the need for full funding of Olympic sports.

"We didn't want to go into the issue of what were national-ethos sports because we think that's something that's evolving," he said.

"We have had some fundamental changes in population and there are many more people now who play sports like table tennis and badminton. That's why our goal continues to be to field a full team at the Olympics."

Bettman: NHL Undecided about Sochi 2014 Olympics

National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman said on Tuesday that the league is still undecided about whether players will participate in Sochi.

Bettman made his comments on Monday at the Reuters Global Media Summit in New York. Bettman said a decision of Olympic participation is several years away.

"The Olympics is a great platform," Bettman was quoted by Reuters. "I take full credit and responsibility and blame for the fact that we go to the Olympics in the first place, because we have to do it in the middle of our season."

Part of the problem he said, is the time difference and level of coverage for the sport.

"When you're in Salt Lake City and you're in North American time zones, the media coverage works pretty good," he said. "It works in Vancouver, but when you're halfway around the world, you question how good the coverage is."

NHL players will participate in the upcoming Vancouver Olympics. The NHL stops its season for two weeks due to the Olympics. There are concerns that the stoppage is a disruption to the league. The NHL and the players’ union will make the final decision.

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Written by Sam Steinberg.