German police said a credible bomb threat forced them to call off a football match Tuesday that was meant as a "symbol of freedom" after the Paris attacks and was to be attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Hanover city police chief Volker Kluwe said there had been "serious plans to cause an explosion" in the 49,000-capacity stadium, and that authorities had acted on "a concrete threat scenario."

Syria's national football team used a pre-match news conference in Singapore to defiantly show support for President Bashar Assad, sparking blowback from local fans calling for politics to be left on the sidelines of Tuesday night's World Cup qualifier.

Syrian coach Fajr Ibrahim and midfielder Osama Omari strode into the media conference at a hotel on Monday ahead of their match against Singapore clad in white t-shirts with a large photo of their embattled president, saying Assad was "the best man in the world."

Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points as the Dallas Mavericks sent the Philadelphia 76ers spinning to their 11th straight defeat since the new NBA season began, the worst record of any team in the league.

Nowitzki piled up the points in the final quarter as the 76ers slipped to a 92-86 defeat which left them at 0-11, the only team in the NBA without a win.

Leaders of the world's most prominent national anti-doping bodies on Monday called for Russian track and field athletes to be banned from next year's Olympics, saying the sanction was necessary to deter drug cheats.

A statement from the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations (iNADO), a 53-member umbrella group made the call on the eve of a key World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) meeting in Colorado Springs.

The football friendly between Belgium and Spain scheduled for Tuesday in Brussels has been canceled on the recommendation of the national crisis center following the Islamist attacks in Paris, official sources said.

The center, under the interior ministry, recommended the cancellation of the match after the terrorist threat level was Monday raised to three, or severe, for the whole country, representing a possible and credible threat, according to a statement.

A California court on Monday ruled that the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers last year was legal, quashing former owner Donald Sterling's attempt to reverse the deal triggered by controversy over his racist remarks.

A three-justice panel of California's Court of Appeal ruled that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Levanas had not erred in approving the $2 billion sale of the team to former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.

Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal produced emphatic responses to the critics as they kicked off their ATP Tour Finals campaigns in dominant fashion on Monday.

Murray silenced the doubters who claimed he was distracted by dreams of Davis Cup glory with a gritty 6-4, 6-4 win over David Ferrer, while Nadal, beset by problems during the worst year of his career, showed he isn't finished yet with a 6-3, 6-2 thrashing of French Open champion Stan Wawrinka.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and her cabinet are set to attend Germany's friendly with the Netherlands on Tuesday in a show of solidarity for the victims of the Paris terror attacks.

The world champions found themselves at the center of Friday's horrifying scenes in the French capital when 129 people died amidst a series of violent attacks that also left a further 352 injured.

Argentina coach Gerardo Martino says Tuesday's 2018 World Cup qualifier at Colombia is a must-win for his injury-ravaged side after they were left frustrated by 10-man Brazil.

The result Friday in Buenos Aires -- where arch rivals Brazil came from behind to snatch a 1-1 draw -- meant Argentina are winless after three games of South America's marathon qualifying campaign, with only two points from a possible nine.

New York forward Kevin Seraphin paid tribute to his French homeland with an inspired performance Sunday, helping the Knicks to a 95-87 NBA win over New Orleans just two days after Friday's attacks in Paris.

The 26-year-old Seraphin scored 12 points while sporting a "Paris" haircut with the image of the Eiffel Tower and a peace sign shaved on his scalp.