Former Leeds and Liverpool winger Harry Kewell has signed a short-term deal with Qatar's Al Gharafa, ending a year-long spell without a club.

Kewell left Melbourne Victory at the end of last year's A-League season for family reasons.

Juan Monaco defeated Gilles Simon 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to give Argentina a 1-1 deadlock with France after the first two singles matches in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ensured France led 1-0 after the first singles, defeating Carlos Berlocq 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

Marseille took advantage of a defensive howler to beat Bordeaux 1-0 and provisionally cut the gap to French leader Paris Saint-Germain to four points on Friday.

Andre-Pierre Gignac scored in the 41st minute following a rapid counterattack. He beat the offside trap to run onto a long ball from Benoit Cheyrou before cutting inside. Ludovic Sane slipped as he raced back to cover, allowing the France striker to dribble around him and slot past goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso for his 11th league goal of the season.

Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant overcame a bruised left calf to score 34 points and lead the Thunder to a 97-75 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday, moving the team level with San Antonio for top spot in the NBA's Western Conference.

Russell Westbrook added 24 points for the Thunder, who beat the Spurs on Thursday, arrived at the team hotel in Indianapolis at 4 a.m., then went out and prevented the Pacers from clinching their first Central Division title in nine years.

Lance Armstrong's doping past got him kicked out of the pool.

Armstrong was forced to withdraw Thursday from the Masters South Central Zone Championships this weekend after swimming's international federation raised objections to his participation.

Carlos Boozer had 29 points and 18 rebounds and Nate Robinson made the go-ahead basket with 22 seconds left as the Chicago Bulls overcame a 16-point deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 92-90 on Thursday.

Jimmy Butler had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Luol Deng scored 18 points, and Robinson finished with 12 as the Bulls shook off the absences of five key players to keep the Indiana Pacers from clinching the NBA Central Division title that Chicago has won the last two years.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has softened his stance on calling for clubs to be punished with relegation after serious racist abuse, suggesting that fans would deliberately provoke incidents.

Blatter said relegation sanctions are "not a simple solution, (because) will this lead to people coming to a stadium wanting to stop the game intentionally?"

One of the three football officials facing match-fixing related charges has been sent to the hospital with an undisclosed illness while the other two appeared in a Singapore court and entered no pleas.

Referee Ali Sabbagh and assistant referees Ali Eid and Abdallah Taleb, all from Lebanon, were charged with "corruptly receiving gratification in the form of free sexual service" by Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

Carmelo Anthony scored 40 points — giving him 90 in two games — as the New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-82 on Wednesday night for their 10th straight victory.

Anthony, coming off a 50-point effort in a win over Miami on Tuesday, scored 24 points in the first half. He shot 17 of 27 from the field and was 5 for 6 from the free throw line. Raymond Felton supported with three straight baskets in a key spurt.

Lance Armstrong is looking to make a splash with a return to competition.

The disgraced cyclist is signed up to swim three events this weekend at the Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championships at the University of Texas. Armstrong spokesman Mark Higgins said Wednesday that Armstrong, 41, will compete in the 40-44 age group in the 500-, 1,000- and the 1,650-yard freestyle.