Cesc Fabregas said Sunday he hopes to finish his career with Barcelona, but if he were to leave the Spanish giants he'd only go back to Arsenal and nowhere else.

"Apart from Arsenal and Barcelona, I don't see myself playing anywhere else," the 24-year-old told Sky Sports News.

Frank Lampard was described as "exceptional" by Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas on Sunday despite the Portuguese coach leaving the veteran England midfielder out of the last three big games.

The 33-year-old will return to the side on Monday after Ramires picked up his fifth domestic booking of the season at White Hart Lane in the 1-1 draw against Spurs in midweek.

The Miami Heat took a small measure of revenge for losing last season's NBA finals series to Dallas by beating the Mavericks 105-94 on Christmas Day as the new campaign got off to its belated start.

After months of labor and legal disputes, the 2011-12 season finally began and Miami laid down a marker of its championship credentials.

Former playing greats Romario and Ronaldo have announced a plan to donate 32,000 free tickets to disabled fans to watch matches at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Romario, a World Cup winner in 1994 who has since been elected to the Brazilian parliament, had requested the free tickets from the organizing committee. The former Brazil striker, who has a daughter with Down syndrome, had tears in his eyes as he announced the giveaway Friday.

Almost halfway through the Premier League season and there is already seven points separating Manchester rivals City and United from the chasing pack.

"At this point in time everyone thinks it is going to be a one-two for the city (of Manchester)," United manager Alex Ferguson said Friday. "But things change. You only need to go back over the years to see how dramatic our league can be. Lose a game in this league and all the rest get a pickup and start chasing harder."

Evergreen Ryan Giggs will shortly discuss his Old Trafford future with Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, buoyed by still delivering high standard performances at the age of 38.

Ferguson described the Welshman's contribution to United's 5-0 win at Fulham in midweek as "incredible", and it also featured the midfielder's first Premier League goal of the season.

Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the Brisbane International because of her continuing recovery from a left ankle injury first suffered at the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo in September.

Sharapova told Brisbane tournament officials in a statement released Saturday that "unfortunately my ankle is not 100 percent and I won't be able to make it this year." It would have been her first appearance at the Brisbane event which begins Jan. 1.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson received a welcome boost on Friday after it was confirmed Phil Jones had not suffered a fractured cheekbone against Fulham.

England international Jones was forced to leave the field after 20 minutes of Wednesday's 5-0 rout of the Cottagers following a heavy aerial collision.

Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti is reportedly on the verge of taking over at big-spending French club Paris Saint-Germain.

PSG is widely expected to part ways with Antoine Kombouare despite leading the French league going into the winter break, with French and Italian newspapers reporting Friday that Ancelotti is close to being hired as his replacement.

Barcelona says midfielder Andres Iniesta will be sidelined for at least two weeks after injuring his right thigh in a Copa del Rey match on Thursday.

Iniesta tangled with Hospitalet goalkeeper Carlos Craviotto in the 28th minute, and was substituted two minutes later as coach Pep Guardiola held his head fearing the worst.