FIFA ethics investigator Michael Garcia's appeal against the statement issued by ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert on his investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process has been ruled inadmissible.

FIFA also said on Tuesday there were no grounds for opening disciplinary proceedings

 against Eckert following complaints from whistleblowers who gave evidence to the investigation that their evidence had been revealed.

World soccer's governing body was plunged into chaos last month when Eckert said there were no grounds to reopen the controversial bidding process which led to Russia being given the 2018 finals and Qatar the 2022 tournament.

Garcia, who led the investigation over an 18-month period, immediately appealed against Eckert's statement, saying it contained misrepresentations.

But FIFA's appeals committee has ruled that Eckert's statement did not constitute a decision and is therefore neither legally binding nor appealable.

"Further, the FIFA Appeal Committee reiterated that the FIFA code of ethics (FCE) is designed to sanction individuals in cases in which the code has been violated," FIFA said.

"The said statement is not addressed to one or several specific individual(s) and as such does not contain any sanctions in accordance with art. 30 of the FCE." Garcia has said that more of his report should be made public. He met with Eckert and they agreed the report should be given a further review.

They also decided that Domenico Scala, head of FIFA's audit and compliance committee, should decide how much of Garcia's report will be presented to FIFA's executive committee, whose next meeting is in Marrakech on Friday.

FIFA and Qatar World Cup organizers have been fending off allegations of corruption ever since the Gulf state was awarded the 2022 tournament. Qatar, which has repeatedly denied the allegations, has also been criticized over its treatment of migrant workers in the construction industry.

FIFA also dismissed a complaint by whistleblowers Phaedra Al-Majid and Bonita Mersiades, who said their confidentiality was compromised after giving evidence to Garcia's investigation.

"The chairman stressed that since the participants in the investigation had gone public with their own media activities long before the publication of the statement of the chairman of the adjudicatory chamber Judge Eckert, the breach of confidentiality claim had no substance," FIFA said.

No names were mentioned in the statement, the ruling body added, and any information provided was of a general nature.

"Thus, there was no divulgence of any information of a confidential nature," FIFA said.

Reuters

 Butch Jones appears to have Tennessee's football heading in the right direction, and the university rewarded him with a raise and two-year contract extension Monday.

Jones' contract will now run through the 2020 season and pays him $3.6 million a season., up from $2.95 million. The raise takes effect in 2015.

"Butch Jones is our coach and will be our coach for a very long time," Tennessee 

athletic director Dave Hart said at a news conference.

Hart said the contract addendum noting the extension and raise would "go through appropriate university channels" and would then be released. Hart also said he planned to give raises to Jones' assistant coaches without detailing the extent of those increases.

"I'm very appreciative and grateful to be the head football coach at the University of Tennessee," Jones said. "Our administration since day one has shown tremendous, tremendous support."

The 46-year-old Jones has an 11-13 record in two seasons at Tennessee. But the Volunteers (6-6) will make their first bowl appearance since 2010 when they face Iowa (7-5) in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Jan. 2 at Jacksonville, Florida.

Jones has a career head coaching record of 61-40 in eight seasons. He coached Central Michigan and Cincinnati for three seasons each before coming to Tennessee.

Hart believes Jones' accomplishments go beyond Tennessee's won-loss record.

Jones showed his recruiting skills in February by signing a class that was ranked among the top five in the nation by multiple recruiting services. Tennessee has played 23 true freshmen this season, the most of any Football Bowl Subdivision program. Tennessee started only three seniors when it beat Vanderbilt 24-17 in its regular-season finale.

Tennessee had an average announced home attendance of 99,754 this season. That represented a 4.4 percent increase over 2013 and a 10.9 percent rise from 2012, the year before Jones' arrival.

Hart noted that Tennessee also had upgraded its classroom performance under Jones. Tennessee had been at risk of facing penalties until it dramatically improved its performance last year in the Academic Progress Rate, which the NCAA uses as a real-time academic measure of every Division I team. Tennessee's football APR solely for 2012-13 was the highest score in program history.

"We have the right man leading our football program at the University of Tennessee," Hart said. "Butch Jones has clearly re-energized our fan base. He is an outstanding ambassador for our university, which transcends his role as head football coach."

AP

Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason has fired defensive coordinator David Kotulski, making him the fourth assistant let go since the season ended.

Mason announced the move Monday.

Mason brought Kotulski with him from Stanford, and Kotulski also coached inside linebackers at Vanderbilt. The men first worked together at Bucknell in the 1990s, and Kotulski was linebackers coach at Stanford when Mason was defensive coordinator in 2012 and 2013.

The Vanderbilt coach called Kotulski a very close friend and true mentor, and Mason said he appreciates his help this past year.

Mason already fired offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Karl Dorrell, receivers coach Marc Lubick and conditioning coach Bill Hughan.

Vanderbilt went 3-9 in Mason's first season, losing all eight Southeastern Conference games for the first time since 2009.

AP

The sorry state of American men's tennis will continue for some time with no real talent on the horizon, said Pete Sampras who dominated the game in the 1990s with fellow American Andre Agassi.

No American has won a men's grand slam singles title since Andy Roddick triumphed at the 2003 U.S. Open and only five of them feature in the top 100 with John Isner highest at 19th.

"Unfortunately it looks on the slim side," Sampras told reporters in New Delhi on Monday.

"I don't see anyone, I don't really know anyone that even people are talking about to break through even into the top 10.

"We're not into the 90s anymore. It will be quite a while to see American tennis back to where it was," said the 14-times major winner who is in India to take part in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).

"I think the game has got so international, so global that a lot of kids are playing tennis all around the world. So it makes it tougher for the Americans.

"Maybe the world is more hungry and for whatever reasons, we are not producing juniors, young pros with potential. It's just a phase and hopefully doesn't last that long."

Two of his former rivals, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, coach Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer respectively but Sampras said coaching, or Davis Cup captaincy, did not interest him.

"Boris and Stefan, they are a little bit older, have kids a little bit older, they are open to travel. I am not into traveling at the moment, at least more than a couple of weeks a year," he said.

"The captaincy is not something I am really interested in either.

"I am not ruling out captaincy or coaching in the future but for the time being, for the next couple of years I'm happy just playing some exhibition every now and again and staying home," added the 43-year-old.

Reuters

The win took the Cowboys to 6-0 away from home this season as Dallas remained the only NFL team undefeated on their travels.

Romo tossed three touchdown passes to build a commanding 35-7 lead by the end of three quarters, while running back DeMarco Murray produced 179 yards in rushing and capped his dominant display with a touchdown.

Murray, who leads the NFL in rushing, also made nine catches for 49 yards.

"He did a good job being persistent," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett told reporters of Murray's exploits. "Like a lot of great backs, he gets better the more he touches the ball."

Dallas (9-4) has clinched its first winning season in five years and now trail the first-place Philadelphia Eagles by a half-game in the NFC East. They face a critical rematch with the Eagles on Dec. 14 when Dallas will be seeking revenge after Philadelphia handed the Cowboys a 33-10 thrashing on Thanksgiving.

Chicago (5-8) scored 21 points in the final quarter, but the final scoreline flattered the home side as the game had been decided long before their late flurry.

Making matters worse, the Bears lost star receiver Brandon Marshall to a rib injury in the second quarter. He did not return.

The Cowboys led 14-7 at halftime but blew the game open with 21 unanswered points in the third.

In the fourth quarter, Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler finally broke loose by throwing a 27-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery and rushed for another himself.

However, he threw an interception on Chicago's final possession to end their hopes of another scoring drive.

Bears running back Matt Forte had a touchdown but managed just 26 yards rushing, giving him a combined 32 yards on the ground in his last two games.

"We're making too many mistakes, too many penalties in all three phases, certainly tonight, which debilitated us," Bears coach Marc Trestman admitted.

Reuters

Pele has recorded a video message from his hospital room to thank his fans around the world for praying for him while he underwent treatment for a urinary tract infection.

Pele said in the video posted on Friday on his Twitter and Facebook accounts that he is "doing fine" and has "recovered" from the ailment that has kept him hospitalized for nearly two weeks.

The 74-year-old former player said he knows "everybody worried" about his health but guaranteed that he is "OK."

The video begins with Pele playing a guitar while seated next to family members.

Doctors said Pele continues to improve steadily and has no more signs of the infection. He stayed several days in an intensive care unit to undergo hemodialysis to help support his only kidney.

AP

He was one of the success stories of the United States' World Cup campaign in Brazil and now German-born Jermaine Jones hopes to deliver a maiden MLS title for his New England Revolution.

The Revolution, who will visit LA Galaxy for Sunday's final, have lost four previous trips to the title game but under young American coach Jay Heaps they have emerged as a respected force.

Perhaps what pushed New England beyond being a promising team and into title contenders was the arrival of Jones.

After a career in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke 04, Jones, who also had a spell in England with Blackburn Rovers, moved from Turkish club Besiktas to New England in August.

Heaps doesn't hide his admiration for the combative 33-year-old midfielder or underplay his role in the team's success.

"First of all there is his ability on the field. He has the ability to spread the ball, to dribble to get the job done. He is top of the league. He adds that along with the grit, the fight and the ground coverage," said Heaps.

"But what he has brought to the locker-room has been vital. He came in right away with a presence, he is a guy's guy in the locker-room, telling stories, he doesn't come in with airs on himself, he comes in and he is around the guys."

Jones, the son of a German mother and American serviceman, grew up in Germany but has relished the opportunity to immerse himself in American soccer after being given a central role on the national team.

He clearly enjoys being on a tightly-knit Revolution squad.

"There is a feeling like it is a small family," said Jones. "In Europe maybe players focus a little more on themselves, you don't have so many friends in the team, it is more like work."

What has always been central to Jones's game, even on some occasions his downfall due to indiscipline, has been his intense competitive nature.

Jones is clearly fired up for Sunday's match.

"After the 90 minutes I want to raise that cup. I will do everything," said Jones.

"My wife and kids will be at the stadium, I will have more than 20 people in my own box in the stadium so I want to celebrate afterwards with them and not sit and cry."

Reuters

The LA Galaxy hope to give Landon Donovan a fairytale finish to a storied career when they shoot for a record fifth MLS title in Sunday's championship game versus the New England Revolution.

The league's all-time top scorer announced in August that will retire at the end of this season, putting added focus on the playoffs with each tie potentially his last.

The Galaxy beat Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders to reach their ninth MLS Cup and their better regular season record means they will host the final in what is sure to be an emotional day for the 32-year-old Donovan.

But Galaxy's Irish international forward Robbie Keane, named the league's most valuable player this week, believes there is no risk of distraction.

"If anyone deserves to go out on a high, it's certainly Landon because of all that he's done for this league and the U.S. national team, but it's not going into our thinking," said the former Tottenham striker.

"(His retirement) is something that has been going on for years and it hasn't affected us since ... I just hope that since it's his last game that he'll put forth his best performance and do as well as he can."

The Galaxy and DC United have both won four titles while the Revolution have lost each of their four previous trips to the championship game, including losses to LA in 2002 and 2005.

Donovan and Keane were both on target in a 3-1 win over Houston Dynamo in the championship game in 2012 while the former grabbed the winner in the 2011 final versus Houston.

But while well aware of the threat presented by Keane and Donovan, Revolution coach Jay Heaps, who featured in all of his club's MLS Cup losses as a player, says his team can't over-focus on big-name opponents.

"If you focus on individuals then someone else is going to beat you," said Heaps. "It has to be a group defending a group."

New England certainly present plenty of threats of their own as German-born U.S. international Jermaine Jones is a dominant presence in midfield while Lee Nguyen provides a creative spark.

In attack, Revolution forward Charlie Davies, whose career nearly ended after a horrific car crash in 2009, has four goals in four playoff games and is a predator in the penalty area.

Reuters

 Goalkeeper Tim Howard has won the 2014 Player of the Year award for his work with the U.S. national team.

It is the first time Howard has won the prestigious honor given to a U.S. team member by Futbol de Primera. Howard received 101 first-place votes from a panel of journalists nationwide for a total of 363 points. He beat out Jermaine Jones, who had 160 points, and Clint Dempsey (147).

Howard, 35, made eight appearances for the national team, including some spectacular performances at the World Cup. He made 16 saves in the Americans' 2-1 loss in extra time to Belgium in the second round in Brazil.

Howard has stepped away from playing for the national team for this season. He is Everton's keeper in the English Premier League and has been with the club since 2006.

The second keeper to win the award — Kasey Keller got it twice — Howard has made 104 appearances for the national team. This was the sixth time he was a finalist for the honor.

Midfielder Jones, who was born in Germany, has 10 caps this year with the U.S squad and 48 caps overall. He was one of the standouts for the Americans at the World Cup, scoring against Portugal in a 2-2 draw and using his physical style to help the United States emerge from a difficult first-round group.

He currently is with the New England Revolution and has helped them make the MLS Cup against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Dempsey has nine caps this year with the U.S. team and scored three goals. He has 39 goals in 110 games since joining the national squad in 2004. Dempsey currently is with the Seattle Sounders of MLS.

A player receives three points for each first-place vote in the balloting, two points for each second-place vote, and one point for each third-place vote. In order to be eligible for the award, a player must have played in a minimum of three games for the U.S. team during the calendar year.

 Pop violinist Vanessa Mae is appealing a four-year ban imposed for fixing giant slalom races which allowed her to qualify for the Sochi Olympics, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Thursday.

British citizen Mae, who has sold several million albums of her self-described "violin techno-acoustic fusion" music, skied for Thailand at the Games under her father's surname of Vanakorn.

She was given the ban in November when FIS listed a series of irregularities at four qualifying races at Krvavec, Slovenia, and her Sochi results were scrubbed.

The issues cited included competitors who had not taken part, and races staged in irregular weather conditions. The results gave Mae the number of FIS points necessary to be able to compete in Sochi.

The 35-year-old finished last among the finishers in her race at the Winter Olympics, some 50 seconds behind gold medal winner Tina Maze -- an eternity in the world of downhill skiing.

CAS said in a statement on Thursday that it had received two appeals from Mae, filed against the International Ski Federation decision to ban her.

Countries which did not have a skier ranked among the world's top 500 were allowed to send one male and one female skier to the Winter Olympics if they met a sufficiently high standard.

She had tried to enter for Thailand at the 2002 Winter Olympics but at that stage the country had wanted her to give up her British passport in order to do so.

Reuters

Gracie Gold, the 2014 U.S. skating champion and Olympic team event bronze medalist, said on Thursday she has withdrawn from next week's Grand Prix final due to a stress fracture in her left foot.

Gold, 19, qualified for the final after winning her first Grand Prix Series event, the NHK Trophy, last week in Osaka, Japan.

"Obviously, I am very disappointed that I have to withdraw from the Grand Prix final," Gold, who lives in Southern California, said in a statement. "I'm proud that I qualified for the event and I was so excited to visit Barcelona.

"The bigger picture is that I need to recover as quickly as possible. My ultimate goals for this year are to win another U.S. title and make the podium at Worlds."

The Grand Prix final is set for Dec. 11-14 in Barcelona, Spain.

Reuters

Jean Beliveau, a Hall of Fame ice hockey player who won 10 Stanley Cup championships with the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens, has died. He was 83.

"Like millions of hockey fans who followed the life and the career of Jean Beliveau, the Canadiens today mourn the passing of a man whose contribution to the development of our sport and our society was unmeasurable," Canadiens president Geoff Molson said in a statement early on Wednesday.

"Jean Beliveau was a great leader, a gentleman and arguably the greatest ambassador our game has ever known."

Beliveau spent his 20-year career with Montreal, including 10 as the team's captain, and was also part of the franchise's unprecedented run of five-straight Stanley Cup championships from 1956 to 1960.

When he retired after the 1970-71 season he was the team's all-time leader in nearly every offensive category. Beliveau is considered one of the greatest players in the team's rich history and remains second on its all-time scoring list.

The Canadiens retired Beliveau's jersey the season after he retired, ensuring no other Montreal player wears the number four.

He suffered from a number of health issues in recent years, including throat cancer, which he eventually recovered from, and a number of heart-related problems and strokes.

Beliveau, who was named the honorary captain for Canada's 2010 men's Olympic ice hockey team, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972 after a career where he amassed 1,219 points in 1,125 games.

The Hockey Hall of Fame waived its usual three-year waiting period so it could induct Beliveau sooner.

Beliveau twice won the Hart Trophy, presented to the NHL's most valuable player, won the Art Ross Trophy once as the top scorer during the regular season and won the Conn Smythe Trophy once as the MVP of the playoffs.

In 2009, he received the NHL's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Beliveau is survived by his wife Elise, their daughter and two granddaughters.

"No record book can capture, no image can depict, no statue can convey the grandeur of the remarkable Jean Beliveau, whose elegance and skill on the ice earned the admiration of the hockey world while his humility and humanity away from the rink earned the love of fans everywhere," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement on Wednesday.

Reuters

Florida State University star quarterback Jameis Winston, accused of raping a female student nearly two years ago, faced a student conduct code hearing on Tuesday, the accuser's lawyers told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Winston, who won the Heisman Trophy last year as the nation's top college player, is accused of violating the university's standards during the December 2012 incident, which his attorneys have maintained was a consensual sexual encounter.

A Florida state attorney determined last year there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Winston, a sophomore, in the case.

However, a conduct code violation requires a significantly lower burden of proof. Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Major Harding could find up to four parts of the code were violated.

If Winston is found to have violated the school's code of conduct he could receive discipline ranging from a reprimand to expulsion, according to The Sports Xchange news service.

"This courageous young woman finally gets the chance to stand up for herself and against Mr. Winston and big time college sports which has long run over the rights and protection of women on campus," said John Clune, one of the female accuser's attorneys, in a statement.

An attorney representing Winston could not immediately be reached for comment.

In a recent series of off-field incidents, Winston was benched earlier this season for shouting obscenities in the student union plaza, for which he later apologized, and was cited for shoplifting seafood from a grocery store.

The allegations have overshadowed a winning season for the Florida State Seminoles, coming as the National Football League faces criticism for its handling of domestic violence and other abuse by its players.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights is also investigating Florida State's handling of the case.

Reuters

 The next America's Cup will be contested in Bermuda in 2017 after defending champion Oracle Team USA chose the tiny mid-Atlantic island as host of the world's premier sailing competition on Tuesday.

The move to select the island British territory by Oracle, who as defending champion earned the right to select the race's next venue, marks the first time a U.S. team has chosen to defend the title outside the country.

Bermuda and San Diego were the two finalists vying to host the 35th edition of the America's Cup, which is held roughly every three to five years.

Oracle Team USA won the 2010 America's Cup and successfully defended it last year, coming from behind to defeat Emirates Team New Zealand in the tie-breaking 19th race of the finals to win sailing's biggest trophy.

Reuters

Rising American talent Jordan Spieth shot the round of his life for an eight-under-par 63 as his rivals labored in the Sydney wind to claim his second professional title by six strokes at the Australian Open on Sunday.

The Texan, who shared second place on his U.S. Masters debut in April, fired eight birdies in a flawless final round to secure the Stonehaven Cup at 13-under 271 for the tournament at The Australian Golf Club.

The A$1.25 million ($1.06 million) tournament had been billed as a duel between world number one Rory McIlroy and number three Adam Scott but 21-year-old Spieth stole the show with his stunning final round.

The world number 14 was the youngest Australian Open champion since Aaron Baddeley won his second title as a teenager in 2000 and the first American since Brad Faxon in 1993, when Spieth was just a few months old.

"I didn't think the round was out there but the putts just kept going in," Spieth said in the greenside presentation. "It's the best round I've ever played, the best win I've ever had, it's pretty awesome."

Spieth's final round score was a record on the newly-reconfigured course but a better indication of its quality was that only seven other players finished under par for the tournament.

Australian Rod Pampling hit a 68 for second place, a shot better than compatriot Brad Rumford (70) in third with another local Greg Chalmers (71) in fourth on five-under. All three secured berths at next year's British Open at St Andrews.

Scott (71) was fifth on four under, while defending champion McIlroy, whose victory at the Royal Sydney last year provided a springboard for his stellar 2014, finished 15 shots off the pace in a share of 15th after a 72.

Starting the day in a three-way tie for the lead at five-under, Spieth quickly eased ahead of his rivals with his first birdie at the third.

After parring the fourth, he really put his foot on the gas and drained birdie putts of 10, five and 15 feet on the next three holes to open up a gap of four shots over the field.

There were no more birdies -- but crucially in the difficult conditions no bogeys -- until the 14th but that started another strong run and he picked up three more shots on the run-in.