Digest

SOCCER

Guardiola '100 percent' to stay at banned City

Pep Guardiola insisted on Wednesday that he will stay with Manchester City and vowed that the "truth will prevail" over the club's shock two-year ban from European competitions.

City was banned from the Champions League and Europa League for the next two seasons and fined 30 million euros ($32.4 million) on Friday after UEFA found it guilty of committing "serious breaches" of financial regulations. The Premier League champion overstated sponsorship revenue in accounts submitted between 2012 and 2016.

The severe punishment will cost City an estimated 170 million euros in lost Champions League revenue and the club reacted furiously, immediately vowing to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Amid speculation that Guardiola could quit if the club loses the appeal, the City manager used his first public comments since news of the suspension broke to make it clear he will not desert the club whatever happens in court.

"If they don't sack me I will stay here 100 percent more than ever. First because I want to stay. It's something special, more than the contract I have," Guardiola said after Wednesday's 2-0 win against West Ham.

Atalanta revels in night to 'remember forever'

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini hailed a performance his club will "remember forever" after the Italian side crushed Valencia 4-1 on Wednesday to take a giant step closer to reaching the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time.

Dutch wingback Hans Hateboer scored twice, on 16 and 62 minutes, sandwiching goals from Josip Ilicic and Remo Freuler.

"This is an evening that we'll remember forever," said 62-year-old Gasperini. "It is an amazing result, full of emotion."

It was an extraordinary night for the Bergamo-based side, which traveled to the San Siro in Milan with over 40,000 fans as Atalanta's home stadium 55 kilometers away does not meet UEFA regulations.

Denis Cheryshev pulled one back for Valencia, which had finished top of its group but was missing several key players through injury and suspension.

"It certainly complicates things a bit, it's a pretty overwhelming result," said Valencia coach Albert Celades. The second leg is on March 10 at the Mestalla.

MOTOR SPORTS

Raikkonen gearing up to break F1 record

Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen enters the new season with a chance to break Formula 1's record for most race starts.

The 40-year-old Raikkonen has started 312 races since his debut in 2001, leaving him just 11 race starts shy of breaking Rubens Barrichello's record of 322 between 1993-2011.

Defending champion Lewis Hamilton has the second-most starts of any driver in the current field with 250.

Raikkonen, driving for Alfa Romeo for a second straight year, is expected to reach the milestone in July at the British Grand Prix.

But for the tight-lipped and inscrutable Finnish driver, this season appears to be business as usual, which means focusing on overtaking rivals and steering clear of the hoopla outside the cockpit.

"For sure I remember, it is not that far away," Raikkonen said about his early years behind the wheel.

Hamilton, Bottas clock fastest times in testing

Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas sent an ominous signal to their challengers after clocking the two fastest lap times on the first day of Formula 1's preseason testing.

Hamilton set the top time of Wednesday's opening session－1 minute, 16.976 seconds－after he took over from Bottas behind the wheel of the new Silver Arrow for the 2020 season. Bottas' best effort was 0.337 seconds slower.

The Mercedes duo also completed the most laps of any team with 173.

Sergio Perez of Racing Point was the third fastest, followed by Max Verstappen in his Red Bull.

Hamilton enters the season as the clear favorite as he seeks to equal Michael Schumacher's record of seven world titles and surpass the German's mark of 91 career wins. Hamilton has six titles and 84 wins.

"It's been a good day and a really good start for all of us, considering we had a long break," Hamilton said."So to come back and clock in over 170 laps just shows how hard everyone has been working over the winter."

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

NFL to table playoff expansion proposals

The NFL is expected to add two playoff teams and reduce the number of teams getting a playoff bye in the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which could be completed within a week, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.

The report said league sources indicated to ESPN the proposal would have seven teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs, up from six. Only one team from each conference would receive a bye in the wildcard round, down from two teams.

Had that format been in place for the 2019 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8) and Los Angeles Rams (9-7) would have made the playoffs. The addition of a proposed 17th regular-season game could have further altered that scenario.

According to Schefter, the teams that get the first-round byes would get postseason pay for that weekend of rest, something that does not happen under the current CBA.

BASEBALL

Whistleblower Fiers doesn't want protection

Oakland Athletics right-hander Mike Fiers said he isn't interested in receiving extra security protection through the 2020 season during an interview with The Athletic on Wednesday.

Fiers divulged details about how the Houston Astros used a sign-stealing system during the 2017 season last November, leading to sanctions against his former club and drawing criticism in some corners for violating the "unwritten rules" of baseball.

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said on Tuesday that "we will take every possible step to protect Mike Fiers wherever he's playing, whether it's in Houston or somewhere else".

But Fiers isn't looking for that type of help.

"I'm not asking for extra security,"Fiers told The Athletic."I'm here to play baseball and I can defend myself, if anything. We do have National League games, and I'm going to have to get into the box (to hit) just like everybody else. It's part of the game. If they decide to throw at me, then they throw at me. There's nothing much you can do about it."