The offices of the Beitar Jerusalem football team were set on fire early Friday in an apparent arson attack, police said, a day after four of the club's fans were charged with anti-Muslim chanting at a recent game.

The attack also followed an announcement by police that it would begin deploying undercover units and beefing up police presence at games to track down those fans involved in racist chants.

The Hong Kong-based owner of Birmingham City says it has been approached by a group that wants to buy the English Championship club.

Birmingham International Holdings Ltd. said in a brief statement Friday that its lawyers were in touch with the group, led by a sports management company, to clarify the offer.

A U.S. insurance firm filed a lawsuit against disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong on Thursday, demanding he return $12 million in bonus money paid for his Tour de France triumphs.

Texas-based SCA Promotions wants the confessed dope cheat to repay money the firm paid out after insuring his Tour victories in 2002, 2003 and 2004, because he was stripped of his record seven Tour titles last year.

Lionel Messi has signed a new contract that will tie him to Barcelona until 2018, the club announced on Thursday.

Barca had already signaled Messi's intent to sign a new deal, along with teammates Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernandez, back in December and the four-time World Player of the Year has now put pen to paper.

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher will retire from football at the end of this season, the English Premier League club said in a statement on Thursday.

"This will be my last season at Liverpool and my last as a professional footballer," said Carragher.

Rafael Nadal has taken a few shaky steps in a comeback he hopes will give him a fighting chance of winning his eighth French Open title.

After being away from singles tennis for more than seven months while getting therapy on an injured left knee, Nadal defeated Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the VTR Open.

A pair of Australians won a race to the top — or to the 86th floor, anyway.

Aussies captured the top spots in the men's and women's races in the annual Empire State Building Run-up on Wednesday night.

LeBron James scored 32 points, and Dwyane Wade added 31 points and eight assists as the Miami Heat held off the Houston Rockets 114-108 on Wednesday.

Shane Battier scored 12, Norris Cole added 10 and Udonis Haslem grabbed 13 rebounds for Miami, which moved to 20 wins from 23 away home games.

Presiding over Brazil's first loss to England in 23 years caused Luiz Felipe Scolari little concern. In fact, the returning coach saw Wednesday's 2-1 defeat as a good omen.

His first stint in charge of the Brazilians in 2001 also opened with a loss, and a year later they were celebrating their fifth World Cup title.

Pau Gasol has been diagnosed with a torn plantar fascia in his right foot, indefinitely sidelining the Spaniard at a key point in the Los Angeles Lakers' belated rally to get in playoff position.

Gasol felt a pop in his foot Tuesday late in the Lakers' 92-83 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. An MRI scan Wednesday in Boston revealed the injury.