Japanese rugby pin-up Ayumu Goromaru, one of the stars of the World Cup, is set to strike fear into opponents after being made a certified "Master of Ninjas."

The Japan Ninja Council said it awarded him the honor Wednesday because the full-back's kicking pose -- hands clasped together, index fingers pointing upwards and slightly squatting -- evoked images of the ancient stealth warriors.

Swimming legends Michael Phelps and Grant Hackett have been training together and swapping tips about their "ups and downs" as they target next year's Rio Olympics.

Dual Olympic champion Hackett, 35, has come out of six years of troubled retirement to try to make Australia's team for Rio next year, and has just spent three weeks training with Phelps under coach Bob Bowman in Arizona.

Swashbuckling Valentino Rossi accused Spanish riders of ganging up on him as he was denied a career crowning tenth world title in a cut-throat 2015 MotoGP season, won by his dogged Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo.

After a storming start to the season with 12 straight podiums including four GP wins, Rossi's defining moment came in the penultimate race, under relentless pressure from Spanish defending champion Marc Marquez.

Untold riches will rain down upon the English Premier League in 2016, but for all their resources, the country's leading clubs currently seem incapable of staking claims to the title.

The record £5.14 billion ($7.72 billion, 7.06 billion euros) television rights deal due to kick in next year will reinforce the English top flight's status as European football's financial behemoth.

A first Champions League appearance in 19 years followed Juventus's first league and Cup double in two decades, but as 2015 draws to a close the undisputed kings of Italian football are facing a Serie A backlash.

The Old Lady of Turin secured a treble of trophies by the end of last summer with a 31st league title, a 10th Italian Cup and their seventh Italian Super Cup after a 2-0 win over Lazio in Shanghai.

Paulo Dybala and Paul Pogba struck one apiece in a 4-0 Italian Cup rout of Torino on Wednesday then dedicated the goals to causes that have inspired the Juventus stars.

Argentina striker Dybala struck for the third consecutive match in the 73rd minute after replacing two-goal hero Simone Zaza at the start of the second half.

Pele and Zico have signed an open letter calling for change at the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), starting with the departure of its president, who is facing corruption charges in the United States.

Hours later Marco Polo Del Nero went before the Senate on Wednesday to defend himself against the accusations, saying: "I am unjustly accused, but that is not surprising. I defend myself with absolute certainty of my innocence.

The gunmen who murdered Honduras-born international football star Arnold Peralta in his hometown last week have been identified and are being sought, officials said on Wednesday.

"We have identified the persons believed to have participated" in the December 10 slaying, Honduran Security Minister Julian Pacheco told a news conference.

Gary Neville claimed his first victory as a head coach at the third attempt as Valencia eased into the last 16 of the Copa del Rey with a 2-0 win over Barakaldo on Wednesday.

Already leading 3-1 from the first leg against the Basque side from the third tier of Spanish football, Santi Mina ensured there was to be no unwanted shocks for Neville when he headed home just his second goal for the club after eight minutes.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique on Wednesday refused to apologize for igniting a Twitter row with Real Madrid rivals Alvaro Arbeloa and Sergio Ramos.

No stranger to public spats with Real players, Pique incurred the wrath of his Spain teammates by calling Arbeloa "an acquaintance," making clear reference to the term "cono" -- referencing a traffic cone -- an apparent dig at the full-back's mobility.