Sweden scraps rule, paves way for more north Americans

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The Swedish Ice Hockey Association has cleared the deck for more players from north America in its clubs by deciding to scrap a rule that limits teams to two non-EU players.
"There has been a desire from clubs to avoid having to limit themselves only to the European market," association chairman Christer Englund told Aftonbladet newspaper.
"Instead of forcing clubs to limit themselves, they can now recruit from north America. There aren't too many countries that can deliver players of high class. We also get players with a different playing style."
Englund ruled out any negative impact of the decision taken by the association's elite committee.
"It makes no difference if they come from the Czech Republic or north America," he added.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor in Dublin; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

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Mediators unable to breathe life into stalled labor talks

NHL and the NHL Players Association regarding the difficulties of their current labor …more
(Reuters) - National Hockey League (NHL) owners and players appear no closer to ending a lockout that could wipe out an entire season after working with U.S. federal mediators for a second consecutive day on Thursday.
The mediators and NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) Executive Director Donald Fehr were back at the table Thursday but, unlike Wednesday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly did not participate.
"There has been contact between the parties today," NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr, who said he spoke with lead NHL counsel Bob Batterman, told reporters.
"I think we're done with contact for tonight, expect there will be contact tomorrow but I am not sure if it will be by telephone or in person."
Bettman has said he cannot see the NHL, which normally runs an 82-game regular season, playing less than a 48-game campaign. But with 42.8 percent of the season already canceled, time is quickly running out.
The two sides appear to have inched closer on the main sticking point of how to divide $3.3 billion in revenue.
The league is seeking an immediate 50-50 split while players, who will see their share chopped from 57 percent, want the cuts brought in gradually with a "make whole" provision in place to cover money that would be lost on current contracts.
Several other contentious items remain on the table, including the length of a new collective bargaining agreement and contract limits to drug testing and continued participate in the Winter Olympics.

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Labor dispute moves into courts with talks stalled

(Reuters) - After three months of failed negotiations, the labor dispute between the National Hockey League and locked out players moved into the courts on Friday, with the league filing a class action complaint against the players' union.
The league asked U.S. courts to confirm the legality of the lockout. It also filed an unfair labor practice against the players' union.
The move appears to be a pre-emptive strike by the league after reports circulated that the NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) would seek a vote from its members to proceed with a "disclaim of interest" and no longer represent players in bargaining.
Dissolving the union would free players to file anti-trust lawsuits in the courts and have the lockout found illegal.
"Today, in response to information indicating that NHL players have or will be asked to vote to authorize the National Hockey League Players' Association's executive board to proceed to "disclaim interest" in continuing to represent the players in collective bargaining, the National Hockey League filed a class action complaint in Federal Court in New York seeking a declaration confirming the ongoing legality of the lockout."
The league also said it was simultaneously filing an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that by threatening to "disclaim interest," the NHLPA is engaging in an unlawful subversion of the collective bargaining process and conduct that constitutes bad faith bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act.
The legal maneuvering comes a day after the sides had spent two unsuccessful days with U.S. federal mediators trying to jump start stalled talks on a new collective bargaining agreement.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said he cannot see the league, which normally runs an 82-game regular season, playing less than a 48-game campaign. But with 42.8 percent of the schedule already canceled, time is quickly running out on salvaging even a partial season.
The two sides appear to have inched closer on the main sticking point of how to divide $3.3 billion in revenue.
The league is seeking an immediate 50-50 split while players, who will see their share chopped from 57 percent, want the cuts brought in gradually with a "make whole" provision in place to cover money that would be lost on current contracts.
Several other contentious items remain on the table, including the length of a new collective bargaining agreement and contract limits to drug testing and continued participate in the Winter Olympics.

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Soccer-Sporting and Porto agree swap of Izmailov for Miguel Lopes

LISBON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Portuguese Premier League club Sporting agreed to swap Russian midfielder Marat Izmailov for Porto's Portugal international Miguel Lopes, the Lisbon club said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Sporting informs that Marat Izmailov was transferred to Porto and that Miguel Lopes was signed with a contract that runs until June 2018 and has a buyout clause of 20 million euros ($26.13 million)," Sporting said in a filing to the Portuguese stock market regulator's website (www.cmvm.pt).
Russian international Izmailov, 30, joined Sporting in 2007 and has been an influential player in the last few seasons. However, he has been plagued by several injuries of late and sparsely used in the first team.
Lopes, 26, is a versatile defender who can play both as a left and right back and was perhaps the biggest surprise call-up in Portugal's Euro 2012 squad.
Sporting, who sacked coach Franky Vercauteren on Monday and replaced him with Jesualdo Ferreira, provided no further details on the deal or if any transfer fees had been involved.
Porto are second in the league, three points behind leaders Benfica but with a game in hand. Sporting, enduring one of their worst ever seasons, languish in 12th place, one point above the relegation zone.

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Soccer-Lazio ease into Italian Cup semis

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Lazio beat Catania 3-0 on Tuesday to waltz into the Italian Cup semi-finals and keep their so far successful season on track for silverware.
The Rome club, riding high in second in Serie A, never looked in difficulty once Romanian defender Stefan Radu headed in a corner on the half hour.
Brazilian midfielder Hernanes converted Sergio Floccari's assist midway through the second half to seal matters before adding another classy goal in stoppage time.

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UPDATE 1-Soccer-Spanish King's Cup last 16 results

Jan 8 (Infostrada Sports) - Results from the Spanish King's Cup Last 16 second leg matches on Tuesday
Last 16
Tuesday, January 8, second leg
Valencia - Osasuna 2-1 (halftime: 1-1)
First leg: Osasuna - Valencia 0-2. Valencia win 4-1 on aggregate.
Malaga - Eibar (III) 4-1 (halftime: 0-1)
First leg: Eibar - Malaga 1-1. Malaga win 5-2 on aggregate.
Next Fixtures (GMT):
Wednesday, January 9
Sevilla v Real Mallorca (1830)
Real Madrid v Celta Vigo (2030)
Real Zaragoza v Levante (2030)
Thursday, January 10
Getafe v Atletico Madrid (1830)
Barcelona v Cordoba (II) (2030)
Real Betis v Las Palmas (II) (2030)

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Report: Lance Armstrong weighs doping admission

The New York Times reported Friday that Lance Armstrong, who has strongly denied the doping charges that led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, has told associates he is considering admitting to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
The report cited anonymous sources and said Armstrong was considering a confession to help restore his athletic career in triathlons and running events at age 41. Armstrong was been banned for life from cycling and cannot compete in athletic events sanctioned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Yet Armstrong attorney Tim Herman denied that Armstrong has reached out to USADA chief executive Travis Tygart and David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Herman told The Associated Press he had no knowledge of Armstrong considering a confession and said: "When, and if, Lance has something to say, there won't be any secret about it."
Armstrong, who recovered from testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain, won the Tour de France from 1999-2005. Although he has vehemently denied doping, Armstrong's athletic career crumbled under the weight of a massive report by USADA detailing allegations of drug use by Armstrong and his teammates on his U.S. Postal Service teams.
The report caused Armstrong to lose most of his personal corporate sponsors and he recently stepped down from the board of Livestrong, the cancer-fighting charity he founded in 1997.
Armstrong is facing other legal hurdles.
The U.S. Department of Justice is considering whether to join a federal whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis. A Dallas-based promotions company has also said it wants to recover several million dollars paid to Armstrong in bonuses for winning the Tour de France. The British newspaper The Sunday Times has sued Armstrong to recover $500,000 paid to him to settle a libel lawsuit.

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Friday's Sports In Brief

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Alabama coach Nick Saban sent home two backup players from the BCS championship game for violating curfew.
A person with knowledge of the decision said the players were freshman linebackers Dillon Lee and Ryan Anderson. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school didn't release names.
A statement from Saban announced the disciplinary action. Alabama's student newspaper, The Crimson White, first identified the players.
Lee played in eight games, mostly on kickoff coverage. He did intercept a pass in his college debut against Michigan in the season opener and made his only tackle in that game.
Anderson didn't play this season.
The second-ranked Crimson Tide will play No. 1 Notre Dame on Monday night.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M became the fourth FBS quarterback with 20 touchdowns passing and 20 touchdowns rushing in the same season.
Manziel got his school-record 20th rushing touchdown on the Aggies' opening drive of the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma when he tiptoed 23 yards down the sideline. He added a 5-yard TD run before halftime. The first freshman to win the Heisman, Manziel also has 24 passing TDs.
The other 20-20 quarterbacks were Auburn's Cam Newton and Florida's Tim Tebow, who like Manziel are Heisman winners from the SEC, and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick.
Three other A&M players had 19 rushing TDs in a season, the last Jorvorskie Lane in 2006.
NHL
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal mediator held over 12 hours of separate talks with the NHL and the players' association before stopping for the night with a promise to get going again in the morning.
The sides remained apart all day, buffered by the presence of federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh, who shuttled back and forth between the hotel where the union is working, and the league office. He started at 10 a.m. EST and wrapped up discussions for the day shortly before 11 p.m.
Similar talks were scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
It still isn't known when the league and the union will get back together at the bargaining table. Neither side provided details, but the all-day discussions may signal progress.
NFL
NEW YORK (AP) - With the ink not even dry on the New York Jets' dreadful season, Rex Ryan fled to the Bahamas only to be photographed lounging poolside at a resort hotel, book in hand, with an interesting tattoo gracing his right biceps.
It showed his wife, Michelle, wearing an unmistakably green Jets jersey emblazoned with the unmistakable No. 6 of embattled quarterback Mark Sanchez - and nothing else.
The Daily News ran a front-page photo and by lunchtime it was an Internet sensation. That's pretty much the way the NFL team's soap-opera season played out. Ryan was criticized for sticking with Sanchez despite losing efforts when Tim Tebow was available. The Jets finished the season 6-10.
NBA
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Kobe Bryant is no longer a holdout. He's on Twitter.
With five words - ''The antisocial has become social'' - the Los Angeles Lakers guard sent the first tweet from his account. About 365,000 people were following his verified account, (at)kobebryant, within a few hours.
Bryant tiptoed into the Twitterverse last week when he briefly took over Nike basketball's account, sending out things like a photo of him hanging out with his daughter, an ice bath that he was dreading and even a suit he was wearing to a particular game.
Heat star LeBron James has 6.8 million followers, the most of any NBA player.
GOLF
LONDON (AP) - World No. 1 Rory McIlroy said he may skip the 2016 Olympics because of the dilemma over which country to represent.
McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, is eligible to compete for either Britain or Ireland when golf returns to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. McIlroy said in a BBC documentary that missing the Olympics is ''definitely an option'' because ''I don't want to upset too many people.''
McIlroy stirred controversy last year when he said in a British newspaper interview that he felt ''more British than Irish.'' He then posted a letter on Twitter saying he grew up ''a proud product of Irish golf'' and had not made a decision on the Olympics.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - The seven Catholic schools that have decided to leave the Big East and form their own league continued to plot the future, retaining Proskauer Rose LLP and Pilson Communications, Inc., to aid in their defection.
St. John's, Georgetown, Marquette, DePaul, Seton Hall, Providence and Villanova all decided last month to set off on their own as the Big East continues to reshape itself.
The university presidents met in New York to discuss the future of the new league. They vow to ''Honor the history and tradition on which the Big East was established.''
There is no timetable for when other schools will join the league.
CYCLING
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The New York Times reported that Lance Armstrong, who has strongly denied the doping charges that led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, has told associates he is considering admitting to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
The report cited anonymous sources and said Armstrong was considering a confession to help restore his athletic career in triathlons and running events at age 41.
Armstrong was banned for life from cycling and cannot compete in athletic events sanctioned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
But Armstrong attorney Tim Herman told The Associated Press he had no knowledge of Armstrong considering a confession.

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Report says Armstrong may confess to doping

Lance Armstrong is reportedly considering a change in course, dropping his years of denials and admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported late Friday that Armstrong has told associates he is thinking about the move.
However, Armstrong attorney Tim Herman says that the cyclist hasn't reached out to USADA chief executive Travis Tygart and David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
USADA stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles last year and issued a report portraying the cyclist as the leader of a sophisticated doping operation on his winning teams.
A USADA spokeswoman declined comment on Saturday while Howman was quoted by the Sunday Star-Times in New Zealand, where he is vacationing, saying Armstrong has not approached his group.

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