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MOSCOW -- Russias counter-terrorism agency says its studying a video posted by an Islamic militant group that asserted responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 34 people last month and is threatening to strike the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Security experts say the Russians are right in taking the threat seriously. The video was posted online Sunday by a militant group in Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in Russias volatile North Caucasus. The Olympic host city of Sochi lies only 500 kilometres (300 miles) west of Dagestan. Two Russian-speaking men featured in the video are identified as members of Ansar al-Sunna, the name of a Jihadist group operating in Iraq. It was unclear whether the men in the video had received funding or training from that group or only adopted its name. There was no confirmation the two men were the suicide bombers who struck the southern Russian city of Volgograd last month as the video claims. Scores of people were also injured by the bombings of a train station and a bus. Russias National Anti-Terrorism Committee said Monday it was studying the video and would have no immediate comment. The video couldnt be viewed in Russia, where Internet providers cut access to it under a law that bans the "dissemination of extremist materials." It was released by the Vilayat Dagestan, one of the units that make up the so-called Caucasus Emirate, an umbrella group for the rebels seeking to establish an independent Islamic state in the North Caucasus. Doku Umarov, a Chechen warlord who leads the Emirate, had ordered a halt to attacks on civilian targets in 2012. But he rescinded that order in July, urging his followers to strike the Sochi Olympics, which he denounced as "satanic dances on the bones of our ancestors." The games run from Feb. 7-23. The Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya claimed last week that Umarov was dead, but the claim couldnt be verified. The Vilayat Dagestan statement said the Volgograd attacks were carried out in part because of Umarovs order, but it didnt specifically say he had ordered them. Dagestan has become the centre of an Islamic insurgency that has engulfed Russias North Caucasus after two separatist wars in Chechnya. Militants seeking to create an independent state governed by Islamic Shariah law in the Caucasus launch daily attacks on police and other authorities there. One of the two ethnic Chechen brothers accused of staging the Boston Marathon bombings spent six months in Dagestan in 2012. Andrei Soldatov, an independent Moscow-based security analyst, said the video threat need to be taken seriously. "They have capabilities to strike beyond the North Caucasus, which they demonstrated in Volgograd," he said. "Its extremely difficult to stop a lone wolf suicide bombing attack." Georgy Mirsky, a respected Russian expert on the Middle East, said the video reflected the increasingly close ties between Jihadists in the Caucasus and elsewhere. Russias war against Caucasus militants has made it an enemy on par with the United States and Israel for militant Islamic groups in the Middle East, he wrote on his blog. Russia has responded to the Islamic threat by introducing some of the most sweeping security measures ever seen at an international sports event. Some 100,000 police, army and other security forces have been deployed, according to analysts, and tight restrictions have been placed on access to the Sochi area. Anyone attending the Winter Olympics has to buy a ticket online from the organizers and obtain a spectator pass that requires providing passport details. Authorities have already barred access to all cars registered outside of Sochi and Russian police have gone house-to-house methodically screening all city residents. Soldatov argued, however, that Russias massive security presence at the Olympics could also have an adverse effect. "When you put so many troops on the ground, you might get some problems with the co-ordination of all these people," he said. Soldatov noted that the ominous threat of a "present" for the visitors to the Games contained in the video is loosely phrased and could herald an attack outside tightly guarded Olympic facilities. "They never tried to specify the place where they might strike, thats why everybody should be concerned," he said. Cheap Basketball College Jerseys .C. -- Kurt Busch put his chances at "70 per cent" at running the Indianapolis 500 this year because of recent developments that have pushed a potential program along. Fake NCAA Jerseys .ca NHL Power Rankings, ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks. 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Bryant had nine points and eight rebounds in his season debut, but Amir Johnson scored a career-high 32 points in the trade-depleted Toronto Raptors 106-94 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday night.BEREA, Ohio -- As he discussed the possibility of quarterback Johnny Manziel being picked by Cleveland in the upcoming draft, Browns linebacker Quentin Groves made a small sign of the cross. A prayer that hes coming? A plea that he stays away? Groves intentions with his gesture werent clear. Like just about everything around Johnny Football, theres no definite answer. The most polarizing player to enter the NFL in a while, Manziel, is being closely linked to the Browns, who own the No. 4 overall pick in next weeks draft and have been seeking a franchise quarterback for more than a decade. Clevelands inability to land a QB either in the draft or via free agency or blind luck may be the single biggest reason the Browns have only made the playoffs once since 1999 and seem to change coaches every year. There are those who believe Manziel can save the Browns. Others feel the Texas A&M quarterbacks dazzling skills -- and size -- wont translate to the pro game. Hes dynamic. Hes too small. Hes a game-changer. Hes self-absorbed. Hes a hard worker. Hes a head case. Hes charismatic. Everyone has an opinion on Manziel, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner who has been projected as being picked anywhere from the top 5 to the bottom of the first round. "If Johnny Manziel came through, if he beats out the other quarterbacks that are here, its all good," Browns Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden said. "I like Johnny Manziel. I like him a whole lot." Hadens not alone. Sports radio talk shows here are crammed with callers screaming for the Browns to choose Manziel, one of several QBs in this years class expected to go in the early rounds. Cleveland hasnt used a pick higher than No. 22 on a quarterback since taking Tim Couch first overall 15 years ago. The Browns have done their homework on Manziel. The team recently worked him out privately in College Station, Texas, and brought him to Cleveland to visit their training facility and headquarters. As they consider taking him, Browns general manager Ray Farmer and owner Jimmy Haslam wanted to get to better know Manziel, who served a suspension last season for violating an NCAA rule involving signing autographs, as a person. Theyve seen him on film. Nothing beats the real thing. "I dont think I have any reservations with who Johnny is," Farmer said. "Hes a good young man. I think the interesting part about Johnny is that, much like a lot of us, you dont get a handbook for how to operate in certain instances.dddddddddddd "When you go from being a kid from Tyler, Texas, to being Johnny Football and winning the Heisman Trophy really quickly, they dont hand you a manual and tell you how to handle the media swarm, how to handle the paparazzi, how to handle people coming up to you at dinners. "He would tell you very candidly that its probably not how he would have written it up now that hes at the end of it or getting towards the end of his college career, but you live and you learn." Manziel would certainly put Cleveland back on the football map and revitalize a flagging franchise. Hed sell tickets and move merchandise. But is that enough? Groves called one of his college coaches now at Texas A&M for a scouting report. "I asked him, How is Johnny? Is he a football guy?" Groves said. "He said, Honestly, hes the most competitive guy youll ever meet. He is a guy that will come in, be the first in, last to leave. thats just him. I know you have the flashy lifestyle (Groves mimics Manziels signature finger rub), (rapper) Drake and all that stuff, and at the end of the day the guy wins ballgames. "He makes plays. He extends drives and wins ballgames." Browns offensive co-ordinator Kyle Shanahan, who coached quarterback Robert Griffin III in Washington, thinks Manziels unorthodox style can win in the pros. "If you can make those plays in college, you can do it in the NFL," he said. "The one thing about the NFL, theres a lot of tape out there. Youve got to be able to do everything. "Whatever you do very good, theyre going to eventually be able to shut that down and youre going to have to do something else. Hes going to be able to make plays in this league. Eventually when they try to contain him, hes going to have to do everything he didnt always have to do in college." The Browns must also consider all that comes along with Manziel. Number 2 brings a three-ring circus. Groves, for one, believes the Browns are suited to add Manziel. "Were a mature enough team to handle it," he said. "Weve had some individual success here and people have handled it well. Josh Gordon and (Alex) Mack going to the Pro Bowl, Joe Thomas going to the Pro Bowl. Joe Haden and Jordan Cameron making their first Pro Bowls, things like that. I think we can handle it." ' ' '