Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola refused to concede defeat in La Liga title race after a 1-1 draw with Espanyol left the defending champions trailing bitter rivals Real Madrid by five points.

Barcelona took a 16th-minute lead through a header from Cesc Fabregas -- the club's 100th goal in all competitions this season -- but were rocked when Alvaro Vazquez scored an 86th-minute equaliser with a diving, close-range header.

Manchester United and Wayne Rooney moved swiftly on Friday to deny a report that the striker was poised to leave Old Trafford, dismissing the claim as "nonsense."

A report to be published in Saturday's edition of The Independent suggested Sir Alex Ferguson was ready to sell the club's talismanic striker after a breakdown in relations with the player.

Serena Williams has a badly sprained left ankle, Roger Federer an aching back, and Kim Clijsters a sore left hip.

Add in a limping — but "I'll be OK" — Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal playing with a sore left shoulder from the end of last season and the advance tournaments for this year's Australian Open are beginning to look like a star-studded sports injury clinic.

Lionel Messi's remarkable career with Barcelona began on a napkin.

It happened more than a decade ago, when the 13-year-old Messi, then just a scrawny little kid with plenty of talent, was hoping to earn a contract with Barcelona.

Andy Murray had Ivan Lendl in his corner and another ATP final in his sights when he beat Australian teenager Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday in the Brisbane International semifinals.

Thierry Henry will look to enhance his legendary status at Arsenal after completing a loan move to the English club he graced for eight years.

The former France striker had to wait a week to secure his two-month switch as Arsenal finalized insurance agreements with the New York Red Bulls, Henry's club in Major League Soccer.

Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters retired from her semifinal match against Daniela Hantuchova at the Brisbane International on Friday one game after being treated for what appeared to be a left hip injury.

Clijsters won the opening tiebreak but surrendered a break at the start of the second set and needed treatment after the third game.

Carlos Tevez looks set to snub interest from Inter Milan in order to join their bitter city rivals AC Milan, according to the Argentine's agent, Kia Joorabchian.

While Inter's technical director, Marco Branca, travelled to England to meet Manchester City officials on Thursday, Joorabchian held talks with Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani in Rio.

Five-times Australian Open champion Serena Williams has given a hint on Twitter that she may be fit for this year's tournament after an injury scare.

Williams was forced to withdraw from the Brisbane International after spraining her ankle during her second-round win over Serbian Bojana Jovanovski on Wednesday.

There may be no need for LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to rush their return from injuries.

Mario Chalmers and Chris Bosh proved Thursday night they can play the starring roles for the Miami Heat.