MANCHESTER, England (AP) ― There is a very different feel to Christmas Day at Liverpool this season. Twelve months ago, Liverpool was top of the Premier League ― always a significant milestone in the English game ― and playing the most exciting brand of football in the country. With striker Luis Suarez pouring in goals and Brendan Rodgers being hailed for his managerial qualities, the club was gearing up for its first genuine title challenge for years. There is little to celebrate this Christmas

SoccerDec. 26, 2014

LONDON (AFP) ― British cycling Olympic gold medalists Laura Trott and Jason Kenny are engaged to be married, she tweeted on Thursday.Trott, 22, who won team pursuit and omnium gold at the London Olympics, said Kenny had given her the perfect Christmas present.“Merry Christmas everyone. I’ve had the most amazing couple of days thanks to @JasonKenny107 and the whole family #engaged,” she tweeted.Kenny, 26, like Trott won two gold medals in London in the team sprint and the individual sprint to add

More SportsDec. 26, 2014

The South Korean men's national football team will begin its quest for the elusive AFC Asian Cup title on Saturday, with an eclectic mix of veterans and neophytes hoping to end the country's long drought at the top continental competition.   The 2015 Asian Cup will kick off Jan. 9 in Australia. According to the Korea Football Association (KFA), South Korea, coached by former German international Uli Stielike, will leave for Sydney on Saturday and set up its base camp there.   Stielike unveiled S

SoccerDec. 26, 2014

Here’s a new tradition unlike any other ― the race to see if the Masters can keep its field under 100 players by April.For the fourth time in the last five years, at least 90 players already have qualified for the Masters at the end of the year with three months of opportunities remaining before the field is set. Each time, Augusta National managed to achieve its objective of keeping the number of competitors in double digits.By far the smallest field of the four majors, the Masters has not had

GolfDec. 25, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) ― Major League Baseball’s average salary shot up to more than $3.8 million this year following the steepest rise in more than a decade, putting big leaguers on track to top the $4 million barrier for the first time in 2015.The Major League Baseball Players Association said the average salary was $3,818,923, up from $3,386,212 last year. The 12.78 percent hike was the biggest since a 12.83 percent rise from 2000 to 2001.Player salaries are spurting after several years of more modest

BaseballDec. 25, 2014

Of the 30 Major League Baseball clubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates seemed one of the least likely teams to put in a bid when the South Korean shortstop Kang Jung-ho was posted earlier this month.For one, their infield appeared set for next season with players still in or entering their primes in their late 20s. And the Pirates had one of the smallest payrolls in MLB in 2014, ranking 27th with $78.1 million. Bidding millions of dollars just to have the rights to talk to an international player with no

BaseballDec. 24, 2014

South Korean baseball club LG Twins announced Tuesday they’ve signed former major league infielder Jack Hannahan.The Korea Baseball Organization club signed the 34-year-old for $1 million. The Twins have now filled up their foreign player quota for next year, with pitchers Henry Sosa and Lucas Harrell also in the fold.Hannahan, who bats left and throws right, made his big league debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2006 and went on to play for four more clubs until 2014. (Yonhap)

BaseballDec. 23, 2014

LONDON (AP) ― John Terry got away from American Geoff Cameron to score his first league goal since December 2013, helping Chelsea win 2-0 at Stoke on Monday night to restore a three-point lead atop the Premier League.Terry outjumped Cameron 95 seconds in to score with a header off Cesc Fabregas’ corner kick, giving Terry goals in 15 consecutive Premier League seasons. Fabregas doubled the lead in the 78th when he scored from 8 meters off a pass from Eden Hazard.Chelsea could have had another goa

SoccerDec. 23, 2014

Lee Jae-myung, owner of the South Korean football club Seongnam FC recently disciplined for his public criticism of officiating, said Tuesday he has withdrawn his appeal against an earlier penalty, a surprise announcement that came only hours before the national pro football body was to hold a meeting to review his punishment.Earlier this month, Lee received a “warning,” the most lenient penalty meted out by the K League, after he complained about the quality of officiating in the first division

SoccerDec. 23, 2014

Bayer Leverkusen winger Son Heung-min on Tuesday was named the top South Korean male football player of 2014.Son earned the annual Korea Football Association (KFA) honors for the second straight year. The 22-year-old dynamo has netted 11 goals in 26 matches so far this season in the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal Cup and the UEFA Champions League. With the Bundesliga in its midseason break, Son is well on his way to shattering his career-best mark of 12 goals set last season.Thanks in no small part t

SoccerDec. 23, 2014

Lee Jae-myung, owner of the South Korean football club Seongnam FC recently disciplined for his public criticism of officiating, said Tuesday he has withdrawn his appeal against an earlier penalty, a surprise announcement that came only hours before the national pro football body was to hold a meeting to review his punishment.Earlier this month, Lee received a "warning," the most lenient penalty meted out by the K League, after he complained about the quality of officiating in the first division

SoccerDec. 23, 2014

Major League Baseball (MLB) announced early Tuesday, Korean time, that the Pittsburgh Pirates have won the bidding for the posted South Korean shortstop Kang Jung-ho.The Pirates announced the news on their website, shortly after Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted that the Pirates had put in the winning bid for Kang in an MLB-wide silent auction held earlier this month.The Nexen Heroes, Kang's Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club, on Saturday received the result of the bidding race and promptl

BaseballDec. 23, 2014

South Korean expansion baseball club KT Wiz announced Monday they’ve signed right-hander Chris Oxspring.The Korea Baseball Organization team said they acquired the 37-year-old right-hander for $350,000, a figure that includes a signing bonus.Oxspring will now be pitching for his third KBO club. He first pitched for the LG Twins in 2007 and 2008, and then returned to South Korea to join the Lotte Giants, for whom he’d pitched the past two seasons.The Giants made him a free agent after the 2014 se

BaseballDec. 22, 2014