REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy (Reuters) - Italy stormed into a 2-0 lead over the United States in the Fed Cup final when Francesca Schiavone outfoxed Melanie Oudin 7-6 6-2 on Saturday.
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Tiger Woods is hoping to inhabit a world of his own as he tries to make up two shots on tournament leader Phil Mickelson in Sunday's final round showdown between the top two in the world at the WGC-HSBC Champions.
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Phil Mickelson shot a third-round five-under-par 67 to take a two-shot lead at the $7 million WGC-HSBC Champions on Saturday, setting up a rare head-to-head battle with Tiger Woods on the final day.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Slugger Manny Ramirez will exercise his $20 million option to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 2010 season, the team announced on their website on Friday.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Kobe Bryant became the youngest NBA player to reach 24,000 points on Friday, the Lakers' guard scoring 41 to lead injury-hit Los Angeles to a 114-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
DENVER (Reuters) - Colorado outlasted the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 after another marathon shootout on Friday, improving to 6-0 at home to start the season.
ARCADIA, California (Reuters) - Life is Sweet emerged from the shadow of undefeated stablemate Zenyatta by roaring to a 2 1/2-length triumph in the $2 million Breeders Cup Ladies' Classic at Santa Anita Park on Friday.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas broke his left arm during a weight training workout on Friday and is expected to be sidelined for between four to six weeks.
BASEL (Reuters) - World number one Roger Federer breezed into the Swiss Indoors semi-finals Friday but the home crowd's hopes of an all-Swiss final were dashed when Novak Djokovic rallied to beat Stanislas Wawrinka.
PHOENIX (Reuters) - The Arizona Diamondbacks exercised their $8.5 million option on pitcher Brandon Webb on Friday, gambling that the right-hander can return to his Cy Young form following shoulder surgery.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Minnesota Twins acquired All-Star shortstop J.J. Hardy from the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday in exchange for outfielder Carlos Gomez.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of New York Yankee fans cheered their baseball team on Friday at a parade through Lower Manhattan to celebrate its 27th World Series victory.
ARCADIA, California (Reuters) - Kentucky Derby champion Mine That Bird is primed to pull off another shocker in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic, trainer Chip Woolley said Friday.
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Philadelphia Phillies exercised their $8 million club option on left-hander Cliff Lee on Friday, as the National League champions were quickly back to work just two days after losing the World Series.
MONTREAL (Reuters) - A victory anti-doping crusaders once believed impossible is now within reach with the help of powerful new allies as the war on performance-enhancing drugs in sport moves on to new fronts.
MONTREAL (Reuters) - Cheating is still rife in sport despite improved testing and more than half the sprint semi-finalists at the London 2012 Olympics are likely to use illegal drugs at some stage of their preparations, says Victor Conte, the man at the heart of the BALCO doping scandal.
PARIS (Reuters) - The last two tickets to the World Tour finals are still to play for at the Paris Masters tournament starting on Sunday, with Russia's Nikolay Davydenko and Spaniard Fernando Verdasco ideally placed to grab them.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Australia has emerged as a possible compromise venue for next year's America's Cup race after a New York judge on Friday ordered two rivals for yachting's most prestigious prize to hold private negotiations.
PARIS (Reuters) - American Andy Roddick has withdrawn from the Paris Masters tournament starting on Sunday, organizers said on Friday.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Andre Agassi, mired in controversy after admitting to using crystal meth, pleaded for compassion from his critics in a television interview that will be broadcast on Sunday in the United States.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Towering world heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev weighed in seven stones (98 pounds) heavier than Britain's David Haye ahead of their WBA title bout in Nuremberg on Saturday.
VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) - Top seed Andy Murray gave Spaniard Albert Montanes a 6-4 6-2 mauling in the quarter-finals of the Valencia Open Friday as the Briton continued his comeback from a wrist injury.
REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy (Reuters) - The United States feel like underdogs in their Fed Cup final against Italy this weekend after Serena Williams pulled out, captain Mary Joe Fernandez said on Friday.
BASEL (Reuters) - World number three Novak Djokovic whitewashed hapless Czech Jan Hernych 6-0 6-0 on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors.
Chelsea were cleared to sign new players in the January transfer window on Friday after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) suspended a ban imposed by world body FIFA.
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Tiger Woods birdied his final hole to complete a second round five-under-par 67 that moved him into a share of the lead with American compatriot Nick Watney at the halfway stage of the WGC-HSBC Champions on Friday.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Kings rallied from a goal down to score four times in the third period and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 Thursday.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) - Derrick Rose scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and drilled a decisive jumper with 1:44 remaining to help the Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 86-85 on Thursday.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) - Derrick Rose scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and drilled a decisive jumper with 1:44 remaining to help the Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 86-85 on Thursday.
MONTREAL (Reuters) - A victory anti-doping crusaders once believed impossible is now within reach with the help of powerful new allies as the war on performance-enhancing drugs in sport moves on to new fronts.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Miguel Cotto has no qualms about being listed as the bookmakers' underdog for his WBO welterweight title defense against Filipino Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas next week.
