Mourinho: I called Balotelli for a meeting... he went to the Formula 1!

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has revealed that Mario Balotelli once skipped a meeting with him at Inter to attend a Formula 1 event. The Portuguese worked with the striker, now at Liverpool, during his time in charge of Inter, and though the Italian was unpredictable, he has fond memories of his “funny problems” in trying to control his mercurial charge.

Mourinho has previously said that he could write a book about his dealings with Balotelli and told BT Sport that it would be “a funny book, a good book!”

“[Balotelli was a] nice kid, in my time, needed support, needed the older players to support him because it’s not good when that educational relationship is just between the manager and the player,” he said in an interview to be broadcast on Christmas Day.

"I always think that it’s important that the people surrounding help the manager in that process.

"We had funny problems. I told him to be at 2pm in my office for a meeting and, when I called him, he’d gone to the Formula 1 qualification on the Saturday for the race on Sunday.

"He said: ‘Meetings in your office I can have every day but to see the Formula 1 is only once a year in Italy’. This is a funny situation. A couple of days later I had to laugh.”

Peyton Manning was named to his NFL-best 14th Pro Bowl to lead a league-best nine Denver Broncos players into the annual all-star game, the NFL announced.

The superstar quarterback, who won a Super Bowl title with Indianapolis, lost in last February's title game against Seattle but hopes to lift the Broncos back to the championship spectacle in next month's NFL playoffs.

Two of Manning's favorite targets, receiver Demaryius Thomas and tight end Julius Thomas, also were named to the preliminary Pro Bowl lineup. Hall of Fame receivers Cris Carter and Michael Irvin will serve as alumni captains for the January 25 matchup in suburban Phoenix at the same stadium where the Super Bowl will be staged a week later.

Players will be divided into teams in a draft format by the captains as was done for the first time last year in place of the old format between players from American Conference clubs playing those from the National Conference.

Jacksonville, Minnesota, Tennessee and the New York Giants did not have a player named but could have talent added to rosters as injuries and playoff success force other players to drop out.

Players from Super Bowl squads do not take part in the Pro Bowl. Among those not selected to the Pro Bowl were new York Giants rookie receiver Odell Beckham, whose spectacular one-handed touchdown grab along the sideline became the season's most talked-about play, and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who sparked his team to its first Super Bowl crown last February.

New England quarterback Tom Brady was named to his 10th Pro Bowl and was among five Patriots selected. Other quarterbacks chosen include Tony Romo of Dallas, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck of Indianapolis and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger. Romo's Cowboys had six players named to the Pro Bowl talent pool, second only to Denver. The game, traditionally played in Hawaii, will be played at a site beyond Aloha Stadium for only the second time since 1980, and the first since 2010. The game will return to Honolulu in 2016.

Last January, Jerry Rice's team took a 22-21 triumph over one guided by fellow Hall of Famer receiver Deion Sanders.

Kevin Durant: The Choice of the Millennial Generation

In mid-August, the numbers—$225 million! $300 million! $350 million!—began trickling out.

Kevin Durant, the NBA’s reigning MVP and no worse than the second-best basketball player on the planet, was looking around, maybe seeking a better fit, possibly in search of a new sole.

Suddenly, shoe company free agency became mainstream news.

Could Under Armour—the Baltimore-based upstart founded in 1996 on $15,000 but now with $3 billion in revenue expected in 2014—actually poach Durant from Nike, the behemoth in Beaverton, Oregon, with anticipated revenue of $30 billion for 2015?

Not this time. The Oklahoma City forward stuck with Nike, announcing the news on Twitter and ending what might have been a major coup for an ascending brand. Under Armour’s high-stakes courtship and Nike’s ensuing reaction underscored Durant’s perch among the ranks of sport’s most marketable stars—a game-changer.

“He would have given UA instant credibility,” said Matt Powell, vice president of industry analysis for Sports and Leisure Trends at The NPD Group, via email. “And every brand needs credibility—that’s why they pay elite athletes to wear their products. Signing KD would have helped UA gain traction in the basketball market.”

Indeed. According to Powell’s estimates, Nike and its Jordan subsidiary comprise 95 percent of all U.S. basketball sales, with UA currently at less than 1 percent.

So, even as Nike seemingly prints cash—and with megastar LeBron James already on board and established as the company’s top endorsee—was re-upping with Durant a matter of playing “keep-away” from a surging competitor or simply continuing to appreciate and maintain an existing relationship?

“KD’s been a Nike athlete since he entered the league and we’re proud to have a relationship with one of the most dynamic players in the game,” Nike spokesperson Brian Strong wrote in an email. “He possesses exceptional on-court talent, a strong off-court personality and the ability to connect with and inspire the athletes that we exist to serve, including the youth.”

The last three words in that statement are likely the key.

The Heat is on as LeBron returns to Miami

LeBron James plays in Miami for the first time since leaving the Heat for Cleveland when the Cavaliers visit Thursday to highlight five Christmas holiday NBA clashes being televised globally. The schedule opens with Washington at New York followed by Oklahoma City at defending NBA champion San Antonio before the latest episode in James' city-switching saga plays out in Miami, where he led the Heat to the past four NBA Finals and brought the city two NBA crowns. Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose, two injury-prone stars, could be the focus when the Los Angeles Lakers visit Chicago in the penultimate contest, with the Golden State Warriors, who have the best record in the NBA, visiting the Los Angeles Clippers in the final game of the 67th NBA Christmas calendar. James spurned his home-region Cavaliers for the Heat in 2010 but after winning his long-sought after first NBA titles with Miami, he returned to Cleveland vowing to bring the city a major sports title, something not seen there since the NFL's Cleveland Browns in 1964. "The schedule came out after I had decided to come back. The NBA knew something," James said. "They knew that I was going to go home or stay in Miami, so they knew I would have to play my home team or my old teammates." James, who ranks second in NBA scoring with 25.2 points a game and fifth in assists with 7.8 a contest, has sparked the Cavaliers to a 16-10 record, fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Martin Skrtel reveals full extent of head wound on Instagram after Liverpool hero's clash with Olivier Giroud's boot

Martin Skrtel has revealed the extent of the wound on the top of his head after he was caught by Olivier Giroud's boot during Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday. Skrtel was the hero at Anfield as he salvaged a 2-2 draw for the Reds in stoppage time with a powerful header from Adam Lallana's ball into the box. But earlier the Slovakia defender had needed six minutes of treatment on the pitch after feeling the full force of Giroud's boot.

Bale: Real Madrid have shown we're the best team in the world

Gareth Bale hailed Real Madrid as the best team on the planet after the Welshman's goal helped them to seal Club World Cup glory against San Lorenzo in Marrakech.

Bale struck in the second half to double Madrid's lead after Sergio Ramos had opened the scoring against the reigning South American champions.

It crowned an incredible year for Carlo Ancelotti's side, who helped themselves to four titles in all - the Copa del Rey, the Champions League, the European Super Cup and now the Club World Cup

"For us it's a massive tournament to win and to show we're the best team in the world is amazing," Bale told Goal.

"It's been a great year all round. Winning the Champions League, winning the Super Cup, winning the Copa del Rey and now this ... it's been a great year and hopefully there's more to come."

Los Blancos are on course to reign supreme in La Liga this season, currently holding a one-point advantage over Barcelona, having played one game fewer.

They are also favourites to win the Champions League when the competition resumes in February, with Schalke lying in wait in the last 16.

"We need to keep concentrating on each and every game and hopefully we'll achieve what we know we can," Bale added.

Kobe Bryant may take time off after another subpar outing in Lakers loss

"I don't have much of a choice if the body is feeling the way it's feeling right now," Bryant said. "You got to be smart. You got to make sure you get enough return on your investment. With the amount of work that I do and put into my body and to get my body ready, for it to be sore as it is right now, sometimes you do have to consider sitting down.

Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott said he would talk to Bryant about taking off one or two games or lowering his minutes after he looked fatigued while struggling in a 108-101 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night. Bryant missed 22 of 30 shots from the field and had nine turnovers in nearly 38 minutes against the Kings. The Lakers next play the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday before going on the road to play the Chicago Bulls on Christmas and the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. Bryant said he was uncertain what games were best for him to take off.

"You got to look at the body," Bryant said. "You make the call tomorrow and see how my body feels and go from there." When asked if Bryant's offensive struggles were due to fatigue or being aggressive offensively, Scott said: "That's fatigue. I think that goes hand in hand. I'm going to think about it tonight and sit down with Kobe tomorrow and we'll talk about it. We'll come up with a solution and try to figure out the next few games and what we want to do."

Bryant is averaging 24.6 points on 37.7 shooting from the field in 35.2 minutes per game this season. The NBA's third all-time leading scorer hasn't shot under 40 percent in his previous 18 seasons. Bryant has played in all 27 games this season after being limited to a career-low six games last season due to knee and Achilles injuries.