LONDON -- The IOC will not reopen the bidding process for the 2022 Winter Olympics, even though only two cities are left in the troubled race following Oslos withdrawal. Saucony Clearance . The IOC is sticking to its commitments, IOC President Thomas Bach told The Associated Press on Thursday. We have issued the invitation for bidding. There is a clear and transparent procedure. We will follow this procedure with two candidates. Oslo became the fourth city to drop out of the bidding on Wednesday after the Norwegian government declined to provide financial support, citing concerns over the cost of hosting the games. The move leaves Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan, as the only two remaining candidates. Neither are established winter sports countries, and both are targets of human rights critics. We are in the middle of a procedure, Bach said. We cannot and we do not want to change the regulations in the middle of the race, given the fact that we still have two very interesting candidatures with a very diverse approach. The IOC will select the 2022 host city on July 31, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Beijing, which staged the 2008 Olympics, is seeking to become the first city to host both summer and winter games. Almaty, located in Central Asia, hosted the 2011 Winter Asian Games and will stage the 2017 Winter University Games. Stockholm; Krakow, Poland; and Lviv, Ukraine, withdrew their 2022 bids in recent months. Before that, potentially strong bids from St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Munich, Germany, were rejected by voters in referendums. Oslo was forced to pull out after the ruling Conservative party rejected financial guarantees for the games. The junior partner in the minority coalition voted against the bid four months ago, and polls have shown that more than 50 per cent of Norwegians are opposed. For me the decision was no surprise at all, Bach said by telephone from Lausanne, Switzerland. This was clearly a political decision. You have a minority coalition government. Its very rare that a minority coalition government is taking the risk of losing or giving up its coalition for the sake of a project which shows its benefits only after the next election day. On Wednesday, in an unusually strongly-worded statement, IOC executive director Christophe Dubi said Norways decision to pull out was based on half-truths and factual inaccuracies. He blamed the bid team for failing to send a senior leader or government official to a meeting about the requirements and costs. Bach told the AP that separate meetings with Oslo and the two other bid teams took place on Tuesday in Lausanne, a day before the Norwegian government debate. Contrary to prior announcements, no government representative was in this meeting, Bach said. Everybody can draw his own conclusions. Bach said Norway is missing out on $880 million in sponsorship and television revenues that the IOC will be providing to the 2022 organizers, a 25-per cent increase over the sum Vancouver received for the 2010 Olympics. All this shows that this was very much a political decision, Bach said. This why we are feeling so sorry for sport in Norway and the athletes. Bach acknowledged that the Winter Games are facing a difficult period. The number of candidates for winter is already very limited by geography, he said. Also we cant forget that this is a challenging time with regard to the world economy. But Bach insisted the image and brand of the Olympics remains strong, citing the recent signing of long-term commercial agreements, including NBCs record $7.75 billion deal for U.S. rights through 2032. The Olympic Games are and will be the premium product, he said. Nobody would enter into such kind of agreements if there would be a doubt on the image. Many cities have been scared off by the record $51 billion price tag associated with the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. While most of that money went to long-term regeneration and infrastructure projects, not the cost of running the games, cities remain wary of the expense. We have to communicate, communicate, communicate about the two different budgets, Bach said. We have to see how we can reduce the costs of the management of the games and the cost of bidding for the games. Oslos exit ensures the Olympics will be going to Asia for a third consecutive time, following the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Normally, the IOC prefers to rotate the games among continents. You look into economy or sports, its always the same, everywhere the same, Bach said. Asia is on the rise. Saucony Shoes Australia .C. -- Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft. Buy Saucony Shoes ." The game can be seen live on TSN starting with Monday Night Countdown at 6:30 p.m et/3:30 p.m. pt. The Patriots, who had a bye in Week 10, will look to continue the offensive success they had a week earlier when New England scored 55 points and racked up 610 yards of total offense in a 55-31 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Steelers. http://www.wholesalesauconyaustralia.com/ . Carling Bassett-Seguso was a world No. 8 almost 30 years ago. Currently 13th, Bouchard is assured of equalling that when the next rankings are released Monday.PHILADELPHIA -- Even Starlin Castro knew Roberto Hernandez didnt hit him on purpose. Jake Arrieta threw seven impressive innings, Castro hit a two-run homer and the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 Friday night in matchup of last-place teams. A strange ejection occurred in the sixth inning when Hernandez was tossed by plate umpire Mark Ripperger after hitting Castro on the left arm with a fastball. There were no previous warnings, hit batters, or inside pitches. Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg also was ejected after he came out to argue. "I dont think he did it on purpose," Castro said. "Hes a good friend of mine. I see him every day in the Dominican. I dont think he would do that on purpose. He told me, Im sorry. Its not on purpose. I already know. Hes not like that. Hes not that kind of person." The umpires didnt see it that way. "In our opinion he threw at the hitter," crew chief Gary Cederstrom said. Asked if a warning shouldve come first, Cederstrom said: "I thought the appropriate action was taken." Hernandez was baffled. He threw his arms up in disbelief on the mound before walking off the field to cheers from the crowd. "I was very, very surprised," he said. "I didnt throw that on purpose. I wanted to continue to throw the ball down. I had two outs. I wanted to pitch into the next inning. I didnt throw it on purpose. I wanted to keep pitching." Arrieta (2-1) allowed two hits and no runs, tying a career high with nine strikeouts. He didnt give up a hit until Domonic Brown sliced a double just inside the left field line with one out in the fifth. "I had a good mix tonight, good velocity, good movement, good location,&" Arrieta said. Wholesale Saucony Shoes. "With those three things, youre going to have success. Its never easy to win and have success at a high level. But you do things the right way and learn, day in and day out, and try and get better at least one thing every time you come to the yard, you give yourself an opportunity to perform at a high level." The Phillies were seeking their first four-game winning streak since last June 2-6. Hernandez (2-5) allowed two runs and three hits in 5 2-3 innings. He walked Anthony Rizzo leading off the fourth. Castro then drove his ninth homer out to left. Jimmy Rollins led off the bottom of the ninth off Neil Ramirez with a double to tie Mike Schmidts franchise record of 2,234 hits. After Marlon Byrd walked with two outs, Brown hit an RBI single to right to cut it to 2-1. But Ramirez struck out Carlos Ruiz looking to end it and earn his second save. "Too little too late," Sandberg said. "We just came up short at the end." NOTES: The Cubs activated CF Ryan Sweeney from the disabled list and placed INF/OF Emilio Bonifacio on the 15-day DL. ... Phillies ace Cliff Lee threw again on Friday, but its uncertain when hell rejoin the rotation. Lee has missed four starts with an elbow strain. ... Phillies setup man Mike Adams received a cortisone shot in his ailing right shoulder and is expected to start a throwing program in 10 days. ... Phillies 3B Cody Asche (hamstring) began a rehab assignment at Class-A Lakewood. He could return to the lineup late next week. ... Both teams wore 1964 retro uniforms. ... Edwin Jackson (4-6, 4.70) goes for the Cubs against David Buchanan (1-3, 6.08) on Saturday afternoon. ' ' '