Rediff.com brings to you some of the most unusual moments in the last couple of weeks
Atletico Madrid have agreed to sign Colombia striker Radamel Falcao from Porto for a fee of 40 million euros ($57.26 million).
To up the glamour, the Octagon girls joined Barcelona superstar Neymar.
Sweden may have exceeded expectations in Russia but they are not done yet.
Five-times Olympic champion Ian Thorpe declared himself relieved after finishing second in his heat of the 100 metre individual medley in his comeback race after a five-year hiatus on Friday.
Jan-Fiete Arp (8th minute), Nicolas Kuehn (62nd) and Sahverdi Cetin (90+2) netted for the winners, while Ibrahima Soumah got the lone goal for Guinea in the 26th minute in the final Group C match at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium.
While Africa, Asia and North America will not be represented, dashing any hope of a revolutionary breakthrough in the eventual destination of the trophy, at least one of this year's finalists will not have reached the title decider for half a century, if at all.
World champions France had eight players, one less than former holders Spain, in international players' association FIFPro's 55-name shortlist for its World XI of 2018 award.
Rafa Nadal had to dig deep after coming under heavy fire from Colombia's Santiago Giraldo in a brutal 7-6, 6-3 quarter-final victory at the Japan Open on Friday.
Teenage striker Joel Campbell shone as Costa Rica's second string team beat nine-man Bolivia 2-0 to push hosts and tournament favourites Argentina into third place in Group A at the Copa America on Thursday.
Edward Nino Hernandez, 24, from Bogota, Colombia, who stands at just 27-inches, won the title of World's Shortest Man on September 6.
Paraguay coach Ramon Diaz has resigned after the team's elimination in the group phase of the Copa America Centenario, Paraguayan FA (APF) sources said on Sunday.
Chapecoense goalkeeper Danilo, who was killed in the Colombian air crash last month, was posthumously named Brazil's Player of the Year after a vote by fans.
Manchester United will not be signing Colombia forward Radamel Falcao on a permanent basis, the Premier League club said on Sunday after the final game of the season.
National artificial intelligence unit stuck for lack of anchor department
Lionel Messi's Copa America dream lay in tatters on Saturday after Argentina were beaten by old rivals Uruguay in a dramatic quarter-final.
India's tennis stars enjoyed comfortable wins in the Australian Open on Thursday as Sania Mirza eased into the second round with partner Martina Hingis while Rohan Bopanna also registered a straight sets victory in the men's doubles first round.
Lionel Messi at last came into his own at the Copa America as Argentina beat a defensive Costa Rica 3-0 with two goals from Sergio Aguero to secure second place in Group A on Monday.
The 'Elephants Graveyard' has played host to a string of major upsets through the years and Argentina are determined not to become the next giant to fall there when they face Colombia in the Copa America on Wednesday.
Juventus' wretched start to the season continued when they needed a late penalty to avoid defeat as the Serie A champions were held to a 1-1 home draw by early leaders Chievo Verona on Saturday.
Rampant Germany hammered Portugal 4-0, with four players sharing the goals, to progress to the semi-finals of the Rio Games football tournament on Saturday.
India's weightlifting campaign at the Rio Olympics ended in disappointment, with Sathish Kumar Sivalingam finishing fourth in the men's 77kg Group B category on Wednesday.
The 15-year-old from Aizwal, who is also a world youth silver-medallist, lifted a total of 274 kg (124 kg +150 kg) to finish on top.
Despite it all, the participants, from across the American continent, show up as they vie for the medals and glory. Along the way, they give us some moments that are captured for posterity. Here are some eye-catching scenes from the Pan Am Games...
Brazil midfielder Fred, no relation to the veteran striker of the same name who used to play for the same country, has been suspended from South American football for a year for failing a drugs test.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Top seed David Ferrer will meet former world number three David Nalbandian in the final of the Auckland Open after they both advanced with easy semi-final victories on Friday.
Uruguay made light of the absence of striker Luis Suarez to recover from a goal down and beat 2015 Copa America hosts Chile 2-1 in a friendly in Santiago.
Gareth Southgate singled out defender John Stones for special praise and defended captain Harry Kane's performance
Brazilian tennis player Marcos Daniel is at the centre of an investigation by Australian Open officials after an alleged fracas involving a female spectator on Tuesday.
India's compound men's archery team advanced to the final of the season's first World Cup, in Shanghai, on Friday.
Poland coach Adam Nawalka said his team had needed to beat Japan in their final World Cup match on Thursday to prove they were not quitters and bring some joy to their country's football fans after a miserable campaign in Russia.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez declared himself delighted with a 3-0 win over World Cup debutants Panama but there were plenty of issues that will encourage England after their own winning start in Group G.
Juventus's Montenegro striker Mirko Vucinic has been left out of their squad for the trip to Lazio in Serie A on Saturday (1945 GMT) after his move to Inter Milan fell through this week.
The ultimate goal of the United States and its international partners is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
As a jurisdiction for investment, India seems to be cutting quite a sorry figure of late.
Chanu, who is employed with the Indian Railways, lifted 85kg in snatch and 109kg in clean and jerk to total an impressive 194kg in the women's 48kg, setting a new national record in the process.
Champions Manchester City have won their last 10 home league matches scoring a total of 36 goals.
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