The 6-foot-11 centre was injured last season playing for Kent

SOCHI, Russia -- Ukraine will compete in the Winter Paralympics in Sochi despite Russias military moves in Crimea. The Ukrainian Paralympic Committee decided against boycotting the games, announcing a few hours before Fridays opening ceremony that its athletes would stay. The decision came after discussions between Ukrainian officials and athletes over whether to pull out in light of the crisis back home and Russias military takeover of the Crimean peninsula. "We are staying at the Paralympics," Valeriy Sushkevich, president of the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine, said at a news conference. However, he added that the circumstances were far from ideal. "I dont remember a situation when the organizing country during a Paralympics started an intervention on the territory of a country taking part," Sushkevich said, according to the R-Sport agency. "I dont know what to extent the team can focus on the result now." The Ukrainian official said the team would leave Sochi if there is any escalation of military conflict. "I declare should this happen we will leave the games," Sushkevich said. "We cannot possibly stay here in this case." He said he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday night to discuss the situation and request peace during the games. Suskevich said he did not receive any guarantees but it was important that Putin agreed to listen. Putin and IOC President Thomas Bach are expected to attend Fridays opening ceremony. Several countries have decided not to send political leaders or dignitaries to the ceremony in protest of Russias actions in Ukraine. Ukraines decision to compete in Sochi was welcomed by the International Paralympic Committee. "We want sport to prevail and a full complement of teams to compete in what we are confident will be a fantastic Paralympic Winter Games," IPC President Phillip Craven said. "All week the IPC has been working closely with the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee in an effort to keep them here in Sochi. The talking point of Sochi 2014 needs to be great sport and great athletes, not global politics." The IPC has appealed for Russia to recognize the U.N.s Olympic Truce, which asks warring parties to cease hostilities during the Olympics and Paralympics. About 575 athletes from 45 countries are due to compete in the 10-day Paralympics. Five sports are on the program -- alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon, sledge hockey and wheelchair curling. Ukraine has entered 23 athletes for the Sochi Paralympics. It finished fifth in the medals table at the Winter Paralympics in Vancouver in 2010, with a total of 19 medals and five gold. Ukrainian athletes chanted "peace to Ukraine" as they apparently walked out of a flag-raising ceremony in Sochi on Thursday night. That is now under investigation by the IPC as a possible breach of rules banning political protests. "What were trying to do is gather the evidence, gather the transcripts and then we will see if any steps are necessary," IPC spokesman Craig Spence said. "If there was a political protest, obviously wed be disappointed by that because we have said all week that this is about sport, not politics." NMD R1 Womens Canada .com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday. Ultra Boost Uncaged Canada . Third-place Madrid fell behind and settled for a 2-2 draw earlier at Osasuna in a match both sides finished with 10 men, and Barcelona didnt let the chance escape. Barcelona, still without the injured Lionel Messi, again turned to Neymar after his hat trick against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday to convert a penalty on the half-hour mark and restore the lead in the 68th after Villarreal levelled. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/stan-smith-cheap-canada.html . -- Top-seed Shahar Peer and Canadian Eugenie Bouchard advanced to the second round of the inaugural WTA Citi Open. NMD R2 Canada . Although Olivetti, a qualifier, had 13 aces, he failed to force a single break-point chance on Gasquets serve and lost his own three times. Gasquet next plays third-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, who won had 18 aces in a 6-2, 6-4 win against seventh-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France. NMD R1 Canada Sale . -- A.J. Burnett was happy to escape from New York. PHILADELPHIA -- Thaddeus Young always had his confidence. He just needed to find his stroke. Once he did, Young gave the 76ers a rare bright spot in a bleak season. Young hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left to lift Philadelphia to a 95-92 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. "I was like, Im making this shot," Young said. "I hadnt made one the whole game. But I was like, whatever it takes, it was going to go down." So did the Bobcats. Young hit the final big shot in a fourth quarter loaded with back-and-forth baskets, a poorly contested jumper from the left of the arc off a feed from Michael-Carter Williams. Young scored 11 points and his winner was his only 3-pointer of the game. Kemba Walkers last-gasp shot was off the mark. Spencer Hawes had 17 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for the Sixers. Evan Turner scored 23 points and Carter-Williams had 20. "You find those (wins) from time to time to help promote what youre doing," coach Brett Brown said. "They work hard. They really invest time. They completely get along." Walker led the Bobcats with 26 points and Al Jefferson had 24. Hard to believe, the Bobcats (16-24) entered the game as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. But this one had the feel of a bad preseason finale until the final minutes. Charlottes Gerald Henderson missed his first nine shots. Philadelphias Tony Wroten spent more time throwing the ball into the stands than to a teammate. Sixers forward Brandon Davies was whistled for four fouls in 5 minutes. Both teams shot clunkers from the free throw line (Bobcats 17 of 26; 76ers 11 of 20) and 3-point arc (Bobcats 5 of 20; 76ers 6 of 15). And the turnovers. So many turnovers -- a sloppy 24 for the Sixers that led to 25 points and helped the Bobcats rally from 11 down. "You fight hard to come back, then you just cant come up with the plays to win the game," Henderson said. Henderson stripped Turner and dunked for a rare easy basket and a one-point lead late in the fourth. Hawes followed with a 3 to put the Sixers up 89-87. Jefferson tied it. Turnerr went inside to make it 91-89.dddddddddddd. Walker tied it at 92-all. This one seemed set for overtime. Young took care of that with one of his biggest shots of the season, a needed lift for a team with only 13 wins. "We have to get better at finishing games and keeping our turnovers down," Young said. "We dont have very many (wins), so we have to cherish what weve got." The sputtering Bobcats have lost nine of 10. "When the games on the line, youve got to have one clean coverage," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "We did a poor job with the two guys involved in that." While the win helped the Sixers snap a four-game losing streak, they are still all about building for the future and have steeled themselves for a season spent near the bottom of the standings. They hope Nerlens Noel helps take them to the top. Noel, the sixth overall pick in the 2013 draft, hasnt played this season as he recovers from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. The 6-foot-11 centre was injured last season playing for Kentucky. The Sixers are taking a cautious approach toward bringing along their top prospect. Sixers president Sam Hinkie said some restrictions on Noel have been lifted and he is now able to participate in limited on-court work. "There are several benchmarks Nerlens still must meet, and during that time we will closely monitor his progress and regularly evaluate his status," Hinkie said. "Our goal remains the same, which is to give Nerlens every opportunity to ensure a long, productive NBA career." Brown said there was "no definitive timeline" on when Noel would play for the Sixers. "At age 19, hes got an awful lot to offer, an awful lot to give," Brown said. "I personally cant wait to coach him. Hes excited. He wants to get out there. But we have to do right by him." Notes: Hawes and Carter-Williams each scored 12 points to help the Sixers take a 53-45 lead into halftime. ... The Sixers held a 50-42 rebounding edge. ... There were four lead changes and three ties in the fourth quarter. ' ' '