Dwyane Wade's role as captain of the Miami Heat comes with certain privileges. For example, he can occasionally shake off calls from Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

And no one complained, either.

Carlos Tevez has appealed to the Premier League against a six-week fine imposed by Manchester City for his continued absence from the club.

City found Tevez guilty on December 22 of gross misconduct for traveling without permission to his native Argentina in November, where he remains.

Former Brazil left back Roberto Carlos says he will retire from football by the end of the year.

The 38-year-old Roberto Carlos has a contract with Russian club Anzhi until 2013 but said he will stop playing either in June or in December of 2012.

Arsene Wenger hopes Arsenal's epic fight-back against Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round will act as a spark for his team's bid to qualify for the Champions League.

Wenger's men were heading for a shock exit at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday after Villa surged into a 2-0 lead by half-time thanks to goals from Richard Dunne and Darren Bent.

The Asian Football Confederation on Monday urged football's top lawmaking body to approve a headscarf with safety features for use by Islamic female players.

Football governing body FIFA banned the hijab or headscarf in 2007 for safety reasons, a move condemned by Islamic leaders and sports officials.

The Los Angeles Lakers reversed their recent road fortunes with a victory at Minnesota, holding off the tenacious Timberwolves for a 106-101 NBA triumph.

Kobe Bryant scored 35 points and Pau Gasol added 28 as the Lakers also ended a team-record streak of 13 straight games of less than 100 points.

The reigning NBA champion Dallas Mavericks seized sole possession of first place by beating their state rivals the San Antonio Spurs 101-100 behind guard Jason Terry's superb 34-point game.

Germany's Dirk Nowitzki returned to the lineup Sunday and scored 10 points for the Mavericks who were coming off an impressive 116-101 win over Utah two days ago.

Inter Milan's run of seven successive Serie A wins came to an abrupt end on Sunday as they fell to a 1-0 defeat by relegation strugglers Lecce, a loss made all the more bitter by AC Milan's 3-0 win over Cagliari which saw their rivals tuck in just a point behind leaders Juventus.

Uruguayan Guillermo Giaccomazzi struck for Lecce to give them their first home win of the season - they had previously taken just two points from the 27 available at home - while their 'keeper Massimiliano Benassi was in superlative form, denying Inter on several occasions.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic battled past Rafael Nadal in an epic, five-set Australian Open final which clocked in at 5hr 53min -- the longest title match in grand slam history -- early Monday.

Djokovic fought back from losing the first set to take a 2-1 lead, but he was then taken to a gripping fifth set by resurgent Nadal before winning 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5 for his third consecutive major title.

Bayern Munich stayed top of the German league on Saturday as striker Mario Gomez claimed his 17th goal of the season in a 2-0 win over Wolfsburg, but Shinji Kagawa-inspired Borussia Dortmund are hard on their heels.

Japan winger Kagawa scored twice in Dortmund's 3-1 win over Hoffenheim, which means the defending champions remain second and level on 40 points with Bayern, but Munich stay top by virtue of goal difference.