The Los Angeles Galaxy launched their quest to defend their Major League Soccer title with a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire on Friday.

The Galaxy controlled the majority of the first regular-season match, but didn't break through for a goal until Jose Villarreal's 65th-minute strike.

James Harden posted his third triple-double of the season on Friday, scoring 38 points with 12 assists and 12 rebounds to lift Houston to a 103-93 NBA victory over Detroit.

Harden's feat helped Houston snap a two-game losing streak and his three triple-doubles this season are the most in a single campaign for a Rocket since Clyde Drexler had three in 1996-97.

Serbia's world number one Novak Djokovic and Great Britain's Andy Murray breezed to comfortable wins as Davis Cup World Group first round action began in dramatic style on Friday.

Djokovic dispatched Mate Delic in three sets and Viktor Troicki came through in five against Borna Coric to put 2010 champions Serbia 2-0 up against a Croatia team struggling without U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has challenged his players to turn their scintillating current form into silverware ahead of Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final at home to second-tier Blackburn Rovers.

After a poor start to the campaign, Liverpool have rediscovered their swagger in 2015, winning seven of their last eight Premier League games to revitalize their push for Champions League qualification.

Italian international midfielder Thiago Motta is available again after injury for Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue 1 encounter with Lens on Saturday but skipper Thiago Silva will not feature.

Coach Laurent Blanc revealed on Friday that he would make changes to his side following Wednesday's 2-0 win against Monaco in the quarter-finals of the French Cup.

Kimi Raikkonen is old enough to be Max Verstappen's father, and when the Formula One season gets underway at the Australian Grand Prix, the teen prodigy will be racing against the seen-it-all veteran.

At 17, Verstappen will become the youngest driver in F1 history.

The mood was somber in the Portland Trail Blazers' locker room after their 94-75 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. The win came at a cost, with Wesley Matthews lost for the NBA season because of a ruptured Achilles tendon.

"I make that same cut hundreds of thousands of times in my life," Matthews said. "I felt the initial pop. And you guys could probably tell on the replay. I looked back — it feels like someone's kicked you. I was praying. I was praying someone was back there."

Dutch Formula One driver Giedo van Der Garde is seeking an urgent hearing in an Australian court to force the Sauber team to reinstate him as a driver ahead of next weekend's season-opening race.

His lawyers lodged papers with the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday seeking a hearing on Monday in Melbourne, which will host the Australian Grand Prix on March 15.

When two English Premier League opponents spat at each other, the television evidence seemed clear.

Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse apologized on Thursday for spitting at Jonny Evans, but the Manchester United defender denied any wrongdoing in the incident.

Raising his tally to six goals in seven matches since arriving on loan from Chelsea, Mohamed Salah scored twice and Fiorentina won 2-1 at Juventus in the opening leg of the Italian Cup semifinals on Thursday.

Juventus suffered its first loss at home since falling to Bayern Munich nearly two years ago.