New England quarterback Tom Brady will fight his four-game NFL suspension over the "Deflategate" scandal, the NFL Players Association said Thursday, but the union's demand for a neutral arbitrator was denied.

"Given the NFL's history of inconsistency and arbitrary decisions in disciplinary matters, it is only fair that a neutral arbitrator hear this appeal," the union said in a statement.

The Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA Eastern Conference finals on Thursday, but in the West the Los Angeles Clippers stunningly failed to get past the Houston Rockets.

Cleveland superstar LeBron James got plenty of help from his supporting cast in the Cavaliers' 94-73 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard hopes to "keep it together" when he bids farewell to his beloved Anfield on Saturday.

This weekend's Premier League match at home to Crystal Palace will mark the 34-year-old midfielder's final match in front of the Kop before he joins LA Galaxy once the season ends.

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Brad Friedel is to retire at the end of the season, bringing down the curtain on a career spanning three decades, the English Premier League club announced Thursday.

The 43-year-old has played for several other English top-flight clubs, including Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool and Aston Villa.

A Spanish court on Thursday suspended a planned strike by star footballers in protest against a new TV rights law, meaning Barcelona could seal the La Liga title this weekend.

The National Court said in its ruling that allowing the strike to go ahead would "prevent the conclusion of the championship" and would "cause a serious organizational disorder".

Juventus came back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Real Madrid on Wednesday and line up a Champions League final against Barcelona with a 3-2 victory on aggregate.

Former Madrid striker Alvaro Morata scored the priceless equalizer for Juventus against his old club in the 57th minute at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Atlanta's Al Horford swooped in to snatch an offensive rebound and dropped in a shot from right under the basket with 1.9 seconds remaining to give the Hawks an 82-81 victory over Washington on Wednesday and a 3-2 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals.

Golden State also took a 3-2 series lead, but in more comfortable style, as the Warriors beat Memphis 98-78.

A Spanish court is set to rule on Thursday if footballers can legally go ahead with a strike against a new TV rights law which threatens to shut down the country's top league at the weekend.

The AFE players' union announced last week that footballers would go on strike indefinitely from Saturday and the league, which controls clubs in the top two divisions, filed a petition to have the action declared illegal.

Ferrari received $38 million more in Formula One payments than runaway title-winners Mercedes last year, despite finishing just fourth in the constructors' championship, a report said.

Autosport.com disclosed usually secret details of the F1 payments which showed Ferrari pocketed $164 million last season, making them the highest paid team.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has welcomed the prospect of facing eternal rivals Real Madrid for the first time in a Champions League final in Berlin early next month.

The Catalans sealed their place in a fourth final in 10 years with a 5-3 aggregate win over Bayern Munich, despite losing the second leg 3-2 on Tuesday, whilst Madrid must overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit when they host Juventus on Wednesday.