Reuters Sports Schedule at 1400 GMT on Wednesday, May 27

Reuters sports schedule at 1400 GMT on Wednesday: - - - - SOCCER FIFA World soccer rocked as top officials held in U.S., Swiss graft cases ZURICH - Seven of the most powerful figures in global soccer faced extradition to the United States on corruption charges after being arrested in Switzerland, where authorities also announced a criminal investigation into the awarding of the next two World Cups. (SOCCER-FIFA/, moved with updates to follow, by Mike Collett and Brian Homewood, 500 words) - - FIFA says Blatter to seek 5th term despite arrests ZURICH - Soccer's governing body FIFA called the arrest of six of its leading officials on bribery charges a "difficult moment" but said it would not derail President Sepp Blatter's bid to win a fifth term in an election on Friday. (SOCCER-FIFA/ARRESTS-SPOKESMAN (PIX, TV), moved, by Brian Homewood, 370 words) - - FIFA contender Prince Ali says FIFA crisis "cannot continue" LONDON - Jordan's Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, a candidate to succeed Sepp Blatter as the head of soccer's governing body, said on Wednesday that FIFA needed leadership that could restore the confidence of fans around the world. (SOCCER FIFA/ARRESTS ALI, moved, 300 words) - - Europa League final Sevilla v Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (1845 GMT) Sevilla bid for record fourth title in Europa League final WARSAW - Holders Sevilla have the chance to lift the Europa League trophy for a record fourth time when they face Ukrainian outsiders Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the final at Warsaw's National Stadium. (SOCCER-EUROPA/ (PIX), expect from 2045 GMT/4:45 PM ET, by Toby Davis, 400 words) - - Sevilla look to former coach on how to down Dnipro WARSAW - Sevilla coach Unai Emery has been picking the brains of the club's former manager Juande Ramos, who has also coached Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, as he tries to plot the downfall of the Ukrainian outsiders in Wednesday's Europa League final. (SOCCER-EUROPA/SEVILLA, moved, by Toby Davis, 400 words) - - AFC Champions League last 16 second leg Gamba Osaka (3) v FC Seoul (1) Guangzhou Evergrande (1) v Seongnam (2) Former winners Guangzhou and Gamba eye quarter-finals J-League champions Gamba will be confident of seeing off FC Seoul at home and making the AFC Champions League quarter-finals while Chinese outfit Guanzghou Evergrande have it all to do against Seongnam. (SOCCER-ASIA/CHAMPIONS, expect by 1400 GMT/10 AM ET, 400 words) - - Al-Ain (0) v Al-Ahli (0) Al-Ahli (0) v Naft Tehran (1) Naft aiming to keep debut run alive Iran's Naft Tehran look to stretch their debut AFC Champions League run to the quarter-finals as they take a 1-0 lead to Saudi Arabia to face Al-Ahli, while Al-Ain host Al-Ahli in the Emirati derby which is goalless from the first leg. (SOCCER-ASIA/CHAMPIONS-LEKHWIYA, expect by 2200 GMT/6 PM ET, 400 words) - - Libertadores Cup quarter-finals, second leg Copy on merit - - - - TENNIS French Open, Paris (to June 7) Second seeds Federer and Sharapova in second-round action PARIS - Roger Federer avoided any more security scares as he moved smoothly into the third round of the French Open on Wednesday but danger still lurks in the bottom half of the draw, namely in the shape of Japan's Kei Nishikori. (TENNIS-OPEN/ (PIX), moved with updates to follow, by Martyn Herman, Julien Pretot and Andrew Callus, 600 words) - - - - GOLF European Tour: Irish Open (to 31) Host McIlroy discusses Royal County Down plans NEWCASTLE, Northern Ireland - Tournament host and world number one Rory McIlroy holds a news conference on the eve of the Irish Open at Royal County Down. (GOLF-EUROPEAN/, expect by 1300 GMT/9 AM ET, by Bernie McGuire, 400 words) - - Local favourite Spieth heads solid field at the Byron Nelson Masters champion, hometown favourite and world number two Jordan Spieth heads a solid field at this week's $7.1 million AT&T Byron Nelson in Irving, Texas where American Brendon Todd defends the title he claimed by two shots last year. We preview a PGA Tour event that has attracted 10 of the world's top 30 players. (GOLF-PGA/ (PREVIEW, PIX), expect by 2300 GMT/7 PM ET, 400 words) - - - - CYCLING Giro d'Italia (to 31) Contador moving closer to second Giro title Alberto Contador of Tinkoff-Saxo has an advantage of four minutes and two seconds over compatriot Mikel Landa (Astana) heading into the flat 134km 17th stage from Tirano to Lugano. (CYCLING-GIRO/, expect by 1630 GMT/12:30 PM ET, 300 words) - - - - NHL Blackhawks host Ducks with season on the line The Chicago Blackhawks will try to force a decisive seventh game in their Western Conference final when they host an Anaheim Ducks team that is one win away from their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since winning it all in 2007. (NHL-PLAYOFFS/BLACKHAWKS (PIX), expect by 0345 GMT/11:45 PM ET, 350 words) - - - - NBA Warriors try to end Rockets' season The Houston Rockets will try to stave off playoff elimination for a second consecutive game when they visit reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry and the top-seeded Golden State Warriors in Game Five of the Western Conference finals. (NBA-PLAYOFFS/WARRIORS (PIX), expect by 0415 GMT/12:15 AM ET, 350 words) - - - - BASEBALL Mariners' Hernandez eyes MLB-leading eighth win Seattle Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez will try to become the first pitcher to reach eight wins on the season when he takes the mound versus the host Tampa Bay Rays in one of the 15 games on the Major League Baseball schedule. (BASEBALL-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0330 GMT/11:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 800 words) - - - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (expect by 0000 GMT/8:00 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES Reuters will run a series of daily features in the countdown to the Southeast Asian Games taking place in Singapore from June 5-16. - - Thais target soccer gold, Indos just want to play SINGAPORE - At the Southeast Asian Games, the men's soccer gold medal carries more weight than any of the other 400 on offer in a region where football bragging rights are the most priceless of commodities. (GAMES-SEA/SOCCER (PREVIEW), moving at 0700 GMT/3 AM ET, by Patrick Johnston, 450 words) - - (Europe desk editor: Pritha Sarkar)