Didier Drogba's double fired Chelsea to a 3-0 victory over Valencia at Stamford Bridge that sent the Blues into the Champions League knockout-stages as Group E winners on Tuesday.

Andre Villas-Boas' side knew a defeat or score-draw in this qualification shoot-out would put Valencia through at their expense, but two goals from Drogba either side of a Ramires strike eased Chelsea's path into the last 16.

The Los Angeles Lakers will play games on the first three nights of the NBA season, the first of 42 back-to-back-to-back sets of games that teams will face during this lockout-shortened season.

The NBA announced the compacted, 66-game schedule on Tuesday night, one that will require every team to play on three consecutive nights at least once.

Serie A leader Juventus has lost striker Mirko Vucinic for about three weeks because of a right thigh muscle tear.

Vucinic was injured during Juve's 2-0 win over Cesena on Sunday. The Montenegro international underwent medical exams Tuesday.

Marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe has been selected for her fifth Summer Olympics after she was included in Britain's team for next year's London Games.

The 37-year-old Radcliffe completed her first marathon in two years in September's Berlin Marathon and has been picked alongside fellow marathon runners Mara Yamauchi and Scott Overall as the first track and field competitors for the host nation.

Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera has bought French rights to screen the Champions League for three seasons.

UEFA says it sold four of five available media packages covering 133 matches each season from 2012-15. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

The English Premier League's claims to being the best in Europe will be tested this week with three clubs facing Champions League matches which will decide whether or not they progress to the knockout stages.

Chelsea host Valencia on Tuesday needing to either beat the Spaniards or draw 0-0 to progress -- failure to do so is likely to have dire consequences for young Portuguese manager Andre Villas-Boas.

With top place secured in Champions League Group H, it'll be an unfamiliar looking Barcelona which faces BATE Borisov on Tuesday as the team's superstars are rested ahead of the weekend's El Clasico against Real Madrid.

The hard work has already been done by coach Pep Guardiola's players with the 3-2 victory in their last match at AC Milan putting them five points clear on 13 points and assured of a place in the last 16.

Massimiliano Allegri is set to extend his contract as coach of Italian champions AC Milan to 2014, the club's chief executive Adriano Galliani announced on Monday.

Galliani, who also raised the possibility of signing Manchester City's out of favour Argentinian striker Carlos Tevez and Fiorentina captain Riccardo Montolivo in the upcoming transfer window, said that it had been in the pipeline for a while.

In a dramatic shift, British Olympic officials doubled the funding Monday to protect venues at the 2012 London Games, raising overall security costs to more than 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion).

Olympics minister Hugh Robertson insisted that the London Games remained financially on track — and within contingency planning. But the new figures are certain to become a sensitive issue in Britain, as tough economic times and bleak forecasts for the future raise questions about the wisdom of hosting the Olympics.

Bayern Munich hope that midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger will make his comeback from injury before the December 18 date that marks the winter Bundesliga break.

The 27-year-old had a plate inserted in his right shoulder after breaking his collarbone following a heavy fall in the 3-2 Champions League win over Napoli on November 2.