By Ed Cropley and Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Sports-mad South Africa saluted Nelson Mandela on Saturday with smiles and moments of silence in honour of the late anti-apartheid leader, who inspired people to pursue the impossible from politics to the playing field. The tributes stretched across the sporting spectrum, from club cricket and fun runs to top fixtures such as a League Cup final between Platinum Stars and Orlando Pirates, the Soweto giants believed to have been Mandela's favourite soccer side. In their first comments since his death on Thursday evening, Mandela's family thanked South Africa and the wider world for their support. Saturday's Cup final before a 40,000 crowd in the northeast city of Nelspruit was preceded by a moment of silence in honour of South Africa's first black president, whose early sporting prowess, particularly in boxing and soccer, was cut short when he was jailed for 27 years by the apartheid government.

MILAN (AP) — The Milan opera house La Scala dedicated a minute of silence to honor Nelson Mandela before raising the curtain on its gala season opener Saturday.