Sport-Motors

(ANSA) - Rome, March 22 - Pippo Inzaghi is fired up to help AC Milan in its quest to return to Champions League soccer, hopefully by grabbing the Serie A title along the way.

"I'm firing on all cylinders again and I want to help Milan win the championship," he said after grabbing an equaliser against Napoli that kept the Rossoneri within a point of leaders Inter Milan.

"OK, so we didn't overtake them but I think we have a better run-in," said the ex-Italy ace, who will be 37 in August.

(ANSA) - Rome, March 19 - Italy coach Nick Mallett has made two changes for Italy's last Six Nations match against Wales on Saturday (14.30 GMT). "We have to go with what we've got," said Mallett, who had wanted four changes to the side that went down 46-20 to France in Paris last Sunday. But Carlo Antonio Del Fava and Paul Derbyshire failed scans Friday so Marco Bortolami and Josh Sole start in their places. Lock Valerio Bernabo' and Fijian flanker Manoa Vosawai come onto to the bench. In the first change, scrum-half Canavosio comes in for Tito Tebaldi as Italy reunites the behind-the-scru

(ANSA) - Milan, March 19 - Inter Milan is set on getting its bid for a fifth straight Serie A title back on track after the euphoria of beating Chelsea in midweek to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals.

Four draws and a defeat have allowed AC Milan to close within one point and Saturday night's game at Palermo is crucial to Jose' Mourinho stated goal of doing the treble of league championship, Italian Cup and Champions League trophy.

Mourinho will be back on the bench in Sicily after a three-match touchline ban but is still keeping up a press blackout, at least in Italy.

So it was up to owner Massimo Moratti to put things in perspective after the Stamford Bridge triumph.

(ANSA) - Milan, March 19 - Inter Milan is set on getting its bid for a fifth straight Serie A title back on track after the euphoria of beating Chelsea in midweek to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals.

Four draws and a defeat have allowed AC Milan to close within one point and Saturday night's game at Palermo is crucial to Jose' Mourinho stated goal of doing the treble of league championship, Italian Cup and Champions League trophy.

Mourinho will be back on the bench in Sicily after a three-match touchline ban but is still keeping up a press blackout, at least in Italy.

(ANSA) - Nyon, March 19 - Inter Milan managed to avoid the stronger Champions League contenders in Friday's quarter-final draw and got one of the softer opponents, CSKA Moscow.

But Inter CEO Ernesto Paolillo cautioned: "You only know if draws are only favourable or not after you've played".

"It won't be an easy match. It would be wrong to underestimate the Russian side for two reasons: first because they're only starting their season and they'll be fresher and second because they have a synthetic pitch in Moscow, which favours less skilful players".

(ANSA) - Nyon, March 19 - Inter Milan has been drawn against CSKA Moscow in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

They will play the first leg at home against the Russians, considered one of the weaker teams in the draw.

If the Italian champions get through, they will face either Arsenal or Barcelona in the semis on April 20-21 and 27-28 and will again play the first leg at home, according to Friday's draw at UEFA HQ here.

The draw for the quarter-finals, March 30-31 and April 6-7:

Lyon-Bordeaux

Bayern Munich-Manchester United

Arsenal-Barcelona

(ANSA) - Milan, March 19 - Lance Armstrong has pulled out of Saturday's Milan-Sanremo classic because of a stomach bug, team sources said Friday.

Armstrong, 38, who won the Tour de France for a record-breaking seven straight years, came out of a four-year retirement to place third in the Tour last year.

The Milan-Sanremo was to have been the first stage in his tilt at an eighth Tour.

Italy's former 'Lion King' Mario Cipollini has tipped Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen for the season-opening 298km race from Milan to Sanremo.

(ANSA) - Rome, March 19 - Carlo Antonio Del Fava and Paul Derbyshire failed scans Friday and are out of Italy's last Six Nations match against Wales on Saturday (14.30 GMT). Marco Bortolami and Josh Sole start in their place. Lock Valerio Bernabo' and Fijian flanker Manoa Vosawai come onto to the bench.

(ANSA) - Rome, March 18 - Italy coach Nick Mallett has made four changes for Italy's last Six Nations match against Wales on Saturday (14.30 GMT). Mallett rang the changes after Sunday's 46-20 defeat to France in Paris. After beating Scotland two weeks ago, Italy is bidding for fourth place in the championship and its best season since 2007, when it won two matches. But two of the changes depend on last-minute medical tests on flanker Paul Derbyshire and lock Carlo Antonio Del Fava. In the three-quarter-line, Andrea Masi comes off the right wing in favour of Kaine Robertson and takes over from Go

(ANSA) - Monza, March 18 - Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the company which manages the Monza race track, Sias, signed an accord on Thursday to extend to 2016 the contract allowing the facility to host the Italian Grand Prix.

Ecclestone holds the commercial rights to Formula 1.

Last December Ecclestone signed a tentative agreement to allow Rome to host a Grand Prix in 2012 or 2013.

However, the proposal is being opposed in parliament by MPs from northern Italy who are concerned a race in the capital would diminish the one at Monza.

(ANSA) - San Luca, march 18 - The Italian Soccer Federation on Thursday banned a team in a Calabrian mafia fief who played with black arm-bands after the death of a boss.

San Luca is a small town which gained international headlines in August 2007 when an 18-year feud sparked by egg-throwing at a wedding culminated in a hit on six gangsters in the German town of Duisburg.

The San Luca team staged their mourning tribute after the death of a leader of one of the warring families, Antonio Pelle.

(ANSA) - Rome, March 17 - Italian soccer's new crackdown on blasphemous comments by players and coaches should be applied "with common sense," the head of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) said Wednesday.

Responding to protests from clubs, CONI President Gianni Petrucci recalled that blasphemy is a crime under Italian law and he was glad to have suggested the campaign to Italian Soccer Federation chief Giancarlo Abete.

(ANSA) - Milan, March 17 - A Serie A fixture between AS Roma and Inter Milan has been brought forward from March 28 to 27 to give Inter more time to prepare for its Champions League quarter-final first leg on March 30 or 31, the Italian Soccer League said Wednesday.

Inter will face Roma at the Olimpico at 18:00 (17:00 GMT) Saturday instead of 15:00 (14:00 GMT) Sunday, the Lega Calcio said.

Inter beat Chelsea 3-1 on aggregate Tuesday night to go through to the quarters.

(ANSA) - London, March 17 - Inter Milan played a "perfect game" to beat Chelsea and qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals Tuesday night, coach Jose' Mourinho said.

"We played the perfect game, and now I know my side can beat anyone in Europe," said the ex-Chelsea manager on his first return to Stamford Bridge.

"It's a fantastic win for my team. My team is Inter but this confirms that this is my home, that I always win here, playing for or against Chelsea".

"Stamford Bridge is special for me," said the 'Special One'.

(ANSA) - Milan, March 16 - Mario Balotelli will work hard to smooth over his latest spat with Jose Mourinho and get back into the Inter Milan team, his new agent said Tuesday after the striker was left out of the Milan squad to face Chelsea in the Champions League.

"Mario must get back down to work to reclaim a spot. He must always behave like a true professional," said Mino Raiola.