Journalism does not merely grant its practitioners a vantage point from which to chronicle all things significant, it also obliges them to be guardians of the truth and keepers of the public conscience. We are hardly infallible, and trying to be worthy of our ideals is a constant endeavour. Journalism never was, and never should be, just another profession: the foundations of democracy would be significantly weaker without journalistic scrutiny.Occasionally we are required to turn our gaze inwards and judge ourselves by the standards we apply to the rest of the world. A couple of weeks ago our attention was drawn to an exceedingly rare occurrence on our site: a portion of a piece by one of our most valued columnists bore striking similarities to parts of a piece published in the Economist a few days prior.Ed Smith, the writer of that piece on ESPNcricinfo, has written for the site for over four years. He has combined intellect, erudition, research, and curiosity about human behaviour with first-hand knowledge of sport to bring to our readers a series of pieces that have provided a perspective on sport and sportspersons not usually offered by sportswriters.However, this particular piece of work did not meet our editorial standards for sourcing, and since the stark resemblance between some paragraphs was impossible to ignore, we decided to insert an attribution immediately, and have subsequently decided to take the piece down altogether.In public life, perceptions matter as much as reality. Credibility is not a nice-to-have attribute for us, it is the basis of our existence. And the bigger the reputation, the greater the need for accountability. We believe we have dealt with the matter with the seriousness it deserves. Authentic NFL Jerseys China . 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The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. RIO DE JANEIRO -- There were so many questions about their cushy accommodations it seemed the Americans were on vacation.Yes, the U.S. mens basketball team is staying on a cruise ship, with gorgeous views of Brazils beautiful beaches.But the Americans didnt come to Rio de Janeiro for fun and sun.We know whats our task at hand, veteran Carmelo Anthony said. This is business for us. Were going out there to take care of business.The U.S. team had its international introduction Thursday with its Olympic news conference, answering plenty of questions about where theyre staying (the luxury yacht) and whos not playing (LeBron James and Stephen Curry).It was the usual spectacle for a team that always draws a crowd at the Olympics, no matter who is on the roster. This one features 10 players with no Olympic experience, with only Anthony and Kevin Durant back from the team that won the Americans second straight gold medal in 2012.Theyre still considered the team to beat even with their inexperience, which is why Paul George had such trouble with his first attempt at Portuguese.A local journalist tried to teach him the word for underdog, then asked if there was any chance the U.S. could fill that role.Of us being underdog? he said. No, I dont think were the underdog.Try heavy, heavy favorite.The Americans open on Saturday against China, a team they beat by 49 and 50 points in exhibition play. So that game shouldnt be close, and it might be a while before they get one -- if they get one -- that is. But the U.S. players say they arent thinking that way.You have to worry about everybody, forward Draymond Green said. Every team is here for a reason. They qualified somehow. ... We cant come out here and say, `Oh, were the United States and were supposed to win, or `We have this person and that person and were supposed to win. We have to be locked in every game. If you dont, youll get beat.The Americans arrived in Rio on Wednesday from Housston, where they completed their exhibition tour.dddddddddddd. They held their first practice at the arena Thursday as they get their sea legs under them.Anthony stayed on a cruise ship in his first Olympics, when they finished third in 2004 in Athens. Theyre on a ship again, along with the U.S. womens team, in part because of a shortage of hotel space compared to recent hosts Beijing and London, and Anthony doesnt see why its such a big deal.Its no different than us staying in the hotel, he said. Its not like were cruising around. Were docked. We have the same amenities as if we were staying in the hotel.He joked that the beds were small for basketball players, but its expected to be smooth sailing for this group. The Americans may have seemed vulnerable when James, Curry and a number of other superstars declined to play, but the players who did accept invites have had a few weeks to work on getting better on the court and getting along off it.Were a group of guys that range from age of 24 to, I dont know how old Carmelo is, 40? center DeAndre Jordan said. So we have so much fun together and everybodys so competitive and we all want to win, and when you got guys like that, it makes it that much more fun.Anthony is actually 32, and his first Olympic experience 12 years ago was a mostly miserable one. He plans to leave better than he came in.I know what it felt like when kind of the rest of the world was supposedly catching up with the USA as far as from a basketball standpoint. So I know what it felt like to be at the bottom and I know what it feels like to be at the top of the game as well, Anthony said.My goal is to help this team and lead this time to a gold medal.---AP Sports Writer Tom Withers contributed to this report.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney ' ' '