Sporting briefs

Bruce: Sunderland boss Steve Bruce was hit with a £2,500-fine for an outburst over referee Andre Marriner's handling of his side's 4-3 defeat by Manchester City in December. Bruce was enraged by Mariner's dismissal of defender Michael Turner for an aerial challenge with Gareth Barry and described the red card he issued as "obscene", "a joke" and "an outrage".

Julio Cesar: Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar missed training yesterday after being involved in a car accident just outside the club's San Siro stadium on Sunday night. However, to the he should be fit for tomorrow's Champions League clash against Chelsea.

Undersoil: St Johnstone chairman Geoff Brown suspects a fault with the club's undersoil heating system claimed their Premier League game with Rangers. Saturday's clash at McDiarmid Park was called off an hour before kick-off after parts of the pitch were deemed to be frozen.

Johnson: Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is hopeful defender Glen Johnson will be fit enough to return to action in the next week. The England right-back has been missing since tearing the medial ligament in his right knee in December.

McCarthy: Wigan teenager James McCarthy was called up by Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni for next week's friendly against Brazil. Midfielder McCarthy, 19, received his first call after a series of promising performances for the Latics, who he joined from Hamilton last summer.

Palermo: Martin Palermo was Argentina's saviour in a World Cup qualifier against Peru last October and he repeated the role for Boca Juniors when he salvaged a point for the Buenos Aires giants on Sunday. The 36-year-old was perfectly positioned to meet a high cross from the left and lob a neat header into the top corner for Boca's equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Mendoza side Godoy Cruz.

In Spain: Primera Liga - Valencia vs Getafe 2-1.

League Two: Rotherham vs Shrewsbury Town 1-1.

Serie B: Crotone vs Lecce 1-1.

MFA Division Three: Attard vs Żejtun 0-0; Naxxar vs Sta Lucija 1-0.

Basket, NBA: San Antonio point guard Tony Parker sat out his team's 109-101 overtime loss to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday due to a left hip injury. Parker has been in and out of the line-up over the last 10 games due to a combination of foot, ankle and hip injuries. Parker is averaging 16.8 points per game and 5.9 assists this season for San Antonio.

Golf: Ian Poulter broke his American duck when he outplayed fellow Briton Paul Casey 4&2 to win the Accenture Match Play Championship at Dove Mountain on Sunday. The win gave Poulter a $1.4 million winner's cheque and propelled him to fifth in the world rankings, but the Briton said he would have to hold off on the celebrations. "I can't see myself having too many drinks because I might wake up with a sore head," Poulter, who was scheduled to tape a television advertisement in California yesterday, told reporters.

Tennis: Sam Querrey came back from a set down to overhaul fellow American John Isner 6-7 7-6 6-3 and win the Memphis Championships. Querrey was two points from defeat in the second set tiebreaker but rallied to win it 7-5 and then carried the momentum into the third, breaking his opponent twice to seal his third career title and first of the season. The American pair are friends and frequent practice partners.

Rugby Union: The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) has relaxed rules allowing a new Super rugby franchise in Melbourne to sign players for their inaugural season in 2011. The Melbourne Rebels, who will begin playing in an expanded Super 15 competition based on geographic conferences next year, were unable to sign any Australian-based players before May 31, after the final of this year's Super 14 had been played.