Sir Alex Ferguson believes Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney are ready to take Europe by storm after the deadly double act inspired Manchester United's 2-1 win over CFR Cluj in the Champions League.

Ferguson started van Persie and Rooney together for the first time in Tuesday's Group H clash in Romania and the United manager was delighted to see his two star forwards strike up an immediate understanding.

Mercedes boss Dieter Zetsche has insisted Michael Schmacher's disappointing return to Formula One has been due to their underperforming car and not the driver.

Schumacher, 43, returned to Formula One in 2010 after a four-year hiatus, but the seven-times world champion has failed to make an impact on the world drivers' championships.

The 2013 Australian Open will offer a record Aus$30 million (US$31.1 million) in prize money, as organizers respond to threats of a boycott from players agitating for a greater share of revenue.

Tennis Australia chief executive Steve Wood said Tuesday the Aus$4 million hike from the last tournament was the single biggest increase in the history of the opening Grand Slam of the season.

Newcomers Dwight Howard and Steve Nash joined the Los Angeles Lakers for Monday's first day of training camp as Kobe Bryant looks for a sixth career NBA title and Pau Gasol bids for his third.

The Lakers signed Canadian Nash, a veteran point guard still seeking his first NBA crown, in the off-season and added center Howard from Orlando in a four-team deal last August to become a favorite in the NBA championship quest.

Manchester City may only be heading into their second Champions League game of the season but Roberto Mancini's side's clash with Dortmund may prove hugely significant for both.

City suffered a 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid in their opening game despite taking the lead twice in the Bernabeu.

Mikel Arteta has warned Olympiakos that Arsenal will take out their frustrations on the Greek team in Wednesday's Champions League clash at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsene Wenger's side suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday as Chelsea punished some slack defending from the hosts to clinch a 2-1 victory and Arteta admits his teammates are desperate to make amends against Olympiakos.

A Palestinian footballer who went on a hunger strike in an Israeli jail said Monday he is turning down an invitation to see Barcelona play Real Madrid in El Clasico after an Israeli soldier was also asked to attend.

Mahmud Sarsak, who went on hunger strike earlier this year to protest his detention without charge by Israel, was invited to the match by Barcelona, after they also extended an invitation to Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was held captive in Gaza for more than five years.

A French prosecutor is expected to give details of suspected match-fixing and illegal betting in handball Monday, a day after police detained several players including one of the biggest stars of the game.

Double Olympic gold medal winner Nikola Karabatic was among those picked up during a police operation in Paris and in the southern city of Montpellier, where the investigation was launched.

Jose Maria Olazabal squeezed his eyes shut as they filled with tears, overwhelmed and overjoyed that the Ryder Cup still belongs to Europe.

His players wore the image of Seve Ballesteros on their sleeves and played their hearts out Sunday at Medinah, filling the scoreboard with European blue as they chipped away at a four-point deficit until completing a comeback even more remarkable than what the Americans did to them at Brookline in 1999.

IndyCar will stage a 19-race season in 2013 that includes new events at Pocono Raceway and Houston and races on back-to-back days at three venues, officials announced Sunday night.

The expanded lineup from the 2012 campaign sees Edmonton dropped but a new race at Pennsylvania's .875-of-a-mile Pocono oval on July 7 and two races on a new 1.7-mile street course at Houston on October 5-6.