Sporting briefs

Kranjcar: Niko Kranjcar’s agent claims Lazio, Roma and Juventus are all interested in signing the Tottenham midfielder and expects his future to be decided within the next 10 days. The 26-year-old has only made 17 appearances for the Londoners this season, with his last start coming almost two months ago when he scored in Spurs’ 2-1 win at Sunderland. “Niko is not happy with the situation at Tottenham at the moment. He wants to play,” Adrian Aliaj said.

Tournament: Bayern Munich will host Milan, Barcelona and Brazilian club Porto Alegre in a friendly tournament on July 26-27. It is the second time Bayern will host such a tournament, having won its inaugural staging on penalties from Manchester United in 2009.

Ganso: Santos revealed they have received no offer from Milan for Paulo Henrique Ganso. The Brazilian has been heavily linked with a move to the San Siro but Santos official Pedro Luis Nunes Conceicao said: “Santos have nothing to say because we have no intention of selling Ganso and have received no offer from Milan or any other clubs recently linked with our player.”

Beckham: David Beckham was unable to inspire the Los Angeles Galaxy to a victory on Sunday night as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to FC Dallas in Texas. The former England captain attended the Royal Wedding in London on Friday along with his wife Victoria, but flew straight back to the US and played 83 minutes of the Major League Soccer match in Dallas before being replaced by Jovan Kirovski.

Perrotta: Roma said they may appeal against the red card incurred by Simone Perrotta during Sunday’s league match against Bari. Perrotta was sent off in stoppage time after an off-the-ball incident with Andrea Masiello. “Perhaps we will ask for the incident to be reviewed,” director general Gian Paolo Montali said.

Douchez: Rennes highly-rated goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez is to sign for French giants Paris Saint Germain from rivals Rennes, it was revealed yesterday. The 31-year-old – who has yet to be capped though he has featured in several squads – informed Rennes’ general manager Pierre Dreossi on Sunday evening of his decision.

Alonso: Bolton’s Spanish left back Marcos Alonso has been detained for questioning in Madrid after a car he was driving while allegedly under the influence of alcohol was involved in a deadly car accident. The 20-year-old was at the wheel of the car which flew off a Madrid road early yesterdayy and hit a wall, causing the death of one of the vehicle’s passengers, a young woman who suffered serious brain injuries.

Basket, NBA: Zach Randolph scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on Sunday as Memphis Grizzlies beat Oklahoma City 114-101 in the first game of their NBA Western Conference second-round play-off series. Spanish import Marc Gasol added 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Grizzlies, the Western Conference eighth seeds who upset top-seeded San Antonio in seven games in the first round.

Figure Skating: South Korean figure skating star Kim Yu-Na said she will not compete for Grand Prix titles later this year due to her busy schedule promoting the country’s bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Kim, on arrival home from the World Figure Skating Championships in Moscow, said she needs “breathing time” and will be busy until July on promoting Pyeongchang’s Olympics bid. The reigning Olympic champion finished second in the women’s figure skating event on Saturday behind Japan’s Miki Ando.

Ice Hockey: Wayne Gretzky’s rookie card sold for a record $94,163 at an online sports memorabilia auction. California-based SPC Auctions said it was the highest price ever paid for an ice hockey player’s card as the one sold Sunday was believed to be in mint condition. The 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee card shows Canadian Gretzky in his Edmonton Oilers’ uniform during his first season in the National Hockey League when he scored 41 goals and 110 points in 60 games.

Baseball: American sports fans erupted in joy at the news that 9/11 mas-termind Osama bin Laden had been killed in a US-led military operation in Pakistan. Fans at the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball game late Sunday began chanting “U-S-A, U-S-A” as the news spread through the Citizens Bank Park stadium. The chants began in the ninth inning of the game against New York Mets and then gained momentum later on as more people checked the news on their mobile phones.