Hamilton wins in Abu Dhabi, clinches F1 title
Motorsports: British driver Lewis Hamilton clinched his second Formula One title in style with victory at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, with title rival Nico Rosberg drifting out of contention after failing to recover from a poor start in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Hamilton, the 2008 F1 champion, entered the race with a 17-point lead over his Mercedes rival Rosberg, needing only a top-two finish to guarantee the title.
Rosberg started from pole position and could have taken his first F1 title with a win providing Hamilton finished third. That dream scenario lasted 3 seconds – the time it took Hamilton to overtake Rosberg.
Brazilian driver Felipe Massa crossed the line in second place ahead of his Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas.
• Schumacher improving: Former Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher continues to make progress as he recovers at home from December’s skiing accident.
Schumacher’s manager, Sabine Kehm, told German TV station RTL that the seven-time champion is “making progress considering the severity of his injury” and “you have to give it time. I think you really just have to have patience.”
Schumacher was left in a coma after the accident.
Wildcats make quick work of Bobcats
College men: Devin Booker scored a career-best 18 points, Aaron Harrison added 14 and No. 1 Kentucky held Montana State scoreless for several stretches to race to an 86-28 victory in Lexington, Kentucky.
A game in which the Wildcats (5-0) finished just 29 of 67 from the field (43 percent) was offset by a defensive effort that forced the overmatched Bobcats (0-4) into 21 turnovers and held them to 20 percent shooting.
Joey Frenchwood’s seven points led the Bobcats.
• UConn suspends four: Connecticut has suspended four players in advance of its matchup with West Virginia in the championship game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, which the Mountaineers won 78-68 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The school announced that Omar Calhoun, Rakim Lubin, Dan Guest and Marcel Lewis had been suspended due to a violation of team rules.
Their status will be reevaluated following the No. 17 Huskies’ return home, the school said in a statement.
Only Lubin has seen action in the Huskies’ first three games.
• Henton’s 38 lead Providence: LaDontae Henton scored a career-high 38 points and deflected a last-second shot by Notre Dame as Providence defeated the Irish 75-74 in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic in Uncasville, Connecticut. Henton made 14 of 19 shots from the field and hit the winning free throws with 14.8 seconds left.
Blazers extend win streak to seven
NBA: LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and 14 rebounds, reserve Chris Kaman scored 16 points and Portland extended its winning streak to seven games with a 94-88 triumph over host Boston.
Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger had 19 points apiece for Boston, which dropped its fifth in six games. Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo each scored 13. Rondo added eight assists and six rebounds.
• Warriors outlast Thunder: Marreese Speights scored 28 points for Golden State as the Warriors beat the Thunder 91-86 in Oklahoma City.
Klay Thompson scored 20 points and Stephen Curry added 15 for the Warriors, who won despite shooting a season-low 35.5 percent from the field. Thompson and Curry combined to make just 11 of 35 shots.
Reggie Jackson had 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Thunder, who lost their sixth in a row.
Lundqvist, Rangers cool off Canadiens
NHL: Henrik Lundqvist stopped 21 shots for his fourth shutout, Martin St. Louis had a goal and assist, and the suddenly stingy New York Rangers routed the NHL-leading Montreal Canadiens 5-0 on Sunday night.
Montreal (16-6-1) had won eight of nine. The Rangers, who blanked Philadelphia in their previous game Wednesday, were 1-8-1 against the Canadiens in the previous 10 games.
• Ducks edge Coyotes: Kyle Palmieri and Patrick Maroon each scored a goal, and Ryan Kesler had two assists in the Anaheim Ducks’ 2-1 victory over the visiting Arizona Coyotes. The Ducks extended their unbeaten streak against the Coyotes to seven games.
South Carolina makes case for No. 1 spot
College women: Tiffany Mitchell made all six of her 3-pointers and scored 20 points as No. 2 South Carolina auditioned for the top spot in the country by beating San Diego State 89-38 in Columbia, South Carolina.
No. 1 Connecticut lost this week to No. 6 Stanford, then the Cardinal lost to No. 10 Texas, clearing the way for the Gamecocks to be the No. 1 team in the country for the first time.
• Texas rolls past UCLA: Freshman Brooke McCarty scored 20 points off the bench and No. 10 Texas dominated the boards to roll to a 75-65 win over UCLA in Los Angeles.
The Longhorns outrebounded the Bruins 50-34, including 20 offensive boards that led to 20 second-chance points.
For UCLA, Nirra Fields had 19 points and eight rebounds.
Top four teams unchanged in AP poll
Miscellany: 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.
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 and 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, who 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. Nebraska, Utah, Southern California and Duke dropped out.
• A’s trade for Davis: The Oakland Athletics acquired first baseman Ike Davis and international bonus slot 86 from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for international bonus slot 27. Davis, 27, hit .233 with 11 home runs and 51 RBIs in 143 games for the Mets and Pirates last season.
• Grey Cup matchup set: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are going to the Grey Cup. They defeated the Montreal Alouettes 40-24 in the CFL’s East Division final in Hamilton, Ontario.
The Tiger-Cats will face Calgary in the 102nd Grey Cup on Sunday in Vancouver, B.C. The Stampeders beat the Edmonton Eskimos 43-18 later in the West Division final.