■FOOTBALL
Ingram wins Heisman Trophy
Tailback Mark Ingram became the first player from Alabama to win the Heisman Trophy, awarded to the college football player of the year on Saturday. The tough-running second-year player topped the closest vote in the award’s 75-year history. Next, he’ll try to lead one of college football’s most storied teams to a national championship. Ingram wiped away tears and took a moment to steady himself before starting his speech. “I’m a little overwhelmed right now,” he said. “I’m just so excited to bring Alabama their first Heisman winner.” Ingram received 1,304 points, while Stanford running back Toby Gerhart polled 1,276. The previous closest vote was in 1985, when Auburn’s Bo Jackson beat Iowa quarterback Chuck Long by 45 points. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was third, while Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was fourth and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was fifth. Ingram has been the backbone of No. 1-ranked Alabama’s offense all season, rushing for a team-record 1,542 yards, gaining 6.2 yards per carry and scoring 18 touchdowns. He and Alabama will play Texas for the national title on Jan. 7 at the Rose Bowl.
■FIELD HOCKEY
Pakistan defeat India
Pakistan beat India 6-3 to set up a final against New Zealand in the Champions Challenge on Saturday. New Zealand held out two-time defending champions and hosts Argentina 3-2 to reach the final, where the winner will qualify for the Champions Trophy next July in Moenchengladbach, Germany. Pakistan took only two minutes to score, through Rehan Butt, who would score a hat-trick in another classic match between the arch rivals. While two Pakistan players were cooling off on cards, India forced a penalty corner and leveled through Dhananjay Mahadik. India continued to enjoy the run of play, but Pakistan nailed their chances, with Butt shooting home and Sohail Abbas adding a penalty corner goal for a 3-1 halftime lead. After the break, India dominated, but their desperation to score left the defense vulnerable and Haseem Khan’s goal against the run of play made it 4-1. There were four goals in the last eight minutes, with Butt claiming his third and Abbas his second. Mahadik also finished with a brace for India.
■FORMULA ONE
Schumacher to come back
Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher will come out of retirement to drive for Mercedes next year, German daily Bild reported on Saturday. The newspaper said on its Web site that the two parties have agreed to a one-year contract and will announce the deal next week. “The contract is ready to be signed,” the newspaper wrote. Schumacher refused to comment about the report when asked by a German news channel while attending a junior cart race in his hometown of Kerpen. Schumacher’s spokeswoman, Sabine Kehm, also declined to comment. The 41-year-old Schumacher retired in 2006 after winning a record number of Formula One titles.
■BOBSLED
Hefti wins in Winterberg
Beat Hefti of Switzerland used a strong second run to win a two-man bobsled World Cup race in Winterberg, Germany, despite nearly overturning at the finish line. Hefti and brakeman Thomas Lamparter in the Switzerland 2 sled were tied for fourth after the first heat, but finished in a combined time of 1 minute, 53.17 seconds to beat Germany 3, piloted by Karl Angerer. Ivo Rueegg in Switzerland 1 was third. Rueegg leads the overall World Cup standings ahead of Steven Holcomb of the US.
Taiwanese badminton player Lin Chun-yi had to settle for silver in the men’s singles at the Orleans Masters in France on Sunday after losing in the final to his French opponent. The 25-year-old Lin, ranked world No. 14, lost to Alex Lanier 13-21, 18-21 in a match that lasted 42 minutes at the Palais des Sports arena. It was the first time that the two players were facing each other in their professional careers. In the opener, Lin was slow to warm up, which gave the 20-year-old Lanier an opportunity to take an early lead with seven consecutive points. Despite
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
Two-time Indian Wells champion Iga Swiatek on Thursday avenged her shock Paris Olympics loss to Zheng Qinwen with a 6-3, 6-3 win over the Chinese eighth seed, setting up a semi-final against 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva in the California desert. In the men’s singles, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz put on a show with his acrobatic shotmaking under the lights to close out the day’s action, overcoming a 4-1 second-set deficit to defeat Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei crashed out of the women’s doubles. Swiatek, one of the gold medal favorites when she lost to eventual champion Zheng in the
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