INSTEAD of staking out a hard line position on the conflicts inherent in sending Olympic athletes to China, the leader of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) turned questions about the issues in the host country into a marketing pitch of sorts for America’s own aspirations. “The best thing we can do is offer the world outstanding opportunities to have games here in the US,” USOPC chair Susanne Lyons said Friday when asked how the federation could use its leverage to resolve current problems in the Olympic world. “In Los Angeles and, hopefully, in Salt Lake City.” The plug for Salt …