FIFA President Sepp Blatter has softened his stance on calling for clubs to be punished with relegation after serious racist abuse, suggesting that fans would deliberately provoke incidents.

Blatter said relegation sanctions are "not a simple solution, (because) will this lead to people coming to a stadium wanting to stop the game intentionally?"

Mexican prosecutors said Thursday they have broken up a plot by an armed gang to assassinate two federal legislators in Mexico City.

The plan, had it succeeded, would have marked a rare attack on federal officials, who have largely escaped the drug-fueled violence that has claimed the lives of many state and local officials.

One of the three football officials facing match-fixing related charges has been sent to the hospital with an undisclosed illness while the other two appeared in a Singapore court and entered no pleas.

Referee Ali Sabbagh and assistant referees Ali Eid and Abdallah Taleb, all from Lebanon, were charged with "corruptly receiving gratification in the form of free sexual service" by Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

Syrian state media have sharply criticized Jordan for hosting U.S.-backed training of Syrian rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad, warning that Amman risks falling into the "volcanic crater" of Syria's conflict.

The stern warning issued Thursday by state radio and in a front-page editorial in the daily al-Thawra, the mouthpiece of the Syrian government, will likely aggravate Jordan's security fears over the civil war in its northern neighbor.

Carmelo Anthony scored 40 points — giving him 90 in two games — as the New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-82 on Wednesday night for their 10th straight victory.

Anthony, coming off a 50-point effort in a win over Miami on Tuesday, scored 24 points in the first half. He shot 17 of 27 from the field and was 5 for 6 from the free throw line. Raymond Felton supported with three straight baskets in a key spurt.

Lance Armstrong is looking to make a splash with a return to competition.

The disgraced cyclist is signed up to swim three events this weekend at the Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championships at the University of Texas. Armstrong spokesman Mark Higgins said Wednesday that Armstrong, 41, will compete in the 40-44 age group in the 500-, 1,000- and the 1,650-yard freestyle.

Japan is making a sweeping shift in its monetary policy, aiming to spur inflation and get the world's third-largest economy out of a long, debilitating slump.

Bowing to demands from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for more aggressive monetary easing, the Bank of Japan announced Thursday a policy overhaul intended to double the money supply and achieve a 2 percent inflation target at the "earliest possible time, with a time horizon of about two years."

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring after just nine minutes as Real Madrid swept to a convincing 3-0 victory over Galatasaray in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday.

Ronaldo's delicate chip shot was followed 20 minutes later by a close-range strike from Karim Benzema as a dominant Madrid moved effortlessly through the gears.

Malaga held on for a 0-0 draw with Borussia Dortmund thanks to an inspired performance by goalkeeper Willy Caballero on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.

Dortmund's high-paced attack led by Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski produced several scoring chances for the German champions, but their lack of finishing touch and Caballero's saves let the hosts keep their seventh clean sheet in 11 games.

Japanese side Kashiwa Reysol scored three goals in a 15-minute span to remain unbeaten after three matches in the Asian Champions League, while the Central Coast Mariners kept pace with their first win in Group H.

In Group D, Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates maintained its good run of form, beating Qatari club Al Rayyan 2-1 to improven its chances of advancing to the knockout stage.