Milan ready to pay £4.5m to keep Beckham

AC Milan are willing to pay a £4.5m transfer fee for David Beckham to remain at the San Siro but, according to chief executive Adriano Galliani, LA Galaxy are yet to agree to a deal.

Beckham's five-year deal with the MLS club has a break clause inserted that means he can leave California for free in October. Milan aim to offer cash to tempt Galaxy to allow the 33-year-old to stay in Italy. Reports in England suggest that Milan, having held discussions with his American club believe that £4.5m will be enough to get that clause activated.

"If Beckham comes to an agreement with Galaxy, we are ready to pay a figure. In the coming days we will meet his advisors," Galliani told Sky Sport 24.

"If Los Angeles Galaxy decide not to sell him, they won't sell him."

"The player wants to stay with us but even he knows he must return to America."

Beckham, who moved to Milan to prove his fitness to England boss Fabio Capello, has been a first-choice starter for the Rossoneri and grabbed his first goal at the weekend in a 4-1 rout of Bologna.

His post-match press conference seemed to open the door of an extension of his stay and manager Carlo Ancelotti and Milan owner and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi have both spoken of his readiness to retain the former England captain.

British tabloid reports suggest wife Victoria is less keen on staying in Italy and does not want to uproot their three sons after their previous spell in a non-English speaking country with Real Madrid.

Galliani said Milan would be willing to soften the blow of any loss in earnings if Beckham broke his highly lucrative deal with the Galaxy and MLS.

Antics appear at media day

TAMPA, Fla. -- The bride didn't bother showing up Tuesday.

It's a good thing, too. She might have been upstaged by the dude in the dress.

The oddballs once again crashed Super Bowl media day, mingling among real journalists and shocking some players with the absurdity of their questions and the audacity of their antics.

This year's crowd at the annual rite seemed a bit tamer -- did the weakened economy take a bite out of this, too? -- and the bride who so persistently pursued New England's Tom Brady and Bill Belichick last year was a no-show.

No worries, gentlemen, a "fairy godmother" picked up a lot of the slack.

Only she was really a he, and there was nothing magical about him. Under the red evening gown, long blonde wig and layers of thick makeup was Joel Bengoa, a reporter from Telemundo Sports Network, the NBC-owned U.S. Spanish language network, looking for a laugh.

Doing his best -- and we use that term lightly -- Scarlett Johansson imitation, Bengoa teetered in his heels en route to present several players with boxes of chocolates.

"I'm from 'fairy godmother land' and you need me to win the big game," he purred to Arizona safety Aaron Francisco.

Francisco was a good sport.

"They told me it was going to be crazy, but I just thought it was going to be a lot of media," Francisco said. "Then that he-she gave me candy and I figured out what they were talking about. I think it was some Mexican dude in a dress, and he tried to get me to talk Spanish. But I'm from Hawaii, so I just played along."

Bengoa had competition from his very own network, which also sent anchor Mireya Grisales to find her "Dream Team."

Ines Sainz was back for her sixth Super Bowl for TV Azteca out of Mexico City, measuring players' biceps then comparing them to her 27-inch waist.

At the other end of the festivities, Entertainment Tonight staged a "Dancing with the Super Bowl Stars" contest between hulking defensive tackles: Arizona's Alan Branch claimed the disco ball trophy, claimed he'd keep it forever, then accidentally broke the ball off the base.

It made for an amusing morning, but not everyone loved the attention.

Asked if there was anywhere else he'd rather be, Pittsburgh left guard Jeremy Parquet didn't miss a beat.

"P.F. Changs," he quipped, "eating some kung pao shrimp."

Friars fan allegedly violated probation

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The brother of a Providence basketball player who ran onto the court to confront a referee was ordered held without bail Tuesday for allegedly violating his probation from a 2005 drug conviction.

Jonathan Xavier came down the stands and jumped over the Providence bench during a nationally televised game on Jan. 17 to confront a referee. He was upset no foul was called after his brother, Providence guard Jeff Xavier, was hit in the face by a Marquette defender's arm while he was driving to the basket.

Xavier, 24, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the disorderly conduct charge. Bail for that charge was set at $10,000.

A hearing has been scheduled Feb. 10 for a judge to decide whether he also violated probation.

"I saw him on the court but that was an unfortunate situation. I wish none of that happened," Jeff Xavier, quoted in The Providence Journal, said after the game. "I just want to move forward."

State prosecutors said Xavier pleaded no contest in 2005 to three drug charges. He received a six-year sentence but had to serve only eight months, with the remainder suspended.

If a judge finds he violated the terms of probation, which required him to stay out of trouble, he could have to serve some or all of the remaining years behind bars.

Providence officials said they would beef up security at games, posting uniformed police officers behind team benches.