The red, white and blue sticker that U.S. Open ballperson Ryan McIntosh wears on his carbon-fiber prosthetic right leg packs a meaningful message: "Freedom is not free, but it's worth fighting for."

Yet if the time he spends chasing tennis balls and handing water and towels to the world's best players goes the way he hopes, hardly anyone will notice it.

Real Madrid took advantage of quick goals plus an early sending off to beat 10-man Barcelona 2-1 Wednesday to win the Spanish Super Cup on away goals after the two-legged tie ended 4-4.

Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo put Madrid in control with goals inside 23 minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu to take advantage of Barcelona's poor start.

Lance Armstrong introduced himself as a seven-time Tour de France champion at a cancer conference on Wednesday.

"My name is Lance Armstrong. I am a cancer survivor," he said to open his speech to the World Cancer Congress. "I'm a father of five. And yes, I won the Tour de France seven times."

Kim Clijsters' singles career ended where she wanted it to, just not the way she hoped.

The four-time Grand Slam champion lost 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) to 18-year-old Laura Robson of Britain in the second round of the U.S. Open on Wednesday, and will head into retirement after she finishes playing in doubles at Flushing Meadows.

Angry Xavier Malisse vented his frustration over line calls at umpire Carlos Ramos and a heckler in expletive-filled fashion Wednesday during a first-round U.S. Open loss to ninth-seed John Isner.

Isner advanced 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 5-7, 7-6 (11/9) after two hours and 56 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the first time the American had started his Flushing Meadows fortnight in the 23,700-seat main court.

The London 2012 Paralympics began Wednesday with a vibrant opening ceremony led by Stephen Hawking that paid tribute to human endeavor, enlightenment and the quest to understand the universe.

Paralympians soared through the air above the 80,000-seater Olympic Stadium while Hawking, the world's most famous living scientist, urged people to look to the stars for inspiration.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic and triple women's winner Serena Williams stormed into the U.S. Open second round on a breezy and humid night at Flushing Meadows.

World number two Djokovic needed just 73 minutes to finish off an embarrassingly one-sided 6-1, 6-0, 6-1 mauling of hapless Italian Paolo Lorenzi.

Talk about having a big serve: wacky New Yorker Ashrita Furman has just built a tennis racket the size of a bus.

Furman, who holds the record for the most Guinness World Records at one time -- currently 151 -- hopes his mammoth wooden racket will soon join the list.

QPR manager Mark Hughes has revealed his Premier League club are close to completing the surprise signing of Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar.

Cesar helped Italian giants Inter win the Champions League in 2010, but Hughes appears to have persuaded the Brazil international to swap the San Siro for Loftus Road.

Heartbreak befell Udinese in the Champions League play-off round for the second year running after they lost on penalties to Sporting Braga in the second leg of their qualifying tie on Tuesday.

Summer signing Maicosuel was the villain of the piece, his chipped penalty comfortably saved by Braga goalkeeper Beto as the Portuguese side won the shoot-out 5-4 to reach the group phase for the second time.