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CORK, Ireland -- After months of indecision over who to represent, Rory McIlroy announced Wednesday that he will play for Ireland -- not Britain -- at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The 25-year-old McIlroy, who is from Northern Ireland, was eligible to play for either Ireland or Team GB when golf makes its return to the Olympics in Brazil for the first time since 1904. Having played all of his amateur golf under the auspices of the Dublin-based Golfing Union of Ireland, the two-time major winner opted to stay with Ireland for the Olympics. "I have been thinking about the decision a lot and remembered all the times I represented Ireland as an amateur," McIlroy said on the eve of the Irish Open in Cork. "I was always very proud to put on the Irish uniform and play as an amateur and as a boy, and I would be very proud to do it again." McIlroy has twice played in golfs World Cup for Ireland, both times alongside fellow Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell. "Just because Im getting paid to play this great game now doesnt mean I should change (team)," McIlroy said. "So Im very happy with my decision. It means I can look forward to the Olympics in a couple of years time -- you know, if I qualify, obviously, for the team. "I just thought it was the right thing to do. It was the right time to let everyone know. Now Im really looking forward to Rio in 16." McIlroy announced his decision ahead of next months International Golf Federation meeting that will finalize the eligibility criteria for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. "Theres no point in delaying it and letting it linger any longer," he said. "Watching the World Cup in Brazil, thinking about Brazil in a couple of years time, it just sort of got me thinking, maybe I should just go ahead and get it out of the way." Still, McIlroy said, winning an Olympic medal would not match winning a major championship. "The majors in our sport are the biggest and best prizes in the game," he said. "But as hopefully golf grows in the Olympics and becomes, say, bigger in four or five games down the line, then it might become bigger." Citizens of Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, can hold both British and Irish citizenship. Most of the Protestant majority is British, most of its Catholic minority Irish. McIlroy, while raised a Catholic, grew up in the predominantly Protestant town of Holywood east of Belfast and once said he considered himself more British than Irish. His 2012 comments -- suggesting he might prefer to join the British team -- provoked strong ill feelings from Irish golf fans. McIlroy initially said he might skip Rio entirely to avoid alienating fans further. Two other top Northern Ireland golfers, Darren Clarke and McDowell, are Protestants who have identified with Ireland. 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Some devout Muslim athletes choose to fast during training or competition, but it can create selection difficulties for the coaches in team sports.Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Brad Richardson had two goals and an assist to support a 21-save effort from Eddie Lack as the Vancouver Canucks posted an impressive 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at CONSOL Energy Center. Shawn Matthias added a goal and an assist in the Canucks NHL-best 11th road win of the season, while Lack was rarely challenged by a lethargic Penguins team in recording his fifth career shutout and first of 2014-15. Thomas Greiss finished with 28 saves for Pittsburgh, which was blanked for only the second time this season. Final Score: Washington 2, Carolina 1 Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Eric Fehr scored a tiebreaking goal with 4:02 remaining in the third period to lift the visiting Washington Capitals to a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. Jay Beagle had a goal in the first period and Braden Holtby made 29 saves for the Capitals, who snapped a two-game losing streak with a fifth straight win at PNC Arena. Alexander Semin scored his first goal of the season for Carolina, which has dropped five of its last seven games. Anton Khudobin stopped 26 shots in defeat. Final Score: Detroit 5, Dallas 2 Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Darren Helm scored two goals and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Thursday. Stephen Weiss had one goal and two assists for the Red Wings, who bounced back from a 4-3 loss to the Panthers on Tuesday. Pavel Datsyuk and Kyle Quincey each had one goal and an assist. Jimmy Howard made 22 saves in the win. Colton Sceviour and Tyler Seguin lit the lamp for the Stars, who have lost four in a row. Jussi Rynnas, who was recalled by Dallas from the AHL on Wednesday, stopped 24- of-29 shots in his first NHL game since Feb. 19, 2013. Final Score: Tampa Bay 5, Buffalo 0 Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Ben Bishop faced just 13 shots in his first shutout of the season and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-0 on Thursday night to split a home-and-home series. Steven Stamkos, Brenden Morrow, Nikita Kucherov, Jason Garrison and Brett Connolly scored for the Lightning, who had a four-game winning streak snapped in Tuesdays 2-1 shootout loss in Buffalo. Bishop stopped five shots in the first period, three in the second and made five more saves in the third for his ninth career shutout. Jhonas Enroth gave up all five Tampa Bay goals on 35 shots as the Sabres lost for only the second time in their last eight games. Final Score: Columbus 4, Florida 3 (SO) Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Ryan Johansen scored the lone goal of the shootout to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday. Johansen skated in slowly on Roberto Luongo and nonchalantly snapped a shot past the Panthers netminder to give the Blue Jackets their 10th straight win in the series. Sergei Bobrovsky was stellar in net for Columbus, turning aside 52 shots and making a highlight-reel glove save on Nick Bjugstad in the fourth and final round of the shootout. Cam Atkinson tallied a goal with an assist, while Nick Foligno and Boone Jenner also scored for the Blue Jackets. The Panthers tied a franchise record with 55 shots on goal. Bjugstad notched two goals and an assist and Tomas Fleischmann added a goal with an assist. Luongo made 17 stops in the setback. Final Score: New Jersey 5, Toronto 3 Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Cammalleris tiebreaking power-play goal late in the second period helped the New Jersey Devils stop a five-game losing streak with a 5-3 decision over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite playing without Jaromir Jagr due to a bout with the flu, the Devils had little troublle producing offense.dddddddddddd. Steve Bernier and Eric Gelinas both recorded a goal and an assist, with Stephen Gionta and Adam Henrique also lighting the lamp to back a 28-save effort from Cory Schneider. Jonathan Bernier managed just 21 saves for Toronto, which entered Thursdays matchup 4-0-1 over its last five outings. Mike Santorelli had a goal and an assist in the loss. Final Score: NY Islanders 2, Ottawa 1 Ottawa, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Casey Cizikas goal with 6:27 remaining spoiled an emotional night for the Ottawa Senators while lifting the New York Islanders to a 2-1 victory. The Senators honored franchise icon Daniel Alfredsson, who signed a one-day contract with the team on Thursday to officially announce his retirement, prior to the games start. However, Ottawa mustered just 21 shots and Mika Zibanejads power-play goal to extend their losing streak to four games. Brock Nelson added a goal in the red-hot Islanders eighth win in their last nine outings, while Jaroslav Halak posted 20 saves to set a team record with his 11th consecutive win between the pipes. Craig Anderson stopped 23 shots for Ottawa, which was coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to New York in Long Island in Tuesdays opener of this home-and-home set. Final Score: Nashville 4, St. Louis 3 Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Colin Wilsons breakaway goal in the third period proved to be the game-winner as the Nashville Predators beat St. Louis 4-3 to spoil Martin Brodeurs debut with the Blues. Mike Ribeiro tallied his third goal in as many games and added two assists for the Predators, who won their seventh straight home game. Filip Forsberg and Eric Nystrom also scored, while Pekka Rinne made 29 saves. Brodeur, for the first time in his career, appeared in a game for a team other than the New Jersey Devils and allowed four goals on 24 shots. Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice for St. Louis, which has dropped two straight after opening its four-game road trip with a 3-2 shootout win at Minnesota. Final Score: Calgary 4, Colorado 3 (OT) Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - Sean Monahan scored 1:47 into overtime to lift the Calgary Flames to a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. Calgarys Dennis Wideman scored his second goal of the game with 1:17 remaining in regulation to force overtime. Monahan won it when he collected his own rebound and fired it past Colorado goaltender Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov, who returned after missing six games with a groin injury, thought the puck was covered after denying Monahans initial bid from the slot. Kris Russell collected three assists for the Flames, but was undressed on a glittering goal by Alex Tanguay that gave the Avalanche a 3-2 lead with 5:46 left in the third. Karri Ramo won his sixth consecutive start with a 26-save effort. The win was the 400th in the career of Calgary head coach Bob Hartley, who guided the Avalanche to a 2001 Stanley Cup title. Varlamov stopped 21 shots in his first action since Nov. 15. Final Score: Los Angeles 4, Arizona 0 Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Martin Jones made 26 saves for his second consecutive shutout as the Los Angeles Kings claimed a 4-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday. Jones made 28 saves in the Kings 4-0 win over the Wild on Nov. 26. Los Angeles has back-to-back shutouts -- Jonathan Quick blanked the Boston Bruins 2-0 on Tuesday. Dustin Brown had two goals and an assist for the Kings, who have won three of four. Jarret Stoll and Alec Martinez both had one goal and an assist. Mike Smith got the start for the Coyotes and gave up three goals on 20 shots before being pulled. Devan Dubnyk stopped 21-of-22 shots in relief. ' ' '