Sports News Headlines

SAO PAULO (AP) — Tens of thousands of Brazilians again flooded the streets of the country's biggest city to raise a collective cry against a longstanding lament — people are weighed down by high taxes and high prices but get low-quality public services and a system of government infected with corruption.

LONDON (Reuters) - Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group said it would spend $1.6 billion (1 billion pounds) to buy British yacht maker Sunseeker and develop an upmarket London hotel, the latest example of a trend for Chinese companies to acquire top luxury global brands. The company said on Wednesday it had agreed to …

LONDON (Reuters) - Ofcom said on Wednesday that it would launch an investigation into satellite TV firm BSkyB over the wholesale supply of its sports channels after a complaint by Sky's increasingly bitter rival BT. Ofcom said the probe would centre on BT's claims that the terms on which Sky offered its sports channels, …

By Alan Baldwin LONDON (Reuters) - Mercedes principal Ross Brawn, a past master at finding Formula One loopholes, may need to pull another rabbit from his magician's hat on Thursday if his team are to escape potentially heavy sanctions. The burly Englishman will explain to an International Tribunal hearing in Paris why …

By Karolos Grohmann (Reuters) - The world athletics body (IAAF) on Wednesday denied that it had any prior knowledge or evidence of Italian 2008 Olympic race walk champion Alex Schwazer's doping practices before he was caught with a positive test last year. Schwazer, who was one of Italy's big medal hopes, was excluded from …

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — David Moyes was given a challenging start to life as Manchester United manager Wednesday, with his new team handed fixtures against Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City in the first five matches of its Premier League title defense.

LONDON (AP) — The FA Cup final has been restored to its traditional place as the last match of the English football season.

LONDON (Reuters) - England won the toss and elected to bowl in their Champions Trophy semi-final against South Africa amid overcast conditions at The Oval on Wednesday. South Africa strike bowler Dale Steyn was ruled out with a groin injury having recovered from a side strain to play against the West Indies in their last …

LONDON (Reuters) - Champions Manchester United will travel to Swansea City for their first Premier League match under new manager David Moyes while Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City are at home to Newcastle United on August 17. Premier League fixtures published on Wednesday also threw up a home game against newly-promoted …

PARIS (Reuters) - The trial of French football stars Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema over claims they paid for sex with an underage call girl was adjourned for procedural reasons on Tuesday until 2014. Benzema, a Real Madrid striker, and Ribery, a Bayern Munich winger, are to be tried on charges of paying Zahia Dehar, a …

(Reuters) - Bryan Ruiz and Celso Borges scored second-half goals as Costa Rica earned a 2-0 win against Panama on Tuesday to maintain their hold on a place for an automatic qualifying place for next year's 2014 World Cup finals. The United States, who beat Honduras 1-0 earlier on Tuesday, lead the six-team group in the …

By Mark Gleeson MAPUTO (Reuters) - The impressive run of Egypt in World Cup qualifying over the last fortnight has much more significance for the country than just moving the tournament dream a step closer, coach Bob Bradley told Reuters. "At a time when the country is looking for things that are good, this is very important," …

SANDY, Utah (AP) — As goaltender Tim Howard looks out from in front of the U.S. net, he likes what he sees: the scoring of striker Jozy Altidore, the ball control of the midfielders and the steadiness of the defense.

Cleveland Indians reliever Vinnie Pestano has a recurring dream. A batter hits a line drive right back up the middle and it's screaming toward his head.

By Simon Evans MIAMI (Reuters) - The Miami Heat forced an already absorbing NBA Finals to a deciding Game Seven after a thrilling 103-100 overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday tied the series at 3-3. Miami trailed by 13 points in the third quarter but LeBron James, ditching his trademark headband, turned …

BOSTON (AP) — Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't want to talk about the injury that forced him to scratch forward Marian Hossa from the Stanley Cup finals against the Boston Bruins.

MIAMI (AP) — When LeBron James' greatness almost wasn't good enough, officials began preparing for a San Antonio celebration.

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - FIFA president Sepp Blatter's chances of remaining in office after 2015 have increased dramatically after FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke urged him to stay in the job. Valcke was asked if he would be standing as FIFA president and after laughing off that suggestion by saying he had a World …

By Patrick Johnston (Reuters) - Australia and Iran booked their fourth World Cup finals appearances with nervous 1-0 victories in a dramatic finale to Asian qualifying on Tuesday. South Korea joined them and Japan in qualifying for the finals after sneaking through on goal difference and Uzbekistan and Jordan retained hope …

By Kayon Raynor KINGSTON (Reuters) - Olympic double sprint silver medallist Yohan Blake will only run in the 100 metres at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow after he withdrew from this weekend's Jamaican national championships, his manager said on Tuesday. Blake suffered a hamstring injury in April and due to …

By Kayon Raynor KINGSTON (Reuters) - Jamaica's twice Olympic 200 metres champion Veronica Campbell-Brown was suspended by her national federation on Tuesday following a positive test for a banned diuretic at a meeting last month. "The Jamaican Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) can now confirm that a case concerning …

(Reuters) - The Oakland Athletics overcame Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish to record a 6-2 road victory on Tuesday to stretch their lead at the top of the American League West division. Brandon Moss and John Jaso each homered against the Japanese starter to provide an early 3-0 lead for the Athletics (43-30), who added more …

By Simon Evans MIAMI (Reuters) - Ray Allen has made more three pointers than any player in the NBA but with five seconds left and his team three points down on Tuesday, he had not made a single one in the crucial Game Six of the NBA Finals. Miami's only hope of keeping their series with San Antonio, and their season, alive …