Napoli will pay tribute to Diego Maradona on Sunday when they host Lazio hoping to put two painful and costly consecutive defeats behind them.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says Ralf Rangnick's expected arrival at arch-rivals Manchester United is "not good news for other teams" due to his vast experience and ability to organize teams.

Spain is set to begin its title defense at the Davis Cup Finals without Rafael Nadal, and with all eyes on the teenager touted as his heir.

The 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz will be attracting attention when Spain starts on Friday against Ecuador. Spain is looking to triumph again two years after winning the inaugural edition of the revamped nations' competition.

Karim Benzema and the teams that employ him appear unfazed by his guilty verdict for having played a part in the sex tape blackmail plot against a former France teammate.

Hours after the conviction by a Versailles court on Wednesday, Benzema helped Real Madrid clinch a spot in the Champions League knockout phase for a 25th consecutive season by scoring in a 3-0 win at Sheriff in Moldavia.

Kevin Durant grew up in the Washington, D.C., area looking up to Allen Iverson as he led Georgetown to back-to-back trips to the NCAA Sweet 16.

Now the Nets forward is looking down at the Hall of Famer from the top 25 of the NBA's all-time scoring list.

France and Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema was given a one-year suspended jail sentence and a fine of 75,000 euros ($84,000) Wednesday in a sex-tape case that rocked French soccer and put the talented striker's international career on hold for more than five years.

Benzema was found guilty of being involved in an attempt in 2015 to blackmail France teammate Mathieu Valbuena. In addition to the fine, Benzema was ordered to pay Valbuena 80,000 euros ($89,700) in damages.

Energized by a change of manager and another opportunistic finish by Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with a game to spare on Tuesday.

Another newly appointed coach sill has work to do, though, to get Barcelona into the last 16.

Huang Xueqin, who publicly supported a woman when she accused a professor of sexual assault, was arrested in September. Wang Jianbing, who helped women report sexual harassment, was detained along with her. Neither has been heard from since. Meanwhile, several other women's rights activists have faced smear campaigns on social media and some have seen their accounts shuttered.

When tennis star Peng Shuai disappeared from public view this month after accusing a senior Chinese politician of sexual assault, it caused an international uproar. But back in China, Peng is just one of several people — activists and accusers alike — who have been hustled out of view, charged with crimes or trolled and silenced online for speaking out about the harassment, violence and discrimination women face every day.

The Iran judo federation's appeal against a four-year ban from international events for refusing to let its athletes face opponents from Israel was heard on Tuesday.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said the Iranian appeal against an International Judo Federation ruling was held by video link. A verdict is expected to take at least several weeks.

A video call between the head of the International Olympic Committee and Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, whose nearly three-week disappearance from public view sparked an outcry, was meant to reassure the world that she was safe — but instead has raised more questions.

Concern grew in the last week for the former No. 1-ranked doubles player — who hadn't been seen since accusing a senior Chinese official of sexual assault on Nov. 2. Tennis stars and fans alike demanded to know #WhereIsPengShuai, and the head of the Women's Tennis Association threatened to pull lucrative events from China.