ball Group acknowledging its mistake after a week of si

LONDON - New York City FC acknowledged on Friday that it misled fans by wrongly announcing the signing of Frank Lampard last year when he never had a playing contract for the Major League Soccer expansion team.After Lampards release from Chelsea, NYCFC announced in July that he had signed a two-year contract which starts August 1st and paraded him around Manhattan.In fact, hed only agreed to a commitment to play for NYCFC on a two-year contract from January 2015, the player and City Football Group said on Friday.The uncertainty over the midfielders status emerged only after his surprise switch to partner club Manchester City, which was initially wrongly described in August as a loan from New York, was said on Dec. 31 to have been extended until the end of the European season.But English Premier League rules state that Lampards contract had to run until June 30. After the Premier League looked into the issue again on Friday, it was further clarified that Lampards deal had always been for the whole season, but with a Dec. 31 break clause that could have enabled him to return to NYCFC for the MLS season.Both teams are part of City Football Group (CFG), the umbrella company for the portfolio of clubs owned by Abu Dhabis Sheikh Mansour.CFG acknowledges that Lampards only playing contract is with the Premier League champion, with the midfielders MLS career not now due to start until midway through the season in July.CFG told The Associated Press that the NYCFC announcement last July was a genuine error which throws everything into confusion (for media and fans). It wasnt a contract. Its an agreement with City Football Group with intention to play for NYCFC.Lampards move to Manchester City was remarkable because only days earlier last summer he said the MLS move was because he did not want to play for another Premier League team after 13 years at Chelsea.When released from Chelsea last year at the end of my contract I signed a commitment to play in NYCFC for two years starting January 1st 2015, the former England international said in Fridays statement.I was then offered the chance to train and be part of the Man City squad in the interim to keep myself in the best shape going into New York. This period has since been extended by Man City and I now will start playing for NYCFC at the end of this current Premier League season.Despite City Football Group acknowledging its mistake after a week of silence on the issue following inquiries from the AP, Lampard said he had read a lot of lies and nonsense over the last few days.There has always been a constant dialogue between all parties in this time to find the best solution for everyone, Lampard said. I can say that I am very excited about arriving in New York.NYCFC supporters group, The Third Rail, said it was outraged by Lampards prolonged stay in England because Julys misleading signing announcement was accompanied by a push to sell season tickets and the players jerseys.___Rob Harris can be followed at www.twitter.com/RobHarris Conor Sheary Jersey . For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal. Pat Lafontaine Jersey . Webb birdied the 18th hole to take the outright lead, then watched as Choi, who shot a course-record 62 on Saturday to take a share of the third-round lead, pushed a 10-foot putt wide of the hole at 18 to miss the chance for a playoff. http://www.authenticsabrespro.com/Danny-gare-sabres-jersey/. -- Jerome Verrier scored once and set up two more as the Drummondville Voltigeurs downed the visiting Chicoutimi Sagueneens 5-1 on Friday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play. Kyle Okposo Jersey . -- Among the 31 players at the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp, none feels closer to cracking the NHL roster than right winger Aaron Palushaj. Jake McCabe Jersey . Still, Milan remained five points behind city rival Inter Milan in the race for fifth place and the final Europa League berth, after Inter beat 10-man Parma 2-0. Meanwhile, Paul Pogba led the way as Juventus stayed on course for a third consecutive title with a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Bologna. MIAMI -- LeBron James leaped onto a courtside table as the postgame celebration was starting, thumped his chest and punched the air. Next stop: The Eastern Conference finals. Again. James scored 29 points, Dwyane Wade added 28 and Ray Allen delivered two huge plays in the final seconds as the Heat rallied to beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-94 on Wednesday night, winning the second-round matchup 4-1. "Its always been like that for us," James said. "Its never easy. Its never easy for us." Sure looks easy, though. It was the 10th straight series win for the two-time defending NBA champions. "When we met the first day for prep we said the No. 1 key, overwhelmingly the No. 1 key in this series, was great mental stability," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Thats what it was down the stretch ... incredible focus." Incredible defence, too, when it was needed most. Down by eight with less than five minutes left, the Heat forced Brooklyn into nine straight missed shots while peeling off a 12-0 run to take the lead. Allens 3-pointer off an assist by Mario Chalmers with 32 seconds remaining was the go-ahead moment, and the Heat wouldnt trail again. Allen disrupted Joe Johnsons dribble on the games final play, James then swatted the bouncing ball out of everyones reach, time expired -- and the Heat advanced. "Give the Heat credit," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "They were attacking there in the fourth quarter. We were attacking. Both teams were attacking. They made plays, they made shots and we didnt." Chris Bosh scored 16 and Allen finished with 13 for Miami. Johnson had 34 points, Paul Pierce scored 19 and Deron Williams had 17 for the Nets. Its the sixth trip to the East title series in the last 10 seasons for Miami, which is bidding for a fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals -- something only the Lakers and Celtics franchises have accomplished. James is heading to the East finals for the sixth time in eight seasons, the first two of those trips coming with Cleveland in 2007 and 2009. The Heat will next face either fifth-seeded Washington or top-seeded Indiana. The Pacers lead that series 3-2, one win away from setting up a rematch with Miami that seemed like an absolute certainty for much of the season. "Obviously, we thought this was a game we should have won," Johnson said. Brooklyn led 49-42 at the half, with Miami missing 15 of its first 166 tries from 3-point range.dddddddddddd. The Nets closed the half on an 8-0 run and the lone bright spot in the opening 24 minutes for Miami was Wade, who had 20 points -- more than any other two players to that point combined -- on 7-for-12 shooting. "He has a way, right? Hes a playoff warrior," Spoelstra said. Eventually, barely, Miami broke through. But it took most of the second half to get there, since whenever Miami tried to put together a run Brooklyn found a way to keep things together. -- A layup from James late in the third got the Heat within three; a minute later, the margin was eight again. -- A free throw from James with 9:03 left cut Brooklyns lead to 77-73; less than a minute later, it was 82-73 after a 3-pointer by Pierce. -- A 3-pointer by Bosh made it a four-point game again; two Brooklyn possessions and zero Miami stops later, it was 86-78 after a sensational step-back jumper by Johnson. And when Johnson connected on another tough shot with 4:49 left, it was 91-83 and the Nets could sense that the night would be theirs. Then the Heat scored the next 12 points, and that was enough. Barely, but enough. "For us, it was just about getting stops," Wade said. "We knew offensively that we needed to execute, but we knew we werent going to win the game unless we got some stops." For the Nets, more than $180 million in salary and luxury tax was supposed to bring a championship. Instead, billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov got only a trip to the second round as his return on a massive investment. Brooklyn lost centre Brook Lopez to a broken foot after 17 games, struggled through the first two months of the season, then turned it on after Jan. 1. "We fought back and hung in there this year," Williams said. "A lot of people counted us out." Some big decisions -- mainly regarding the futures of Pierce and Kevin Garnett -- will have to be made by the Nets. Pierce will be a free agent; Garnett has a year left on his deal, though its been speculated he will consider retirement. Garnett left without comment. "Emotions are too fresh right now," Pierce said. Miamis future is more clear. The East finals await. NOTES: Wade had 12 points in the first quarter, his highest-scoring output from an opening period in his last 179 regular-season and playoff games. ... Both of Johnsons 30-point games in these playoffs came on the road. He had 32 at Toronto on April 30. 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