Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant has Suspended thier Divorce

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Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, say they are calling off their divorce.

And they announced it on social media.

On Friday, Vanessa Bryant's Instagram page had a message reading: "We are pleased to announce that we have reconciled. Our divorce action will be dismissed. We are looking forward to our future together."

Kobe Bryant posted a message on his Facebook page the same day.

"I am happy to say that Vanessa and I are moving on with our lives together as a family," he posted. "When the show ends and the music stops, the journey is made beautiful by having that someone to share it with. Thank you all for your support and prayers."

Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce in December, citing irreconcilable differences.

The divorce filing came nearly 10 years after she famously stuck by him after he admitted to having sex with a woman at a Colorado hotel.

Their marriage was thrust into the spotlight when the desk clerk at a Vail-area resort hotel told police that Kobe Bryant had sexually assaulted her in 2003.

The Eagle County District Attorney filed charges against Bryant shortly after the accusation. At the time, Vanessa Bryant sat by her husband's side as he publicly apologized to her while admitting that he'd had consensual sex with the 19-year-old.

Turning to his wife, Bryant said, "You're a piece of my heart. You're the air I breathe. And you're the strongest person I know. And I'm so sorry for having to put you through this, for having to put our family through this."

Criminal charges against Bryant were later dismissed. He settled a federal lawsuit with his accuser in 2005.

The couple have two daughters together.

Leo Messi Report Card

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• Most goals in a calendar year: 91
• Most goals in a season: 68
• Most goals in a European Cup season: 14 (jointly with Jose Altafini)
• Most goals in a La Liga season: 50
• Most La Liga hat-tricks in a season: 8
• Most European Cup top scorer awards: 4 (with Gerd Mueller)
• Most goals in a single European Cup game: 5
• Most goals scored in Spanish Super Cup: 10
• Most consecutive La Liga matches scored in: 10
• Most goals in Club World Cup: 4 (held jointly with Denilson)
• Barcelona's top goalscorer in all official competitions: 286
• Barcelona's record goalscorer in Champions League: 56
• Most La Liga hat-tricks: 15

Lionel Messi’s legendary status fourth Ballon d’Or

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Lionel Messi's status as the planet's finest footballer was further cemented as he won Fifa's Ballon d'Or for an unprecedented fourth successive time.

It is to the eternal misfortune of his closest competitor, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, that he plays in the time of the great Argentine otherwise he would surely have claimed the coveted crown more than once.
Ronaldo and Messi's Barcelona team-mate Andres Iniesta - a Euro 2012 winner with Spain - were the other contenders and would be fitting and worthy winners in any era. This, however, is not any era - it is the Lionel Messi era.
Messi's brilliance is backed up by a blizzard of compelling statistics, not least his recent feat of breaking German striker Gerd Mueller's 40-year-old record by ending the calendar year with 91 goals for club and country.
The manner in which Messi has individually dominated the game's recent years is only emphasised by the fact that he has effectively made its highest individual honour his personal property.
And at the relatively tender age of 25, and with a recently agreed deal to keep him at the Nou Camp until 2018, he has power and talent to add to his unique collection of Ballon d'Or honours.
The latest coronation will also give fresh impetus to a debate that now rages with more intensity around Messi. Namely - is he the greatest to have played the game?
He can justifiably take his place alongside other legends such as France's Michel Platini, who won three times in succession from 1983. Johann Cruyff won three times between 1971 and 1974 but his sequence was interrupted when Franz Beckenbauer won in 1972.
Brazil's Pele and Messi's fellow countryman Diego Maradona are inevitably the other names always factored into the equation when working out who is the greatest - but this is a question that is almost impossible to answer definitively.
The argument is shaped by, and in, different generations. The game and players change, which makes the debate even more of an inexact science.
And of course, who is to say Pele or Maradona would not have emulated Messi's feat had they been eligible to win the Ballon d'Or? The award was created by France Football magazine in 1956 to honour the finest European player of the previous calendar year - non-Europeans were only eligible from 1997, a time way beyond that of Pele and Maradona.
Those who support the cases of Pele and Maradona instantly evoke their impact on the highest stage of all, the World Cup, a place where Messi has yet to deliver the brilliance he does on a weekly basis for Barcelona.
Pele's name burst into football's psyche as a 17-year-old when Brazil won the World Cup in Sweden in 1958. Injury curtailed his involvement when Brazil won again four years later and he was effectively kicked out of the tournament as an ageing team faded in England in 1966.
And yet it was a sign of his enduring brilliance that he won another World Cup with Brazil in Mexico in 1970 as the outstanding figure in a team still widely regarded as the greatest there has ever been. He headed a goal in Brazil's 4-1 win against Italy in the final in Mexico City, the crowning glory of his career.
Many may prefer to recall Maradona's infamous "Hand of God" that helped to beat England in the quarter-final, once more in Mexico, but this must never overshadow how he bestrode that tournament and dragged the Argentina team in his slipstream to victory.
He suffered mixed fortunes around that triumph as he was sent off against Brazil in 1982 and sent home for failing a drugs test in the United States in 1994.  These are events which have scarred his reputation but nothing can be stripped away from just how glorious, exciting and untamed his talent was.
There is still time for Messi to make one of those showpieces his own but his backers can press his claims by listing his consistent achievements in the Champions League, regarded by many as an even more challenging environment than the World Cup.
Manchester United have felt the pain as Messi scored as Barcelona beat Sir Alex Ferguson's side in two finals. The range of his game was exemplified by a towering header in the 2-0 win in Rome in 2009 then a flashing shot beyond Edwin van der Sar at Wembley two years later.
What is beyond dispute is that these are three names who have stamped their mark indelibly on football.
And for now, in this age, Messi's fourth Ballon d'Or is proof that he reigns supreme.

Ferguson Accuses Surez

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says Luis Suarez is "laden with controversy" ahead of Sunday's meeting with Liverpool.

Suarez heads to Old Trafford having been criticised for using his hand before scoring the Reds' second goal in their 2-1 FA Cup win at Mansfield.
"I don't know whether he enjoys [being controversial], but it is something we hope we don't suffer from ourselves," Ferguson said of Suarez, who was banned for eight games in 2011 for racially abusing United defender Patrice Evra.

That incident, for which he was also fined £40,000, occurred during the fierce rivals' 1-1 draw at Anfield.

Suarez subsequently refused to shake hands with Evra before United's 2-1 victory at Old Trafford in February 2012.
In the wake of last weekend's controversy at Field Mill, the Uruguayan was accused of "stealing" the FA Cup tie by Mansfield's chief executive Carolyn Radford.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has consistently spoken of his belief in Suarez, though, and criticised his treatment by officials and opposing fans.
"I never saw the game last Sunday, so it is difficult to say whether it was a deliberate handball," said Ferguson.
"You will always support your own player, I don't think that is surprising from Brendan.
"I have done it myself. It is just part of your loyalty to the player and protection for them too.
"I hope we don't suffer from some of the decisions that have gone his way in terms of that. We want it to be a good game on Sunday.
"Over the years, the Liverpool-Manchester United games have been relatively free of controversy - nothing really sensational in terms of decisions that marred the game, and that is good."
However, former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler, who scored 183 goals in 369 games for Liverpool, disagreed with Ferguson's comments about Suarez.

Fowler predicts Suarez winner

"He didn't really need to say too much in my eyes," 
"Suarez is a condemned man before he even steps on the pitch. As much as he is getting stick from everyone else, I think it's driving him on and making him a better player. He wants to prove a lot to people wrong and show how good he is."
Fowler added: "Every player will have mishaps in a game. Robin van Persie was accused of elbowing someone earlier in the season. Gareth Bale has been accused of being a diver at times. Luis Suarez does have some misdemeanours in his past but I want to go on the positives. I love him as a player."
Liverpool go into the game having lost seven of their past eight visits to Old Trafford - a memorable 4-1 victory in March 2009 the only positive result.
But Ferguson insists it will never be easy. "Derby games are very tricky affairs, as they always have been," he added.
"The previous year we outplayed them in the cup and lost 2-1. You are sitting at the end of the game saying, 'How did that happen?' Derby games are like that. Hopefully we will play well and win."
Ferguson also served a reminder to Liverpool fans that it may be some time before they return to the top of the English game.

"The club at the moment is a hell of a challenge because they haven't won the league for 20 years. It is a long time," he added.

"It is difficult to measure any Liverpool side at the moment with any Liverpool side of the past.
"I think it is terrific if the Liverpool fans are prepared to be patient because it is going to require patience. It is a long road back to what they used to be."
Van Persie is likely to be a key player again on Sunday and Ferguson admitted that the Dutchman's decision to join the club had been vital, even in the face of strong interest from other clubs, including Manchester City.
"I wasn't aware of the City thing until he told me himself that he had turned them down," Ferguson added.

Mourinho To leave Real Madrid?

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Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has rejected reports that he is planning to quit the Spanish champions at the end of this season.

The 49-year-old has struggled to regain the heights of last season, with Real 11 points behind Barcelona after only 14 games in La Liga.

Los Blancos go into Tuesday's Champions League clash with Ajax already qualified for the last 16 of a competition that Mourinho has won twice before -- but that his club has not triumphed in since its record ninth success in 2002.

The former Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan boss dismissed suggestions he wants to join another top European club at his Monday prematch press conference.

"My future is that tomorrow I'll have my 101st Champions League match, and UEFA will confirm that," he said.

"Neither I nor I think the president will say a word about it. I have nothing to say about what we talked about. My relationship with him is very good and I will not be giving any substance to this situation. You have no story."

Mourinho has been linked with a move to big-spending French club Paris Saint-Germain, where one of his Chelsea successors -- Carlo Ancelotti -- is coach.

"About PSG I will say that one of my assistants will go to watch the match tomorrow because they are a potential opponent," he said.

"They're playing against Porto and both of them could be drawn against us. That's the only thing that I am bothered about in Paris."

Mourinho was recently praised by his former English Premier League rival Alex Ferguson, who said the Portuguese has the credentials to one day succeed him as Manchester United's manager.

"That is what friends are like, they always speak nicely about each other," Mourinho said.

"Some people think that there is room for betrayal in friendship and others have a deep respect. His succession is a long way off and it will be 10 years away because he is stronger every year. What would he want to retire for?"

Mourinho has been booed by his club's own fans this season, and he said that was the reason he went out onto the pitch before Saturday's Madrid derby win at home to second-placed Atletico.

"I was watching Casillas and the other goalkeepers warming up. I went out early because I was expecting lots of whistles and some sort of animosity towards me," he said.

"I preferred that it happened before the match and was addressed personally towards me so that during the match they would support the team and have positive feelings and help their players and their team."

Eight teams playing in the Champions League on Tuesday have already qualified for the knockout stage, but first and second places have yet to be decided in two of the four groups in action.

Porto and PSG are fighting for top spot in Group A, while Schalke has a one-point lead over Arsenal in Group B.

Malaga will go through top of Group C ahead of AC Milan, while Real will finish second behind Borussia Dortmund in Group D.

Three places in the last 16 will be decided in Wednesday's matches, in which Barcelona's Lionel Messi has the chance to match Gerd Muller's record of 85 goals in a calendar year.

In Monday's La Liga action, Real Valladolid climbed to seventh place with a 2-1 win at 10-man Sevilla.

Patrick Ebert and Oscar Gonzalez scored in the first 12 minutes for Valladolid, but Manucho put through his own net soon after halftime before teammate Gary Medel was sent off for a second booking on 63.

In England, Newcastle moved up to 14th place in the Premier League with a 3-0 win over struggling Wigan, who had defender Maynor Figueroa sent off after only 12 minutes.

Figueroa was red-carded alter fouling Papiss Cisse, and the Senegal international's strike partner Demba Ba scored from the resulting penalty.

Ba then took his league tally to 10 this season, matching the leading totals of Michu, Robin van Persie and Luis Suarez, before Gael Bigirimana sealed the result in the second half to end a run of four defeats.

Messi scores his 90 goals world history

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It was billed as the battle of the heavyweights.

In the red corner -- Radamel Falcao -- one of the most coveted strikers in world football and one of the most lethal finishers around.

Only last week, Falcao hit five in his side's demolition of Deportivo to add to his already burgeoning reputation.

In the blue corner -- Lionel Messi -- perhaps the greatest to have ever played the game. The man with 88 goals to his name in 2012.

The magical and mesmerizing feet of Messi going up against the pace and predatory instincts of Falcao. It had all the ingredients of a classic.

Between them they have run La Liga and European defenses ragged, scoring goals at will and leaving defenders trailing in their wake.

Going into the clash, Messi had plundered 23 league goals to Falcao's 16. It was time for the two to go head-to-head.

For Barcelona, victory over Atletico would place it nine points clear of its closest title rival and surely allow the Catalan club to wrestle the title away from defending champion Real Madrid.

A win for Atletico would finally confirm that Diego Simeone's men could be taken seriously as a championship challenger.

Atletico and Falcao -- the pretenders to Barcelona and Messi's crown.

And pretenders they will remain.

In the end, the chasm could scarcely have been greater as Simeone's men were put in their place without any sign of mercy from Tito Vilanova's side.

Barca has now won 15 of its opening 16 league games, taking an astonishing 46 points from a possible 48.

With Real Madrid only managing to draw with Espanyol earlier Sunday, Barca moved 13 points clear of its great rival.

It was Messi who stole the show once again as the little magician emerged out of the shadows to crush Atletico.

Two second-half strikes took his total to 90 for the calendar year and 25 league goals for the season as Barca came from behind to win 4-1.

And yet for the opening 30 minutes it appeared that the Messi's evening might have not been so enjoyable.

Instead it was Falcao who took center stage, bullying Barcelona's defenders at every opportunity.

It was the Colombia star who had the first opportunity of the contest, heading against the post after just nine minutes as Atletico signaled its intentions.

Falcao then went close again after firing narrowly wide when well placed, while Messi seemed to vanish as Atletico took control of the contest.

Barcelona was finally undone just after the half-hour mark when Falcao produced an exquisite finish to silence the majorityof those packed inside the Camp Nou.

After taking the ball in his stride, Falcao burst past Barcelona's central defenders before lifting the ball over the stranded Victor Valdes to net his 17th league goal of the season.

It was no less than Atletico deserved, but that strike only served to awaken Barca from its slumber.

No less than five minutes had elapsed before Barca drew level in spectacular style thanks to Adriano's stunning curling effort.

The right-back turned onto his left-foot, before unleashing a wonderful rasping effort into the top corner to bring his side level.

And with just seconds of the first half remaining, Busquets lashed home from close-range after Atletico had failed to clear.

From dominating the game, Atletico had been rumbled in the blink of an eye.

Worse was to follow as Messi began to find time and space as Atletico started to lose its way.

Just 12 minutes of the second half had passed before the Argentine finally grabbed his trademark goal, firing home his 89th of the year with a neat curling effort.

He reached 90 late on, taking advantage of a horrific defensive mistake to slot home his 25th league goal of the season.

Incredibly, Messi has scored 58 out of Barcelona's 116 league goals in 2012.

Meanwhile, the pressure continues to build on Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho after he all but conceded defeat in the race for the title.

Real fell further off the pace after being held to a 2-2 draw at home by lowly Espanyol and are 13 points off the lead.

Espanyol had taken a shock lead through Sergio Garcia after 31 minutes before strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo and Fabio Coentrao put the home side in control.

But with just two minutes remaining, Juan Albin popped up to steal a precious point for relegation-threatened Espanyol and leave Real reeling.

"The league is now impossible," Mourinho told reporters.

"It is the first time that I have been in a situation like this where my team are a long way off their objectives.

"But I don't want to make a drama out of it, I will treat it as another stage of my life."

Elsewhere in La Liga, Valencia was beaten 1-0 at home by Rayo Vallecano, while Levante claimed a 1-0 victory at Real Zaragoza.

Chelsea 3- 1 Sunderland

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Fernando Torres scored twice as Chelsea secured a first Premier League win in eight games and ensured Sunderland dropped into the relegation zone.

The Blues dominated early on and a classy Torres volley made it 1-0.
Sunderland responded but a rash tackle by Sebastian Larsson gifted Torres a second from the penalty spot and Juan Mata drove in a third after the break.
Adam Johnson's fine shot gave the hosts hope but Chelsea held on to give Rafael Benitez a first league win as boss.

It was the Spaniard's first Premier League victory in four attempts but it increases the pressure on counterpart Martin O'Neill, whose side have won only two games in 23 league matches and have slipped to 18th place in the table following Southampton's win over Reading.

A dismal run of form had left a 10-point gap between Chelsea and leaders Manchester United at the start of the day.
Benitez had insisted the deficit at the top of the table was not insurmountable.
But with no wins in seven league games and an enforced break because of the World Club Cup in Japan, defeat against a hopelessly out-of-form Black Cats side would surely have ended their title chances.
That never looked likely as Chelsea established control from the outset.
Eden Hazard appeared unfortunate not to win a penalty when Larsson tugged him back as the Belgian raced through on goal and Mata and Torres and the Spaniard both had decent openings.
But Torres soon steered the visitors ahead with a beautifully controlled volley from Hazard's cross and a flowing move.
Chelsea's rhythm was disrupted when holding midfielder Oriol Romeu was forced off after 20 minutes with what appeared to be a knee injury.

And, having been completely outplayed, Sunderland suddenly upped the tempo.

They started to press further up the pitch, denying the visitors space in their own half and forcing mistakes.
O'Neill's side still struggled to create clear chances, but Stephane Sessegnon tested keeper Petr Cech with a swerving long-range effort and there were a couple of nervy moments in the Blues defence.
However, any fears of a repeat of last week's second-half capitulation against West Ham all but disappeared as Chelsea scored either side of the interval.
Larsson raced back and needlessly chopped down Ramires on the goal-line in first-half injury-time.
And Torres showed renewed confidence to assume spot-kick responsibilities and found the corner with his first penalty in English football.
Three minutes after the restart Mata had made it 3-0, calmly shooting into the far when after an instinctive first-time Torres strike crashed back off the bar after a Phil Bardsley mis-kick.
Moses almost added a fourth soon after but Johnson's breathtaking strike across Cech gave the hosts hope with 25 minutes left.
And suddenly Chelsea started to look shaky.
David Luiz and Gary Cahill both made important defensive interceptions as Sunderland dominated territory.
Johnson forced a fine save from Cech from a 25-yard free-kick, Wickham - who replaced the injured Steven Fletcher up front - went close with a low shot across goal and Craig Gardner struck the bar with a powerful free-kick.
But Sunderland were left to rue their defensive shortcomings and unable to prevent a 15th defeat in 16 games against Chelsea, who head off to Japan in a much better frame of mind and with Torres suddenly in form.