■ MARATHONS
Skvortsova beats men in US
Silviya Skvortsova of Russia crossed the finish line ahead of Christopher Cheboibich of Kenya at the Las Vegas Marathon on Sunday. Nine elite female runners started 18 minutes, 3 seconds ahead of the men's field. Skvortsova finished in 2:29.01 and became the first female in the three-year-old event to claim the US$25,000 bonus. Cheboibich finished in 2:16:49. Each won the US$20,000 first-place prize. Irene Mogaka of Kenya was second in 2:36.15 in the women's field, while Jynocel Basweti of Kenya was the men's runner-up in 2:17.41. The event featured a Run-Thru Wedding Chapel at mile 5 where 56 couples had signed up to get married. About 150 people ran dressed as ``Elvis'' and the Blue Man Group performed during the race.
■ GOLF
Different son, still a winner
Larry Nelson won the Del Webb Father-Son Challenge for the second time with a different son, teaming with 29-year-old Josh for a second straight 12-under 60 and a two-shot victory on Sunday. The Nelsons' eagle-par-birdie finish gave them a 24-under 120 in the scramble format at ChampionsGate Resort in Orlando, Florida, holding off a strong charge from Bob and Kevin Tway, who closed with a 59. The Tways were the runner-up for the second straight year. Mark and Shaun O'Meara (62) finished third, one shot better than Curtis and Thomas Strange and Raymond and Robert Floyd. Nelson, a three-time major champion, also won the Father-Son Challenge three years ago with Drew, his oldest son. He joined Floyd as the only players to win this tournament with different sons. Floyd won three times with Raymond Jr and twice with Robert.
■ GOLF
Park achieves LPGA victory
Jane Park completed a start-to-finish victory in the US LPGA Tour Final Qualifying Tournament on Sunday in Daytona Beach, Florida, topping the 17 players who earned full 2008 playing status. Park, the 2004 US Women's Amateur winner, had a 17-under 274 total. "I was playing great, so I knew I had a good chance to win," Park said. "Just being able to pull it off was just a great confidence booster. I just proved to myself that I can go pretty deep under par. It's a great feeling." Kim Su-a (66) was second, followed by Park Hee-young (70) at 10 under. Kelli Kuehne (67) was another stroke back at 9 under, and Carolina Llano (70, 8 under) also earned a full tour card along with Yani Tseng (72, 7 under), Jacqueline Yang (69, 6 under), Russy Gulyanamitta (70, 6 under), Sarah Kemp (68, 5 under), Becky Lucidi (69, 5 under), amateur Shanshan Feng (70, 5 under), Louise Friberg (72, 5 under), Meredith Duncan (73, 5 under), amateur Sandra Gal (69, 4 under), Danielle Downey (70, 4 under), Liz Janangelo (72, 4 under) and Sophie Giquel (73, 4 under).
■ FOOTBALL
LSU, Ohio to play BCS
Louisiana State University (LSU) won US college football's version of the lottery when it was picked to play Ohio State for the championship and left about a half-dozen other candidates with plenty to complain about on Sunday. The Tigers (11-2), ranked second in the latest Associated Press poll, will be the first team to play in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title game with two losses. No. 1 Ohio State goes into the game on Jan. 7 at the Superdome in New Orleans at 11-1. Missouri and West Virginia, the teams that came into the weekend ranked 1 and 2, lost on Saturday, and were left out of the BCS altogether.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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