A minute's silence will be held at football grounds in France this weekend out of respect for the victims of the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper, the French Football Federation (FFF) has announced.

Twelve people died in the attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a weekly newspaper that had been threatened before for its caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed.

Tottenham say their former striker Jermain Defoe is training with the club's development squad for the next week "to maintain fitness during MLS close season".

The Toronto forward has been linked with a return to the Premier League with Liverpool, QPR, Leicester and Hull.

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Former Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins has launched his own cycling team as part of his preparations for the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The four-time Olympic champion will try and break the individual world hour record as part of his build-up to Rio with Team Wiggins.

"Cycling has given me everything," said the 34-year-old.

"I want to build something to inspire kids and to reach all those people who might be on the fringes of the sport."

Given Australia captain Steve Smith's explanation for his dropped catch, here are a few other slightly bizarre excuses for sporting problems.

Manchester United's grey kit - Losing 3-0 at half-time to Southampton at the Dell in 1996, Alex Ferguson ordered his players to change out of their grey strip because they "could not see each other properly". United came out for the second half wearing blue and white but still lost 3-1.

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Shane Warne's diet pill - Sent home ahead of the 2003 World Cup after testing positive for a banned diuretic, the legendary leg-spinner put the result down to a diet pill given to him by his mother, who wanted him to look slimmer on television. He was given a one-year ban.

Lighton Ndefwayl's tight jockstrap - After losing to Musumba Bwayla in a local tournament in 1992, the Zambian tennis player said: "Bwayla is a stupid man and a hopeless player. He beat me because my jockstrap was too tight and that made me lose my concentration."

Ukraine croak - When Ukraine were hammered 4-0 by Spain in their opening game of the 2006 World Cup, they blamed the noise of the frogs outside the team's hotel. "Because of the frogs croaking we hardly got a wink of sleep," defender Vladislav Vashchuk said.

Australia captain Steve Smith added a new entry to the list of unlikely sporting excuses when he blamed an overhead camera for a dropped catch.

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Smith was distracted by Spidercam, a manoeuvrable camera suspended above the pitch by wires, when he dropped India's Lokesh Rahul during the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

It was a costly drop, with Rahul on 46 at the time and going on to make 110.

A visibly-annoyed Smith pointed upwards straight away, mouthing the word "wire".

Ben Smith
BBC Sport

"Liverpool have a genuine and longstanding interest in James Milner but at this stage there are no guarantees that he will swap the Etihad for Anfield.

"The England midfielder's contract with Manchester City expires this summer and at present talks over a new deal have stalled. Liverpool would look to take advantage of that in July by signing him on a free transfer and in doing so add much-needed experience and character to their midfield in the wake of Steven Gerrard's departure.

"But for now, nothing is certain and it remains to be seen if fresh news of Liverpool's interest prompts City to offer the player improved terms."

Cardiff Blues have signed Samoa centre Rey Lee-Lo from Super Rugby side the Hurricanes.

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The Blues confirmed that the 28-year-old has agreed a long-term deal.

His move to Wales, which will take effect after this year's Super Rugby season, will see him reunited with current Blues rugby director and former Hurricanes boss Mark Hammett.

Second in the table, into the last 16 of the Champions League - so what's the problem with Barcelona?

"The opinion of the local press is particularly important and, at the moment, neither Barcelona boss Luis Enrique nor the club's board of directors are popular," writes European football writer Lee Roden.

"Barcelona has two main daily sports papers that are consumed on a tabloid-like scale and their voice can often sway public opinion. One particularly telling headline this week read: "This club will self-destruct in 3,2,1…"

"A number of popular radio programmes spend an increasing amount of their time debating the perceived incompetency of Barca both on and off the pitch, too."

The latest on Wilfried Bony's move to Manchester City, courtesy of BBC Sport's Ben Smith.

"No fee has yet been agreed between the clubs but City are hopeful of tying up a deal for around £27m, some £3m below Swansea's initial asking price.

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Francis Kacou, Bony's agent, has said he expects "things will be sorted in the next few days" but it is understood that talks may continue into next week.

Bony is now on his way to Abu Dhabi to join up with the Ivory Coast squad before the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, but City are confident his participation will not prevent them from agreeing terms or completing medical tests when the time comes.

The player is known to be extremely keen to make the move north but until the clubs reach an agreement, he will have to bide his time."

Wasps director of rugby Dai Young has extended his contract until 2019, BBC Wales Sport report.

"I am very pleased to have extended my contract and am excited about the squad we are building here," he said.

Harry Redknapp bats away suggestions he is interested in signing Ajax striker Kolbeinn Sigborsson, saying: "It was a while ago we made an approach for him. There is nothing at the moment."

Some worrying news for England coach Stuart Lancaster.

Leicester prop Dan Cole is a doubt for England's Six Nations opener against Wales on 6 February.

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Cole missed the 17-8 victory over Bath on Sunday with a foot injury and joins team-mate Manu Tuilagi, who has a groin problem, on England's injury list.

Leicester boss Richard Cockerill said: "They may well be fit for [the start of the Six Nations] but whether they'll be match fit I don't know. We will see."

QPR boss Harry Redknapp is the next manager to face the media this morning and he is chatting about his plans for the January transfer window, which looks unlikely to include any permanent signings.

"We bought players in the summer so we are looking for loans," he says.

"When you are signing loans in January you are taking gambles. If you sign Wilfried Bony permanently, you are not taking a gamble, he is a top striker, but he will cost you. When you take on a loan there are always question marks."

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Dale Dowey:, external Leonardo di Caprio to play Niko Rosberg.

I've taken the liberty of assuming you mean the fresh-faced Leonardo Di Caprio of the Titanic era, Dale, rather than the bearded modern day version below.

Got any better? Let us know which actor could portray which sports star via #whoplayswho, external

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Image source, Gazzetta dello Sport

Inter Milan appear to be the firm favourites to sign Xherdan Shaqiri from Bayern Munich. The forward was rumoured to be a surprise target, external for Stoke City, but Italian side Inter are looking the most likely to win the race for his signature.

Arsenal are no longer interested in signing Loic Perrin, according to L'Equipe., external

The newspaper reports that the Gunners had been keen on the Saint Etienne defender, but have now decided against a move.

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If you are going to have a film made about you, it makes sense to play the leading role yourself, right?

That's exactly what India cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar is going to do for a film being made on his life, but I'm fairly confident that not every sports person possesses the qualities needed to play convincing on-screen roles.

With that in mind, which actor do you think would be best suited to play a sports star? We've had Will Smith as Muhammad Ali, but who would be the perfect person to act as your leading striker or sportsperson?

Let us know on Twitter via #whoplayswho, external

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LA Galaxy president Chris Klein says the possibility of Steven Gerrard being loaned to a European club during the MLS off season is a topic that has never been discussed.

Liverpool midfielder Gerrard will join LA Galaxy in the summer, and Klein told BBC Radio 5 live: "His focus right now is finishing the season with Liverpool and in the summer he will come and focus on his time with LA Galaxy.

"One of the things that was important for us to hear from Steven was the decision came down to continuing his career in a very good way and with a club that wanted to continue to win. We are quite confident in the environment we provide for this next step of his career."

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Ross Barkley's form has been raised. Roberto Martinez, perhaps not surprisingly, is quick to jump to the defence of his player.

"The thing I will always admire about Ross is that he will never shy away from wanting to be on the ball. And when he loses it, he wants it back quickly. And that pleases me," said Martinez.

"I think he is a phenomenal talent but he is still a young man and still learning.

"Normally the opposition uses two players against him. Ross is the least of my worries."

Roberto Martinez says his team will have to be at "our very best" against Manchester City.

"Our performance will have to be perfect," he said. "City will always take their opportunities. But the way we performed not long ago at the Etihad, we deserved a lot more than what we got.

"I feel we are ready to face a team like City at this point.

"We are playing at home. We have had four really bad results and we need to put that right. It doesn't matter who the opposition is, we have to look at what we can do."