Russian men's and women's basketball clubs have a chance this weekend of sweeping every European trophy for the first time in the country's history, in a throwback to Soviet domination of the sport. With two women's tournaments and the men's second-tier European cup already secure, CSKA Moscow just need to win the Euroleague title to complete an extraordinary clean sweep. Lokomotiv-Kuban from the Russian southern city of Krasnodar clinched their first-ever continental trophy by downing Bilbao Basket 64-75 in the Eurocup final at Charleroi, Belgium.

David Khan was fired as the president of basketball operations for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, the team announced two weeks after the end of a 31-51 season. The Timberwolves declined to pick up the one-year option in Khan's contract for the 2013-2014 campaign. He had been originally hired by the club in May of 2009. "These are always difficult decisions, but at this time, we believe it is in the best interest of our organization to make a change," Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said.

With US President Barack Obama praising his courage, NBA center Jason Collins was awestruck on Tuesday after becoming the first major US professional team sport athlete to reveal that he is gay. "Not even in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine the support that I've received," Collins told ABC television in his first interview since revealing his sexuality on Monday in an essay for Sports Illustrated. "Random people just come up and shake your hand and say thank you and it touches you and you just feel honored and humbled."

From superstars Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade to celebrities like Spike Lee and US President Barack Obama, NBA center Jason Collins found support Monday for his landmark admission that he is gay. The 34-year-old NBA center became the first active American professional team sports player to publicly reveal his homosexuality, doing so to Sports Illustrated in an article published on the magazine's website. "The President called Jason Collins to express his support and said he was impressed by his courage," a White House aide told AFP.