CRICKET
Aussies sweep T20 series
England’s sorry tour of Australia finally ended with a whimper on Sunday — a crushing 84-run defeat to give the hosts a clean sweep of the three-game Twenty20 series. Australia, with man-of-the-match George Bailey smashing an unbeaten 49 off 20 balls, scored 195-6 after winning the toss in Sydney. The hosts then dismissed the psychologically scarred tourists for 111 in the 18th over to sweep the series. It marked the end of a disastrous 103-day tour for England, who lost the Ashes Tests 5-0 and the one-day international series 4-1, meaning Australia won 12-1 across the three formats. In between the losses, the international careers of spinner Graeme Swann and coach Andy Flower have been ended.
TENNIS
Makarova wins in Pattaya
Ekaterina Makarova won her second career title on Sunday, claiming a 6-3 7-6 (9/7) victory over Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic at the Pattaya Open. The Russian left-hander, whose only previous title came when she won in Eastbourne, England, in 2010, withstood a strong challenge in both sets, but her greater consistency and more aggressive play in the tiebreak earned her the victory. In a dramatic finale, Makarova built a 5-2 lead in the tiebreak, but faced set point at 6-5 after she netted a smash. Pliskova, though, hit her only double fault of the match and also failed to win a second set point at 7-6, before Makarova secured victory on her first match point.
GOLF
Stadler captures first title
Kevin Stadler captured his first PGA Tour title in his 239th start on Sunday, firing a final-round 68 for a one-shot Phoenix Open win over Bubba Watson and Graham DeLaet. Stadler’s three-under effort gave him a 16-under total of 268. Stadler and 2012 Masters winner Watson were tied heading into the 72nd hole at 16-under. Stadler found the fairway off the tee, while Watson was in the right rough. Watson flew the green as Stadler landed his second shot 11 feet from the pin. Stadler just missed his birdie putt and tapped in for par. Watson, who chipped on, missed a five-footer and settled for a bogey and a share of second place.
BASKETBALL
Celtics snap losing streak
Rajon Rondo had season highs with 19 points and 10 assists as the Boston Celtics ended a four-game losing streak with a 96-89 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday. Jared Sullinger scored seven of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Celtics, who let a 12-point lead slip to one in the final period, before pulling away at the end. Brandon Bass had 19 points and nine rebounds, while Avery Bradley scored 17 on his return after missing five games with a sprained ankle.
ICE HOCKEY
Capitals edge Red Wings
Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading 39th goal on a power play 2 minutes, 37 seconds into overtime as the Washington Capitals beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-5 on Sunday to earn a split of a home-and-home set, tightening things up in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference. Ovechkin’s one-timer from the left circle was no match for goaltender Jimmy Howard, who had only three teammates on the ice with him after Brendan Smith was sent off for tripping 1:26 into the extra period. In Montreal, Michael Frolik scored in the third period to give the Winnipeg Jets a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Tobias Enstrom also scored for the Jets, while Al Montoya stopped 30 shots.
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
Taiwan’s top table tennis player Lin Yun-ju made his debut in the US professional table tennis scene by taking on a new role as a team’s co-owner. On Wednesday, Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), founded in September last year, announced on its official Web site that Lin had become part of the ownership group of the Princeton Revolution, one of the league’s eight teams. MLTT chief executive officer Flint Lane described Lin’s investment as “another great milestone for table tennis in America,” saying that the league’s “commitment to growth and innovation is drawing attention from the best in the sport, and we’re
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For