SHENZHEN, China | Fri Nov 2, 2012 6:53am EDT SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - Louis Oosthuizen is in familiar territory after a record-breaking performance at the HSBC-WGC Champions Tournament put him in pole position after the first two days at Mission Hills. The 30-year-old from Mossel Bay holds a five-shot lead over Australia's Adam Scott and that is exact...

Fri Nov 2, 2012 1:36am EDT (Reuters) - San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers led the Chargers to a 31-13 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, easing the pressure on beleaguered head coach Norv Turner. Rivers became just the sixth player to complete 90 percent of his passes in a single game, connecting on 18 of 20 attempts for 220 yards and a pair of touchdo...

By Patrick Johnston SINGAPORE | Fri Nov 2, 2012 12:02am EDT SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Tiger Woods said fatigue was the reason he skipped this week's World Golf Championship event in China. As Australian Adam Scott and South African Louis Oosthuizen grabbed the first-round lead at the $7 million event in Shenzhen on Thursday, the 36-year-old Woods was...

By Michael Erman and Phil Wahba NEW YORK | Thu Nov 1, 2012 9:55pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - A symbol of resilience, or tactless and ill-timed? New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's decision to proceed with the world's largest marathon on Sunday is stirring up controversy in the storm-ravaged metropolis. As emergency workers wade through flooded homes...

By Julian Linden Thu Nov 1, 2012 8:39pm EDT (Reuters) - If sentiment plays any part, Game on Dude could be a sure bet to win Saturday's $5 million Breeders' Classic at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The five-year-old gelding came desperately close to winning America's richest horse race last year, only to be run down by Drosselmeyer in the shado...

Thu Nov 1, 2012 8:31pm EDT (Reuters) - Australian Olympic chief John Coates wants all athletes, coaches and officials to sign a declaration stating they have never used banned substances before they are allowed to go to a Games. Coates believes the measure is necessary to prevent the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) being tainted by doping in the same way cycli...

By Simon Evans Thu Nov 1, 2012 8:18pm EDT (Reuters) - United States national team coach Juergen Klinsmann says he will meet with all-time leading goalscorer Landon Donovan after the forward said he was unsure about his future in the game. L.A. Galaxy forward Donovan has missed the bulk of his country's World Cup qualifying campaign so far due to injuries ...

By Julien Pretot PARIS | Thu Nov 1, 2012 8:02pm EDT PARIS (Reuters) - Andy Murray wasted a match point before being knocked out 5-7 7-6 6-2 by Polish qualifier Jerzy Janowicz following a sloppy display in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday. Britain's Murray lost focus as he served for the match in the second set and was then battere...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes LOS ANGELES | Thu Nov 1, 2012 7:24pm EDT LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - For many, the most heavily anticipated duel at this week's Breeders' Cup will come in the $3 million Turf where last year's winner, Irish raider St Nicholas Abbey, vies with local hope Point of Entry. Point of Entry will break from the inside one spot as the 3...

Thu Nov 1, 2012 6:54pm EDT (Reuters) - The season-opener between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, postponed because of the havoc caused by Hurricane Sandy, has been rescheduled for November 26, the National Basketball Association said on Thursday. The NBA had originally intended to play the game as scheduled on Thursday at the Barclays Center until New York...

Thu Nov 1, 2012 5:41pm EDT (Reuters) - The New England Patriots acquired bad boy cornerback Aqib Talib from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday as the National Football League trade deadline passed quietly with only one deal. The trade was completed just prior to the 1600 ET deadline but no details were given about what New England was sending to Tampa Bay.Talib...

By Jahmal Corner LOS ANGELES | Thu Nov 1, 2012 5:29pm EDT LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jamal Crawford has taken his high-scoring act on the road during a 12-year NBA career full of short stays with new teams, but the veteran guard hopes he has reached his final destination with the Los Angeles Clippers. The 32-year-old has rarely been able to unpack h...

By Alan Baldwin ABU DHABI | Thu Nov 1, 2012 9:25am EDT ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Formula One is unlikely to float on the stock market before 2014, the sport's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Thursday. "The market's going to take a little bit of settling down, I think," the 82-year-old billionaire told Reuters in the paddock at the Abu Dh...

By Patrick Johnston SINGAPORE | Thu Nov 1, 2012 9:10am EDT SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Tiger Woods said fatigue was the reason he skipped this week's World Golf Championship event in Shanghai. As Australian Adam Scott and South African Louis Oosthuizen grabbed the first-round lead at the $7 million event in China on Thursday, the 36-year-old Woods was ...

SHENZHEN, China | Thu Nov 1, 2012 7:03am EDT SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - Adam Scott will be making the headlines for all the right reasons after the Australian produced a spectacular finish to earn a share of the first-round lead at the WGC-HSBC Champions Tournament on Thursday. A year ago, Scott found himself unwillingly involved in an uncomfortable sit...

By Karolos Grohmann BERLIN | Thu Nov 1, 2012 7:01am EDT BERLIN (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will investigate Lance Armstrong's 2000 Olympics bronze medal after the American was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles in the biggest doping scandal to hit the sport. "The IOC will now immediately start the process concer...

By Jahmal Corner Thu Nov 1, 2012 4:02am EDT (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Clippers picked up where they left off in their budding rivalry with the Memphis Grizzlies, claiming a 101-92 home triumph in the season-opener for both teams on Wednesday. Facing a Grizzlies side they edged out over seven games in the Western Conference first-round playoffs last seas...

Thu Nov 1, 2012 2:55am EDT (Reuters) - James Harden delivered a monster debut for Houston on Wednesday with 37 points and 12 assists just hours after the Rockets stumped up the massive contract he had been seeking in Oklahoma City. Harden, the NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year, was traded to the Rockets on Saturday after the Thunder balked at his demands for a...

By Steve Keating TORONTO | Thu Nov 1, 2012 1:54am EDT TORONTO (Reuters) - With ice hockey on hold due to the NHL's protracted labor dispute sports fans in Toronto turned to basketball for their Halloween entertainment on Wednesday, but despite giving Indiana a scare the Raptors lost 90-88 in their NBA season opener. George Hill's lay-up with two ...

SYDNEY | Thu Nov 1, 2012 1:20am EDT SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Orica-GreenEDGE team has sacked sports director Matt White after he admitted to doping while riding with Lance Armstrong's U.S. Postal cycling team. White voluntarily stood down from the position last month pending an inquiry when he admitted doping after being named in the United States Anti-Dop...

Thu Nov 1, 2012 12:04am EDT (Reuters) - Will Bruin scored twice to give Houston a 2-1 win at Chicago Fire in the Major League Soccer playoffs on Wednesday, earning Dynamo a place in the Eastern Conference semi-finals against Sporting Kansas City. Houston, twice MLS Cup winners and last season's runners-up, will battle the Eastern Conference's top team from the re...

Wed Oct 31, 2012 7:49pm EDT (Reuters) - Former All-Star pitcher Ervin Santana was traded by the Los Angeles Angels to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday for minor league reliever Brandon Sisk. The 29-year-old Santana was also offloaded for cash considerations after the Angels exercised the right-hander's $13 million option for next season."Acquiring someone with...

BERLIN | Wed Oct 31, 2012 9:23am EDT BERLIN (Reuters) - German Davis Cup captain Patrik Kuehnen will step down at the end of the year after a decade in charge following what he said was a lack of support from the federation during a year marred by infighting and bad results. Kuehnen has been locked in a bitter row for months with world number 19 and Germ...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes LOS ANGELES | Wed Oct 31, 2012 3:23am EDT LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The heavily anticipated new era of Los Angeles Lakers basketball began with a whimper as their much vaunted team bristling with All-Stars were beaten 99-91 by an under-strength Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. Five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant had given the Lake...

SHENZHEN, China | Wed Oct 31, 2012 2:38am EDT SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - After climbing to a career high fifth in the world rankings and featuring in Europe's Ryder Cup victory, Justin Rose could be forgiven for resting on his laurels as the 2012 season draws to a close. Since he has been mining a rich vein of form in recent months, however, the Briton ...

SEOUL | Wed Oct 31, 2012 2:27am EDT SEOUL (Reuters) - The South Korean soccer player who inflamed a diplomatic row with Japan by waving a political placard at the London Olympics is finally set to receive his bronze medal. Park Jong-woo, banned from the medal ceremony at Wembley, has received a certificate confirming he would receive it, the Korea Footba...

Wed Oct 31, 2012 1:45am EDT (Reuters) - Jake Peavy had two reasons to celebrate on Tuesday when the starting pitcher inked a new deal with the Chicago White Sox and picked up an American League Gold Glove award. Peavy received a two-year contract extension worth $29 million, keeping him with the franchise where he has spent parts of the last four seasons after ar...

By Simon Evans MIAMI | Wed Oct 31, 2012 1:21am EDT MIAMI (Reuters) - Making his Miami Heat debut against the team he left after five seasons, Ray Allen was determined to show his old Boston Celtics team mates that he was still friends, but the feeling was not exactly mutual. As he got ready to enter the opening game of the season between the two ...

By Simon Evans MIAMI | Wed Oct 31, 2012 12:29am EDT MIAMI (Reuters) - With shiny new diamond-encrusted rings on their fingers, the Miami Heat began their NBA title defence in confident fashion with a 120-107 win over Eastern Conference rivals the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. Miami were presented with championship rings and rose the title banner to ...

Wed Oct 31, 2012 12:24am EDT (Reuters) - The Denver Nuggets have re-signed speedy point guard Ty Lawson to a contract extension, the team announced Tuesday. The new deal is a four-year agreement worth $48 million, according to local reports, and ensures the Nuggets will hold on to their ever-improving floor leader."We are thrilled to have reached an agreement on ...

By Mark Lamport-Stokes LOS ANGELES | Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:26pm EDT LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant gave his Los Angeles Lakers team mates a late boost when he pronounced himself fit enough to play in the regular season opener against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. The All-Star guard, who had been sidelined for eight day...

SHENZHEN, China | Tue Oct 30, 2012 7:57pm EDT SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - The sponsors of this week's WGC-Champions event have criticised world number one Rory McIlroy and 14-times major winner Tiger Woods for turning down the chance to play in the tournament. The pair played in a lucrative head-to-head exhibition match on Monday at Jinsha Lake in China....

Tue Oct 30, 2012 7:27pm EDT (Reuters) - Organizers of sports events scheduled to take place in the New York area this week were looking at contingency plans on Tuesday, as the eastern United States began to assess the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. Large parts of the region remained without power and transportation in the New York metropolitan area was at...

By Julien Pretot PARIS | Tue Oct 30, 2012 7:24pm EDT PARIS (Reuters) - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga started his quest for an ATP World Tour final spot with a 6-2 4-6 7-6 second-round victory over fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau at the Paris Masters on Tuesday. The sixth seeded Tsonga will claim one of the two remaining spots for next month's season-endin...

Last month The Costa Rica Star published an article about La Ruta de los Conquistadores, and how you have to be tough as nails to finish it. JACO, Costa Rica - When the notion of racing a mountain bike across Costa Rica was conjured up 20 years ago it was about more than riding a bike; it was about the adventure to be had between the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Adventure and then some i...

Tue Oct 30, 2012 3:28pm EDT (Reuters) - The Indiana Pacers will launch their regular season on Wednesday without their top scorer, former All-Star forward Danny Granger, who has been sidelined "indefinitely" because of a sore left knee. Granger, who averaged a team-high 18.7 points per game last season, was consulting with doctors on Tuesday to get a second opini...

By Gennady Fyodorov MOSCOW | Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:31pm EDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Maria Sharapova will focus on trying to win Wimbledon next year rather than attempting to regain the world number one ranking. "Wimbledon will be my priority next season," Sharapova, who finished the year as world number two behind Belarussian Victoria Azarenka, t...

By Ju-min Park DANDONG, China | Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:13pm EDT DANDONG, China (Reuters) - Top soccer-boot maker Adidas probably shouldn't be worrying just yet but a rare venture that marries South Korean money with North Korean labour in the Chinese city of Dandong aims to make its mark on the world soccer scene. At a temporary factory in a village ...

Tue Oct 30, 2012 7:26am EDT (Reuters) - Asian golfers have made a real impact on the world game in recent years but some of the region's top players are trembling about this week's WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shenzen, China. Some, including the Asian Tour's Order of Merit leader, are complaining that the 7,301-yard Olazabal course at Mission Hills is too long for...

Tue Oct 30, 2012 1:02am EDT (Reuters) - The San Francisco 49ers flexed their muscles with a dominant 24-3 road win over the slumping Arizona Cardinals on Monday night to stretch their lead at the top of the NFC West to two games. In a matchup of two stout defenses, it was the 49ers (6-2) who lived up to their reputation by holding Arizona (4-4) to just seven yard...