SPORTS

Singer-actress Rihanna is at the center of controversy after she was photographed kissing and touching the World Cup trophy, a major no-no in FIFA guidelines.

While England's team in the recently concluded World Cup tournament in Brazil did not fare well, punters from the country are luckier.

Because junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri is taking too long to decide on the offer of eight-division title holder Manny Pacquiao to be his opponent in the ring on Nov 22 in Macau, he risks losing a seven-digit guaranteed purse and a shot at fame and glory.

Bayern Munich playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri will don the same uniform come the 2014/15 season in spite of links with Liverpool, as club sport director Matthias Sammer insists that Die Roten will "not sell" the 22-year-old.

Germany forward Miroslav Klose still wants to serve his national side amid the fact that father time is catching up on him.

Chelsea are reported to be closely monitoring Raphael Varane's situation at Real Madrid, as the young centre-back has been known to to have been unhappy with the lack of first-team opportunities under the reign Carlo Ancelloti.

NBA NEWS - Nikola Mirotic is finally moving to the NBA three years after he was selected in the NBA draft agreeing to a three-year contract valued at over $17 million with the Bulls.

Liverpool are keen on replacing outgoing striker Luis Suarez with Chelsea promising hitman Romelu Lukaku.

Emma Jackson of Australia came close to the title at the World Triathlon Series (WTS) Hamburg while another Australian in Andrew Hewitt came at fourth place as the pair scored the excellent finishes in the Elite Women competition.

Sunday's race gave riders another grueling test with a series of tough climbs. Monday's race will be even more excruciating as they take on a 163-kilometer mountainous stage with a summit finish waiting in its end.

Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira brought her son Milan on stage during the finale performance of the 20-minute show at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony in Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

India defeats China, 65-58. One would think that’s a cricket match but look again, that’s in basketball, a sports where the Chinese have dominated the region for a number of years. The gigantic upset happened at the 5th FIBA Asia Cup, and adding insult to injury, right at the Chinese homecourt, in Wuhan, China.

NBA NEWS - This is not exactly what Pat Riley in mind before the offseason but he’s moving forward to try to salvage the next season for the Miami Heat. After extending star Chris Bosh to a max deal, the Riley and the Heat have now signed veteran forward Luol Deng to a $20 million contract for two years.

Lionel Messi even after failing to bring home the coveted World Cup has been selected as the recipient of the Golden Ball after being adjudged the best player of the tournament.

If the commencing ceremony of 2014 World Cup was dominated by Latin beauty Jennifer Lopez and rapper Pittbull, the closing ceremony had none other than Colombian singer Shakira grooving to the tunes of La La La (Brazil 2014) song alongside Brazilian percussionist and singer Carlinhos Brown. The gorgeous singer looked sizzling in a figure revealing bright red sparkly outfit as she gave her best performance at Maracana Stadium in Rio De Janiero on Sunday.

Who is Mario Geotze? And why is he better than Lionel Messi? IBT Sports Australia already did a profile of him here: Mario Goetze: The Man Behind Germany’s 2014 World Cup Win but the world can’t get enough of the relatively unknown super sub.

The German National Football Team have won their fourth FIFA World Cup title in Brazil against Argentina with a 1-0 score line after extra time. This is Germany's first FIFA World Cup title since the reunification of Germany.

TV presenter Joe Hildebrand has been called insensitive after tweeting a joke about Olympic gold medallist Ian Thorpe’s coming out.

Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe, who won multiple gold medals at the Olympics for his country, has admitted to being a homosexual.

Almost the entire world seemed engrossed in the FIFA World Cup Final 2014, that took place on July 13, one man from space too was hoping too catch it.

Germany have won the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil with a stunning extra time goal by Mario Götze. Die Mannschaft has defeated South American giants Argentina 1-0 at the iconic Maracana Stadium in Rio De Janeiro to take their fourth FIFA World Cup crown.

Who is Mario Goetze - The 22-year old attacking midfielder from Germany made his team the first European team to ever win a World Cup at a South American soil with a goal on the 113th minute of the final match

Tweets from FIFA Corruption include “There will be a goal in the second half of” the extra time,” “Gotze will score” and “Germany will win at ET.”

Rafael Nadal's legacy as a great tennis player is being undermined by his adamant stance against the rules purposely placed to foster fair-play in the sport.

World Cup Records - This wasn't the dominating performance like their 7-1 semi-final win over hosts Brazil; but it was still clinical and efficient as the European squad won the 2014 World Cup over Argentina, 1-0 at the Estadiodo Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Now it can be told. Seems German Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's prayers worked better than Argentinean Pope Francis. And sourgraping Brazil is very much elated that archrival Argentina didn't win the coveted World Cup 2014 title.

Paul Pierce and the Wizards agree upon a two-year deal roughly above the midlevel exception annually. The second year will be a player option for the all-star small forward.

Only one team ended up winning the title as always but there were several who stood out with their performance. There can be a few other versions of the “Dream Team.” Here is ours.

The Netherlands have dashed Brazil's hopes of redeeming themselves at the end of their home campaign at the 2014 FIFA World Cup by dealing the host nation a 3-0 loss at their play-off for third place.