Cycling
Gerrans is first to win three at the Tour Down Under
ADELAIDE, Australia – Australian Simon Gerrans won cycling’s Tour Down Under by five seconds from compatriot Cadel Evans on Sunday, becoming the first rider to win the ProTour event three times.
Andre Greipel of Germany won the sixth and final stage, over 18 laps of a street circuit in downtown Adelaide, for the third consecutive year.
Golf
Stallings wins at Torrey Pines to earn a Masters tee time
SAN DIEGO – Scott Stallings made birdie on the par-5 18th hole at Torrey Pines to win the Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday.
Stallings was three shots behind going into the final round, and one of eight players who had a chance in the final hour of the tournament. He narrowly cleared the water with his second shot on the 18th and easily got up-and-down for a 4-under 68.
Stallings won for the third time in his career and earned a spot in the Masters.
DOHA, Qatar – Sergio Garcia birdied the third extra hole to beat Mikko Ilonen in a playoff Saturday and win the Qatar Masters for his second victory in three events. They both finished on 16-under 272.
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Jessica Korda won the season-opening Bahamas LPGA Classic on Sunday for her second tour title, holing a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole to beat Stacy Lewis by a stroke.
The 20-year-old Korda closed with a 7-under 66 for a 19-under 273 total on Atlantis Resort’s Ocean Club course.
NFL
After several failed attempts, Dolphins finally hire a GM
MIAMI – In their fitful, laborious search for a general manager, the Miami Dolphins finally found someone to say yes: Dennis Hickey. The longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneers executive accepted the job Sunday, ending a search that lasted nearly three weeks.
Hickey’s hiring came after the Dolphins were rejected by several candidates, and several others declined invitations to interview as a replacement for Jeff Ireland, whose six-year stint as general manager ended Jan. 7.
Hickey has been with the Buccaneers for 18 seasons, including the past three as director of player personnel. He was their director of college scouting for six years.
World Cup Ski Racing
Defago and Pinturault win dual runs in Austria
KITZBUEHEL, Austria – Didier Defago of Switzerland edged Bode Miller by 0.05 seconds to win a World Cup super-G on Sunday, and Alexis Pinturault of France won the super-combined event for his sixth career victory.
With snow falling on a shortened Streifalm course, Defago was the next racer after Miller and timed 1 minute, 10.38 seconds for his first victory since a downhill in Bormio, Italy, in December 2011.
Overall World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway and Max Franz of Austria shared third, 0.15 off the lead.
The race also counted as the first portion of the super-combined, which added the results of the super-G and a slalom run.
Pinturault posted the fastest time in the floodlit slalom to finish in an aggregate time of 2 minutes, 2.79 seconds. Ted Ligety of the United States was 0.44 back in second, and defending overall champion Marcel Hirscher of Austria was third, 1.47 behind.
Gut wins final speed event before the Sochi Games
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy – Swiss skier Lara Gut mastered a windy super-G on Sunday in the final World Cup speed race before the Sochi Olympics, rediscovering the form that helped her win three in a row to open the season.
Gut clocked 1 minute, 27.81 seconds down the Olympia delle Tofane course for her fifth victory this season.
Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein finished second, 0.12 seconds behind, and Maria Hoefl-Riesch was third, 0.61 back, to maintain her lead in the overall World Cup standings.
Associated Press
