Auto Racing
Rosberg falls on the ball; Hamilton rings the bell
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Lewis Hamilton answered Nico Rosberg’s pre-race goading in defiant style, winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, as he clinched a second Formula One title and denied his brash-talking Mercedes teammate his first.
Rosberg finished 14th.
Hamilton, the 2008 F1 champion, entered the race with a 17-point lead over his rival, needing only a top-two finish to guarantee the title. In total, Hamilton scored 384 points, with Rosberg at 317.
College Football
AP Top 25 poll welcomes four new programs
Florida State is No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll, followed by Alabama, Oregon and Mississippi State. The top four teams were unchanged for the first time since late September.
The gap between the Seminoles and the Crimson Tide narrowed after another close call by Florida State, which beat Boston College 20-17 on a field goal in the waning seconds.
Florida State received 37 first-place votes and 1,458 points, down six first-place votes and 18 points from last week. Alabama has 21 first-place votes 1,445 points. No. 3 Oregon received two first-place votes, one more than last week.
Mississippi State is fourth, followed by Baylor and TCU. Baylor and TCU swapped places. Ohio State remained No. 7.
No. 22 Minnesota, No. 23 Clemson, No. 24 Louisville and No. 25 Boise State moved into the rankings. Duke, Nebraska, USC and Utah dropped out.
Golf
17-year-old wins $1M; Lewis sweeps LPGA honors
NAPLES, Fla. – New Zealand 17-year-old teenager Lydia Ko ended a big year on the LPGA Tour with the largest payoff in women’s golf: the $1-million bonus from the “Race to CME Globe” on Sunday.
NAPLES, Fla. – Stacy Lewis became the first American in 21 years to sweep the three biggest awards on the LPGA Tour: the LPGA Tour player of the year for the second time in three seasons, the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average and the money title.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Henrik Stenson birdied the final two holes Sunday to successfully defend his DP World Tour Championship title at the European Tour’s season-ending event.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Australian lefthander Nick Cullen shot a 3-under 69 Sunday to win the Australian Masters by one stroke over Adam Scott, ending Scott’s attempt for a third consecutive victory in the tournament.
Skiing
Ligety, 30, follows Miller under the knife
VAIL – Olympic giant slalom champion Ted Ligety will be sidelined for an unknown amount of time after undergoing surgery to fix his left wrist Saturday.
U.S. Ski Team medical director Kyle Wilkens said Ligety suffered a “left wrist carpal dislocation” while training in Vail.
The 30-year-old Ligety is the second big name on the U.S. squad to undergo surgery this week; Bode Miller had a procedure to fix his ailing back Monday and is expected to be sidelined until at least January.
Tennis
Federer wins a Davis Cup, his last missing crown
LILLE, France – Roger Federer now has claimed all the big prizes on offer in tennis and, for once, will be happy to share his latest trophy with others.
Federer ended a week of uncertainty about his aging back with a vintage performance to give Switzerland an emphatic victory over France and its first Davis Cup. His 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Richard Gasquet in the first reverse singles Sunday sealed an unassailable 3-1 lead.
Associated Press
