AMSTERDAM | Sun Dec 9, 2012 2:58pm EST AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Thousands of Dutch mourners walked in silence with candles and flowers on Sunday to commemorate the fatal beating of a volunteer football linesman, whose death last week shocked the Netherlands. Richard Nieuwenhuizen, 41, was attacked by a group of football players while refereeing an under-17 ...

Sun Dec 9, 2012 2:38pm EST (Reuters) - Bond was set at $500,000 on Sunday for Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent, charged with intoxication manslaughter in the fatal Dallas-area car crash that killed teammate Jerry Brown Jr., a jail spokesman said. Brent, 24, appeared at a hearing where he was ordered to post $500,000 bond or remain in jail in the Dallas ...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes LAS VEGAS | Sun Dec 9, 2012 2:31am EST LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Juan Manuel Marquez knocked out Manny Pacquiao in the sixth round of their non-title welterweight bout on Saturday, getting his first win over the Filipino in four attempts. The 39-year-old Mexican, who had lost twice and drawn once in their three previous meeting...

Sat Dec 8, 2012 11:05pm EST (Reuters) - The Chicago Bulls have halted the New York Knicks' five-game winning streak with a 93-85 home win on Saturday, continuing their home dominance at the United Center. The Bulls have now won 19 of the last 22 home encounters against the Knicks, who were still without Carmelo Anthony.Chicago were led by Luol Deng and Marco Beli...

Sat Dec 8, 2012 11:02pm EST (Reuters) - Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel was awarded the Heisman Trophy on Saturday, making him the first 'freshman' to win college football's top honor. Manziel, nicknamed "Johnny Football", beat out Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein at the swanky ceremony in New York."This is a mom...

By Manuele Lang ST MORITZ, Switzerland | Sat Dec 8, 2012 6:51am EST ST MORITZ, Switzerland (Reuters) - Lindsey Vonn put the disappointment of her super-combined failure behind her to win Saturday's World Cup Super-G in St Moritz. The American, who was eliminated from Friday's super-combined in the Swiss resort after skidding out in the slalom leg...

Fri Dec 7, 2012 4:00pm EST (Reuters) - The New York Yankees have agreed to a one-year contract with speedy outfielder Brett Gardner that avoids salary arbitration, the Major League Baseball team said on Friday. Though no financial details were disclosed, the deal is estimated to be worth $2.85 million, according to local media.Gardner, a World Series champion wit...

By Simon Evans MIAMI | Fri Dec 7, 2012 2:50pm EST MIAMI (Reuters) - Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra does not want any "drama" but his team's second 20-point loss to the rival New York Knicks in five weeks has certainly focused the minds of his team. The Heat, who entered Thursday's home game against New York still stinging from Tuesday's hum...

PARIS | Fri Dec 7, 2012 8:10am EST PARIS (Reuters) - Three-times world time-trial champion Michael Rogers has signed a two-year contract with Saxo-Tinkoff, the Dutch team said on Friday. The 32-year-old Australian left Team Sky after two years with the British outfit, with whom he played a key part in Bradley Wiggins's Tour de France victory in July.Roge...

Fri Dec 7, 2012 8:03am EST (Reuters) - Charl Schwartzel's second successive round of seven-under-par 65 gave him a four-shot clubhouse lead at the Thailand Golf Championship on Friday. The 2011 Masters winner appeared to have recovered from the rib injury that has affected his swing for much of the season and was on 14-under-par 130 after 36 bogey-free holes in t...

By Tom Pilcher LONDON | Fri Dec 7, 2012 7:08am EST LONDON (Reuters) - UEFA's decision to host the 2020 European Championship across the continent rather than in one or two host nations has been greeted with enthusiasm as countries battle the crippling financial crisis. European soccer's governing body announced the move on Thursday, saying it wou...

By Nick Mulvenney SYDNEY | Fri Dec 7, 2012 3:46am EST SYDNEY (Reuters) - Local hopeful Marcus Fraser rode the momentum from a first round hole-in-one to claim a one-stroke lead at the halfway point of the $1.25 million Australian Open on Friday. The 34-year-old thought he might be making an early exit when he was three-over after 10 holes of the ...

By Michael Todt DURBAN | Fri Dec 7, 2012 3:10am EST DURBAN (Reuters) - The inaugural Nelson Mandela Championship is in danger of being cancelled after the first round was postponed again on Friday with much of the Durban Golf Club underwater after a huge overnight thunderstorm. European Tour regulations state that a tournament must complete at le...

By Nick Mulvenney SYDNEY | Fri Dec 7, 2012 1:32am EST SYDNEY (Reuters) - Few issues in the world of golf arouse more excitement than the potential of the Chinese market and schoolboy Guan Tianlang is learning fast that every promising talent from the country is going to be subject to intense scrutiny. The 14-year-old showed that he might just hav...

By Steve Keating OAKLAND, California | Fri Dec 7, 2012 1:29am EST OAKLAND, California (Reuters) - The surging Denver Broncos pounded the Oakland Raiders 26-13 on Thursday, stretching their winning streak to eight games as Peyton Manning reached another career passing milestone. Having already clinched the AFC West crown and established their cred...

By Simon Evans MIAMI | Fri Dec 7, 2012 12:51am EST MIAMI (Reuters) - The Miami Heat suffered their worst home defeat of the 'Big Three' era as the defending NBA champions crashed to a 112-92 loss to a New York Knicks team without their star forward Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks have sole leadership of the Eastern Conference with a 14-4 record, ahea...

Fri Dec 7, 2012 12:00am EST (Reuters) - The slumping San Diego Chargers said on Thursday that media talk of general manager A.J. Smith and head coach Norv Turner being fired at the end of the season was "pure speculation". According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, club sources have confirmed that both men will go, a report that prompted Chargers president Dean Sp...

By Olga Dzyubenko BISHKEK | Thu Dec 6, 2012 9:44am EST BISHKEK (Reuters) - A teenage wrestler who represented Kyrgyzstan at the 2012 London Olympics while on bail has been put on probation for two years after a court in the Central Asian republic found her guilty of assault. Judge Kanybek Omurkanov said on Thursday that Aisuluu Tynybekova, 19, mu...

By Daren Butler ISTANBUL | Thu Dec 6, 2012 9:38am EST ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's sports minister has poured cold water on race organizers' hopes that the government would provide funds to secure the return of the Turkish Grand Prix to the Formula One calendar next season. The sport's governing body announced on Wednesday that an unidentified E...

MOSCOW | Thu Dec 6, 2012 9:25am EST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian hammer thrower Kirill Ikonnikov, who finished fifth at this year's London Olympics, has been suspended after failing a drugs test. "The test taken from Kirill Ikonnikov on October 8 on behalf of the sport's world governing body IAAF has shown a prohibited substance," the country's anti-doping...

Thu Dec 6, 2012 3:20am EST (Reuters) - A small group of National Hockey League (NHL) owners and players appeared to be making some progress on Wednesday toward ending a costly lockout that threatens to wipe out a full season of play for the second time in seven years. Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was among 18 players who met with six NHL owners at a ...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes LOS ANGELES | Thu Dec 6, 2012 3:17am EST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jamal Crawford once again sizzled off the bench as the Los Angeles Clippers pounded the struggling Dallas Mavericks 112-90 with a commanding display on their home court on Wednesday. Crawford scored a game-high 20 points on seven-of 12 shooting while twice All...

Thu Dec 6, 2012 12:59am EST (Reuters) - Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant become the youngest player to score 30,000 NBA career points during his team's 103-87 road win against the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday. Needing 13 more points to hit that mark before the start of the game, Bryant scored his 13th and 14th points on a short floating jumper wi...

By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY, Mo | Wed Dec 5, 2012 6:08pm EST KANSAS CITY, Mo (Reuters) - Moments after Kansas City Chiefs' player Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend multiple times, his mother frantically called 911 for help as the young woman lay dying, a recording of the emergency call shows. Belcher shot Kasandra Perkins in their bedroom shortly...

By Jonathan Stempel and Liana B. Baker NEW YORK | Wed Dec 5, 2012 5:18pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday allowed sports fans to pursue a lawsuit accusing Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and various networks of antitrust violations in how they package games for broadcast on television or the Internet. U.S. D...

Wed Dec 5, 2012 4:48pm EST (Reuters) - Cornerback Brandon Browner of the playoff-contending Seattle Seahawks will miss the rest of the National Football League's regular season after receiving a four-game ban for violating the league's policy on performance enhancing substances. The loss of Browner, who has started 28 consecutive games since joining Seattle in 20...

Wed Dec 5, 2012 4:10pm EST (Reuters) - Four-times major champion Phil Mickelson will launch his 2013 PGA Tour campaign at next month's Humana Challenge in La Quinta, California, tournament organizers said on Wednesday. The American left-hander is the leading all-time money winner at the 72-hole pro-am celebrity event, previously known as the Bob Hope Classic, and...

Wed Dec 5, 2012 3:54pm EST (Reuters) - Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis returned to practice on Wednesday, raising hopes he could yet make a comeback this season after tearing a muscle in his arm. Lewis was initially expected to be out of action until next year because of a torn triceps he suffered two months ago that needed surgery.The 37-year-old remains o...

By Karolos Grohmann LAUSANNE, Switzerland | Wed Dec 5, 2012 3:25pm EST LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - A number of national Olympic committees (NOCs) and authorized Games ticket resellers got off with a slap on the wrist by the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday for breaching ticket rules ahead of this year's London Olympics, A report...

By Karolos Grohmann LAUSANNE, Switzerland | Wed Dec 5, 2012 2:35pm EST LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Four 2004 Athens Olympic medalists, including Ukraine's shot put champion Yuriy Bilonog, have been stripped of their medals after re-tested samples stored for eight years proved positive, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Wedne...

By Karolos Grohmann LAUSANNE, Switzerland | Wed Dec 5, 2012 1:48pm EST LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Lance Armstrong will hold on to his 2000 Sydney Olympic bronze medal a little longer after the International Olympic Committee said it would wait for the international cycling union to inform him before moving to strip him of it. The 41-year-o...

Wed Dec 5, 2012 12:42pm EST (Reuters) - Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher has confirmed reports that he could miss the rest of the regular season because of a hamstring injury but was hopeful he could make it back to help his team in their playoff drive. The eight-time Pro Bowler, injured during Sunday's overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks, told FOX TV in...

Wed Dec 5, 2012 11:55am EST (Reuters) - Davis Love III, winner of the 1997 PGA Championship and U.S. captain at the 2012 Ryder Cup, was named as recipient of the U.S. Golf Association's Bob Jones Award on Wednesday. Presented annually since 1955, the award, considered the USGA's highest honor, recognizes an individual who demonstrates the spirit, personal charact...

Wed Dec 5, 2012 12:43am EST (Reuters) - The Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to their sixth straight win on Tuesday after an incredible night of shooting earned them a 117-111 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. The red-hot Thunder made a season-high 60 percent of field goals, Kevin Durant leading the way with 32 points while Russell Westbrook added 25 and nine assists....

By Kevin Murphy Tue Dec 4, 2012 6:35pm EST (Reuters) - Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend - and later himself - after he spent the previous night in an entertainment district and slept at the apartment of another woman, witnesses told police. The events could explain why Belcher got into an argument with Kasandra Pe...

Tue Dec 4, 2012 6:04pm EST (Reuters) - Washington Redskins cornerback Cedric Griffin will miss the rest of the National Football League's regular season after receiving a four-game ban for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. Griffin's ban begins immediately and he will be eligible to return to Washington's active roster on December ...

Tue Dec 4, 2012 5:42pm EST (Reuters) - The New England Patriots juggled their receiving corps on Tuesday by re-signing veteran receiver Donte' Stallworth after losing Julian Edelman to injury, the American Football Conference East division champions said on Tuesday. Stallworth, who entered training camp with the Patriots but was cut before the start of the season...

Tue Dec 4, 2012 4:13pm EST (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Lakers, still trying to find their way this season, will be without Pau Gasol when they try to snap the Houston Rockets' five-game home winning streak on Tuesday. Gasol, averaging a National Basketball Association career low in points with 12.6 per game, will take a rest on the bench due to tendinitis in both...

By Brendan O'Brien MILWAUKEE | Tue Dec 4, 2012 3:07pm EST MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr collapsed on Tuesday after giving a motivational talk at an economic development conference in Wisconsin. The 78-year-old football legend fell to the floor after his 45-minute keynote speech at the Monona Terrace c...

Tue Dec 4, 2012 2:23pm EST (Reuters) - The Washington Nationals bolstered their already strong pitching rotation by agreeing to a one-year, $13 million contract with right-hander Dan Haren, Major League Baseball's (MLB) website reported on Tuesday. Haren, pending a physical, will join a rotation that boasts Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez, e...