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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Its a bitter grudge that has lasted for years: Aaron Cook vs. Britain.Born and raised in the U.K., Cook is now a citizen of Moldova and will be fighting for that country in the mens 80-kilogram competition in what his British opponent Lutalo Muhammad describes as probably the biggest rivalry in taekwondo.Cook trained at Britains national academy but abandoned it ahead of the London Games after a coaching dispute. When it came to picking the Olympic team, British officials snubbed the top-ranked Cook in favor of 56th-ranked Lutalo Muhammad, who went on to win a bronze.Cook said he was heartbroken and felt cheated out of an opportunity to fight at his home Olympics. Some critics, however, said his diva-like tendencies were unbecoming of the Korean martial art, which values modesty and respect.Last year, Cook switched nationalities after the president of Moldovas taekwondo federation offered to pay for his training and expedite his passport so he could represent the former Soviet republic at international competitions.Muhammad says he would relish the opportunity to fight Cook, especially after he and his family received hate mail and abuse from Cook supporters after his Olympic selection.We are not friends, Muhammad said. Theres always fireworks when we fight.Both 25, they have fought four times and split victories evenly.That makes it even more tasty for a fifth fight, he said.Cook won a bronze for Moldova at last years world championships, losing to Muhammads teammate, Damon Samsun, who took silver. Muhammad was sidelined with a knee injury but defeated Cook at a competition in Mexico, where he also secured an Olympic spot for Britain.Anything between the two athletes should be settled on the mat in Rio, Muhammad said. Still, he called his rival a world-class fighter.Hes always going to be dangerous, Muhammad said. Do I think Im better than him? Absolutely. The place to prove that is in the ring.Cooks explosive strategy, which combines spinning kicks with a relentless attacking style, has been difficult for many competitors to counter, but Muhammad has been more successful than most. Using his height advantage -- he is about two inches taller -- has helped Muhammad neutralize Cooks theatrics, especially when he unleashes lightning-fast head kicks of his own off his forward leg, giving his opponents little time or distance to react.The Cook-Muhammad rivalry will bring more fans to the sport, said Jean Lopez, head coach of the U.S. taekwondo team.Its always good for sport when theres a perceived rivalry between a hero and an anti-hero, he said, without specifying which roles Cook and Muhammad were fulfilling.Other fighters recognize the intense rivalry between the two but warn that it might be counterproductive for them to focus on it at Rio.If you let it get to that stage where it becomes a big rivalry, youll start doing things uncharacteristically, said Safwan Khalil, an Australian taekwondo athlete who knows both Cook and Muhammad well.Competitors sometimes become reckless if their fights are driven more by emotion than by strategy, he added.Khalils advice for Cook and Muhammad is to focus on their first fights Friday, rather than each other, saying that both have formidable opponents in the preliminary rounds.If they happen to win all three matches, theyll meet (in the final), Khalil said. I think theyll worry about that later.Indeed, Cook mostly has refrained from talking about Muhammad recently and appears focused on his second Olympic appearance; he narrowly lost out on a bronze at the Beijing Games in 2008.But for Cook, nothing less than a gold medal in Rio will do.It would just be a lifetime achievement, he said in a recent TV interview. Weve been in it as a family since the start. It would just be really special. Wholesale Nike Vapormax . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Cheap Nike Air Vapormax .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. http://www.cheapvapormax.us/ . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Wholesale Nike Vapormax Free Shipping . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. Cheapest Nike Vapormax . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. NATCHITOCHES, La. -- Zeek Woodley scored 26 points, including a basket with 10 seconds remaining and Northwestern State rallied to beat LeTourneau 92-87 on Friday.Woodley was 8 of 16 from the field and made all eight of his free throws for the Demons (1-2).The Division III YellowJackets led 44-39 at halftime and were up by as many as 14 points in the second half. The Demons tied the game the game at 80-all on Devonte Halls free throw with 2:56 left and the lead went back and forth until Ishmael LLane scored on a tip-in with 54 seconds remaining and Woodley added his jumper.ddddddddddddThe Demons finished with a steal by Josh Boyd and Lanes dunk.Lane and Boyd finished with 13 points each. Travon Joseph added 11 points and 13 rebounds.Sam Talbert had 24 points for LeTourneau, which made 15 of 27 3-point tries. The YellowJackets counted the game as an exhibition. ' ' '