ZURICH (AP) — World and European champion Spain remains number one in an unchanged top 25 in the FIFA world rankings after a month in which only 18 international friendlies were played.

Egypt made the biggest move, rising 10 places to number 31 as older results dropped in value in the four-year cycle of matches used for the calculations.

Spain holds a big lead over Germany in second place, with Argentina in third. Colombia and Portugal round out the top five.

World Cup host Brazil is 10th, with the United States in 14th.

F1 boss Ecclestone faces bribery trial in Germany

BERLIN (AP) — Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone will go on trial on bribery charges in Germany, likely in late April, a court said yesterday.

The Munich state court said it decided to send the 83-year-old Ecclestone to trial following his indictment last May. He faces charges of bribery and incitement to breach of trust connected with a US$45 million payment to a German banker, Gerhard Gribkowsky.

Dates for the trial haven’t yet been set but proceedings are currently expected to start at the end of April, a court statement said.

Sentences in Germany for bribery range from three months to 10 years in prison.

Ecclestone’s German lawyers, Sven Thomas and Norbert Scharf, said in a statement that “the alleged bribery did not happen.”

“The accusations in the indictment based on Gribkowsky’s statement are unfounded and do not … add up to a coherent picture,” they added.

Messi leads ad campaign that includes WCup rivals

LONDON (AP) — Lionel Messi is teaming up with a slew of World Cup rivals for a global advertising campaign.

The Argentina forward is working with rivals including Brazil defender David Luiz, Netherlands forward Robin van Persie and Belgium defender Vincent Kompany in the advertising campaign for Pepsi.

Others involved in the campaign include England forward Jack Wilshere, Spain defender Sergio Ramos and United States forward Clint Dempsey.

The World Cup is one of the biggest occasions for advertisers to reach a global audience and has made it one of the most coveted sporting events for companies to link their brand to.

Peterhansel closes in on 12th Dakar Rally title

ANTOFAGASTA, Chile (AP) — Defending champion Stephane Peterhansel closed the gap on Dakar Rally leader Nani Roma to just two minutes after another all-out attack on the 10th stage along the Chilean coast on Wednesday.

A day after slicing more than 11 minutes off Roma’s overall lead, Peterhansel cut off another 10 to practically lie on Roma’s bumper, setting up a thrilling finish with 1,100 kilometres and three days to go in the world’s toughest rally.

Roma, who led Peterhansel by 39 minutes last Thursday, was set back by getting stuck on a dune, and then suffering a puncture.

“It’s not over yet, we knew this week would be tough,” Roma said.

LeBron, Wade fail to spark Heats

WASHINGTON, (AFP) — LeBron James and Dwyane Wade struggled for answers Wednesday after the reigning NBA champion Miami Heat suffered a humbling 114-97 loss at Washington, their third loss in a row.

A day after celebrating in the White House with US President Barack Obama and hours after learning of the shock trade of teammate Joel Anthony over lunch, the Heat surrendered 20 points in a row in the first quarter, fell behind by 34 in the second quarter and were routed by a team that was 1-14 against teams with winning records.

“That just can’t happen,” James said.

“It’s not physical. It’s more mental than anything. It’s mental fatigue. Not lack of confidence but lack of focus.

“We love adversity. We love a challenge. It’s a good test for us. Teams want to see where they are when they play us. We’re not accepting the challenge right now.”

Asked if the White House visit to honour last season’s NBA title was too big a distraction, James said, “Next question,” but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was not evading any issue.

“We have to own it. We can’t sweep this under the rug,” Spoelstra said. “Yesterday is not an excuse. What we had today is not an excuse.”

Canadian centre Anthony’s trade to Boston in a salary-saving move after seven seasons with the Heat was a stunner that had players deflated.

Man charged for illegal courtside betting

MELBOURNE, (AFP) — A British man appeared in court yesterday charged with illegal courtside betting at the Australian Open, as police warned of the need to crack down on the practice.

Daniel Dobson, 22, was arrested after a match on Tuesday following intelligence received by Tennis Australia and passed to police.

Prosecutors allege he used a device concealed in his shorts and attached to his mobile phone to send out live match data in a practice known as “courtsiding”.

This allowed him to wirelessly relay the results of points won in the match to an international betting agency in realtime, the Melbourne Magistrates Court heard.

Reports cited police prosecutor Josh Diemar as alleging Dobson sent the results before they were available through official channels, which he claimed had the ability to affect betting odds.

He has been charged with one count of engaging in conduct that would corrupt a betting outcome and was bailed to reappear on January 23 to give the defence and prosecution time to prepare their cases.

Dobson is the first person charged under new Victorian state legislation aimed at cracking down on spot-fixing and other illegal betting practices.

BULLS 128, MAGIC 125

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — Joakim Noah had a season-high 26 points, Carlos Boozer scored 23, and Chicago extended Orlando’s season-high losing streak to nine games with a triple-overtime victory.

The Magic had a chance to win the game with less than 10 seconds to play, but Glen Davis’ jumper was partially blocked and rebounded by the Bulls with just 1.5 seconds remaining.

The Bulls have now won the last seven matchups with the Magic played in Orlando and improved to 4-1 since trading Luol Deng.

CLIPPERS 129, MAVERICKS 127

LOS ANGELES (AP) — JJ Redick scored a career-high 33 points and Los Angeles rallied from 17 points down with 4 1/2 minutes left to beat Dallas.

Matt Barnes added 25 points, Blake Griffin had 23 and Jamal Crawford scored 16, including a pair of free throws that gave the Clippers the lead with 11 seconds to go. They improved to 18-3 at home with their fourth straight win.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points and Samuel Dalembert added a season-high 20 for the Mavs, whose three-game winning streak ended when they couldn’t hold a 123-106 lead. Jose Calderon hit four 3-pointers on his way to 16 points.

Pakistani journalist covers 400th Test match

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Veteran Pakistani cricket journalist Qamar Ahmed became only the third man in history to cover 400 Test matches yesterday, at the third match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Sharjah.

The 76-year-old, fondly known as Q to friends and cricketers around the world, follows British journalist John Woodcock of The Times and former Australian captain-turned-writer and commentator Richie Benaud to the milestone.

He has also clocked up 732 one-day internationals and eight World Cup tournaments.

“It’s a great honour to complete 400 Test matches as a journalist and I am proud at the distinction,” said Ahmed, a former left-arm spinner who has the distinction of dismissing all five of Pakistan’s legendary Mohammad brothers in first-class cricket in the 1950s and 60s.

Ahmed’s Test “debut” came at the game’s spiritual home, Lord’s, in the rain-dogged 1974 draw with England.

“From there I globetrotted to all cricket-playing countries except for Bangladesh, and it’s a journey of great excitement and achievement,” said Ahmed.

That 1974 series also saw a sublime double ton from the elegant Zaheer Abbas, who along with West Indian “Master Blaster” Viv Richards, Ahmed rates as his favourite batsman.

Bangladesh to host Asia Cup despite political turmoil

DHAKA, (AFP) — Organisers of cricket’s Asia Cup insisted the tournament would go ahead in troubled Bangladesh next month, even if one of the teams pulled out on safety grounds, as they unveiled the schedule yesterday.

Defending champions Pakistan will take on Sri Lanka in the opening match of the 50-over tournament on February 25, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announced at a press conference in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.

Bangladesh has been rocked by some of the deadliest political violence in its history in recent weeks, prompting speculation that the World Twenty20, due to be held in the country from March 16 to April 6, may be shifted elsewhere.

Shane Watson to miss 3rd, 4th ODIs vs England

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australian all-rounder Shane Watson will sit out the third and fourth games of the one-day series against England, giving up his place in the squad to Dan Christian.

Coach Darren Lehmann said the injury-prone Watson, who was already set to miss Friday’s second international at Brisbane, would also be rested for matches at Sydney and Perth. He will return for the last match of the five-match series at Adelaide on April 26.

Lehmann said “given Shane’s workload in the past 12 months, we consider it would be beneficial for him to have a longer break” ahead of the upcoming tour of South Africa.

Christian played the most-recent of his 17 ODIs against Pakistan in 2012.