The teams that inhabit the San Siro not only have weakened squads to deal with but the worrisome conditions of the pitch itself. Australia Wallabies' Cooper reacts during their Rugby World Cup third place play-off against Wales in Auckland
Australia Wallabies' Quade Cooper reacts during their Rugby World Cup third place play-off match against Wales at Eden Park in Auckland October 21, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings Baseball-Giants sweep Dodgers to stretch NL West lead
Aug 22 (Reuters) – The San Francisco Giants completed athree-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers with an 8-4 victoryon Wednesday to move further clear of their National League Westrivals going into the closing weeks of the regular season. The Giants (69-55) entered the series trailing the Dodgers(67-58) by half a game in the division but left Los Angelesriding high with a 2 1/2-game advantage. Matt Cain (13-5) controlled the series finale and theDodgers’ offense, tossing seven innings and allowing just onerun to win his third straight start. …
Official: Melbourne Heart sign former Australia international Richard Garcia
The 30-year-old, who has spent his entire senior career in the UK, has returned to Australia to sign a one-year deal with Melbourne Heart Baseball standings
Aug 23 (Infostrada Sports) – Standings from the MLB on Wednesday AMERICAN LEAGUEEASTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB 1. NY Yankees 72 52 .581 – 2. Tampa Bay 69 55 .556 3 3. Baltimore 67 57 .540 5 4. Boston 59 65 .476 13 5. Toronto 56 67 .455 15 1/2 CENTRAL DIVISION W L PCT GB 1. Chicago White Sox 68 55 .553 – 2. Detroit 66 57 .537 2 3. Kansas City 55 68 .447 13 4. Cleveland 54 70 .435 14 1/2 5. Minnesota 51 72 .415 17 WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB 1. Texas 72 51 .585 – 2. Oakland 67 56 .545 5 3. LA Angels 64 60 .516 8 1/2 4. Seattle 61 64 .488 12 NATIONAL LEAGUEEASTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB 1. …
Official: Melbourne Heart sign former Australia international Richard Garcia
The 30-year-old, who has spent his entire senior career in the UK, has returned to Australia to sign a one-year deal with Melbourne Heart 
Derek Jeter brushed off comments by ESPN analyst Skip Bayless, who raised the possibility the star shortstop may have revived his career by taking Human Growth Hormone. 
Soccer stud Landon Donovan and his one-time ladylove, Bianca Kajlich, chat about Landon's shout out to Bianca at the World Cup, but are they getting back together? 
(Reuters) – Texas slugger Adrian Beltre smashed three home runs in the Rangers' 12-3 rout of the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. Beltre launched a homer in each of his first three at bats, connecting in the second inning and twice in the fourth where Texas batted around for nine runs. Beltre, who now has 22 home runs this season, finished with five RBIs against Baltimore. He also had two chances to become the 17th player in Major League Baseball to homer four times in one game but finished with a pair of groundouts. … 
Opera r?t kén ng??i nghe và ??c bi?t kén ng??i hát. Mu?n tr? thành m?t ca s? hát opera thành công ?òi h?i th? l?c, tài n?ng và s? kiên trì rèn luy?n kh? công. Nh?ng ngh? s? sau ?ây là nh?ng tài n?ng tiêu bi?u cho th? lo?i nh?c k?ch kh?t khe ?ó. 
Let us welcome Augusta National to the 21st century. 
Adrian Beltre hit three home runs, including two in a nine-run fourth inning, and had five RBIs in the Texas Rangers' 12-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night. 
Chris Sale struck out 13 in 7 2-3 stellar innings to get his 15th victory, Alex Rios hit a go-ahead homer and the Chicago White Sox beat the New York Yankees 2-1 on Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep in the meeting of division leaders. 
LONDON (Reuters) – The United States women's basketball team has the records, the Dream Team has the fame but it is the women's football team that has the hearts of American sports fans and another Olympic gold medal. There is little warm and fuzzy about the Americans, who play the beautiful game with more beastly aggression than flair but there is no denying their appeal at home and abroad as a Games record crowd for a women's football game of over 80,000 streamed into Wembley Stadium on Thursday to watch the U.S. cap a perfect Olympic run with a 2-1 win over Japan. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – United States won the latest battles in their fierce track rivalry with Jamaica on Wednesday while Usain Bolt cruised through to the 200 metres final where he will aim to prove once and for all he is an Olympic "legend". Bolt goes into Thursday's final seeking to become the first man to win the 100 and 200 at two successive Olympics. The Jamaican and the training partner he playfully nicknames The Beast, compatriot Yohan Blake, comfortably won their 200 semi-finals with both easing up towards the line. … 
Tennessee scratched out two late runs to get to the U.S. final in the Little League World Series. 
New York (Reuters) – With a nod to his basketball star host, Michael Jordan, President Barack Obama used a sports analogy at a fundraiser in New York on Wednesday to describe the election campaign and his opponents, who he said played "dirty." "I can't resist a basketball analogy. We are in the fourth quarter, we're up by a few points, but the other side is coming strong and they play a little dirty," Obama told a group of supporters, saying his team was ahead but had some injuries. "I'd say there's about seven minutes to go in the game. … 
Johan Santana is done for the year, and to say he had an up-and-down season would be an understatement of Cy Young proportions. 
Australia Wallabies' Quade Cooper gives a thumbs up after winning their Rugby World Cup quarter-final match against South Africa Springboks at Wellington Regional Stadium October 9, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings 
(Reuters) – Having endured the worst slump of his career with a three-year victory drought that ended late last season, Sergio Garcia could not be happier with his form heading into this week's Barclays tournament in Farmingdale, New York. The Spaniard clinched his eighth PGA Tour title by two shots at the rain-delayed Wyndham Championship in North Carolina on Monday and, with it, a coveted spot on the European team for the Sep. 28-30 Ryder Cup. … 
World No. 1 Yani Tseng and USLPGA stars Michelle Wie and Brittany Lincicome hailed Augusta National Golf Club's decision to allow women members for the first time in its 80-year history. 
Ousted Penn State president Graham Spanier (SPAN'-year) says he wishes he'd known more about former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky so he could've done something about child molestation allegations against him. 
LONDON (Reuters) – Striker Sergio Aguero could be back for Premier League champions Manchester City in mid September after suffering a knee injury on the opening day of the season against Southampton on Sunday. "I don't think Sergio will be out for long and we are hoping he will be back after the international break which is obviously fantastic news for him and for us," manager Roberto Mancini told the club's website (www.mcfc.com) on Wednesday. There are 2014 World Cup qualifiers scheduled for September 7 and 11. … 
NHL collective bargaining talks were canceled Wednesday after top executives from the league and players' union held an impromptu morning meeting to discuss the status of the negotiations. 
The sporting director has expressed his admiration for the Brazil international and called for third-party investment to make a transfer for the Santos star happen 
Allison Schmitt was a star at the Olympics. Now, she's just another student at Georgia. 
Tango couple Sebastian Matias Bianchi, from Argentina, and Yuka Sato, from Japan, compete in a stage category during the Tango Dance World Cup 2012 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. The two-week long event offers hundreds of free dance lessons, concerts and recitals, as professional dancers compete in the championship and teach many the eight basic steps of the dance in the city where it was born. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) 
Ousted Penn State President Graham Spanier and his lawyers attacked the university-backed report on the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal on Wednesday, calling it a "blundering and indefensible indictment" as they fired a pre-emptive strike while waiting to hear if he'll be charged in the case. 
Matt Cassel took the snap from center, scanned the practice field as he dropped back to pass and just for a moment must have felt like a little boy on Christmas morning. 
England captain Chris Robshaw says the World Cup quarter-final defeat to France means little ahead of Sunday's crucial Six Nations match in Paris. 
England captain Chris Robshaw says the World Cup quarter-final defeat to France means little ahead of Sunday's crucial Six Nations match in Paris. 
beIN SPORT purchases rights for USA World Cup away qualifiers 
Brad Keselowski is talking the talk of a title contender. 
Texas Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish will miss his next start on Thursday because of tightness in his right quadriceps muscle. 
(Reuters) – With his weekend slump at the PGA Championship swiftly forgotten, Tiger Woods is excited about renewing his burgeoning rivalry with Rory McIlroy at this week's Barclays tournament in Farmingdale, New York. Former world number one Woods and the man long regarded as his heir apparent, Northern Irishman McIlroy, have been grouped together for the opening two rounds on the challenging Bethpage Black course at Bethpage State Park. … 
Watch Kamil Stoch's jump as he made his mark at the ski jumping World Cup in Lahti, Finland. 
Martin Fourcade sealed his maiden World Cup title in style with a dominant performance in the men's 12.5km pursuit in Russia. 
Watch Kamil Stoch's jump as he made his mark at the ski jumping World Cup in Lahti, Finland. 
Akito Watabe closed the gap on overall FIS Nordic Combined World Cup leader Jason Lamy Chappuis with a dominant display in Klingenthal. 
Akito Watabe closed the gap on overall FIS Nordic Combined World Cup leader Jason Lamy Chappuis with a dominant display in Klingenthal. 
Austria's Marcel Hirscher won the men's Alpine skiing World Cup slalom in Bansko. 
Jonas Olsson won gold in the World Cup race in Poland. 
Beat Feuz says he has had "a wonderful week" after he thrived at the World Cup. 
Austria's Marcel Hirscher won the men's Alpine skiing World Cup slalom in Bansko. 
Mikko Kokslien put a less than impressive ski jump behind him to record FIS Nordic Combined World Cup gold in Kazakhstan. 
Watch footage from the FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup as Petter Northug anchors Norway's men's team to victory in the 4x10km race. 
Watch Klaus Kroell's downhill run at the World Cup races in Kvitfjell, Norway. 
Watch footage from the FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup as Petter Northug anchors Norway's men's team to victory in the 4x10km race. 
Beat Feuz says he has had "a wonderful week" after he thrived at the World Cup. 
Mikko Kokslien put a less than impressive ski jump behind him to record FIS Nordic Combined World Cup gold in Kazakhstan. 
Jonas Olsson won gold in the World Cup race in Poland. 
Watch Klaus Kroell's downhill run at the World Cup races in Kvitfjell, Norway. 
When most people look at Andrew Luck's first two preseason performances, they see a steady, young quarterback ready to emerge as the new face of the Indianapolis Colts.