ATHENS (Reuters) - Peeling paint flakes from Athens' Olympic park. Its entrances locked, this once sparkling edifice to sporting greatness lies rotting and largely unused -- maintenance costs too high for near-bankrupt Greece to operate. The rate of decay and dilapidation in just eight years provides a visual clue to the Greek scenario, one as effective as any economist's report or politician's statement. "Like heaven and hell," Greek athletics federation chief Vassilis Sevastis told Reuters, comparing the heady days of 2004 when the Greeks staged the Olympics, with today. ...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - General Motors scored with an Armageddon-proof Chevy truck while a Clint Eastwood pep talk for America won notice for rival Chrysler during the high-stakes brand battle at Sunday's Super Bowl. Other commercials from companies such as Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola repeated old themes or failed to stand out during American TV's most valuable advertising time, according to industry experts and online comments. Companies that spent $3. ...

MALABO (Reuters) - Staging a World Cup or European championship is a huge undertaking where host nations are expected to build state-of-the-art stadiums and provide hotels and transport for hundreds of thousands of visitors. Preparations for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and this year's European championship in Poland and Ukraine were surrounded by doubts over whether the host nations could cope with the influx of visitors. At the African Nations Cup, organisers have found a way of making things much easier for themselves: they ignore the fans altogether. ...

REUTERS - Test seamer Ben Hilfenhaus has been brought into Austalia's one-day squad to replace injured paceman Brett Lee, who was ruled out of the triangular series with a broken toe, the team said on Monday. Hilfenhaus would act as injury cover for Friday's match against Sri Lanka in Perth, chairman of selectors John Inverarity said in a statement. "The bowling attack for Perth is likely to be the same as the one that did so well in Melbourne and Ben will be in Perth to provide cover," Inverarity said. ...

REUTERS - Brief profile of the New York Giants, who defeated the New England Patriots on Sunday to claim their fourth Super Bowl in the National Football League's (NFL) title game on Sunday. Founded: 1925. The Giants are one of the oldest teams in the league. They are often called Big Blue and the G-Men. NFC titles (season): 1986, 1990, 2000, 2007, 2011. New York also won five conference titles in the pre-Super Bowl era. Super Bowl titles (season): 1986, 1990, 2007, 2011. Head coach: Tom Coughlin. One of the longest-serving coaches in the NFL. ...

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - The New York Giants captured their second Super Bowl in the last four years with a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots in the National Football League's championship game on Sunday. The win capped a remarkable late-season turnaround for a Giants team that endured a four-game slide late in the campaign that left them in danger of missing the playoffs. ...

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Mali midfielder Seydou Keita broke down in tears as he appealed on Sunday for an end to fighting in his country, using the platform of the African Nations Cup to call for peace. More than 20 northern separatist rebels were killed during two days of clashes in the Timbuktu region on Saturday in continuing violence as Tuareg insurgents seek to create an independent state in the north of Mali. "I'm appealing to the people to stop. It's not normal, we don't do that. ...

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Home hopes crumbled for Gabon in the lottery of a penalty shootout at the African Nations Cup on Sunday but Ghana's hopeful search to end a long drought at the finals continued. Mali beat co-hosts Gabon 5-4 on post-match kicks after extra time in Libreville to douse the passion of an expectant populace in first of the day's quarter-final encounters. The match ended 1-1 as Mali equalised just six minutes from the end. ...

REUTERS - Pop superstar Madonna dazzled football fans and more than 100 million television viewers on Sunday when she performed during the Super Bowl halftime show. Madonna, the first female Super Bowl halftime headliner since the notorious Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" of 2004, was carried, Cleopatra-style, into Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium by a cadre of muscled gladiators. ...

(Reuters) - England manager Fabio Capello disagrees with the Football Association's decision to strip John Terry of the national team captaincy, the Italian said on Sunday. The FA took the step after the Chelsea defender was sent to trial in July charged with racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in a Premier League game in October. "I do not agree with the decision to take the armband off Terry. He can't be punished until he is judged by the relevant authorities (the court)," Italian Capello told a Rai broadcast in his home country. ...

PARIS (Reuters) - Olympique Marseille and Olympique Lyon lost further ground on the Ligue 1 pacesetters when the hosts blew a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday. Marseille, who had gone ahead with first-half goals by Benoit Cheyrou and Brandao, remained fifth with 38 points from 22 games, 11 behind leaders Paris St Germain who beat Evian Thonon Gaillard 3-1 on Saturday. Lyon, who fought back thanks to Bafetimbi Gomis and a Souleymane Diawara own goal before halftime, stayed fourth on 39 points. ...