CLAIREFONTAINE, France Zinedine Zidane has made an appearance at France’s training camp to help coach Laurent Blanc restore the beleaguered national team’s confidence following its poor performance at the World Cup.Zidane, who won the 1998 European Championship and 2000 World Cup with France, spent Wednesday with the players at its camp in Clairefontaine. Blanc wanted [...]

WASHINGTON LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and other NBA all-stars joined President Barack Obama on Sunday to entertain wounded troops.The basketball superstars were joined by some retired legends, including Bill Russell and Magic Johnson. College player Maya Moore of the Connecticut Huskies women’s team also played. The game was played for a group of [...]

ANAHEIM, Calif. Yovani Gallardo is firm. Even if he’s fortunate enough to make the All-Star team again next summer, he’ll skip it.”If the game is in Arizona, I will totally boycott,” the Milwaukee Brewers pitcher said Monday.A year before Phoenix is set to host baseball’s big event, the state’s new immigration law kept drawing the attention [...]

BERLIN There’s been plenty of ink for Paul the octopus lately, and why not?The octopus, also known as the “Oracle of Oberhausen,” has successfully predicted the winner of six World Cup matches so far.Now, Paul has forecast the winner of Sunday’s championship match. And rather than go out on a limb – or maybe eight [...]

Spain’s progress to their first World Cup final was seen by local media on Thursday as another vindication of their elegant brand of attacking football.Their 1-0 victory over Germany, who had been considered the most impressive side in South Africa to date, had Spanish newspapers praising Vicente del Bosque’s side and talking up their prospects [...]

JOHANNESBURG  Preparations for the 2014 World Cup are back on track just two months after FIFA publicly criticized organizers for missing deadlines, Brazil’s top soccer official has said.”There are no problems,” Brazil soccer federation president Ricardo Teixeira said as the tournament’s official logo was launched Thursday.He acknowledged uncertainty over Sao Paulo’s role as a host [...]

RIO DE JANEIRO Dunga is out as coach of Brazil’s national soccer team.The coach and his staff were fired Sunday, two days after Brazil was beaten by the Netherlands in the World Cup quarterfinals.The announcement was made by the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF). The decision was widely expected after the 2-1 loss to the Dutch. [...]

PHOENIX Arizona police officials warned officers not to use race or ethnicity when enforcing the state’s new immigration law, saying that the country is watching their every move.In a new training video released Thursday, the officials said opponents of the law may secretly videotape officers making traffic stops, trying to ensnare them and prove that [...]

Battle of the power forwards in Game 5 clearly goes to Boston, which also gets some Zen-like leadership from Garnett.Boston The man who likes to abuse his own bald head  either as a way to psych himself up or express simple frustration  was the one trying to ramp down the energy on Sunday.Boston’s Kevin Garnett [...]

When England entered their first World Cup in 1950, they went down to a famous 1-0 defeat at the hands of the amateurs of USA in a match that became known as the ‘Miracle on Grass’.The game has come a long way in America since that match and, while most firmly expect an England victory [...]