Sports Shorts: Pele recovering from kidney stone removal

Brazilian soccer legend Pele is doing 'fine' and will be discharged from a Sao Paulo hospital early on Thursday after he was admitted for stomach pains, one of his aides told Reuters.

Former Brazil striker underwent a procedure on Thursday to remove kidney stones that were obstructing his urinary tract, his doctors at a Sao Paulo hospital said.

The 74-year-old was admitted to the Albert Einstein Hospital on Wednesday with abdominal pains that forced him to cancel a book signing event in Santos, where he lives.

Tests showed he was suffering from kidney and ureteral stones that were removed on Thursday morning, the doctors said in a statement.

"He is clinically stable and in recovery," they added.

Known as "the King of soccer" in Brazil, Pele is widely regarded as the finest player to grace the sport. He played in four World Cups and helped Brazil win the global tournament three times, the last in Mexico in 1970.

Bayern seek slice of American pie

Five-time European champions Bayern Munich, looking to take on English Premier League clubs and grab some of the growing market for soccer in the United States, have set up a US registered company.

FC Bayern Munich LLC recently opened an office in New York and on Wednesday announced a partnership with a leading youth soccer organisation.

Bayern has teamed up with Massachusetts-headquartered Global Premier Soccer, which organises youth coaching and development programmes, and will provide assistance from coaches and technical staff from the Bundesliga club.

"This is the first of many initiatives we will be undertaking to foster a deeper connection with soccer fans in the United States," Rudolf Vidal, managing director of Bayern's United States division, said.

Bayern toured the United States during the offseason this year and played against the Major League Soccer All-Stars.

The 24-time German champions already have launched a US specific website and online store to help drive merchandise sales to American fans.

Garcia hopeful McIlroy can be reeled in for money list title

Sergio Garcia has called Rory McIlroy's year ‘extraordinary’ but the Spaniard is clinging to the belief that he can prevent his Ryder Cup team mate from ending the season at the top of the European money list.

McIlroy has an almost unassailable lead after lifting the British Open and US PGA Championship titles and winning the European Tour's flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio.

However, the Northern Irishman could still be caught if Garcia or Welshman Jamie Donaldson or German Marcel Siem won the last two tournaments -- this week's Turkish Airlines Open and next week's DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

"Maybe Rory deserves to be the Race to Dubai champion...but there's no doubt it's nice to be a part of it, to still have a little chance of winning it," the Spaniard told reporters on the eve of the $7 million event in Turkey.

"I think he did something quite extraordinary this season. It's obviously going to be very difficult, I'm going to need a couple of really good weeks but we'll try until it's over."

Garcia is third in the Race to Dubai standings, 90,000 euros behind Donaldson and a whopping three million euros adrift of world number one McIlroy, who is skipping Turkey before returning to the circuit for the DP World Tour Championship.

The Welshman has enjoyed a stellar campaign, winning the Czech Masters, recording six more top-five finishes and securing the point that ensured Europe retained the Ryder Cup.

Tajikistan defender Beknazarov gets two-year doping ban

Tajikistan defender Khurshed Beknazarov has been banned for two years for a doping offence during the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Thursday.

Beknazarov, 20, was thrown out of the Games and provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned stimulant Methylhexaneamine following a match against Singapore on Sept. 14.

The AFC Disciplinary Committee released a statement on Thursday announcing it had imposed a two-year ban on Beknazarov, who has the right to appeal.

The AFC Disciplinary Committee also announced it had extended the suspension of six Vietnamese players under suspicion for throwing a domestic league game in July.

The six Dong Nai players were temporarily suspended from domestic competition following an investigation into match-fixing and the AFC said the ban had now been extended to continental matches as well.

Match-fixing has long plagued Vietnamese soccer, with arrests of coaches, bookmakers and players commonplace. Soccer is the most popular sport and gambling is rampant, despite being strictly illegal.