Sporting briefs

Mandia sacked: Racing Santander sacked coach Juan Carlos Mandia after the La Liga side's poor start to the campaign. The club lies 17th, kept out of the relegation places by their superior goal difference over Atletico Madrid, with one win from their opening 10 games.

Montolivo: Marcello Lippi has called up Fiorentina midfielder Riccardo Montolivo to replace the injured Daniele de Rossi for friendlies against the Netherlands and Sweden. Roma said De Rossi needed surgery on a fractured cheekbone.

Keita: Barcelona's Mali midfielder Seydou Keita has been advised to rest for 10 days after suffering bruising to a left knee ligament. Keita picked up the injury in the 4-2 La Liga win over Real Mallorca on Saturday and will miss Mali's last World Cup qualifier in Ghana on Sunday, as well as Barcelona's King's Cup match against Cultural Leonesa tonight.

Navas: Spain coach Vicente del Bosque called up Sevilla winger Jesus Navas for the first time yesterday, part of a 23-man squad for this month's friendlies against Argentina and Austria.

Bellamy: Wales captain Craig Bellamy yesterday led a trio of withdrawals from the squad for Saturday's friendly with Scotland. The Manchester City striker has been given permission to pull out of the match at Cardiff City Stadium due to a slight groin injury. Fulham midfielder Simon Davies and Aston Villa defender James Collins have also withdrawn.

Cruyff: Johan Cruyff is hoping to cross swords with fellow Barca old boy Diego Maradona when the Dutchman returns to coaching for the first time in 13 years. Cruyff was presented as coach of the Catalonia selection yesterday and the 62-year-old welcomed a plan to invite Argentina for a friendly. "We know Maradona well, so if he could come back as coach, I'm sure he would be delighted," Cruyff said.

Winter Games: The Olympic flame travelled farther north than it has ever gone as it lit up the Artic night sky in the northern outpost of Alert on Sunday. The torch was carried across the frozen Nunavut tundra by 20 hardy runners who called themselves 'The Frozen Chosen'. The torch is specially built to handle temperatures of minus-50 degrees Celsius. The 45,000km torch relay will see the flame carried across Canada by water, land and air before it arrives in Vancouver.

Hockey: Pakistan booked a place at next year's World Cup in India by winning a qualifying tournament in France at the weekend. Former Olympic champions Pakistan beat Japan 3-1 in the final in Lille to secure one of three qualifying slots in the 12-nation tournament. The other two places will go to the winner of the second qualifying tournament currently in progress in New Zealand, and the final qualifier starting in Argentina next week.

Basket, NBA: Kevin Durant scored 28 points and Russell Westbrook contributed 17 points and 10 assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder stormed to a 102-74 home victory over the short-handed Orlando Magic on Sunday. "That was about as good as we could possibly play," Thunder coach Scott Brooks told reporters before adding he felt the strong ball movement, Oklahoma accumulated 27 assists, had helped contribute to the dominant performance.

Tennis: Australian Open organisers announced a three-year product sponsorship deal with Japanese electronics company Panasonic Corp. Tennis Australia chief executive Steve Wood said Panasonic had agreed to become the official "TV, Camera and Air Conditioning" sponsor for the Australian Open. This year, the Australian Open lost two major sponsors due to the global financial crisis, with GE Money and beauty products company Garnier both deciding not to renew their sponsorship deals.