some are viewing the Sochi Games with more trepidation

[ldh2013]

CLEVELAND -- On a night of celebration, there were two surprising, strange sights: LeBron James back on Clevelands bench. . The Knicks back in the NBA playoff chase. Carmelo Anthony shook off a congested chest and a horrid shooting start to score 26 points, leading New York to its third straight victory, 107-97 over Cleveland on a Saturday when James was briefly reunited with the Cavaliers. Amare Stoudemire added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, whose winning streak began after a seven-game slide and amid reports Phil Jackson may accept a job in New Yorks front office. Anthony missed his first six shots, but found his touch in time to help the Knicks in their late-season run at the playoffs. J.R. Smith scored 17 and Tyson Chandler added 15 points and 11 boards for New York, which is 3 1/2 games out of the final post-season spot in the Eastern Conference. "You can see something different over the last couple of games," Anthony said. "It seems like everyone has a sense of urgency right now. Were playing for something. We control our own destiny. We want to win as many games as we can down the stretch." Kyrie Irving had 30 points, eight assists and eight rebounds for the Cavs, who retired centre Zydrunas Ilgauskas No. 11 jersey at halftime. Spencer Hawes had 21 points for Cleveland, which dropped to 0-4 in March. The Knicks were as good as done just a few days ago. But with New York fans ready to write them off again, and coach Mike Woodsons future looking shakier than ever, the Knicks have responded with wins over Minnesota, Utah and Cleveland. Theres still plenty of work to do, and the Knicks will likely need some help, but a dreadful season to this point has some hope. "Theres no room for error," Woodson said. "We have to play each possession like its our last possession. The mental approach is a little different now. Its been a tough season for all of us. Now, theyre playing for something." The Knicks made four 3-pointers during a 14-1 run early in the fourth to take control. With New York down 80-77, Pablo Prigioni drained a 3, Smith followed with a long-range shot and Prigioni dropped another 3 to give the Knicks an 88-81 lead. After a Cleveland turnover, Anthony made his fourth 3-pointer, putting the Knicks ahead by 10 with 7:38 left. Cleveland never recovered and the Knicks outscored the Cavs 30-17 over the final 10 minutes. "Were fighting for our lives," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "This team was a game behind us and I just feel like we didnt come out with the right mindset to compete with this team for the eighth spot." The loss put a damper on an otherwise memorable night for the Cavs. At halftime, they retired Ilgauskas jersey during a poignant ceremony. The big man overcame serious foot injuries early in his career to become the clubs career leader in rebounds, games played and blocked shots. Ilgauskas thanked Cleveland fans during the ceremony, which included James sitting again on Clevelands sideline. James, who famously left Cleveland as a free agent in 2010, kept a low profile as Ilgauskas jersey was raised to the rafters, but afterward he greeted his close friend and then posed for photos on the floor with former teammates Delonte West and Daniel "Boobie" Gibson. Anthony said the long halftime break helped. "It was good for me because I got some rest," said Anthony, who was unaware James was at the game. "I got a chance to lay on the floor and let Z do his thing. He took some time up. I appreciate him for that." Anthony couldnt buy a basket in the early minutes before heating up. He scored nine straight points to help the Knicks open a 45-35 lead, and then made his sixth shot in a row, a 3-pointer, to give New York a 14-point cushion. Hawes made consecutive 3-pointers to get the Cavs within six, but Smith dropped the first of his five 3-pointers and New York pushed its lead to 58-43. Irving, though, closed the second quarter with seven quick points to pull the Cavs to 58-50 at halftime. NOTES: The Knicks made 14 3s. ... Cavs C Anderson Varejao played 9 minutes after missing the previous 12 games with a sore back. ... James flew in from Chicago to support Ilgauskas, his teammate for eight seasons in Cleveland. With the Heat playing on Sunday, James chartered a jet to witness the ceremony. Dressed smartly in a dark suit, James sat in a luxury suite during the first half before coming down to the floor at halftime to see Ilgauskas jersey raised to the rafters. ... Beginning with a game in Phoenix on Wednesday, the Cavs will play six straight games -- three at home, three on the road -- against teams currently in playoff position. After the Suns, Cleveland will travel to Golden State and the Los Angeles Clippers before hosting Miami, Oklahoma City and Houston. . Pretty soon he started hitting a few, and on Friday night he was a career-best 6 of 6 from behind the arc. Parsons scored 21 points and the Rockets picked up their fourth straight win, rolling to an easy 114-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. . Vancouver is 0-2-1 over its last three games and has dropped the first two tests of a five-game homestand in regulation. The slide has damaged the clubs already fragile playoff hopes, and the Canucks enter Saturday seven points out of the Western Conferences last postseason berth with only five games left on their schedule. .C. - Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith said he will have an MRI on Monday morning to determine if he has any ligament damage to his left knee. BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Threats to a string of European Olympic offices are reviving a question that has haunted preparations for the Winter Games next month: Is it safe to go to Sochi? European Olympic authorities, whose countries have faced terrorist threats and attacks in the past, largely shrugged off the new menacing messages as a hoax, a marginal phenomenon that security experts say is common ahead of big events. Some members of the U.S. Congress arent so sure. They say Russia isnt doing enough to assure that athletes will be protected at the Feb. 7-23 games, happening not far from an Islamic insurgency that Russias huge security apparatus has struggled for two decades to quell. Russia may run greater risks in towns outside the tightly controlled Olympic zone. Suicide bombs last month a few hundred kilometres (miles) away have increased concerns, and an Islamic warlord has urged his followers to attack the Sochi Olympics, Russian President Vladimir Putins pet project. The threats reported Wednesday appeared to be more anodyne. They were first revealed by Hungarian sports officials, who announced they had received an email in Russian and English threatening Hungarian athletes with terrorist attacks. The International Olympic Committee insisted it takes credible threats seriously, but "in this case it seems like the email sent to the Hungarian Olympic Committee contains no threat and appears to be a random message from a member of the public." International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said he remains confident in Russias Olympic organizers. Talking to reporters in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, he said: "Security is always a matter of concern, not only in the Olympic Games but at every big event, whether its sport or any other. That is unfortunately the world we are living in. "But we are very confident and we know the Russian authorities together with their many partners internationally are doing everything to organize the games in a safe and secure way." The Hungarian Olympic Committee said it had received a message from the organizers of the Sochi Games saying: "Threat described in the email sent to your address is not real." It turned out that Olympic committees from several other European countries, including Britain, Germany, Italy and Austria, had received similar messages but hadnt publicly reported them. The Canadian Olympic Committee would not say whether it had received a similar message. However, the COC did release a statement later Wednesday. "The safety of our entire Canadian Olympic team including our athletes, coaches, support team and volunteers is always our main priority," the statement said. "We have the utmost confidence that the International Olympic Committee and the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee will deliver outstanding Olympic Winter Games. "The Canadian Olympic Committee has and continues to work very closely with government and security forces in Canada as a cornerstone of our preparation for Sochi 2014. This preparation extends to a close collaboration with the Organizing Committee in Sochi and the host nationn, Russia, who are responsible for all security matters relating to Sochi 2014. . . As with other Olympic Games, our safety and security measures are always adapted to each environment." Wolfgang Eichler, spokesman for the Austrian National Olympic Committee, said the email was a hoax that officials had seen before. "Its a fake mail from a sender in Israel who has been active with various threats for a few years," Eichler told Austrian news agency APA. "Its been checked out because it also arrived two years ago." Germanys national Olympic association, the DOSB, also said it had received "several times the same mail with unspecific, general warnings" and it had sent it onto security officials. "We are not aware of any threats that have been deemed as credible being directed toward our delegation," British Olympic Association spokesman Darryl Seibel told the AP. "Organizations such as ours receive email correspondence all the time -- some of which seem to lack in credibility." A spokeswoman for Switzerlands Olympic committee said similar threats were common so close to the Winter Games and athletes and officials would base their travel plans instead on the assessment of security officials -- not on threats. Across the Atlantic, some are viewing the Sochi Games with more trepidation. Members of Congress expressed serious concerns Sunday about the safety of Americans at next months Olympics in Russia and said Moscow needs to co-operate more. While FBI Director James Comey said earlier in January that the Russian government "understands the threat and is devoting the resources to address it," the U.S. has offered air and naval support to the Russian government as it conducts security preparations for the Olympics. The U.S. State Department has advised Americans at the Olympics to keep vigilant about security because of potential terrorist threats, crime and uncertain medical care. By contrast, the French Foreign Ministry for example has not issued any particular terrorism warnings for travellers to Sochi, and a French official said Wednesday that the government has seen no reason to adapt its advice for now. All national Olympic committees "take security seriously and a number travel with their own security. It is not unusual to see the USA expressing greater concerns than other nations," said Andrew Amery, who oversaw security for the 2012 London Olympics, noting that the U.S. sends one of the largest teams and many of the top sponsors are American companies. Amery said intelligence services will be crucial to the games. "It is not unusual to see an increase in hoax calls during the build up to such events and the security agencies will be prepared for them. I do not feel this increases the risks in Sochi and am confident that the security agencies are well-placed to assess these threats." Russia has responded to the Islamic threat by introducing some of the most sweeping security measures ever seen at an international sports event, including an estimated 100,000 police, army and other security forces. ' ' '