With Real Madrid finally finding its stride, goalkeeper Iker Casillas has broken his hand as the team approaches a critical stretch of the season.

Casillas hurt his hand in a Copa del Rey quarterfinal match at Valencia on Wednesday, when teammate Alvaro Arbeloa kicked his left hand while clearing a loose ball in the area. Casillas immediately called for the team doctors before leaving the field in obvious pain.

Three days after his father died, Maxim Trankov and his Russian partner Tatiana Volosozhar took the lead in the pairs after the short program at the European figure skating championships on Wednesday.

Skating to "The Godfather," defending champions Volosozhar and Trankov produced a triple twist, side by side triple salchow, and a throw triple loop.

Real Madrid overcame the loss of goalkeeper Iker Casillas and two dismissals to reach the Copa del Rey semifinals after drawing 1-1 at Valencia on Wednesday, setting up a possible clash with archrival Barcelona.

Madrid went through on a 3-1 aggregate score after making good on its 2-0 win in the first leg despite losing Casillas to a hand injury in the 13th minute.

Swansea's progress to the final of the League Cup was overshadowed by a bizarre sending-off of Chelsea star Eden Hazard on Wednesday following an off-the-pitch incident involving a ball boy.

A miserable night for the European champions at Liberty Stadium was sealed when Hazard was shown a red card for kicking the ball boy in the ribs while attempting to retrieve the ball in the 79th minute, with Chelsea needing two goals to force extra time in the second leg of the semifinal.

Victoria Azarenka had to endure some anxious moments before and after her win over American teenager Sloane Stephens.

Li Na wasn't flustered at all as she beat No. 2-ranked Maria Sharapova.

Golden State's two key men made timely bids for inclusion in the NBA All-Star game by putting in powerful performances and leading the Warriors to a 104-99 win over the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

On the eve of the announcement for the All-Star reserves, Stephen Curry had 31 points and seven assists while David Lee finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds for Golden State.

The intention to turn a St. Petersburg clinic treating pediatric cancer patients into one that would exclusively serve judges and staff of Russia's highest courts spread widespread public dismay.

More than 100,000 people signed a petition to President Vladimir Putin, a city native, urging him to scrap the plan to change City Hospital No. 31. Among those who signed were prominent figures from the worlds of art and sciences, including physicist Zhores Alfyorov, a Nobel Prize winner who is a member of Russia's parliament.

U.S. women who smoke today have a much greater risk of dying from lung cancer than they did decades ago, partly because they are starting younger and smoking more — that is, they are lighting up like men, new research shows.

Women also have caught up with men in their risk of dying from smoking-related illnesses. Lung cancer risk leveled off in the 1980s for men but is still rising for women.

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has extended his contract with the Serie A club through 2014-15.

Buffon and Juventus President Andrea Agnelli announced the news Wednesday.

People familiar with the situation say David Beckham's son is having a trial with London club Chelsea.

Brooklyn Beckham was spotted with his father at a Chelsea academy game on Tuesday.