Bojan Krkic held his nerve to convert the early penalty that gave Stoke City a 1-0 win against Swansea City on Monday.

Bojan stroked home a fourth-minute spot-kick to settle a dour encounter at the Liberty Stadium after Ashley Williams fouled the former Barcelona forward.

German prosecutors said Monday they were looking into, but not yet formally investigating, claims that Germany bribed football officials to win the right to host the 2006 World Cup.

"This could be about corruption, fraud or breach of trust," Frankfurt chief prosecutor Nadja Niesen told SID sports news agency, an AFP subsidiary.

Men's tennis has not been short of astonishing feats in recent years but Novak Djokovic is eclipsing even the great Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as his record-breaking season reaches a crescendo.

Two titles in two weeks in China, including the Shanghai Masters, show there's no slowing down for the world number one, who has climbed above the competition this year and keeps rising higher.

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots powered past the Indianapolis Colts 34-27 on Sunday to improve their perfect 2015 record in a "Deflategate" grudge match.

Superstar quarterback Brady, stung by charges he played a role in New England's use of under-inflated footballs in their AFC championship win over Indianapolis in January, insisted all week that the clash was not about revenge.

Lamar Odom, the two-time NBA champion and reality TV star left fighting for life after a brothel binge, continues to improve in a Las Vegas hospital, U.S. media reported Sunday.

The 35-year-old remained in the intensive care unit at Sunrise Hospital with serious medical concerns. But E! News, without citing its source, reported on its website that Odom had shown he could swallow -- a sign of neurological function -- and had been helped out of bed and into a chair for the first time since he was admitted on Tuesday night.

High-flying Fiorentina stayed top of Serie A after Inter Milan spurned the chance to take over after a pulsating but scoreless draw at home to Juventus on Sunday.

Fiorentina have emerged as contenders for a top finish this season thanks to a series of fine performances under new coach Paulo Sousa, including a 4-1 humiliation of Inter three weeks ago.

Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio has brushed off reported interest from Liverpool by claiming he is fully focused on regaining his fitness after signing an extension with the Italian champions.

Marchisio has been linked with a move to Anfield following the appointment of Jurgen Klopp as the new Liverpool manager.

Nice maintained their challenge for a top-three finish in Ligue 1 as Hatem Ben Arfa scored another wonder goal in a 4-1 thrashing of Rennes on Sunday to lift the visitors to fifth.

Former Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon midfielder Mathieu Bodmer opened the scoring in Brittany on 14 minutes for Nice who are now four points behind second-placed Angers with a game in hand.

The battle for the world MotoGP championship switches to Malaysia this weekend with the gap between leader Valentino Rossi and Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo whittled down to 11 points.

Lorenzo was set for victory in Sunday's Australian race at Phillip Island only to be trumped by Marc Marquez inside the final lap of a spine-tingling finish.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal said his side's clinical 3-0 victory at Everton had boosted confidence ahead of the midweek trip to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.

First-half goals from Morgan Schneiderlin and Ander Herrera and a strike by Everton old boy Wayne Rooney gave United the spoils in a one-sided Premier League contest at a Goodison Park mourning the loss of former manager Howard Kendall on Saturday.