Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken to Ashley Young about his alleged diving in the wake of the controversy that has surrounded the Manchester United winger this week.

Young won a controversial penalty against Aston Villa's Ciaran Clark last week, the opening goal in a 4-0 victory that kept United in first place in the Premier League and on course for a 20th league title.

World championship leader Lewis Hamilton topped the times for McLaren in Friday morning's opening free practice session for this weekend's controversial Bahrain Grand Prix.

The 27-year-old Englishman clocked a best time of 1min 33.572secs to dominate the session ahead of his nearest rival, defending champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull.

Violence marred Bahrain's controversial Grand Prix race as a firebomb exploded near Force India team members and protesters clashed with police in the lead-up to the Formula One practice runs set to begin on Friday.

The incident prompted F1 officials to reassure participants that despite the violence, Bahrain was safe.

Spanish veteran striker Raul Gonzalez will leave Bundesliga club Schalke at the end of the season and move outside Europe when his two-year contract expires.

Raul, who turns 35 in June, said Thursday he had two offers from outside Europe but did not specify.

Thousands of fans filled the streets of Bergamo to on Thursday for the funeral of Piermario Morosini, an Italian footballer who collapsed and died during a Livorno match last weekend.

About 600 people packed into the Church of San Gregorio Barbarigo for the service, while thousands watched on big screens outside.

Two members of the Force India team have decided to leave Bahrain, including one person who was in a team vehicle that was briefly delayed by a firebomb a day earlier.

The bomb exploded Wednesday night in Bahrain's capital Manama, causing a Force India van with four team members to be delayed in traffic on its way from the Bahrain Grand Prix circuit back to its hotel. No one in the vehicle was hurt and none of the four passengers were Formula One drivers, Force India spokesman Will Hings told The Associated Press by telephone from Manama on Thursday.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's record goal-scoring form looms as the decisive factor when Spanish league leader Real Madrid plays at Barcelona on Saturday in a crucial "clasico" that will effectively determine the destiny of the title.

Madrid has seen a 10 point lead over three-time defending champion Barcelona whittled down to just four points over the past month, and a loss at the Camp Nou would see the advantage sliced to just one point with four more games remaining.

Paul Pierce's 29 points included a key jump shot with 7.6 seconds remaining as Boston beat Orlando 102-98 to clinch the NBA Atlantic Division title.

Pierce, who also handed out a career-high 14 assists, helped the Celtics overcome the absence of Rajon Rondo, who was still nursing a sore back after a spill in the defeat at New York on Tuesday.

London Olympic organizers said there is now a real buzz about the 2012 Games as they started the 100-day countdown on Wednesday by unveiling its 'Inspire a generation' motto.

The milestone was marked by events in Britain and around the world as London chiefs said they were looking in "great shape" before the sports extravaganza kicks off.

Didier Drogba scored the only goal as Chelsea stunned holders Barcelona to score a 1-0 upset victory in their Champions League semifinal first-leg match here on Wednesday.

Drogba left Chelsea dreaming of advancing to their first final since 2008 in next week's return leg at Camp Nou after pouncing on the stroke of half-time as Barcelona suffered their first European reverse of the season.