WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says he believes the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, will be safe and is not discouraging Americans from attending. Obama says Russian authorities "understand the stakes" involved in securing the games and the potential threats against the events. He says the U.S. is co-ordinating with Russia and officials have looked at the Russian security plans. Still, Obama says there are "always some risks" involved with large international gatherings like the Olympics. And he says he feels better when those types of events are held in the United States because American officials have full control over what happen. Obama spoke in an interview with CNN. Ultra Boost Clima Australia . Patrick Sharp scored twice and Patrick Kane, Bryan Bickell and Nick Leddy also connected to lead Chicago to a 5-2 win over the Devils on Monday night. NMD_R1 Shoes Australia . Casey Janssen was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday due to a strain in his left abdominal area and lower back. http://www.nmdaustraliasale.com/ultra-bo...-australia.html. Rajne Soderberg, the director of the Stockholm Diamond League event, said in an email Friday that the ban still holds. Euromeetings, the organization representing Europes top track events, "will continue to recommend that members do not invite athletes who we believe cause disrepute to our meetings and our sport. NMD R2 Australia . The Canadiens captain, who underwent surgery on his injured biceps in the off-season, had been skating with the team in a non-contact capacity since last week. Adidas NMD Clearance . An offseason trade acquisition from Kansas City, Greinkes National League debut was delayed by a non-baseball injury in the spring, and he was 0-1 after dropping an 8-0 decision at Atlanta in his initial appearance with the Brewers on May 4.GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Phil Jackson said it happens every time he walks around New York.Someone asks the question, How we gonna be? How we doing? Jackson said.OK, so how are the Knicks going to be?We believe were going to be a playoff team, Jackson said Friday, and then we dont know how far well be able to go, but were hoping for the best.It was an optimistic and possibly realistic view of the Knicks, who went 37-45 last season and missed the playoffs. Jackson was hired as team president late in the season, re-signed All-Star Carmelo Anthony, hired Derek Fisher as coach, and engineered a number of roster moves to make the team younger, deeper and quicker.He also hopes that makes them better, but the 11-time champion as a coach with the Bulls and Lakers realizes theres a process to building contending teams that the Knicks havent been following.Usually teams come into the playoffs and learn from being in the playoffs, and gradually assume the capabilities of carrying out the championship, Jackson said. I was fortunate to have a situation in L.A. where a team had gone into the playoffs. They had been swept a couple of times in the playoff run, but they had been in the midst of the playoffs and were able to win the very first year that I coached that team there, which was a ready-made team basically with tremendous talent. Very similar situation in Chicago.This team does not got a personality. Its got over 35 per cent of this team has changed, so we still have to kind of come together in a bonding way that creates trust, teamwork, identity, some things like that.But at least they have stability. The chaos of the Knicks 2013-14 season began just before training camp, when Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan shook up the franchise by firing general manager Glen Grunwald and hiring Steve Mills after the Knicks won 54 games and the Atlantic Divvision title.dddddddddddd Grunwald was a longtime friend of coach Mike Woodson, who lost his strongest supporter in the organization and had nobody to publicly back him when the team sputtered at the start.I think it feels much, much better now, Mills said. I think the addition of Phil to the team I think adds a different look in terms of creating a culture. I think that was important to Carmelo and I think its important as how we move forward as a unit. So I think theres a lot more stability, I see the sort of rhythm to how we need to build the team.Besides retaining Anthony, Jacksons biggest move was a trade that sent starters Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to Dallas that brought the Knicks veterans Jose Calderon and Samuel Dalembert. But Jackson and Fisher both expect the Eastern Conference to be tougher than the one that allowed Atlanta to make the post-season with a 38-44 record last season, so those moves may not be good enough for the Knicks.Fisher said Anthony is the only certain starter at the moment. He will begin figuring out the rest Tuesday at West Point, when he opens his first training camp as a coach.Jackson said it usually takes a team a month to six weeks from there to jell, which would mean he should have an idea of what the Knicks have by the time he returns to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving. But he cautions that things can change.Last year the Knicks had an injury right away to Tyson Chandler. Everything was kind of upset. J.R. Smith was suspended to start the season. All kinds of things hindered their progress and it affected their season, Jackson said. So we cant control that. We try to control what we can control, and the fact that we have pretty good supporting cast and we have some young players, we think that we can really get them playing hard and playing together, and thats what well try to do. ' ' '