Neymar scores again as Barca advances in Copa

Neymar scored his sixth goal in seven days to cap Barcelona's 3-0 win over Cartagena on Tuesday as it advanced in the Copa del Rey on a 7-1 aggregate score.With the round-of-32 matchup practically decided after Barcelona's 4-1 victory in the first leg, the match lacked pace at the start and Cartagena's Diego Segura almost snatched a goal for the third-division side when he curled a free kick off the upright in the 28th minute.But three minutes later Pedro Rodriguez scored his third goal of the s

SoccerDec. 18, 2013

Barcelona gets City in last 16

NYON, Switzerland (AP) ― Barcelona will play Manchester City, a team that emulates its values, in the second round of the Champions League.The home-and-home matchup starts Feb. 18 with the four-time champion traveling to England’s Etihad Stadium, where Manchester United and Arsenal have lost in routs in the Premier League this season.“I think Barcelona will be very concerned that they have drawn us,” City coach Manuel Pellegrini, who spent the past nine seasons in the Spanish league, said after

SoccerDec. 17, 2013

Lee Sang-hwa sees room for improvement before Sochi Games

Speed skating world record holder Lee Sang-hwa said Tuesday she feels there is still room for improvement ahead of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.Lee made the remark after receiving the Female Athlete of the Year award, presented by a local cable network and co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation.She beat out figure skater Kim Yu-na, who won her second career world title in March this year, and the world’s No. 1-ranked

Olympic GamesDec. 17, 2013

14 added to Masters field through ranking

Augusta National added 14 players to the field for the Masters when the final world ranking of the year was published Monday.That brings the field to 90 players who are expected to compete April 10-13, and again raises the possibility of the Masters exceeding 100 players for the first time in nearly 50 years. Augusta National has the smallest field of the four majors and prefers to keep it under 100 to enhance the overall experience at its tournament.This is the third time in the last four years

GolfDec. 17, 2013

Simunic banned for 10 games for pro-Nazi chant

FIFA has banned Croatia defender Josip Simunic for 10 games _ including the entire World Cup _ for leading fans in a pro-Nazi chant after the team qualified for the tournament in Brazil.Simunic invoked a World War II-era slogan used by Croatia's then-puppet regime following a 2-0 playoff victory against Iceland last month.``After taking into account all of the circumstances of the case, and particularly given the gravity of the incident, the committee decided to suspend the player for 10 officia

SoccerDec. 17, 2013

Murray wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year award

LONDON (AFP) ― Andy Murray, the first British man in 77 years to win Wimbledon, claimed the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award on Sunday and then apologized if he sounded bored.Murray, 26, had defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets in July’s Wimbledon championship match for his second career Grand Slam title. The Scot had won the U.S. Open in 2012 as well as the Olympic title.In Sunday’s awards, he beat British and Irish Lions rugby union player Leigh Halfpenny who finished second and ho

More SportsDec. 16, 2013

Van der Walt wins Mandela title

DURBAN, South Africa (AP) ― Dawie van der Walt shot a 4-under 66 Saturday to win the Nelson Mandela Championship by two shots, giving the tournament a South African victory in a week when the country bids farewell to its former president.Van der Walt finished with a three-round total of 15-under 195 as the sun eventually shone on the final day of the rain-shortened event. It was his second European Tour victory. England’s Matthew Baldwin (68) and Spain’s Jorge Campillo (68) were tied for second.

SoccerDec. 15, 2013

IOC to spend $20m to fight match-fixing and doping

LONDON (AP) ― The International Olympic Committee is putting up $20 million to fight doping and match-fixing ― considered the two biggest threats to the credibility of the Games.New IOC president Thomas Bach announced the funding projects Saturday following an unprecedented four-day “brainstorming session” with his executive board in the Swiss resort of Montreux that focused on key issues for the future of the Olympics.Bach, who was elected in September to succeed Jacques Rogge as president, has

Olympic GamesDec. 15, 2013

Russia says Sochi will have enough snow for games

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's chief weather forecaster says Sochi will have enough snow for the Winter Olympics in February.Two test events in Sochi had to be cancelled last February because of lack of snow or rainy weather in the area, which is the only sub-tropical region of Russia.Organizers have stored snow and installed what they described as Europe's biggest snow-making system to make sure there's enough snow for the games, which begin on Feb. 7.Roman Vilfand, director of the Russian Meteorologi

Olympic GamesDec. 13, 2013

Yang angry after school drops his sport

Olympic champion Yang Hak-seon, who vaulted South Korea gymnastics into the limelight by winning gold at the 2012 London Games, has flipped out at plans by Hanyang University to disband its gymnastics team, fearing it could harm the sport’s growth.The university announced that it would drop gymnastics, judo and track and field from its sports teams in 2015 due to budget shortfalls and bribery scandals surrounding the selection of new students.They will run only soccer, basketball, baseball, voll

More SportsDec. 12, 2013

MLB to ban plate collisions

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) ― Pete Rose sounded bowled over.Charlie Hustle, who famously flattened Ray Fosse to score the winning run in the 1970 All-Star game, couldn’t believe Major League Baseball intends to eliminate home-plate collisions by 2015 at the latest.“What are they going to do next, you can’t break up a double play?” Rose said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press after MLB announced its plan Wednesday.“You’re not allowed to pitch inside. The hitters wear more armor

BaseballDec. 12, 2013