Manchester City

LONDON - Manchester City always seems to be second best in its own backyard, like a little brother overshadowed by his bigger and stronger sibling. In England's third-largest city, Manchester United always seems to one-up City. What happened when City won its most recent English league title, in 1968? United beat Benfica to win the European Cup, club soccer's most prestigious trophy. And in the 2000-01 season, when the Sky Blues were promoted to the English Premier League, after four years in lower divisions?

In the final moments of the English Premier League's most dramatic season yet, Manchester City had just enough time Sunday to produce one final twist. City looked to have thrown it all away by letting 10-man Queens Park Rangers rally from a goal down to take the lead in the second half and went into the five minutes of stoppage time needing two scores. Meanwhile, rival Manchester United had completed a 1-0 win at Sunderland, and were lingering on the field ready to start celebrating.

The date of two soccer games listed in Friday's Sports section were incorrect. The games played between Liverpool and Manchester United, and Manchester City and Arsenal are scheduled for Sunday.

MARIO BALOTELLI, the gifted-yet-troubled soccer star for AC Milan, has a penchant for doing stupid things. This weekend, he was cited for smoking a cigarette in the bathroom of an Italian train, which was carrying his AC Milan squad to face Fiorentina on Sunday. Club vice president Adriano Galliani said Balotelli will be fined. Balotelli was really ticked off when he heard that the train's ticket collector, who caught him smoking, told Galliani, "You need to pull his ears. He was smoking in the bathroom," Gazzetta dello Sport reported.

The Eagles are among four finalists for the Beyond Sport United Award for Sport Team of the Year for their community efforts. The Eagles are finalists for the second consecutive year from Beyond Sport, a worldwide organization that uses sports to promote social change. The Eagles are being recognized for their community outreach; the work of the Eagles Youth Partnership (playground build, Breast Cancer Awareness, Book Mobile, Eye Mobile); and their Go Green initiatives. The other finalists are Premier League soccer clubs Liverpool FC and Manchester City, and the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.

Fulham vs. Aston Villa 10 a.m. Saturday (ESPN2)   Despite the riots that are ravaging England's major cities, the Premier League season kicks off this weekend. ESPN2 was to air Tottenham vs. Everton, but that game was canceled. Getting to watch Fulham's American star Clint Dempsey is a fine consolation prize. Colombia vs. Mexico 8:45 p.m. Saturday (ESPN3.com) While Cafeteros Faryd Mondragon, Carlos Valdes and Roger Torres are playing for the Union, their country's under-20 national team will be competing in the world championship quarterfinal on home soil.

England's reigning soccer player of the year Wayne Rooney 's desire to walk out on Manchester United has left the Premier League club in England facing the loss of a third world-class attacker in two years. Manager Alex Ferguson said he was "dumbfounded" at Rooney's decision not to enter into negotiations about extending his contract beyond the summer of 2012. Rooney has become the talismanic figure and most marketable asset at United since the sale of Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid in June 2009.

FC DALLAS VS. COLORADO RAPIDS   Friday, 9 p.m. (Fox Soccer Channel) A rematch of last season's MLS Cup championship game. MANCHESTER UNITED VS. FULHAM Saturday, 10 a.m. (Fox Soccer Channel) American star Clint Dempsey leads Fulham into a Rooney-less Old Trafford. BARCELONA VS. ALMERIA Saturday, 2 p.m. (GolTV) It should be a blowout, but effusive GolTV color analyst Ray Hudson will entertain.

Norristown-based heavyweight Michael Grant rallied to knock out Francois Botha in the 12th round to claim the vacant WBF title in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 43-year-old Botha dominated from the start, nearly finishing off the 39-year-old Grant in the seventh and 11th rounds. But Grant, who lives in Blue Bell, dropped him with a big right with 37 seconds left. Grant improved to 48-4, with 36 knockouts. SKATING: In Paris, Patrick Chan won the Trophee Bompard for the third time, while 14-year-old Elizaveta Tuktamisheva took the women's title.

Laura Robson , a 19-year-old British player, beat Venus Williams , 6-3, 6-2, on Monday in the first round of the Italian Open in Rome to set up a second-round match with Venus' sister, top-ranked Serena Williams . Robson won the Wimbledon junior title at 14. BOXING: Former Olympic gold medalist and world champion Meldrick Taylor has joined the staff at Champions of Tomorrow promotions. The 46-year-old Philadelphia native is helping to promote a June 20 boxing card in Essington.

The oldest son and grandson of Johnny Unitas from his first marriage are unhappy with a decision to have Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco of Audubon, N.J., play the part of the late Baltimore Colts great in a forthcoming movie, Unitas We Stand , USA Today reported. Joe Unitas , a son of the late quarterback from his second marriage, is a co-producer of the film. John Unitas Jr. said he is considering legal action if Joe Unitas makes any profits from his father's name.

MARIO BALOTELLI, the gifted-yet-troubled soccer star for AC Milan, has a penchant for doing stupid things. This weekend, he was cited for smoking a cigarette in the bathroom of an Italian train, which was carrying his AC Milan squad to face Fiorentina on Sunday. Club vice president Adriano Galliani said Balotelli will be fined. Balotelli was really ticked off when he heard that the train's ticket collector, who caught him smoking, told Galliani, "You need to pull his ears. He was smoking in the bathroom," Gazzetta dello Sport reported.

The date of two soccer games listed in Friday's Sports section were incorrect. The games played between Liverpool and Manchester United, and Manchester City and Arsenal are scheduled for Sunday.

If you want to fully understand a country, you have to understand its sporting rituals. In the United Kingdom, that means deciphering soccer (or "football," as it's known to 62 million Brits). Refined, popularized, and given rules in leisure-conscious Victorian Britain, the so-called beautiful game enjoys quasi-sacred status in the country of its conception, a worshipful feeling best summed up by the late, great Liverpool coach Bill Shankly. A no-nonsense Scot, he once famously declared: "Football isn't a matter of life or death.

United at Chicago Fire 4 p.m. Saturday (NBC Sports Network) Sporting Kansas City has locked up first place in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference, but that's all that's decided. D.C. United, Chicago, and the New York Red Bulls are jockeying with the Houston Dynamo for the second through fifth seeds. San Jose Earthquakes at Portland Timbers 6:30 p.m. Saturday (NBC Sports Network) San Jose's Chris Wondolowski needs to score just one more goal to equal Roy Lassiter's MLS single-season record of 27. Lassiter will be on hand at Portland's JELD-WEN Field.

The U.S. women's soccer team's post-Olympic victory tour also will be a goodbye tour. Coach Pia Sundhage is stepping down, returning to her native Sweden after leading the Americans to consecutive gold medals and their first World Cup final in 12 years. Saturday's announcement of her departure came just a few hours before the U.S. women began their "victory tour" against Costa Rica in star Abby Wambach's hometown of Rochester, N.Y. "I want to thank all the players and all of my assistant coaches for making me better," Sundhage said in a statement.

Doha and Baku were eliminated from consideration for the 2020 Olympics on Wednesday by the International Olympic Committee. Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul made the cut as the IOC executive board settled on the finalists in a meeting in Quebec City. Doha, capital of the Gulf state of Qatar, and Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, also failed to make the final list for the 2016 Games. Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul will go through a 17-month competition until the IOC votes in 2014. SOCCER: Queens Park Rangers captain Joey Barton was given a 12-game ban and fined $118,000 by the Football Association for violent conduct in the last English Premier League game of the season.

A total of 1.35 million viewers tuned into the U.S. television coverage of the final day of the English Premier League season, an increase of 72 percent over 2011. U.S. networks televised all 10 games on Sunday. The largest rating was for Manchester City's title-winning 3-2 victory over Queens Park Rangers, which was seen by an average 600,000 viewers on ESPN2 and 189,000 on ESPN Deportes, according to Nielsen Media Research. Queens Park Rangers says it will investigate the actions of captain Joey Barton once the Football Association has completed its own hearing on the midfielder's sending off in the game against Manchester City.