London 2012 Olympics supremo Sebastian Coe has defended a controversial budget hike for the Games' opening and closing ceremonies, saying it will make for the "largest piece of television ever".

The British government last week agreed to more than double the budget for the ceremonies to 81 million pounds ($127 million), sparking criticism by Olympians such as world-record-holding marathon runner Paula Radcliffe.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp was unable to hide his frustration with referee Chris Foy after watching his team lose ground in the English Premier League title race.

Spurs old boy Matthew Etherington's first-half double was sufficient to earn Stoke a 2-1 victory at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday, ending a run of 10 wins and a draw from their previous 11 top flight matches for Redknapp's team.

Inter Milan will be eyeing a top six spot when they travel to Genoa in Serie A on Tuesday in a game postponed last month due to bad weather.

The nerazzurri have had a torrid start to the season in the league but due to the tight nature of the table, they could move into a top-six position with a victory.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant was scratching his head Sunday amid reports that the club was shipping Lamar Odom to Western Conference rivals -- and NBA champions -- Dallas.

"To be honest with you, I don't like it," Bryant said at the team's training camp.

Shanghai Shenhua said Sunday that Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka had agreed to join the club, in a major coup for Chinese football.

Club spokesman Ma Yue told AFP the 32-year-old Frenchman could start playing for the team in January, "if all contract details are 100 percent confirmed." He was unable to reveal the value of the deal.

Qatar's Al-Sadd will play Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup after the Asian champions stunned Esperance of Tunisia 2-1 on Sunday in an entertaining encounter.

It means Asian sides have now won all five meetings against African teams at the tournament of continental champions, but more importantly for Al-Sadd it gives them the chance to test themselves against the Catalans.

Roberto Mancini believes Manchester City's trip to Chelsea provides the perfect opportunity to move on from the disappointment of exiting the Champions League.

City manager Mancini reckons the next two months will prove decisive in determining the outcome of the Premier League title race.

Barcelona overcame the shock of conceding a goal after just 23 seconds -- the fastest in El Clasico history -- to defeat bitter rivals Real Madrid 3-1 on Saturday and go top of La Liga.

French striker Karim Benzema scored the early goal to give Real a 1-0 lead after a terrible clearance from Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

Former Germany goalkeeper Rene Adler is in talks with Hamburg, according to reports in the German media on Saturday, after he has fallen out of favor at Champions League side Bayer Leverkusen.

Both Cologne newspaper Express and Hamburg's Morgenpost report Adler is in talks with Hamburg, while his contract with Leverkusen is set to expire in June.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Saturday that he was open to quake-stricken Japan hosting the Women's World Cup after having proven its mettle for other top-shelf football events.

Following Japan's victory in the last installment of the tournament in Germany in July, Blatter said bringing it to the champion's home turf was a welcome idea, but he stopped short of giving a firm commitment.