NEW YORK -- Despite seven months of international outcry, Russias law restricting gay-rights activity remains in place. Dante Exum Jazz Jersey . Yet the eclectic protest campaign has heartened activists in Russia and caught the attention of its targets -- including organizers and sponsors of the Sochi Olympics that open on Feb. 7. Over the past two weeks, two major sponsors, Coca-Cola and McDonalds, have seen some of their Sochi-related social media campaigns commandeered by gay-rights supporters who want the companies to condemn the law. Several activists plan to travel to Sochi, hoping to team up with sympathetic athletes to protest the law while in the Olympic spotlight. And on Friday, a coalition of 40 human-rights and gay-rights groups from the U.S., Western Europe and Russia -- including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Human Rights Campaign -- released an open letter to the 10 biggest Olympic sponsors, urging them to denounce the law and run ads promoting equality for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people. "LGBT people must not be targeted with violence or deprived of their ability to advocate for their own equality," the letter said. "As all eyes turn toward Sochi, we ask you to stand with us." The law, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in July, bans pro-gay "propaganda" that could be accessible to minors -- a measure viewed by activists as forbidding almost any public expression of gay-rights sentiment. The law cleared parliament virtually unopposed and has extensive public support in Russia. Since July, when they launched a boycott of Russian vodka, activists have pressed the International Olympic Committee and Olympic sponsors to call for the laws repeal. Instead, the IOC and top sponsors have expressed general opposition to discrimination and pledged to ensure that athletes, spectators and others gathering for the Games would not be affected by the law. Putin has given similar assurances in regard to Sochi, but remains committed to the laws broader purposes. IOC President Thomas Bach has warned Olympic athletes that they are barred from political gestures while on medal podiums or in other official venues, but says they are free to make political statements at news conferences. One Olympian likely to speak out is gay Australian snowboarder Belle Brockhoff, who told Australias Courier-Mail newspaper that she plans to lambaste Putin. "After I compete, Im willing to rip on his ass," she told the newspaper. "Im not happy and theres a bunch of other Olympians who are not happy either." Brockhoff is one of several Olympians promising to display the logo P6 -- a reference to Principle Six of the Olympic Charter that says any form of discrimination "is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement." Hudson Taylor of Athlete Ally, an organizer of the P6 campaign, is among the activists going to Sochi. He hopes that some athletes, even if wary of wearing P6 symbols, will promote them via social media. Also heading to Sochi is Shawn Gaylord, advocacy counsel for Human Rights First. "We wont be looking to violate the law," he said. "But we think its important that human rights not get lost in the mix." President Barack Obama, who has criticized the Russian law, is skipping the Olympics and named a U.S. delegation that includes tennis great Billie Jean King and two other openly gay athletes. "The only way you break down barriers is by being there and meeting people and getting these issues out on the table -- doing it in an appropriate and diplomatic way," King told The Associated Press. In the U.S., recent protest initiatives have focused on Sochi sponsors, notably Coca-Cola and McDonalds. In McDonalds case, the companys #CheersToSochi Twitter hashtag has been used by activists in tweets condemning the Russian law and assailing McDonalds for not speaking out forcibly against it. Similarly, activists made use of an online "Id like to share a Coke with..." promotion to circulate images of Coke cans with labels such as "Gaybashers" and "Haters." The gay-rights group Queer Nation posted a video online interspersing images of embattled Russian gay-rights demonstrators into Cokes 1970s TV ad featuring the song, "Id Like to Teach the World to Sing." Coke then posted a clip of the original ad on its Facebook page, drawing a flood of negative comments from gay-rights supporters. Coke has responded with declarations of support for diversity and inclusiveness, which are themes of Cokes new Super Bowl advertising. A Coca-Cola spokeswoman, Ann Moore, said the company remained committed to the Olympics despite criticism from gay-rights activists. "We share these groups belief in human rights, equality, diversity and dignity for all, and we respect their right to protest peacefully," Moore said in an email. "We firmly believe, however, that supporting the Olympics focuses the world on the ideals that everyone strives for during the Games -- excellence, friendship and respect." Becca Hary, a McDonalds spokeswoman, made similar points. "Social media is all about conversation. Understandably, the LGBT community is focusing its conversation on the Russian legislation," she said in an email. "McDonalds is proud to be a top sponsor of the Olympics; our sponsorship dollars literally help the men and women who are working to achieve their Olympic dreams." Hary and Moore said their companies were conferring with the IOC about human rights. "We expect our ongoing engagement to include discussions on long-term, sustainable means for addressing human rights in the context of the Olympic Games," Moore wrote. Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, predicted that sponsors would henceforth insist that the IOC make human rights a more important factor in selection of host cities. "There will be a reckoning after the Games," Worden said. "Olympic sponsorship is supposed to be the goose that lays the golden eggs, but this goose is not laying golden eggs. Its laying stinky, rotten eggs." The international gay-rights group All Out plans to target Olympic sponsors in demonstrations next Wednesday in several cities, including New York, London, Rio de Janeiro and St. Petersburg, Russia. Even if the Russian law endures, All Out executive director Andrew Banks considers the overall protest campaign a success. "Weve been able to elevate the voices and stories of Russian LGBT people ... and show there are people all over the world willing to stand behind them," he said. While expressing appreciation for the allies abroad, prominent Russian activist Anastasia Smirnova said she feared that "dangerous self-censorship" might deter some Olympians in Sochi from taking stands against the law. In an email Friday, she also worried about a possible backlash against Russian gays once the Olympic spotlight fades. Karl Malone Jersey . It was a move of some time in the making. “He hasnt thrown well, clearly some guys are being used more than him right now and the only way to get out of this funk is to pitch,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Pete Maravich Jersey . In the last race before the Sochi Olympics, Bjoergen followed up her win in the 10-kilometre classical race on Saturday by beating World Cup sprint leader Denise Herrmann of Germany by 0.43 seconds for her fifth victory of the season. http://www.officialjazzproauthentic.com/Authentic-Ricky-Rubio-Jazz-Jersey/ . Hoefl-Rieschs exit — from the downhill course into safety nets, then airlifted from the slope by helicopter — left Anna Fenninger of Austria favourite to win her first giant crystal trophy one month after becoming an Olympic champion. DETROIT -- Justin Verlander could sense Miguel Cabrera was on the verge of breaking out of his slump -- even before the Detroit sluggers home run. "You like to see results, but he really did take some great swings yesterday and that was just a precursor to today," Verlander said Tuesday night. "Hopefully that gets him jump-started." Cabrera hit a two-run homer, Verlander pitched seven solid innings and the Tigers held on for an 8-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night. Cabrera was 4 for 23 on this homestand before going 3 for 5 in Detroits win. Cabrera hit a homer and a double off Chicagos Charlie Leesman (0-1), who was called up from the minors to start in place of an injured Chris Sale. "No offence to Charlie, but Im sure those guys were pretty excited when they heard Chris was scratched," Chicagos Adam Dunn said. "That would be true no matter which pitcher we were sending out there instead of him." Verlander (3-1) had little to worry about after allowing a first-inning homer to Jose Abreu. He allowed two runs and eight hits, striking out seven and walking two. Chicagos Dayan Viciedo had a career-high four hits, and Dunn hit a two-run homer in the ninth to pull the White Sox within two. Joba Chamberlain got the final out for his first save, retiring Alexei Ramirez on a liner to left with one on. Ian Kinsler doubled twice for the Tigers, who sent 10 men to the plate in a five-run third inning. Cabrera improved his average to .235 on the season and at least momentarily calmed concerns about his early struggles. After Kinslers double in the first, Cabrera lined a double of his own to the wall in right-centre field, tying the game at 1. Kinsler added a two-run double in the third, and Cabrera followed with a drive to right that Viciedo seemed to have measured at first. With the wind blowing out much of the nnight, the ball carried just over the wall to put the Tigers up 5-1. Utah Jazz Jerseys. It was Cabreras second home run of the year, and it came on the first pitch. "In that situation, youve got to come aggressive and try to get a good pitch to hit," Cabrera said. Nick Castellanos added a sacrifice fly later in the inning, and Detroit scored two more runs in the fifth when Alex Avila hit an RBI double and scored on a double by Rajai Davis to make it 8-1. Avila went 3 for 4 to raise his average to .227. It was 8-3 entering the ninth, and Detroits Phil Coke struck out the first two hitters of the inning, but Marcus Semien doubled, Paul Konerko hit an RBI single and Dunn homered to right. Chamberlain came on and walked Viciedo before J.D. Martinez caught Ramirezs liner in left. Abreu opened the scoring in the first with a drive that cleared the wall in centre for his sixth homer of the season. Verlander did not have a perfect inning all night, but he kept the White Sox from stringing too many hits together, and his Detroit teammates gave him more than enough run support. Sale was supposed to face Verlander in a marquee matchup of AL Central aces, but the left-hander went on the disabled list before the game with a strained flexor muscle in his throwing arm. Leesmans second career start did not go well. The Tigers hit the ball hard off him right from the start, and he allowed five straight hits -- including two doubles and a homer -- before getting an out in the third. Leesman allowed six runs and nine hits in 2 2-3 innings. NOTES: Every starter in the Detroit lineup had at least one hit. The Tigers finished with 15. ... Leesmans previous start came last season, when he also made seven relief appearances for the White Sox and finished with an ERA of 7.04. ... Detroit LHP Drew Smyly (1-1) faces Chicago RHP Andre Rienzo (0-0) on Wednesday night. Cheap Heat Jerseys Cheap Bucks Jerseys Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys Cheap Pelicans Jerseys Cheap Knicks Jerseys Cheap Thunder Jerseys Cheap Magic Jerseys Cheap 76ers Jerseys Cheap Suns Jerseys Cheap Blazers Jerseys Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys Cheap Spurs Jerseys Cheap Raptors Jerseys Cheap Jazz Jerseys Cheap Wizards Jerseys ' ' '