SPORTS

The Kentucky Wildcats and Mississippi State Bulldogs have been bitter rivals since 1914, even before the SEC was founded.

All NBA owners have approved the return to the old NBA Finals format or the 2-2-1-1-1, replacing the current 2-3-2 format which has been used since 1985. The announcement was made on Wednesday by NBA Commissioner David Stern and Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver via nba.com. The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the change to the format of The Finals effective with the 2013-14 season.

The Charlotte Bobcats have a combined total of 28 wins the past two seasons. They recorded a laughable 7-59 win-loss card in the shortened lockout season of 2011-12 and had improved three-fold, though still not very good, to 21-61 the following 2012-13 NBA season. But if last season’s “slight” improvement was a sign, then the Bobcats are moving in the right direction. The moves they did in this offseason just about confirms that they are done “tanking” this season and beyond.

If Brandon Rios throws the same volume of punches like he spit curses in interviews, then Manny Pacquiao might be in trouble come Nov 24, 2013, at Cotai Arena in The Venetian Macao in Macau for the “Clash in Cotai” boxing match for the vacant WBO International welterweight championship.

The perfect Pelicans are taking on the defending champs on Wednesday night in a preseason game at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Derrick Rose is back being Derrick Rose. At least in the preseason games where he has led the Chicago Bulls to a perfect 6-0 win-loss record. Rose and the Bulls visited Oklahoma City on Tuesday and took on the Thunder, which are still missing the services of their own star point guard in Russell Westbrook.

Title holders Bayern Munich take on Viktoria Plzen on matchday 3 of the UEFA Champions League at the Allianz Arena.

Shakhtar Donetsk will be visiting the BayArena to face Bayer Leverkusen on matchday 3 of the UEFA Champions League.

Group leaders Manchester United will host bottom team Real Sociedad on matchday 3 of the UEFA Champions League.

CSKA Moscow will host English Premier League side Manchester City on macthday 3 of the UEFA Champions League.

AC Milan boss Massimiliano praised the performance of comeback superstar Kaka after the Rossoneri were able to secure a draw against Spanish powerhouse FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.

It's a very rare year when the Major League Baseball World Series features the two teams with the best regular-season records.

Jose Mourinho knows his squad better than anyone and emphasised that Chelsea showed their true quality against Schalke on Tuesday in the UEFA Champions League, after handing the latter a 3-0 shellacking.

Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund brought Arsenal back to the ground, as they handed the latter a late 2-1 defeat.

The NFL's Houston Texans released three rookies on Monday after a violation of team rules was discovered.

A few days after they were forced to forfeit a conference game against Jackson State due to a boycott, the Grambling State Tigers are taking to the practice field again.

Not everyone can complete a 5-kilometer run without huffing and puffing in the end. For six-year-old Keelan Glass of Abilene, Texas, though, a 5K run is just a short stroll.

The San Mig Coffee Mixers are one win away to winning another championship under coach Tim Cone. On the other hand, The Petron Blaze Boosters have other plans on Wednesday in Game 6 of the PBA Governors Cup Final on Wednesday at Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

At six feet and four inches, Zach Hodskins can dunk and dribble with the rest of them. He also has one of the smoothest shooting strokes you'll ever see.He also has just one hand.

There have been rumours spreading over the Internet saying that the Russian tennis superstar Maria Sharapova is having Grigor Dimitrov’s baby.

Tiger Woods will not cheat on girlfriend Lindsey Vonn, at least it is what she thinks.

Adrian Peterson of the National Football League’s Minnesota Vikings recently lost his 2-year-old son.

While other NBA teams are either busy playing for the pre-season games or practicing for the 2013-2014 NBA season, the players of Los Angeles Clippers were spotted in West Hollywood on Monday night.

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit girl Irina Shayk just landed herself the cover of the November 2013 issue of Vogue Espana.

Losing to Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on matchday 3, Jack Wilshere believes that Arsenal will be able to learn from their mistakes and use them as a guide, moving forward in the UEFA Champions League.

Victor Oladipo was picked 2nd overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2013 NBA Draft. This early in his NBA career, he's already showing flashes of brilliance after having played six preseason games. On Tuesday evening, Oladipo and the Magic visited the San Antonio Spurs, which are still finalising some roster spots although their core players have been established already even before preseason began.

In the annual survey from nba.com that queried all 30 GMs of the pro league, the Heat superstar garnered 89.7 per cent of the votes as the player whom GMs will sign “if they were starting a franchise today.” Sixty-nine per cent also agreed that James will win his fifth NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) trophy in the 2013-2014 season.

In the annual survey from nba.com that queried all 30 GMs of the pro league, 75.9 per cent said that the Heat will achieve the rare NBA three-peat, which has only been accomplished by three other franchises in the history of the league.

Ruslan Provodnikov has just captured his first world title after forcing Mike Alvarado to quit on his stool in the 10th round of their WBO junior welterweight showdown last Saturday in Denver, Colorado. And yet, many boxing analysts are already predicting a bright future for the man called as the Siberian Rocky.