IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Lippi aiming to depart in blaze of glory

Marcello Lippi is hoping to sign off by retaining the AFC Champions League title with Guangzhou Evergrande after breaking fans' hearts by confirming he won't return next season.

United shifts into desperation mode

With hopes of a top-four finish in the Premier League fading, Manchester United approaches Tuesday's Champions League last 16 first-leg match at Greek champion Olympiakos desperate for a positive result.

Rodgers won't ease up on Liverpool's throttle

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says his team will continue its attacking style of football in a bid for its first league title in 24 years.

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Olympics

The memories will live on

The Sochi Games will long be remembered for the good, the bad and the ugly. From the spectacular triumphs of Victor Ahn and Vic Wild - a South Korean short-track speedskater and an American snowboarder who took out Russian citizenship and won five gold medals between them - to the ongoing controversies over figure skating judging and deplorable course conditions in skiing and snowboarding that compromised competitor safety. Among many other notables were the following:

Zou's KO victory boosts shot at world title in Nov

Zou Shiming proved his trainer's version of the big bang theory on Saturday night in Macao - and it could lead to a shot at the world flyweight championship in November.

'Super Mario' saves his best for last

Two generations collided on a treacherous Russian slalom slope on Saturday with Austrian Mario Matt fighting off two young guns to become the oldest winner of an Olympic Alpine skiing gold.

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Olympics

China's 'foreign' policy to stay

Ten foreign coaches worked with the Chinese delegation at the Sochi Winter Olympics Games and that trend is unlikely to change.

Facing an uphill struggle

When Xing Zhiliang, an IT company employee in Beijing, took his son Xing Haoyu to Wanlongbayi Ski Resort in Beijing's western suburbs last Saturday evening, the crowded scenes were beyond his imagination.

Silver again as fortune turns against the US

American Julie Chu has four times stood on the ice, listened to Canada's national anthem and watched the Maple Leaf raised to the roof while the United States' great rival celebrated an Olympic women's ice hockey gold medal.