Nepal celebrated the 60th anniversary of the conquest of Mount Everest on Wednesday by honoring climbers who followed in the footsteps of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

Among them was Italian Reinhold Messner, the first climber to scale Everest without using bottled oxygen and the first person to climb all of the world's 14 highest peaks.

An Egyptian-born wrestler has become the first African to be promoted to the elite division of Japan's ancient sport of sumo.

The Japan Sumo Association on Wednesday promoted Osunaarashi to the juryo division, the second-highest in sumo.

Always so avant-garde, Serena Williams started this year's French Open fashion of addressing the Court Philippe Chatrier spectators in their language.

Rafael Nadal followed suit after his first-round victory, as did Roger Federer, who's done it for years.

Nike, which helped build Lance Armstrong's Livestrong cancer charity into a global brand and introduced its familiar yellow wristband, is cutting ties with the foundation in the latest fallout from the former cyclist's doping scandal.

The move by the sports shoe and clothing company ends a relationship that began in 2004 and helped the foundation raise more than $100 million, making the charity's bracelet an international symbol for cancer survivors.

Written off by many as too old to contend anymore, the San Antonio Spurs booked a place in the NBA finals by completing a sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

Tony Parker scored 37 points in his best game this postseason as San Antonio beat the Grizzlies 93-86 to complete a 4-0 win in the Western Conference series and reach the finals for the first time in six years.

English football authorities are going to great lengths to try to prevent Wednesday's celebratory friendly against Ireland being marred by political chanting and abuse.

The friendly at Wembley Stadium will celebrate the 150th anniversary of England's Football Association and will be the first time the neighbors have met since the 1995 match in Dublin which was abandoned when English fans rioted.

Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp is pledging to put a quick end to the uncertainty over the future of Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, whose agent has said he will join Champions League winner Bayern Munich.

Klopp told Tuesday's edition of German daily Bild that his club has not received any formal offer from Bayern for Lewandowski and he still assumes that Lewandowski will play for Dortmund next season.

A small part of the roof of a stadium set to host Confederations Cup matches next month in Brazil collapsed on Monday.

A section of the roof of the Arena Fonte Nova in the northeastern city of Salvador was not able to sustain the large amount of water that settled on top of it after it rained heavily overnight. There were no injuries.

Rafael Nadal's bid for an historic eighth French Open title was almost spectacularly derailed on Monday by big-hitting German Daniel Brands.

Defending champion Nadal dropped the opening set of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career before he prevailed 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-3 against a player who had lost all four of his previous matches in Paris.

With her back aching and the sun setting on Day 1 of the French Open, Venus Williams summoned the will to make one last bid at a comeback.

Stuck in what she later would call a "really big hole" in the third set against a much younger opponent, the seven-time Grand Slam champion tried to put aside the weak serving and errant shots that created the mess in the first place.