LeBron James cannot currently envision a scenario where he leaves the Miami Heat this summer, though he still plans to assess his needs and his future at the end of the season.

James made the comments in a wide-ranging interview with NBA TV. The Heat star can choose to become a free agent after this season by exercising an option in the contract he signed when he arrived in Miami during the summer of 2010.

Thanks to that memorable shootout loss to the U.S., Russia must win four games in six days to bring home its first Olympic men's hockey gold medals in 22 years.

Alex Ovechkin and his teammates begin attempting this daunting task Tuesday against Norway when elimination games begin in Sochi.

Pierre Vaultier of France held off hard-charging Nikolay Olyunin of Russia to win gold in men's Olympic snowboardcross on Tuesday.

Vaultier fended off several advances by Olyunin in the final, drawing clear over the final jumps to victory. The 26-year-old Vaultier won all four of his races in the midst of a steady drizzle that created plenty of the chaos — the signature of snowboarding's answer to auto racing.

The men were always going to be overshadowed by the women leading into the ski jumping competition at the Sochi Olympics. After all, male athletes had flown off the jumping hill for 80 years at the Winter Games before women were finally allowed to compete.

Once in Russia, though, more than one intriguing story line developed: Kamil Stoch won both the normal and individual hill for Poland, overcoming illness in the first event. Germany won twice — Carina Vogt, an historic first-ever gold in the women's normal hill; and another gold in the men's team event in a close, final-jump win over two-time defending gold medalists Austria.

So far during the Winter Olympics, Vladimir Putin hasn't shown off his pecs, scuba-dived to a treasure site or engaged in any sort of the he-man stunts he's known for.

Since team ski jumping on the large hill was added to the Winter Olympics program in 1988, it's been mostly a European affair — Austria, Finland and Germany have won it twice each. Japan managed gold once — when the country hosted the games in 1998 at Nagano.

But the Japanese skiers, led by large hill silver medalist Noriaki Kasai, look to be favorites — this time on the road — going into the team competition on Monday, the sport's final Olympic event at the RusSki Gorki Jumping Center. Japanese ski jumpers filled four of the top 13 places in the large hill gold final on Saturday.

For Brazilians, not winning the World Cup would be bad enough.

Even worse would be bitter rival Argentina winning in Brazil where 200 million locals are expecting to celebrate.

French investigators said Monday that Formula One legend Michael Schumacher's ski accident in the French Alps was not due to safety breaches by the ski station or faulty material.

"There were no breaches by anybody. The accident occurred in an off-piste zone," said prosecutor Patrick Quincy, adding that the markers and other signs at the posh ski resort of Meribel "conformed to current French laws."

Manuel Pellegrini, the Manchester City manager, did not believe he had a point to prove over Jose Mourinho despite knocking him and Chelsea out of the FA Cup in a 2-0 fifth-round victory at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

City's Chilean manager had come under close scrutiny and had his tactical acumen questioned after losing to Chelsea at home in the league two weeks ago, the second time this season he had lost to Mourinho and the seventh defeat in nine career meetings between the pair.

Barcelona boss Gerardo Martino believes the first leg of his side's Champions League last-16 tie against Manchester City on Tuesday comes at the right time as he has a fully-fit squad to choose from.

The Catalans maintained their place atop La Liga on goal difference with a 6-0 thrashing of Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou on Saturday.