NEW YORK | Tue Dec 4, 2012 10:37am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy was named as the PGA Tour Player of the Year on Tuesday, capping an outstanding season for the world number one. As expected, the 23-year-old was the popular choice for the annual Jack Nicklaus Award, decided by a vote from eligible tour players, becoming the youn...

Tue Dec 4, 2012 12:53am EST (Reuters) - New Orleans' Robin Lopez ran off 11 straight points in the third quarter to spark the Hornets to a much needed 102-81 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. Seven-footer Lopez scored 21 points and his hot streak helped turn a two-point deficit into a 71-60 advantage as the Hornets cruised to the win."I was jus...

By Steve Ginsburg LANDOVER, Maryland | Tue Dec 4, 2012 12:47am EST LANDOVER, Maryland (Reuters) - Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins continued their improbable push for the playoffs by edging the New York Giants 17-16 on Monday to reach the .500 mark and move into a tie for second place in the NFC East. Griffin, the Redskins' sensatio...

SYDNEY | Tue Dec 4, 2012 12:20am EST SYDNEY (Reuters) - Golf has no place in the Olympics and its inclusion is contributing to the dilution of the importance of the sport's major championships, according to eight-times major winner Tom Watson. The sport will return to the Olympics at Rio de Janeiro in 2016, after last being played in 1904, and while its ...

Mon Dec 3, 2012 11:57pm EST (Reuters) - Wet weather failed to dampen spirits at the Hong Kong Open squash tournament at the weekend and federation officials hope IOC representatives saw the sport's potential to feature on the 2020 Olympic program. One sport will be added to the program for the 2020 Games with squash up against karate, the Chinese martial art of w...

By Larry Fine Mon Dec 3, 2012 11:19pm EST (Reuters) - The murder/suicide committed on Saturday by Kansas City Chiefs football player Jovan Belcher left the National Football League, its fans and health professionals struggling to understand what drove him to do it. Belcher, 25, shot and killed his 22-year-old girlfriend Kasandra Perkins, the mother of his...

By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES | Mon Dec 3, 2012 9:22pm EST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lenny Dykstra, the 1980s World Series hero who pleaded guilty earlier this year to bankruptcy fraud, was sentenced on Monday to six months in federal prison and ordered to perform 500 hours of community service. The 49-year-old former ballplayer - who is already serv...

By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY, Missouri | Mon Dec 3, 2012 6:04pm EST KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Kansas City Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel said on Monday he tried to talk linebacker Jovan Belcher out of shooting himself outside the team's practice facility before the player committed suicide on Saturday. Belcher shot himself in the head in ...

Mon Dec 3, 2012 4:59pm EST (Reuters) - Quarterback Michael Vick has lost his starting role for the Philadelphia Eagles, the struggling National Football League team said on Monday. Vick is currently out injured but head coach Andy Reid said he would serve as the backup if and when he returns from a concussion this season.The Eagles (3-9) have lost their last eigh...

NEW YORK | Mon Dec 3, 2012 2:42pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will likely miss the start of the 2013 Major League Baseball (MLB) season because of hip surgery, the team said on Monday. The 37-year-old Rodriguez, MLB's active home runs leader, must complete a four-to-six week pre-rehabilitation regimen before hav...

SOFIA | Mon Dec 3, 2012 8:13am EST SOFIA (Reuters) - Prize money for the 2013 World Match Play Championship will rise to 3 million euros ($3.90 million), Per Ericsson, president of event management for sponsors Volvo said on Monday. The figure marks a nine percent increase over the 2012 total of 2.75 million euros.Bulgaria will host a European tour event...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes LOS ANGELES | Mon Dec 3, 2012 7:09am EST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Scheduling tournaments at the right time in the best place is one of the trickiest tasks for a global player and Ian Poulter readily admits he overplayed his hand in what proved to be an exhausting 2012 campaign. The flamboyant Englishman rebounded from a slow...

Mon Dec 3, 2012 2:08am EST (Reuters) - The Orlando Magic caught fire in the fourth quarter to stun the Los Angeles Lakers 113-103 and get the better of former player Dwight Howard on Sunday. In their first meeting since trading Howard to Los Angeles in the off-season, the struggling Magic surprised the Lakers by scoring 40 fourth-quarter points to snatch the road...

Mon Dec 3, 2012 2:02am EST (Reuters) - Tony Romo threw three touchdown passes to surpass Troy Aikman's franchise record as the Dallas Cowboys beat the crumbling Philadelphia Eagles 38-33 on Sunday to keep their playoff hopes intact. Romo tossed all three of his touchdown passes in the final two quarters, where both teams traded scores, finding Dez Bryant on a six...

MELBOURNE | Sun Dec 2, 2012 10:15pm EST MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australian thoroughbred racing has moved to strengthen anti-corruption powers after being embarrassed by a string of scandals during the peak racing season. Australia's racing industry has been rocked by a wide-reaching police probe into race-fixing in the southern state of Victoria that has s...

By Simon Evans SAN DIEGO | Sun Dec 2, 2012 9:48pm EST SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - The Cincinnati Bengals won their fourth successive game with a 20-13 win at the free-falling San Diego Chargers on Sunday to move into playoff contention. The Chargers have now lost seven of their last eight games, leaving the future of their much criticized head coach No...

By Steve Ginsburg BALTIMORE | Sun Dec 2, 2012 9:41pm EST BALTIMORE (Reuters) - Pittsburgh quarterback Charlie Batch never doubted his ability despite his poor, three-interception performance a week ago in a shocking loss to the lowly Cleveland Browns. "I've been in his league 15 years," he said after leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 23-20 ups...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes THOUSAND OAKS, California | Sun Dec 2, 2012 9:36pm EST THOUSAND OAKS, California (Reuters) - After two years of golfing frustration and an absence from the winner's circle despite several close calls, life has got much better for Graeme McDowell in recent weeks, both on and off the course. The ever-popular Northern Irishman...

By Steve Ginsburg BALTIMORE | Sun Dec 2, 2012 9:09pm EST BALTIMORE (Reuters) - The Pittsburgh Steelers overcame the absence of Ben Roethlisberger to stun the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 on Sunday and keep alive their once-unthinkable hopes of an AFC North Division title. Shaun Suisham kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired, enabling the Steelers ...

By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY, Missouri | Sun Dec 2, 2012 6:26pm EST KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Anguished Kansas City Chiefs responded to the murder-suicide involving linebacker Jovan Belcher with a rare victory on Sunday, defeating the Carolina Panthers 27-21. Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend in front of his mother at their Kansas Cit...

By Patrick Lang LAKE LOUISE, Alberta | Sun Dec 2, 2012 3:15pm EST LAKE LOUISE, Alberta (Reuters) - Lindsey Vonn achieved her second successive Lake Louise treble when she won Sunday's Super-G, the third race on the weekend program at the Canadian resort. The American clocked one minute and 22.82 seconds to snatch her 14th victory at her favorite ...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes THOUSAND OAKS, California | Sun Dec 2, 2012 1:42pm EST THOUSAND OAKS, California (Reuters) - A fan's heckling of Keegan Bradley at the World Challenge has been slammed by the United States Golf Association (USGA) as an "unfounded criticism from an obviously uneducated spectator". Bradley, who became the first player to win ...

By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY, Missouri | Sun Dec 2, 2012 1:26pm EST KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Tragedy dampened the normally festive tailgating party on Sunday at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium, where Chiefs fans lamented the murder-suicide on Saturday involving Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher and thoughts turned to his now-orphaned daught...

By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY, Missouri | Sun Dec 2, 2012 7:42am EST KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Kansas City Chiefs starting linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend to death, then drove to the team training facility and killed himself in front of the coach and general manager in a burst of violence on Saturday that stunned the NFL and it...

TOKYO | Sun Dec 2, 2012 2:33am EST TOKYO (Reuters) - Kenyan Joseph Gitau produced an upset victory in the Fukuoka International Marathon after former world record holder Haile Gebrselassie pulled up after 32-kilometres of Sunday's race. The 24-year-old clocked a winning time of two hours, six minutes, 58 seconds with Japan's Hiroyuki Horibata runner-up i...

Sun Dec 2, 2012 1:10am EST (Reuters) - The United States women's soccer team strolled to a 2-0 victory over Ireland in Arizona on Saturday, their second win in three days against the mismatched opponents. Fresh from Wednesday's 5-0 rout, the Olympic champions showed little mercy with Alex Morgan starting the scoring inside the first minute as the team continued i...

Sun Dec 2, 2012 12:48am EST NEW YORK - Undefeated American Austin Trout jabbed his way to a unanimous points decision victory over Miguel Cotto to retain his WBA light middleweight title at New York's legendary Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Two judges scored the fight 117-111, with the third awarding it 119-109 all for Trout, known as 'no doubt', with Cotto'...

By Jahmal Corner CARSON, California | Sun Dec 2, 2012 12:36am EST CARSON, California (Reuters) - L.A. Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez's year started terribly but ended in triumph when he scored in his team's 3-1 MLS Cup win over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday and was named Most Valuable Player. Gonzalez spent the first six months of 2012 rehabilita...

Sat Dec 1, 2012 11:09pm EST (Reuters) - The NBA champion Miami Heat fought back from a 14-point deficit on Saturday to beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-89 and maintain their perfect home record this season. Trailing from tip-off until late in the third quarter, Miami stepped up their game late to overcome the Nets (11-5) with Dwyane Wade scoring 34 points while LeBron ...

By Simon Evans CARSON, California | Sat Dec 1, 2012 11:01pm EST CARSON, California (Reuters) - David Beckham's L.A. Galaxy team-mates urged him to stay on for another year after they won their second successive MLS Cup on Saturday, and while their hopes will surely be in vain, the reaction epitomized the affection in which he has come to enjoy. A...

By Jahmal Corner CARSON, California | Sat Dec 1, 2012 10:32pm EST CARSON, California (Reuters) - The Houston Dynamo suffered a second straight MLS Cup final loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday - and it hurt. The Dynamo's 3-1 defeat was not easy to digest after losing to the same opponents, 1-0, last year and after leading at half-time in a...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes THOUSAND OAKS, California | Sat Dec 1, 2012 8:57pm EST THOUSAND OAKS, California (Reuters) - American Keegan Bradley experienced a bitter-sweet third round at the World Challenge on Saturday when he was heckled for the first time in his career while charging into contention. Winner of last year's PGA Championship, belly put...

By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY, Missouri | Sat Dec 1, 2012 4:18pm EST KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - The National Football League (NFL) was left reeling in horror on Saturday after Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher murdered his girlfriend and committed suicide. The 25-year-old Belcher shot Kassandra Perkins at their home on Saturday mor...

By Michael Todt SUN CITY, South Africa | Sat Dec 1, 2012 12:00pm EST SUN CITY, South Africa (Reuters) - Saturday proved a good day for Germany at the Gary Player Country Club as Martin Kaymer seized a one-stroke lead in the Nedbank Golf Challenge and Bernhard Langer won the senior edition. Double U.S. Masters champion Langer lifted the seniors tr...

TOKYO | Sat Dec 1, 2012 5:51am EST TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki has lost patience with the New York Yankees over a contract extension and has begun talking with other teams, his agent said on Friday. The Yankees have been busy locking up their principle pitchers, paying Hiroki Kuroda $15 million, Andy Pettitte $12 million and Maria...

TOKYO | Sat Dec 1, 2012 5:51am EST TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki has lost patience with the New York Yankees over a contract extension and has begun talking with other teams, his agent said on Friday. The Yankees have been busy locking up their principle pitchers, paying Hiroki Kuroda $15 million, Andy Pettitte $12 million and Maria...

Sat Dec 1, 2012 1:25am EST (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Lakers rebounded from their worst offensive performance of the season with an all out blitz against the Denver Nuggets on Friday, prevailing 122-103 at the Staples Center. Three nights after their last second loss to the Indiana Pacers in the same building where they managed to score just 77 points, 40 of whi...

Sat Dec 1, 2012 1:04am EST (Reuters) - David Beckham has targeted one final fling in the European Champions League before hanging up his boots once he leaves Los Angeles after five-and-a-half years. "I always loved it when I went back to AC Milan being back in the Champions League," the 37-year-old told British media as he prepared for his last game for the L.A. ...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes THOUSAND OAKS, California | Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:21pm EST THOUSAND OAKS, California (Reuters) - Graeme McDowell will take a 10-week break after the World Challenge ends on Sunday to recharge his batteries for a hectic 2013 campaign on both sides of the Atlantic. The globe-trotting Northern Irishman competes regularly on the P...

By Larry Fine Fri Nov 30, 2012 6:49pm EST (Reuters) - The first weekend of December football signals the start of the NFL stretch run with Houston, New England, Denver, Baltimore and Atlanta poised to clinch playoff spots, while others fight to stay on the postseason path. American Football Conference (AFC) division races look close to being locked up, bu...