Moto GP: Valentino Rossi penalised for kicking Marc Marquez

MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi will start the final race of the season from the back of the grid after kicking Marc Márquez off his bike during the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Rossi finished third but was given three penalty points following a post-race investigation. He later accused Márquez of "making me lose the championship".

Honda's Dani Pedrosa won the race, with Jorge Lorenzo second. The final race takes place in Spain on 8 November.

Rossi now leads Lorenzo by just seven points in the championship. The Italian, whose team Yamaha have said they will appeal the sanction, said Spain's Márquez "rode only to cause me problems".

The incident happened on lap 13 of 20 after Rossi had gestured at Márquez following an overtaking move.

"Unfortunately, I lost a lot of time with Marc," the Italian explained. "And in turn 14, I tried to go a bit wide to take a better line and make him slow. "He came to me and I think he crashed in that moment. His handlebar touched my foot and my foot slipped off, a bike can't crash only with a touch.

"He has won his fight, he made me lose the championship."

But Spaniard Lorenzo had called for Rossi to be punished, adding: "It's clear that he took Márquez off."

Before the race Rossi, 36, accused Márquez of deliberately trying to impede him during the Australian Grand Prix  on 18 October in order to help Lorenzo. "Márquez did not play with both of us, he played only with me," Rossi said. "He isn't playing fair. He would prefer Lorenzo to win. He is angry at me for a personal matter."

MotoGP race director Mike Webb said: "It's irresponsible riding causing a crash and for that we have imposed three penalties points on Rossi."

Rossi's lead means he will definitely win the title if he can finish in the top two in Malaysia, while Lorenzo must finish at least eighth to have any chance of depriving him.

Rossi is seeking his seventh MotoGP title, while 28-year-old Lorenzo is trying to win his third.

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Marc and Pau Gasol battled for the first brotherly All-Star tip-off

NEW YORK -- Pau and Marc Gasol fulfilled the dreams of basketball-loving brothers all over the world on Sunday night by becoming the first brothers ever to start against each other in the All-Star Game. After it was over, Pau acknowledged how much the experience meant to the Gasol family.

"It was a great feeling," Pau said. "Very unique, very special. It's something that has never happened, so I think it's pretty remarkable that we have been the first ones to actually do it. I'm very proud. It was an incredible experience to be able to share this time of moment with your brother."

The eyes of the basketball world were on the Gasols all weekend but especially on Sunday when the opening tip went up at Madison Square Garden, a tip won by Pau.

"The emotions were overflowing," Pau said. "It was a fun game, it was a special game for us. It was exciting. We were looking forward to it. It's hard to believe that it happened. We just both went out there and competed and played basketball, which we know how to do, so it was fun."

Marc echoed his brother's sentiments.

"Just seeing so many people happy and so many people supporting us," Marc told reporters. "My daughter came for the first time to a game. To me, that was really special. I know you guys probably don't care, but that made it even more special, if possible."

Pau, who finished with more points and rebounds (10 and 12) than Marc (six and 10) isn't sure exactly what kind of imprint the brothers' achievement will have on the game, but he is proud of the imprint he and Marc left on New York City this weekend.

"I don't know what kind of impact we're going to have or [the accomplishment] is going to have," Pau said. "It definitely felt great. It was exceptional, an incredible moment to share. I think this is a great, hopefully inspiring, thing, also for brothers that [think], 'Hey, we can make it, too, or we can have a successful career,' whether it's in the [basketball] profession or other professions. It's exciting. It's exciting to be able to go through this experience at this level."

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