Beckham deal: Major League Soccer (MLS) has given Los Angeles Galaxy a deadline until tomorrow to resolve David Beckham's request for a permanent move to Milan. In a letter to Tim Leiweke, chief executive of AEG, the entertainment conglomerate that owns the Galaxy, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said any agreement between the clubs would be supported if the matter was finalised by Feb. 13.
Owen: Newcastle are set to start fresh talks with Michael Owen over a new contract. The striker will be free to leave the club at the end of the season. Owen refused to commit his long-term future when offered a contract before the new year, saying he would not make a decision until next May.
Diaz fired: Mexican club America, who spent around $20 million on reinforcements in the mid-season break, fired coach Ramon Diaz after a poor start to the Clausura championship. The Argentine was dismissed after his side won only one of their first four games in the tournament, which is played in the second half of the Mexican season.
Kinnear: Joe Kinnear is set to stay out of the game for several weeks after being told he needs heart by-pass surgery. The 62-year-old Newcastle manager is expected to undergo an operation in the coming days after tests carried out following his admission to hospital revealed a problem which needs to be addressed. The club said initial tests had shown Kinnear was "okay".
Melandri: Marco Melandri, his MotoGP future in doubt after Kawasaki pulled out, is switching to four wheels to race in the Speedcar series in Qatar this week. The Italian will team up with ex-Formula One driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen, organisers of the Feb. 12-14 stock car event said. Others competing include Canada's former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.
Motorcycling: Michael Schumacher escaped unhurt from a motorcycle crash in Spain yesterday. "Today I had an accident at the biking tests in Cartagena, and to be safe I went to a hospital," he said. Schumacher's spokeswoman said the 40-year-old had been testing with his German Superbike team at the Cartagena circuit since Monday.
Basket, NBA: Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant became the youngest player to score 23,000 points in the NBA when he had 34 in a 105-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Bryant, who is 30 years, 171 days old, reached the milestone when he sank a free-throw with 5:13 remaining in the second quarter. Wilt Chamberlain was previously the youngest, at 30 years, 176 days. "You know whenever you talk history of the game it's always a tremendous honour," Bryant told reporters.
Cricket: Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif was handed a one-year ban by organisers of an Indian Twenty20 league yesterday after failing a drugs test last year. Asif, 26, was initially suspended last May after testing positive for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone.