Premiership: Exeter Chiefs 33-17 Sale Sharks

Exeter Chiefs (10) 33
Tries: Waldrom, Chudley 2, Short, Johnson Con: Steenson Pens: Steenson, Hooley
Sale Sharks (10) 17
Tries: Addison, Beaumont Cons: Cipriani 2 Pen: Cipriani
Relive Boxing Day's Premiership action

Exeter Chiefs climbed above Saracens to the top of the Premiership table with a bonus-point win over Sale.

Thomas Waldrom and Will Chudley went over for Exeter in the first half, Danny Cipriani replying with a Sale penalty and Will Addison going over.
Josh Beaumont's try gave Sale an early second-half lead, but Chudley responded with his second score within a minute.

GOVT HAS NO BUSINESS RUNNING PROFESSIONAL CLUBS–Onu, former Eagles manager

Former Super Eagles (Home based) manager, Erasmus Onu, has joined those clamouring for state governments to hands off the ownership of professional clubs that are featuring in the nation’s domestic league.
Onu, who spoke exclusively to Satur­day Sunsports last week said he would want to see a setting where there would be no government owned club in the Glo premier league, insisting that all the reforms being put in place by the League Management Company (LMC) to take the league to the next level will only begin to yield dividend if the clubs change from being mere government parastatals to real professional sides.
The talented coach, who last handled Heartland FC of Owerri pointed out that it is only in this country that government own and fund professional football clubs.

Sports Personality of the Year: Dan Carter wins 2015 Overseas award

The Sports Personality of the Year ceremony will take place at The SSE Arena in Belfast on Sunday, 20 December, and will be live on BBC One between 18:50-21:00 GMT.
The awards will be hosted by Gary Lineker, Clare Balding and Gabby Logan in front of a 7,500-strong audience in Northern Ireland, the first time the event has been hosted in the country.
Fly-half Carter, who joined French side Racing 92 after the World Cup, missed the All Blacks' win in the 2011 final through injury but fought back to regain the number 10 shirt for the 2015 edition.
He went into the tournament, which took place in England in September and October, acknowledged as one of the greats of the game but with some doubts over his form and whether his body could still withstand the rigours of international rugby.

Ogba hails Ambode for reviving Lagos Marathon

Athletics Federation of Nigeria president, Solomon Ogba has commended Lagos State governor, Akinwummi Ambode for the rebirth of a world class marathon in Lagos.
The details of the 42km marathon sponsored by Access Bank were disclosed last weekend and it was much more of a relief to athletics officials and runners who felt pained by the demise of the Lagos half marathon.
“We thank Governor Ambode, who not only embraced the idea, but he is working round the clock to ensure its success.”

Wisconsin's Ryan retiring effective immediately

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan retired after one last victory with the Badgers on Tuesday night, saying he wanted to step away now to give top assistant Greg Gard the opportunity to prove he is ready to lead the program.
Ryan, who turns 68 on Sunday, said in June this would be his last season, and then left the door open for a return in August. But he said Tuesday night that part of the reason he came back at all was to give Gard time to be with his father, Glen, who was diagnosed with cancer in the spring and passed away this fall.

Ryan said the demands on Gard's time to fly around the country meeting with doctors and helping his dad put his retirement on the back burner. Following Glen Gard's death, Ryan then spoke with athletic director Barry Alvarez and decided the semester break would be a good time to step down.
"Every coach would like their top assistant to be the coach," Ryan said after a 64-49 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Chapman trade on hold amid domestic violence allegations

The proposed trade sending Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman to the Los Angeles Dodgers appeared to be on hold Monday night after Yahoo Sports reported that police investigated an accusation of domestic violence involving the pitcher.Yahoo reported more than a dozen police officers responded to Chapman's home in Florida on Oct. 30. No arrests were made due to conflicting stories and a lack of cooperation, according to the report by the website.

Police in Davie, Florida, said they could not provide a copy of the police report on Monday night. Jay Reisinger, Chapman's lawyer, denied the allegations in the Yahoo report.
"We are aware of the situation and have commenced an investigation," Major League Baseball said in a statement.
Earlier, a person familiar with the deal said the Reds agreed to trade Chapman to the Dodgers, pending approval of medical records. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement, first reported by Fox, had not been announced.

Emmanuel shocks American Reed in Gov’s Cup

The scramble is on for international ranking points at the Governor’s Cup Futures 1, with home-boy, Sylvester Emmanuel making waves after sensationally upsetting American Anderson Reed in straight sets win, 7-6, 6-3 to move into the second round.
It was supposed to be a routine match for the American but playing against an inspired Emmanuel, who got into the main draw on the wings of a wild card, Reed found a foe, to hard to crack in their first round match held at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.
The opening set was a close one as both players held serve right to the 13th game, which Emmanuel won on tie breaker.

In the second set, Emmanuel took his game to a level, breaking Reed in the opening game and never looked back till he wrapped up match 6-3. His victory seems shocking given that Nigerian players always like a pack of cards when facing foreigners from America and Europe.
Instructively, however, his victory does not does not come as a surprise to tennis faithful; who are privy to the reality that Emmanuel has in the last three months, been playing in Futures events in USA, Togo and Republic of Benin.

Greinke reportedly reaches $206M deal with Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a six-year, $206 million deal with free-agent right-hander Zack Greinke, according to sources, FOX Sports MLB insider Ken Rosenthal reports.
The contract includes deferred money, Rosenthal says. The deal is pending a physical.

Greinke, 32, led the majors with a 1.66 ERA this past season, when he went 19-3 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also struck out 200 batters in 222 2/3 innings and finished second in the NL Cy Young Award voting. In his past three seasons with the Dodgers, he went 51-15 with a 2.30 ERA.

A three-time All-Star and the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner, Greinke is 142-93 with a 3.35 ERA and 8.1 K/9 ratio during his 12-season major-league career.
The deal comes several days after free-agent left-hander David Price agreed to a seven-year, $217 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.

Victorious Tyson targets Klitschko rematch

World heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko (L) of Ukraine defends against Britain's Tyson Fury during their WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO title bout in Duesseldorf, western Germany, on November 28, 2015. Fury dethroned Klitschko in a 12round decision to become world heavyweight

 

Tyson Fury insists he is already relishing a rematch against Wladimir Klitschko, AFP reports.

The 27-year-old Fury shook up world boxing on Saturday by securing a unanimous points win over Klitschko to snatch the Ukrainian’s World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organisation belts.

Fury singlehandedly brought a heavyweight era to an end in Dusseldorf, Germany by inflicting a first defeat on Klitschko for 11 years to end his run of 19 consecutive defences.

LMC takes reform campaign to World Leagues Forum in Paris

The Nigeria   Professional Football League, (NPFL) will tomorrow in Paris, France join other world football leagues at the World Leagues Forum to discuss the future of the league in the scheme of the emerging FIFA structure.

It is the second edition of the World Leagues Forum (WLF) and Nigeria will be represented by the Chairman of the League Management Company, Mallam Shehu Dikko who said it will be another opportunity to seek global partnership and support for the internal reforms in NPFL and also the on-going campaign to arrest capital flight from domestic sports industry to Europe which has denied the League the right kind of funding.
“We will use the platform to further drive the message of on-going internal reforms in the NPFL and also the case for better funding of the league and clubs for improved players’s welfare”, Dikko said to npfl.ng shortly before departing for the congress.

Tyson Fury: I will never fight 'pretender' David Haye

 

World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury says he will never defend his titles against fellow Briton David Haye.

Fury shocked the boxing world by beating Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday to secure the WBA, IBF and WBO belts.
But Fury has not forgiven Haye for pulling out of two scheduled fights against him in 2013 and causing him "mental and physical torture".
"David Haye will never get a fight against Tyson Fury after what he did to me," said the Manchester boxer.

FIDAF can be tool for fitness, health promotion, says AXA Mansard Health chief

Head of Operations, AXA Mansard Health, Nte Uran-York (left), Captain Society For Family Health Football Team/Winner of 2015 Federation of International Development Agencies Football (FIDAF) Tournament, Suleman Tukur, and Celestine Babayaro, who was the Special Guest of Honour, during the cup presentation at the 2015 FIDAF tournament in Abuja…at the weekend.

The lead sponsor of the just concluded Federation of International Development Agencies Football (FIDAF) fiesta, which climaxed over the weekend, AXA Mansard Health, says the competition has the potential for promoting fitness and good health among the nation’s non-governmental health organisations based in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

NL's Harper youngest unanimous MVP; Donaldson earns AL honor

 

Bryce Harper began this season with one personal goal -- and it had nothing to do with homers, RBIs or awards.
"All I wanted to do was stay healthy and stay on the field every day," he said.
Harper did that, and a lot more. The Washington slugger put behind his injury-plagued past and put up huge numbers, becoming the youngest unanimous MVP winner in baseball history when he captured the NL honor Thursday.

Toronto third baseman Josh Donaldson took the AL MVP after helping to boost the Blue Jays back into the postseason for the first time since 1993.
"We tore down a lot of thresholds this organization has had," he said.
Harper turned 23 on Oct. 16, after his Nationals had already missed the postseason. The outfielder got all 30 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, and was the first MVP in either league from a non-playoff team since Albert Pujols with St. Louis in 2008.
"Very excited, very humbled," Harper said.
Harper seemed destined for stardom ever since Sports Illustrated put him on the cover at 16. He began with a bang, making the All-Star team soon after his big league debut and emerging as the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year.

US Sprinter Trayvon Bromell I'm Coming for You Usain Bolt ... 'Anybody Can Be Beaten'

Confidence: a feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities.
Put U.S. track star Trayvon Bromell in that category, 'cause he believes he can dethrone the fastest man on Earth ... Jamaican cyborg Usain Bolt.
Bromell is no slouch ... placing 3rd in the 100 meters at the World Championships ... so when we got him at LAX, we asked if he thinks he's got a shot at the title next year in Rio. After all, he ran a blistering 9.92 to Usain's 9.79 at championships.
Check out the clip -- Bromell says despite Usain's unbelievable record NO ONE is immune to an ass whupping from time to time.

Nick Bockwinkel WWE Legend Dead at 80

Nick Bockwinkel -- WWE Hall of Famer -- and pioneer of the sports-entertainment culture has died .
WWE released a statement confirming the death of the 4-time AWA Heavyweight Champ ... but a cause of death is yet to be revealed.
Bockwinkel began his career in the 1950's ... paving the way for pro-wrestlers today with his excellent grappling skills, and charismatic ring interviews.
He was also managed by legendary WWE star Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.
Bockwinkel was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007.
R.I.P.

Pro Rugby to run rugby union competition in North America

                      

Pro Rugby says the league will be made up of an initial six teams from the United States

North America's first ever professional rugby union league is to be launched next year.

The league, sanctioned by USA Rugby and World Rugby, will begin in April 2016 with six teams from the United States, before Canadian sides join in 2017.
Each team will be allowed no more than five non-North American players.
"As the fastest growing team sport in the USA, it is time to have a sanctioned professional competition," said USA Rugby chairman Bob Latham.

Lord Coe calls bribery allegations in athletics 'abhorrent'

IAAF president Lord Coe has branded alleged bribery within athletics to cover up doping violations "abhorrent".

A report into claims of cover-ups and money-laundering will show "a whole different scale of corruption" even to Fifa, says co-author Richard McLaren.
An independent commission set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency will report its findings on Monday.
Ex-IAAF president Lamine Diack is under investigation on suspicion of corruption and money laundering.
Diack's son, Papa Massata Diack, is among four men charged by the body over ethics code breaches.
"That people in our sport have allegedly extorted money from athletes guilty of doping violations is abhorrent," said Coe in a statement sent to Reuters and Britain's Sunday Times newspaper.

Lamine Diack: Ex-athletics chief investigated in corruption inquiry

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Lamine Diack, ex-head of the IAAF, is being investigated over allegations he took payments for deferring sanctions against Russian drugs cheats.

French prosecutors - acting on information supplied by the World Anti Doping Authority - suspect Senegalese Diack, 82, of receiving money in 2011.
The IAAF's new president Lord Coe was questioned by French police on Tuesday, having offered to co-operate.

Athletics' world governing body says it is "fully co-operating" with inquiries.
It confirmed police had carried out searches and interviews at its Monaco headquarters.
Wada president Sir Craig Reedie told BBC Sport he was unable to comment on the Diack case until the publication of a report by an independent commission into the allegations of systemic doping.
However, the organisation did confirm that the French criminal investigation were a result of "information passed on" by its commission "to the relevant authorities".
Wada will publish the findings of its report into allegations of widespread doping on Monday, in Geneva.

Breeders' Cup Turf: Golden Horn beaten by Found in Kentucky

  

Golden Horn was beaten into second place by Aidan O'Brien's Found in the Breeders' Cup Turf in Kentucky.

Favourite Golden Horn was aiming to be the first horse to win the Epsom Derby, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Breeders' Cup Turf in the same year.

But the 4-1 second favourite, ridden by Ryan Moore, finished strongly to triumph by half a length.

It was O'Brien's fifth win in the Turf. He is now the third most successful Breeders' Cup trainer with 10 winners.

Max Whitlock wins gold at World Gymnastics Championships

World Gymnastics Championships
Venue: Hydro Arena, Glasgow Date: 23 October to 1 November

Max Whitlock became the first man to win a gold for Great Britain in the World Championships when he claimed the pommel horse in Glasgow.

The 22-year-old scored 16.133 points, finishing 0.1 points ahead of team-mate Louis Smith who claimed silver.
Whitlock had won his second silver medal of the championships earlier on Saturday on the floor.
"I had dreamed of this moment but never felt I would get emotional," said Whitlock.
"Louis did an amazing job to get a massive 16 so to beat that I am over the moon."
It takes the Basildon gymnast's medal haul at these championships to three.
He won team silver on Wednesday and recovered from the disappointment of missing out on a medal in the men's all-around final on Friday by winning another silver on the floor exercise.