Ensconced in a luxury hotel in Chantilly, England are grappling with a diamond that does not shine ahead of their Euro 2016 opener against Russia.

Led by Wayne Rooney, England are Group B favorites against Wales, Russia and Slovakia, but with time running out before the tournament starts, manager Roy Hodgson is still buffing dull spots in his team's tactics.

Yeo Moriba laughed as she recalled her showdown with the fearsome Alex Ferguson, one of many confrontations with football authority over the future of her son Paul Pogba.

Ferguson was notorious for his “hairdryer” blasts at players in the Manchester United dressing room and the proud mother told AFP how the tough Scots manager had once left her son in tears in his office.

France are going for a hat-trick of major titles on home territory at Euro 2016 and have a kind draw but coach Didier Deschamps is seeking to douse national expectations.

Les Bleus will face Switzerland, Romania and an Albania side appearing at their first major finals in Group A as they look to add to their 1984 European Championship and the 1998 World Cup titles.

Tireless France international left-back Patrice Evra has signed a one-season contract extension until June 2017 with a further one-year option clause included, the Italian champions said on Monday.

"For Pat this is the path to further success to add to the conquest of two league titles, as many Cups and an Italian Supercup," a Juventus statement said.

A newly fit Roger Federer on Monday defended his decision to pull out of the French Open because of a back injury, rubbishing suggestions it had anything to do with the wet Paris weather.

The Swiss star and world number three, who turns 35 in August, this week plays on the Stuttgart grass for the first time as he ramps up his preparations for Wimbledon in June-July.

Chinese electronics giant Suning said it will take a majority stake in Italy's Inter Milan on Monday, making the three-time European champions the most high-profile acquisition yet by investors from China.

Suning will pay 270 million euros ($306 million) for about 70 percent of the northern Italian team, one of the biggest clubs in European football which is now entirely in foreign hands for the first time.

Golden State Warriors sharpshooters Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, nicknamed the "Splash Brothers" for their skill at sinking 3-pointers, welcomed Draymond Green as an adopted soggy sibling Sunday at the NBA Finals.

Green scored a game-high 28 points, his 11-of-20 shooting from the floor including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, to spark the defending champion Warriors over Cleveland 110-77, giving Golden State a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven championship series.

Australia's team boss for the Rio Olympics has defended the decision to send controversial tennis star Nick Kyrgios a 16-page letter asking him to explain his behavior if he wanted to be picked for the Games.

Kyrgios, Australia's highest-ranked male tennis player at 19 in the world, responded to the letter by declaring himself unavailable for selection, saying he had been subjected to "unwarranted attacks" from the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC).

A bustling shopping mall forms an unlikely monument to the "Thrilla in Manila", but Muhammad Ali's most brutal fight made its biggest impression on the minds of those who witnessed it and still speak of it with awe.

The late Ali's third and final meeting with Joe Frazier, in 1975, only went to Manila because Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos was hoping to gain popularity and prestige, three years after declaring martial law.

Gareth Bale is the key to Wales' Euro 2016 hopes, says Welsh legend Ian Rush, as Chris Coleman's dragons prepare for a first appearance at a major tournament for 58 years.

Wales have many talented footballers. But legends such as John Charles, John Toshack, Ian Rush, Mark Hughes and Ryan Giggs were all world-class competitors who never played at a major finals in the red shirt.