Cup duo Dortmund, Bayern resume league fight

Borussia Dortmund are at Cologne on Sunday holding a five-point lead over Bayern Munich who host Hannover a day earlier, with the pair having secured their places in the German Cup final in midweek.

Cup finalists Dortmund, Bayern resume league fight

Borussia Dortmund are at Cologne on Sunday holding a five-point lead over Bayern Munich who host Hannover a day earlier, with the pair having secured their places in the German Cup final in midweek.

Practice One - Hamilton stakes claim at Sepang

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton ended Practice One at a hot and humid Sepang on Friday half a second clear of Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, and eight-tenths up on the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher. Hamilton, who was on pole at last weekend's Australian event, banged in a lap of 1m 38.021s with Pirelli's hard rubber on his McLaren, not long after Vettel had ducked below his previous best with 1m 38.535s for Red Bull. Rosberg beat Schumacher, 1m 38.813s to 1m 38.826s, while Romain Grosjean showed the potential of the Lotus E20 with 1m 38.919s once an initial rear-end stability problem had been sorted out.

Federer's Fearsome Forehand

The two biggest weapons in tennis - the serve and forehand - took centre stage in the men's final at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Sunday.

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Malaysia FP1 Recap: Hamilton, Vettel fastest in dry session, rain threatens for afternoon

Lewis Hamilton (1:38.021) ended the first practice session of the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix fastest, with a lap time more than a half second faster than second fastest Sebastian Vettel. Their teammates had some issues of their own as Mark Webber and Jenson Button ended the session sixth and ninth, respectively. The Australian’s Red Bull

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Fear of failure drives on Real Madrid

Real Madrid will seek to bounce back from successive draws and protect their six-point lead when they visit Real Sociedad on the weekend, while champions Barcelona go to in-form Mallorca on a six-match winning streak.

Federer The Form Player To Beat

World No. 3 Roger Federer comes into the Sony Ericsson Open as the most in-form player on the ATP World Tour.

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Hecking happy with Nurnberg position

Nurnberg coach Dieter Hecking says he is pleased that there are "nine clubs behind us" in the Bundesliga, while forward Albert Bunjaku was delighted to score the winner against Borussia Monchengladbach yesterday.

City eye top as focus remains on Muamba

Manchester City will aim to return to the top of the Premier League on Saturday when they visit Stoke, however much attention will turn to the Reebok Stadium as Bolton take to the field for the first time since Fabrice Muamba collapsed.

Isner Seeks Top American Tag

At this time last year in Miami, John Isner was ranked No. 33 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings and stood fourth among his countryman, behind Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick and Sam Querrey.

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BCB 'satisfied' with Pakistan security arrangements

The Bangladesh delegation sent to inspect security arrangements in Pakistan is "satisfied" with the infrastructure and the BCB president has said he is keen to send the Bangladesh team on a tour

Read between the lines, and start those Lewis rumors

Now, before you post your comment, please, please, please read this next line: This is a joke. That said, if you read between the lines, and you’re really desperate for a Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull pairing, I’ve got something for you to chew upon: Q: Malaysia is known for an unpredictable race in terms

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Rooney sorry for breaking young fan's wrist

Wayne Rooney has apologised to a nine-year-old Manchester United supporter after the striker accidentally broke the boy's wrist with a stray shot before his side's 5-0 win at Wolves on Sunday.

AZ's double hopes ended by Heracles

AZ Alkmaar's hopes of a domestic double have been ended by humble Heracles Almelo who managed to overpower the Eredivisie leaders with a 4-2 extra-time KNVB Beker win setting up a final meeting with PSV Eindhoven.

Llodra/Zimonjic Solid On Serve In Opener

Third seeds Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic saved all five break points they faced to beat Alexandr Dolgopolov and Xavier Malisse 6-3, 7-6(4) in 65 minutes on Thursday at the Sony Ericsson Open.

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Vanity Fair: Arantxa not broke, worth 39 million

Vanity Fair Spain will allege in its upcoming issue that Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario is not as broke as she claims in her autobiography, and is worth about 30 million euros ($39.4 million dollars). The former No. 1 accused her parents of having plundered the profits of her career, taking all of the 60 million dollars that she earned. But the magazine says she owns a score of buildings and parking lots, as well as having overseas bank accounts in Switzerland and Andorra that contain millions.

Your View: Should Ferrari replace Massa immediately?

Some Ferrari pundits are suggesting an immediate change of pace at the Scuderia with the dismissal of Felipe Massa in favor of Sauber’s Mexican driver and Ferrari young driver development program participant Sergio Perez. This comes on the heels of a bad first outing for Massa in Australia. The thought is so prevalent that media asked Perez about the rumors: “They

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Was Caterham’s ‘short cut’ worth £20,900

The ongoing row over intellectual property rights in the case of Force India vs. Aerolabs, and Italian car design company, has received judgment from the high court this week. Force India had accused Aerolab of using it’s intellectual property when Team Caterham, then Team Lotus, hired the firm to help with their car design back in 2009.

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Djokovic recalls wartime in basement

In an upcoming segment on the TV show 60 Minutes, Novak Djokovic recounts spending hours hunkered down in a basement during NATO’s bombing of Belgrade. He admits to losing focus "because we were waking up every single night more or less at 2, 3 A.M. for two-and-a-half months. But the best thing about it...I always try to remember those days in a positive, in a very bright way...We didn't need to go to school and we played more tennis…"[The war] made us tougher. It made us more hungry, more hungry for the success…We have a harder way to succeed in life as Serbs because of the past that we had and because of the history we had. We have to dig deeper."

Serena wins opening match in Key Biscayne

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP)â€"Serena Williams returned to tournament tennis Thursday after a two-month absence and beat Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-3 at the Sony Ericsson Open.

Aside from two Fed Cup victories in February, the match was the first for Williams since she lost in the fourth round at the Australian Open. She had been slowed by a left ankle injury.

Williams, who received a first-round bye because she is seeded 10th, is a five-time Key Biscayne champion. She missed the tournament the past two years because of ailments.

Two-time champion Kim Clijsters defeated No. 14-seeded Julia Goerges 6-2, 7-5. No. 13 Jelena Jankovic lost her opening match to Mona Barthel 6-0, 6-3.

American Ryan Harrison, a wild card entry, rallied past Polito Starace 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4.

Nadal upset by parody, tired of doping charges

Rafael Nadal tells L’Equipe that he was upset by the French TV parody that depicted him urinating into the gas tank of his car, which then took off at an incredible speed, essentially alleging that the Spaniard could be doping. "I would never accuse anyone without proof," Nadal said. "The problem in France, and I don't know why, is that they mistrust everybody. It didn't make me laugh, but everybody has their sense of humor. Every country has different humor and the French and the Spanish one is not the same. There is a part of the population that does not understand what professional sport is like or how anti-doping controls work; they are practically daily and we have to be locatable 365 days a year. Maybe I am being naive, but it is better that I am. I'm so far removed from the world of doping that my lack of knowledge is complete. I do not accept that they label me as a doper when since the age of seven I have worked thousands of hours every f---ing day. It's tiring, at the end of the day."

Mancini expects Tevez to boost City bid

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini says he expects Carlos Tevez to play an important role in the title run-in after the Argentinian set up the winner against Chelsea on his much-anticipated return to the team.

Harrison To Face Federer In Second Round; Karlovic Hits 27 Aces To Win

Ryan Harrison won his first match at the Sony Ericsson Open on Thursday to set up a second-round clash against third seed and 2005-06 champion Roger Federer.

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Ruiz: We want the third ticket to Brazil

If Guatemala are to secure a place at Brazil 2014, they will need their talisman and top-scorer Carlos Ruiz to be at his best. “This year will be vital,” he told FIFA.com.

Harrison To Face Federer In Second Round

Ryan Harrison won his first match at the Sony Ericsson Open on Thursday to set up a second-round clash against third seed and 2005-06 champion Roger Federer.

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BCB "satisified" with Pakistan security arrangements

The Bangladesh delegation sent to inspect security arrangements in Pakistan is "satisfied" with the infrastructure and the BCB president has said he is keen to send the Bangladesh team on a tour

Mixed fortunes for Asian elite

The erratic opening to the AFC Champions League continued as Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande and 2011 finalists Jeonbuk Motors fell to stunning defeats, while Thailand's Buriram United continue to defy the odds.

Wickmayer, Malisse to have anti-doping appeals

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP)â€"Belgian tennis players Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse will have their cases heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in May to decide if they broke anti-doping rules.

CAS says it will hear the appeals involving the players, the World Anti-Doping Agency, the Flemish Tennis Federation and the Flemish Doping Tribunal on May 30.

Wickmayer and Malisse are challenging one-year bans imposed in 2009 after the tribunal ruled they failed to give details of their whereabouts for drug testing. A second Belgian court granted injunctions allowing them to keep playing.

The 22-year-old Wickmayer is ranked No. 33. The 31-year-old Malisse is 75th.

Korea & Abu Dhabi 2012 - now on sale

Tickets are now available on Formula1.com for the 2012 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix on October 12-14 and the 2012 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 2-4

Reports: Mercedes rear wing OKd by FIA

It appears Ross Brawn has done it again. Reports today say that the FIA has approved Mercedes’ combo DRS-F-duct rear wing system. Here’s the key part from the BBC’s coverage, which is worth checking out in full as it explains how the whole thing works: The FIA has allowed the system because race director Charlie

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Lopez And Monaco Awarded Houston Wild Cards

The first wild cards for the 2012 US Men’s Clay Court Championship have been awarded to Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, the 15th ranked player on the ATP World Tour, and Argentina’s Juan Monaco, who is No. 21.

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Susaeta sees Athletic past Sociedad

Markel Susaeta scored a double as Athletic Bilbao withstood the challenge of rivals Real Sociedad to claim a 2-0 triumph, taking them back into the top four in La Liga.

Basel increase lead by beating Lucerne

FC Basel are now nine points clear at the Super League summit after a 3-1 victory over nearest rivals Lucerne, while third-placed Young Boys were held to a goalless draw by Lausanne.

Four stars set to shine in MLS 2012

With the new Major League Soccer season scheduled to get underway next weekend, FIFA.com runs the rule over four young players who could make a name for themselves during 2012.

Warner ton pushes Australia to 321

David Warner's first ODI century pushed Australia to the second-highest total ever recorded in a one-day international at the Gabba and left Sri Lanka needing something special to win the first final

Miami Thursday Briefing - Americans Harrison, Querrey Take Centre Stage

Media notes for the Sony Ericsson Open, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.

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Coyle: We are all astonished with Fabrice

Owen Coyle has discussed Fabrice Muamba’s incredible fighting spirit and ongoing recovery, how difficult it will be for Bolton Wanderers to return to action and his offer to excuse any of his players from the meeting with Blackburn Rovers.

FIA Thursday press conference - Malaysia

Drivers - Pastor Maldonado (Williams), Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), Sergio Perez (Sauber), Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), Jenson Button (McLaren), Fernando Alonso ( Ferrari). Q: Pastor, after your performance in Melbourne, are you optimistic you can manage that at all circuits or do you think it was Melbourne-specific? Pastor Maldonado: I hope so

Ibra treble tears Palermo apart

AC Milan were rampant in Sicily as Zlatan Ibrahimovic marked his return after a three-game ban with a hat-trick before Thiago Silva added gloss to a 4-0 victory over Palermo.

Redknapp has no thoughts of retiring

Harry Redknapp has dismissed the idea of retiring from football any time soon, with the Tottenham Hotspur manager admitting he would not know what to do with his time if he did.

Sivori, the explosive entertainer

Cheeky, hot-headed and a peerless dribbler, Enrique Omar Sivori was one of Argentina’s greatest footballing pioneers, who also earned legendary status in Italy with both Juventus and Napoli.

Duo urge Gladbach to bounce back

Defender Filip Daems and coach Lucien Favre have discussed Borussia Monchengladbach’s shoot-out loss to Bayern Munich and urged them to return to form in the Bundesliga, while Franck Ribery has expressed his delight.

Progression celebrated in Asian media

After a dramatic final matchday in the third roud of Asian Zone qualifiers for Brazil 2014, FIFA.com looks at how the media and coaches have been reaction across the continent.

Defiant Redknapp won't give up on third place

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has warned Arsenal to expect a fight to the finish in the race for the automatic UEFA Champions League berth after the Gunners took a one-point lead over their rivals.

Unchanged Bangladesh bowl; Sarfraz replaces Riaz

On their biggest day in cricket, an unchanged Bangladesh side stuck to the same approach that brought them two wins out of three games in the league stage of the Asia Cup and asked Pakistan to bat

Mancini expects Tevez to boost City's title bid

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini says he expects Carlos Tevez to play an important role in the title run-in after the Argentinian set up the winner against Chelsea on his much-anticipated return to the team.

Del Bosque hails Soldado, talks tactics

Vicente Del Bosque has hailed hat-trick hero Roberto Soldado, suggested Fernando Torres could return to the squad before UEFA EURO 2012, and discussed Spain’s capacity to employ different tactics and formations.

Amir will not appeal ICC ban

Mohammad Amir, the Pakistan fast bowler, has decided not to appeal the five-year ban imposed on him for spot-fixing during the 2010 Lord's Test against England, before the Court of Arbitration for Sport