Auto Racing
Sadler saddles Vickers’ wheel for the final four races
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Michael Waltrip Racing on Thursday picked Elliott Sadler to close out the season in the No. 55 Toyota while Brian Vickers is sidelined treating a blood clot.
Vickers informed the team Monday doctors had found a small clot in his right leg, and the blood thinners needed to treat it prevent him from racing. He’s expected to take blood thinners at least two weeks.
Vickers also missed the final 25 races of the 2010 season with blood clots and during that time required heart surgery.
Team co-owner Waltrip already was scheduled to drive the car this weekend at Talladega. Sadler will drive the car at Ridgeway, Va.; Fort Worth, Texas; Avondale, Ariz.; and Homestead, Fla.
Soccer
FIFA releases its rankings; World Cup gets its seeds
ZURICH – Belgium, Colombia and Switzerland will be three of the eight seeded teams at the World Cup because of their FIFA ranking.
FIFA decided this month that the seven best-ranked nations in Thursday’s list would be seeded alongside host nation Brazil, which is ranked 11th.
Long-time leader Spain, the defending World Cup champion, remains first in the rankings, followed by Germany and Argentina.
Colombia and Belgium are next despite not playing at the 2010 World Cup, which remains a factor in the rankings over a four-year cycle of results.
Uruguay, a semifinalist in 2010, is No. 6 but still must beat 70th-ranked Jordan in a two-leg playoff next month to enter the World Cup draw Dec. 6 in Salvador.
Switzerland is seventh, its highest position since 1995.
The Netherlands is No. 8 and will be seeded if Uruguay is eliminated. Italy is officially tied at No. 8, though it trails the Dutch by decimal points.
Seedings in the European playoffs also were decided by Thursday’s rankings.
Portugal (No. 14), Greece (No. 15), Croatia (No. 18) and Ukraine (No. 20) will be seeded in next Monday’s draw. France (No. 21) missed out by a single ranking point, 871-870.
Sweden (No. 25), Romania (No. 29) and Iceland (No. 46) also are involved.
The United States remains at No. 13 despite two victories in qualifiers against Jamaica and Panama. Mexico drops three to No. 24 and will face New Zealand – down 12 to No. 79 – in a playoff next month.
Ivory Coast, which beat Senegal 3-1 in the first leg of a playoff last weekend, is the best of Africa at No. 17.
Japan leads Asia, despite dropping two to No. 44. The other Asian teams at the World Cup are Iran (No. 49), South Korea (No. 56) and Australia (No. 57).
Tennis
Murray receives royal honor for his accomplishments
LONDON – After winning two Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal, Andy Murray was given the royal seal of approval.
Murray received his Officer of the Order of the British Empire medal from Prince William on Thursday. He was awarded the distinction in Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year’s honors list after his victories at the U.S. Open and London Olympics in 2012 and Wimbledon three months ago.
Roland Garros’ renovation finally gets the go-ahead
PARIS – Roland Garros’ renovation will go forward.
The French Tennis Federation welcomed Thursday’s ruling with “great satisfaction.”
In March, plans to renovate the home of the French Open were put on hold after a tribunal sided with local residents who complained the development could harm the environment. The Administrative Court of Paris overturned the ruling.
The expansion of Roland Garros was scheduled to be completed in 2017. Plans include a retractable roof over center court.
The project was approved by city authorities two years ago. But work was suspended after the tribunal sided with residents’ concerns of the project.
Associated Press
