The Brazilian government plans to improve services at its airports during the Confederations Cup, bringing in more workers and expanding security for the increased passenger traffic expected during the warm-up tournament ahead of the World Cup.

The government says it will increase staff by 77 percent at the six airports used for the June 15-30 tournament, including the number of police, and custom and immigration officers.

The Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers are looking for new coaches.

Detroit fired Lawrence Frank and Cleveland sacked Byron Scott on Thursday, while Doug Collins downgraded his role at Philadelphia to adviser.

Eight-time defending champion Rafael Nadal extended his Monte Carlo Masters winning streak to 44 matches by beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-4 Thursday, while second-seeded Andy Murray was thrashed 6-1, 6-2 by Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round.

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic put his sore right ankle to the test again as he came back from a set down for the second straight match to beat Juan Monaco of Argentina 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Groups protesting Bahrain's Formula One race have put up makeshift roadblocks and barricades of burning tires during clashes with security forces in the violence-wracked Gulf nation.

The demonstrations on Thursday were mostly isolated to anti-government hotbed areas, however, and unlikely to disrupt preparations for Sunday's race, which is the premier international event in the kingdom.

German sportswear giant Puma on Thursday named Bjoern Gulden, a former professional footballer and top manager at rival Adidas, as its new chief executive.

"The administrative board of Puma today appointed Bjoern Gulden, 47, as the sports and lifestyle company's new CEO, effective July 1. He succeeds Franz Koch who left the company at the end of March," the company said in a statement.

Manchester United may have to wait a little longer to reclaim the Premier League title after being held to a 2-2 draw at West Ham, while Manchester City won 1-0 against Wigan on Wednesday.

Alex Ferguson's team were below their best for long periods at Upton Park and needed Robin van Persie's late strike to rescue a point.

FIFA chief Sepp Blatter on Wednesday condemned the deadly attacks at the Boston marathon, urging authorities to pull out all the stops in preventing such tragedies.

"What happened in Boston is a drama, a tragedy," the head of world football's governing body said in Spanish, speaking to reporters as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Cuba.

Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa launched his campaign to head Asian football with plenty of talk about match fixing, grassroots football and more equitable spending of revenues.

But when it came to human rights in his divided nation of Bahrain, Sheikh Salman had little to say.

The Los Angeles Clippers trounced the Portland Trail Blazers 93-77 on Tuesday for their sixth straight victory, on a night that saw the Celtics-Indiana Pacers game in Boston canceled in the wake of Monday's deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon.

Caron Butler scored 18 of his 22 points in the third quarter, Blake Griffin added 16 points and DeAndre Jordan had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Pacific Division champion Clippers, who finished their home schedule with a 32-9 record.

From London to Sochi to Rio de Janeiro, the deadly bomb attacks on the Boston Marathon raised new concerns Tuesday over safety at major sports events around the world, including the Olympics and World Cup.

The twin bombings near the marathon finish line that killed three people and injured more than 170 people brought into sharp focus the security challenges facing next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio.