Suspended
MIAMI - Miami have suspended manager Ozzie Guillen for five MLB games, effective immediately, for stirring controversy by telling an interviewer, "I love Fidel Castro."
"The Marlins acknowledge the seriousness of the comments attributed to Guillen," the US baseball team said in a statement.
"The pain and suffering caused by Fidel Castro cannot be minimised especially in a community filled with victims of the dictatorship."
Plea rejected
LONDON - Queens Park Rangers's bid to have midfielder Shaun Derry's suspension overturned was turned down on Tuesday after the Football Association rejected his plea of wrongful dismissal.
Derry was given a straight red card after being adjudged to have fouled Manchester United's Ashley Young during Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
Replays suggested Young had been offside prior to the incident and that Derry had made minimal contact with the United player.
Violent conduct
LONDON - Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic was hit with a violent conduct charge on Tuesday following an off-the-ball clash in last weekend's Premier League win over Wigan Athletic.
Television footage showed Ivanovic appearing to aim a punch at Wigan midfielder Shaun Maloney during his side's 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge, an incident not spotted by match officials at the time.
Ivanovic, had until 6pm yesterday to respond to the charge, faces a three-match ban if the allegation is upheld, which would rule him out of this weekend's FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur.
Race concern
LONDON - Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone admits he is unable to force teams to participate in this month's Bahrain Grand Prix following a fresh outbreak of violence in the Gulf state.
Formula One teams are reportedly reluctant to race in Bahrain this season amid ongoing concerns over security in the country.
Overspeed
SPRINGFIELD, Georgia - Spanish golfer Jose Maria Olazabal, heading from Augusta after the Masters to his next tournament in South Carolina, was clocked speeding and fined $US621 ($F1,111) authorities said.
The incident occurred on Monday, when Olazabal, the European Ryder Cup captain, agreed to follow a deputy to the Effingham County Sheriff's Office and pay the ticket in cash, sheriff's spokesman David Ehsanipoor said.
Ehsanipoor said Tuesday that Olazabal, who exceeded the posted 65mph speed limit on the four-lane Georgia highway where he was stopped, apologised and was cooperative. Once the fine was paid he was sent on his way.
Final spot
BERLIN - Borussia Moenchengladbach's hold on the fourth and final Champions League spot for next season weakened on Tuesday after they were held 2-2 by 10-man Werder Bremen in their Bundesliga clash.
Moenchengladbach - who have turned things around remarkably from avoiding relegation last season through a play-off - still hold a seven-point lead over VFB Stuttgart with four games remaining.
However, as their form has tailed off, Stuttgart's has got better and better and Tuesday's 3-1 win over struggling Augsburg was their eighth game without defeat.