The race for the 2020 Olympics will come down to a contest between Madrid, Tokyo, and Istanbul after the IOC trimmed the field Wednesday, once again rejecting Doha's bid to take the games to tiny Qatar.

Doha and Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, were eliminated as the International Olympic Committee settled on a shortlist of three finalists. Both cities also failed to make the cut for the 2016 Games.

The Philadelphia 76ers kept their season alive with an 82-75 victory over the Boston Celtics to force a seventh game in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

Jrue Holiday finished with a team-high 20 points and six assists while Elton Brand had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Sixers who evened the second round series at three games each.

When Sebastian Vettel headed to the Monaco Grand Prix last season, all the talk was of how quickly the Red Bull driver would wrap up the Formula One championship.

It could not be more different this year, with the two-time defending champion tied with two-time former champion Fernando Alonso of Spain and seven drivers within 20 points of each other in one of the most wide-open seasons for years.

The Brazilian government insisted Wednesday it's not worried with the pace of preparations for the 2014 World Cup even though it announced that only five percent of all the planned projects have been completed.

With about two years left before the World Cup, the government said 41 percent of the infrastructure work across the country has yet to start, and 15 percent of those projects are still in the planning stages.

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness will tell Thursday's edition of Bild that Jupp Heynckes will remain as coach of the German giants next season "whatever happens."

"Why would he leave? He has a contract. He will stay whatever happens," Hoeness is quoted as saying.

Chelsea's Champions League hero Didier Drogba was given a rapturous welcome as he carried the Olympic flame on Wednesday, the day after announcing he was leaving the club.

Drogba was mobbed by thousands of people lining the route as he jogged through Swindon town center in western England with his torch on the fifth day of the relay ahead of the 2012 London Olympics.

The field of candidates for the 2020 Summer Olympics could be reduced from five to three, with Doha and Baku in danger of missing the cut.

Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid look certain to make the list when the International Olympic Committee executive board announces the group of finalists on Wednesday evening in Quebec City.

Racing Club midfielder Giovanni Moreno and forward Federico Santander say they were threatened at gunpoint Tuesday by hooligans who blame them for the club's poor results.

Santander, a forward with the Buenos Aires club, told a radio program that he and Moreno were accosted after practice by several hooligans who put a gun to Moreno's leg and said they would "blow it off" if he didn't leave the club.

Miami got their swagger back as they scored the opening three points and never trailed in easily beating Indiana 115-83 in game five to take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference series.

Dwyane Wade had 28 points and LeBron James scored 30 points for the Heat who can wrap up their best-of-seven series with a win in game six Thursday in Indianapolis.

All-time Spanish record goalscorer David Villa has lost his race to be fit for next month's Euro 2012 it was announced on the Spanish Football Federation's website on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old - scorer of 51 goals in 82 internationals - had been a major doubt since breaking his tibia at last December's World Club Championship.