Cristiano Ronaldo's 10 league goals may be the focus of Real Madrid's La Liga title challenge this season, but it's Brazilian superstar Kaka who is the team's lucky charm.

A rejuvenated Kaka has been a key player for Madrid in recent weeks, scoring in Wednesday's 3-0 victory over Villarreal as Jose Mourinho's team stretched their winning run to five league games.

Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio insists the league leaders will not be fooled by Inter Milan's disastrous start to the season when the two meet in the 'Derby of Italy' on Saturday.

Unbeaten Juventus sit a point clear of Udinese and Lazio at the top of Serie A after eight matches while 2010 Champions League winners Inter are fifth from bottom.

FIFA's bumper week of World Cup business was completed with broadcast deals worth $1.85 billion (€1.3 billion) for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, the governing body announced Thursday.

The deals include an estimated $1.2 billion (€0.86 billion) earned from United States broadcast right sales to Fox, Telemundo and Futbol de Primera Radio. Those deals were confirmed last Friday.

Police say eight officers were injured in clashes with football fans before the German Cup match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Kaiserslautern.

The two clubs have a long history of animosity between their fans. Clashes between rival groups apparently left more people injured but police had no figures.

Seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher said Thursday he is touched by this month’s deaths of two motorsport stars but believes they are down to fate rather than deficiencies in the sport's safety.

Commenting on the deaths of IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon and MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli, Schumacher said motorsport safety had been "hugely improved."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger acknowledges there is "fear, even discontent" among fans over the club's failure to win a trophy since 2005.

The Frenchman addressed shareholders' concerns at Arsenal's Annual General Meeting on Thursday following the club's worst start to a season in more than 50 years.

A rested Bayern Munich hosts Nuremberg in the Bundesliga's Bavarian derby on Saturday knowing that another slip could bring Borussia Dortmund dangerously close.

Bayern lost in the previous round at Hannover and defending champion Dortmund is now only three points behind. But Dortmund has a tough trip to Stuttgart.

NBA club owners and players made progress toward a new contract after a negotiating session of more than 15 hours ended early Thursday morning with positive talk about playing a full season.

As the lockout over money issues stretched into a 119th day, the second marathon session in as many weeks was the second-longest since the shutdown began on July 1 after the old deal between players and team owners expired.

QPR officials on Thursday denied reports that three players had given evidence against John Terry in the FA's investigation into allegations of racist abuse involving the Chelsea and England star.

The Daily Mail reported Thursday that Rangers trio Paddy Kenny, Clint Hill and Shaun Derry had all spoken to FA investigators probing claims that Terry racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.

Maria Sharapova’s season ended in disappointment on Wednesday as she saw her hopes of regaining the title at the WTA Championships after a seven year gap and of dethroning Caroline Wozniacki as world number one dashed because she is still feeling the effects of an ankle injury.

The former Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open champion from Russia announced that she was withdrawing from the women’s tour’s flagship event after losing 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 to Li Na, the French Open champion from China.