Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger acknowledges there is "fear, even discontent" among fans over the club's failure to win a trophy since 2005.

The Frenchman addressed shareholders' concerns at Arsenal's Annual General Meeting on Thursday following the club's worst start to a season in more than 50 years.

A rested Bayern Munich hosts Nuremberg in the Bundesliga's Bavarian derby on Saturday knowing that another slip could bring Borussia Dortmund dangerously close.

Bayern lost in the previous round at Hannover and defending champion Dortmund is now only three points behind. But Dortmund has a tough trip to Stuttgart.

NBA club owners and players made progress toward a new contract after a negotiating session of more than 15 hours ended early Thursday morning with positive talk about playing a full season.

As the lockout over money issues stretched into a 119th day, the second marathon session in as many weeks was the second-longest since the shutdown began on July 1 after the old deal between players and team owners expired.

QPR officials on Thursday denied reports that three players had given evidence against John Terry in the FA's investigation into allegations of racist abuse involving the Chelsea and England star.

The Daily Mail reported Thursday that Rangers trio Paddy Kenny, Clint Hill and Shaun Derry had all spoken to FA investigators probing claims that Terry racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.

Maria Sharapova’s season ended in disappointment on Wednesday as she saw her hopes of regaining the title at the WTA Championships after a seven year gap and of dethroning Caroline Wozniacki as world number one dashed because she is still feeling the effects of an ankle injury.

The former Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open champion from Russia announced that she was withdrawing from the women’s tour’s flagship event after losing 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 to Li Na, the French Open champion from China.

Maria Sharapova's season ended in disappointment on Wednesday as she saw her hopes of regaining the title at the WTA Championships after a seven year gap and of dethroning Caroline Wozniacki as world number one dashed because she is still feeling the effects of an ankle injury.

The former Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open champion from Russia announced that she was withdrawing from the women’s tour’s flagship event after losing 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 to Li Na, the French Open champion from China.

Arsenal says defender Thomas Vermaelen is fit for his first Premier League match for more than two months at Chelsea on Saturday.

The Belgium international missed 33 Premier League matches last season because of an Achilles injury and has sat out another seven already this season after sustaining a similar injury in August.

Thousands of fans are lining up in the rain to pay their final respects to MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli during a public viewing in the city theater of his hometown.

Simoncelli died of chest, head and neck injuries after he lost control of his Honda during Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix and swerved across the track, straight into the path of American rider Colin Edwards and seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi of Italy.

Barcelona says further medical scans have ruled forward Pedro Rodriguez out for up to three weeks.

The Spain international twisted awkwardly on his left leg in Tuesday's 1-0 win at Granada and immediately came off with an ankle injury.

Formula One will boast two U.S. races from 2013 when the Grand Prix of America will debut in New Jersey, governor Chris Christie announced on Tuesday.

"I'm pleased that New Jersey will play host to Formula One beginning 2013, bringing one of the world's most popular and exciting sports right to our backyard," said Christie, who added that talks over "a number of months" had yielded a deal to hold the event for a decade.