Lucie Safarova of holders Czech Republic will take on Serbia's Ana Ivanovic in the first singles rubber of the Fed Cup final here on Saturday, after Friday's draw.

Safarova, the world number 17 and Czech number two, will face world number 12 Ivanovic, who is Serbia's number one, in Prague's O2 Arena from 1230 GMT on Saturday.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini insisted Friday he was comfortable with personnel changes that appear to have undermined his position with the Premier League champions.

The Italian saw Spaniard Txiki Begiristain appointed as director of football by City this week, strengthening a Barcelona connection which began when they made Ferran Soriano their chief executive.

Asian American star Jeremy Lin was a winner in his NBA debut with the Houston Rockets, but it was fellow newcomer James Harden who lifted the squad in a 105-96 triumph on Wednesday at Detroit.

The Rockets obtained Harden Saturday in a deal with Oklahoma City and signed a five-year contract extension worth a reported $80 million with Houston only hours before he took the court with his new teammates.

Former Republic of Ireland coach Mick McCarthy has been appointed as manager of struggling second-tier English Championship side Ipswich Town, the club said on Thursday.

The 53-year-old has signed a contract to keep him at Portman Road until 2015. Terry Connor, with whom he worked at Wolverhampton Wanderers, will be his assistant manager.

LeBron James received his long-awaited NBA championship ring on Tuesday, then he and the Miami Heat launched their bid for another with a season-opening 120-107 victory over the Boston Celtics.

While the Heat were busy signaling their intentions of maintaining their supremacy, the revamped Los Angeles Lakers failed to fire in a 99-91 loss to the injury-depleted Dallas Mavericks.

Arsenal mounted an incredible comeback from 4-0 down to win 7-5 after extra time at Reading in a truly extraordinary League Cup fourth-round tie at the Madejski Stadium on Tuesday.

Theo Walcott was the hero, claiming a 95th-minute equalizer to force extra time and then slamming home the decisive goal in the last minute of the extra period to complete 120 unforgettable minutes of football.

Barcelona avoided any mishaps as they set out on the defense of their Spanish Cup title with a 3-0 first leg win away to lower league Alaves on Tuesday.

Despite resting several star names David Villa, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas were on target to continue the Catalan giants majestic start to the campaign which has seen them only drop points in La Liga with their draw in the El Clasico with Real Madrid.

Struggling AC Milan hit back from two goals down to salvage a point at Palermo in a 2-2 draw on Tuesday but failed to reassure their fans that their mediocre start to the season is behind them.

Once again they had young striker Stephan El Shaarawy to thank, just as they did in their 1-0 win over Genoa at the weekend, as the 20-year-old snatched a point with a rasping strike 10 minutes from the end which left home goalkeeper Samir Ujkani no chance.

Ferrari team chief Stefano Domenicali admitted that title-chasing Spaniard Fernando Alonso does not have the fastest car as he urged a concerted push for victory in the season's final three Formula One races.

Speaking after Sebastian Vettel's fourth consecutive win in Sunday's Indian Grand Prix Domenicali said there was no point "crying about Red Bull's car" and that Ferrari had to play to their strengths to close the 13-point gap in the drivers' standings.

Alex Ferguson has wished referee Lee Mason "good luck" in Wednesday's League Cup tie between Manchester United and Chelsea, just three days after their fiery Stamford Bridge clash ended in controversy.

The fall-out from United's thrilling victory on Sunday is set to continue beyond Wednesday's game, when the Premier League's top two will meet for the second time in a week.