Italian World Cup-winning defender Gianluca Zambrotta has joined Chiasso in the Swiss League second division.

Chiasso announced in a statement that the 36-year-old Zambrotta has signed a one-year contract and will also work as an assistant coach.

After five grueling hours of riding, as he strained and sweated to victory in an eye-popping Tour de France stage with crowds that turned cycling's most famous climb into a huge and raucous high-mountain party, Christophe Riblon didn't want it to stop.

Winning a Tour stage is always special.

AmaZulu beat Manchester City 2-1 with an 89th-minute penalty on Thursday and left last season's Premier League runner-up with two losses from two games on its pre-season tour of South Africa.

Carlington Nyadombo hit the winner from the spot after the South African top-flight team led in the 20th minute through striker Bongani Ndulula. James Milner equalized at Durban's Moses Mabhida World Cup stadium with a crisp volley six minutes later, City's first goal on tour.

Former Australia coach John Buchanan has resigned as New Zealand's director of cricket, continuing a major shakeup in the sport's management and administration.

While local media blamed the breakdown of his relationship with national coach Mike Hesson, Buchanan said on Friday he is leaving the position after two years for family reasons.

Manager David Moyes said Friday he hopes to have some good news about the possibility of Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas joining Manchester United in the "next day or so".

Moyes is looking to bring some new players into the squad in his first season in charge at Old Trafford and has been linked with the Spanish international midfielder, while Wayne Rooney's future remains unresolved.

The basketball world governing body, FIBA, announced on Thursday the suspension of Lebanon's membership.

The suspension means that the country's national basketball team will be barred from taking part in international tournaments.

Joe Dumars and the Detroit Pistons had been waiting a while for this offseason — and it showed.

The Pistons have finally been able to give their roster a significant makeover, adding Josh Smith, Chauncey Billups and Italian star Luigi Datome. It remains to be seen how much the team will improve but, for the first time in a while, there's a bit of a buzz surrounding this struggling club.

Pele will soon travel to Iraq to meet with sports leaders in the region as part of a plan organized by a Brazilian legislator who is a robust supporter of next year's World Cup in Brazil.

Congressman Vicente Candido said Wednesday that Pele would travel at the end of August or in early September.

Even when he expects to lose, Tour de France champion-in-the-making Chris Froome cannot help but win. He's that strong and he's making it look easy.

On a day when the British rider was planning to save some energy for upcoming mountains, Froome still brushed aside the field and took his third stage win of this 100th Tour.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said Brazil might have been the wrong choice as host of the 2014 World Cup if the tournament is affected by social protests like those as at the Confederations Cup last month.

Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets during the warm-up tournament in June, demanding better public services and expressing their anger over the costs to stage the World Cup.