SPORTS

While sports fans are eagerly anticipating next week's rematch between eight-division titleholder Manny Pacquiao and unbeaten American boxer Timothy Bradley to find out who's the better boxer, a Philippine government office is waiting for the same bout for another reason.

Only four teams—San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets have officially clinched a playoff spot in the Western Conference. This only means that the next teams at the bottom half of the West standings are still in danger of getting the boot.

No offense to the Cleveland Cavaliers but it appears it’s just a two-team race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. After the Cavs pair of losses to the Charlotte Bobcats and the Atlanta Hawks earlier in the week, it’s down to two squads battling for the only slot left: the Hawks and the New York Knicks.

In the final stretch of the NBA regular season, both the New York Knicks and Miami Heat are still mired in important battles that could very well decide the final positioning—and make-up— in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

No. 7 seed Connecticut Huskies delivered the improbable on Sunday AEDT beating No. 1 overall seed Flordia Gators, 63-53 in the NCAA Semifinals in the game held in Arlington, Texas.

The only No. 1 seed left in the NCAA Tournament and the overall top seed in this March Madness, the Florida Gators are joined by two schools— 8th seed Kentucky Wildcats and 2nd seed Wisconsin Badgers which have beaten the other top seeds in the region and another in seeded 7th, the Connecticut Huskies.

Unbeaten American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr is getting back from ex-girlfriend Shantel Jackson most of the expensive gifts he has given her such as jewellery and a car. Recently, he even bought buy back a Birkin bag she pawned for $31,000 because she is now reportedly financially broke.

The Texas team is losing its grip on a probable first round home court advantage and need to get back to the win column fast else the Portland Trail Blazers might catch them and steal the 4th seed in the tough Western Conference.

Chelsea are understood to be in pole position to land Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana in the upcoming transfer window.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho will reportedly sell two of his prized assets to fund future purchases, as he looks to rebuild his squad.

Arsenal are suggested to be on the verge of signing Juventus target man Mirko Vucinic.

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk winger Yevhen Konoplyanka could finally make his move to Liverpool this summer after talks in January fell through.

The representative of Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel clarified that the 29-year-old will not be heading to Napoli after this season.

In the women's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, Australia secured the final place for the third consecutive times after beating West Indies by eight runs

Everybody’s brackets should have been busted by now. But that’s not stopping basketball fans from making their bets and picks in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. This year’s March Madness Final Four is set on Saturday in the US (early Sunday morning Australia) and with still roughly two days away from the semis the betting lines are still open.

Philippines Boxing Champ Manny Pacquiao did his regular appearance on the American late night show 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' on April 2 to promote his upcoming fight with the 'undefeated' Timothy Bradley on April 12. Former US President Bill Clinton also appeared in the show hopes Pacquiao to step up in the political ladder.

The Mineirão stadium in Belo Horizonte got its facelift to host the upcoming matches of FIFA World Cup 2014.

Former pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao reportedly knocked down Roger 'Speedy' Gonzales during a sparring session at the Wildcard Gym in Los Angeles last weekend, a source close to situation reported on Tuesday.

With six to seven games each to play for the final four contending teams in the Western Conference, the final stretch of the NBA regular season has just got very interesting. The Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns are all still alive in fighting for the final three slots—No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8--- in the tough Western Conference postseason race.

Newcastle Jets is all in aggressive mood to secure a win against the upcoming match against Melbourne Victory, on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Jockey Nathan Berry left a vacuum as he passed away after struggling with serious illness while in Singapore.

Oklahoma City's duo of Russell Westbrook (27 points) and Kevin Durant (28 points) had big scoring nights to lead the Thunder to a 106-94 victory of the San Antonio Spurs.

Russia beat Ukraine, 4-1 in the 2014 World Series of Boxing quarterfinals on Monday in Moscow, Russia. With situation in Crimea already toxic, it was a breath of fresh air that the athletes—and fans—from both countries treated the matches as nothing more than what it should be: a sporting competition.

One way or another, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will have to face and fight each other, at least, it is what Freddie Roach thinks.

Michael Schumacher has been in a medically-induced coma for 16 weeks, and he is reportedly showing “encouraging signs,” leading his family and loved ones to believe that there is still hope for the Formula One (F1) legend.

Los Angeles Lakers’ star player Nick Young and Aussie rapper Iggy Azalea apparently didn’t find it difficult to pick a good place to go to on their first date.

FC Barcelona football star Gerard Pique is allegedly getting pissed that Adam Levine always gets flirty with Shakira.

Teams from two British universities paddle through the River Thames, between Putney and Mortlake in West London, for the 160th Boat Race. The 2014 Boat Race will have Cambridge University and Oxford University competing on Sunday, April 6, according to the Boat Race official Web site.

Freddie Roach, the coach of Manny Pacquiao believes that even if Floyd Mayweather Jr - with his fight record of 45-0, 26 of which are KOs - is approaching the 49-0 record of boxing legend Rocky Marciano, Money May's unbeaten record would not be so sterling if he did not have a match against eight-division titleholder.