The National Service Factor in Sports Development

Webber ends year with first victory

SAO PAULO — Mark Webber ended the season on a high note with his first win of the year at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday after Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel struggled with a gearbox problem.

Vettel, who had already secured the Formula One title, still finished second after letting Webber get past him almost halfway through the race at the 4.3-km Interlagos track.

Jenson Button of McLaren finished third to secure second place in the drivers' standings.

Webber easily passed Vettel on lap 30 after his teammate reduced his pace when he was told by the team that there was something wrong with his gearbox.

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Liverpool slows City's momentum with tie

LONDON — Liverpool did an old rival a favor Sunday when it held Premier League leader Manchester City to a 1-1 draw.

Vincent Kompany put City ahead in the 31st minute but Liverpool equalized just two minutes later through Joleon Lescott's own-goal and City was hanging on at the end even before Mario Balotelli was sent off with seven minutes remaining in the match.

It was only the second time this season that unbeaten City has failed to win in the Premier League and it meant that second-place Manchester United did not pay too dearly for dropping two points against Newcastle on Saturday.

With 11 wins and two draws from 13 games, City leads defending champion United by five points. United, which last season surpassed Liverpool's 21-year-old record of 18 English titles, drew 1-1 with Newcastle following the award of a contentious penalty to the visitors.

Kompany glanced a header into the top corner from David Silva's corner kick before Lescott's outstretched leg deflected Charlie Adam's shot past goalkeeper Joe Hart for the equalizer.

"Manchester City are a top side and have top players and we knew it would be difficult," Adam said. "But we stuck to our guns and we played well."

Balotelli charged about the field after replacing Samir Nasri in the 65th minute, getting his first yellow card for pulling back Glen Johnson by the shoulder and the second six minutes later for leading with his arm while challenging Martin Skrtel for an aerial ball.

Sent from the field, Balotelli seemed to remonstrate with manager Roberto Mancini before being escorted down the tunnel by a policeman. But Mancini said he had no concerns over the temperamental striker.

"He didn't deserve the second yellow card," Mancini said. "We don't have any problem. Mario is young. I think he was disappointed with the yellow card."

Hart then made saves from Luis Suarez and — with a spectacular one-handed stop — from substitute Andy Carroll. Silva could have won it for 10-man City at the other end with a breakaway but his shot was blocked on the line by one of a trio of covering defenders.

Liverpool is in sixth place, ahead of Arsenal on goal difference. Arsenal drew 1-1 with Fulham on Saturday when Gunners defender Thomas Vermaelen scored at both ends.

Wigan beat Sunderland 2-1 and was replaced at the bottom of the standings by Blackburn, which lost 3-1 at Stoke. Everton rose to eighth place as Marouane Fellaini and Apostolos Vellios scored second-half goals for a 2-0 win at Bolton, while Norwich trail the Toffees only on goal difference after a 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers.

The Japan Football Association said Monday it has sent a report on the hostility felt by the Japanese team and supporters during a World Cup qualifier against North Korea in Pyongyang earlier this month to the DPR Korea Football Association as well as FIFA, soccer's world governing body.

The JFA public relations department explained in the report dated Nov. 25, which was also sent to the Asian Football Confederation, that several unusual incidents occurred while the Japanese squad was in Pyongyang for the match on Nov. 15.

Alberto Zaccheroni's side, which lost the game 1-0, arrived a day ahead of the match at Pyongyang international airport, where it was reportedly detained for about four hours due to strict immigration checks.

The report also said that players were restricted from moving about their lodgings and had nutritional supplements deemed to be "performance enhancing food products" confiscated without prior warning.

SYDNEY — Australia's soccer chief believes the 2022 World Cup may not go ahead in Qatar as planned.

Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy said Monday the "last word hasn't been heard yet" on the FIFA vote that awarded the event to Qatar over bids from countries including the United States and Australia.

Lowy did not elaborate on how or why Qatar would lose the rights, but said it related to "the state of the FIFA executive committee", adding "I don't exactly know where it will bounce. The only thing I know is it's not over yet."

Qatar's successful bid became implicated in a broad-ranging corruption scandal that plagued FIFA this year, with FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke saying in a leaked email that they "bought the World Cup."

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Astros fire GM Wade, president Smith

HOUSTON — The Houston Astros have fired general manager Ed Wade and team president Tal Smith.

The moves come less than a week after the sale of the team from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane was officially completed.

The team announced the moves late Sunday night in a statement from new team president and chief executive officer George Postolos.

Postolos says "with the change in ownership, we would like a fresh start in baseball operations."

The search for a new general manager will begin immediately. Assistant general manager Dave Gottfried will serve as interim general manager, but will not be considered for the job full time.

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Bozak scores two goals as Maple Leafs beat Ducks

ANAHEIM, California — Even Tyler Bozak can't explain how an undrafted, inexperienced Maple Leafs forward can get so comfortable playing on a line with two of the NHL's top scorers — under Toronto's hockey microscope, no less.

Nice catch: Senators goalie Alex Auld makes a glove save on a shot by the Hurricanes' Jeff Skinner on Sunday in Ottawa. The Senators won 4-3. AP PHOTO

Nobody on the Anaheim Ducks looks even slightly comfortable these days, and they've got no explanations for their collapse.

Bozak scored two goals, Joffrey Lupul had two assists against his former Anaheim teammates, and the Maple Leafs beat the Ducks 5-2 Sunday night for their fourth victory in five games.

Bozak's third two-goal game of his career was his second in three games. Such are the rewards of skating on the Leafs' top line with NHL scoring leader Phil Kessel, who had an assist for his 31st point, and Lupul, who's tied for second in the league with 29 points in his own breakout offensive season.

"I'm comfortable. I think I can play with those guys," said Bozak, who has stayed on the top line even with Tim Connolly's return from injury. "We've had a ton of injuries, but guys have stepped up and responded really well."

Bozak and Clarke MacArthur scored 19 seconds apart in the first period for Toronto, which reclaimed first place in the Northeast Division and sent the spiraling Ducks to their seventh consecutive loss with a sturdy, workmanlike performance to finish a mileage-heavy four-game road trip.

"After playing with those guys, especially (Ryan) Getzlaf and (Corey) Perry, I know if they get confidence at the start of the game, they're going to be tough to contain," Lupul said. "It was important that we responded right away after they got the first goal."

Flames 5, Wild 2

In St. Paul, Minnesota, Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla had third-period goals to pad Calgary's lead and help stop a three-game losing streak for the Flames.

Senators 4, Hurricanes 3

In Ottawa, Jason Spezza scored twice, including his 200th regular-season goal, and David Runblad got his first NHL goal to lead the Senators.

Spezza reached the milestone with his second goal of the game on a power play late in the first period. His first tally 55 seconds in ended a personal 11-game goal drought.

Blues 2, Blue Jackets 1

In Columbus, David Backes scored in the third period to lift St. Louis to the win in coach Ken Hitchcock's first game against his former club.

Kris Russell, traded from Columbus earlier in the month, also scored for St. Louis.

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Dragons punch ticket

NAGOYA — Hirokazu Ibata made Shohei Tateyama pay in the worst way, breaking a scoreless tie with a two-run homer in the sixth inning as the Chunichi Dragons held off the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in a 2-1 victory to book a spot in the Japan Series for the second consecutive year on Sunday.

Title shot: Hirokazu Ibata hits a two-run home run during the Dragons' 2-1 win over the Swallows in the CLCS final stage on Sunday. The Dragons advanced to the Japan Series with the victory. KYODO PHOTO

The Central League champion Dragons, who had an automatic one-win advantage as the league champion, won the Climax Series final stage four games to two against the second-place Swallows, setting up a meeting with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the best-of-seven Japan Series that gets under way on Saturday at Yahoo Dome.

Outgoing Chunichi manager Hiromitsu Ochiai will aim to bring home the championship trophy for the first time since achieving the feat for the first time in 53 years in five games against the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in 2007.

"The pennant race and the Climax Series are two different things," said Ochiai. "I was just sitting here watching intensely but the players were really focused. I owe it to the players and staff and everyone else involved that helped us make it through the Climax Series. Tomorrow I want to take a nice rest."

Chunichi will make its 10th overall appearance in the Japan Series. It is the first time that both league champions will face each other in the championship series since the Yomiuri Giants and Fighters faced off in 2009.

Tateyama (0-1), pitching on two days' rest after a two-inning relief appearance in Game 2, allowed just two singles through five innings but things took a wrong turn when he issued a one-out walk to Masahiro Araki in the sixth.

The right-hander, who went 11-5 during the regular season, was distracted as he threw several times to first in an attempt to pick off Araki and Ibata drilled a 2-2 fastball over the left-field wall for a 2-0 lead at Nagoya Dome.

"I'm not a home run batter, so it's not like I'll get a raise in salary for that home run," Ibata joked. "This year the pitching staff helped carry us to the league title. At the very least, I wanted to changed the script in a short series like this and help the pitching staff relax."

Game 1 winner Kazuki Yoshimi, pitching on three days' rest, threw eight shutout innings of three-hit ball, striking out eight while walking none, get his second win of the series.

Japan's all-time saves leader Hitoki Iwase yielded a leadoff double in the ninth to pinch-hitter Ryohei Kawamoto, who scored on a Norichika Aoki two-out single to center for Yakult's sole run, and with the game on the line Ochiai had seen enough from his closer.

Takuya Asao got Kazuhiro Hatakeyama to pop out in third base foul territory for the final out.

Chunichi won Game 1 behind Yoshimi's strong outing before dropping Games 2 and 3 and winning the next two to clinch its spot in the Japan Series.

Once the runway CL leader, the Swallows faded badly at the end of the season before relinquishing first place to Chunichi on Oct. 6.

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Toure goal keeps City five points clear of United

LONDON — Yaya Toure scored with 16 minutes left Saturday to give Manchester City a 3-2 win at Queens Park Rangers that kept his team five points clear at the top of the English Premier League.

Manchester United looked set to close the gap on its city rival after goals by Edin Dzeko and David Silva had been canceled out by Jay Bothroyd and Heidar Helguson, but Toure headed in Alexsandr Kolarov's leftwing cross to secure a 10th win from 11 league games for City.

United beat Sunderland 1-0 to mark Alex Ferguson's 25th anniversary as manager, while Chelsea kept in touch with the leading sides with a 1-0 win at Blackburn.

Former United defender Wes Brown headed a first-half own-goal, but Ferguson's 1,409th game was more notable for his club's announcement that it had renamed Old Trafford's north stand after him than for anything the players managed on the field.

Frank Lampard's 50th-minute header and a first clean sheet since the opening day of the season kept Chelsea within four points of second-place United. Newcastle remained unbeaten in third place after a 2-1 win over Everton, while Arsenal's resurgence continued with a 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

QPR, which beat Chelsea 1-0 in its last home match, surprised City by taking the lead at Loftus Road. Bothroyd followed last weekend's goal at Tottenham with another header, knocking in Joey Barton's 28th-minute free kick for his first home goal of the season.

But the lead lasted only 15 minutes as Dzeko collected a pass by James Milner and evaded Anton Ferdinand before shooting low into the bottom corner for his 10th league goal of the season, just one fewer than Arsenal striker Robin van Persie's leading tally.

Silva put City ahead for the first time seven minutes into the second half, taking a pass from Dzeko and deceiving the QPR defense by shaping to shoot, taking a touch and then firing in a low shot past goalkeeper Paddy Kenny.

Helguson equalized from close range, inadvertently touching in Bothroyd's goal-bound header, but Toure clinched a win that took unbeaten City to 31 points.

An unremarkable game at Old Trafford was settled in the final minute of the first half when Brown headed into his own net on his first return to his former club since leaving in July.

"It was a long day," Ferguson said. "I was worried we wouldn't play well. I thought we were anxious. Sometimes these emotional occasions — which for me it was — get through to them."

United announced its tribute to Ferguson moments ahead of its longest serving manager's 1,409th game with the northwest England club.

Ferguson saw the new sign on the stand for the first time after walking onto the pitch through a guard of honor formed by the two teams.

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Broncos lose in spite of Humphrey's best efforts

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — John "Helicopter" Humphrey had carried his team for most of the game.

He had made 14 field goals to put his team in a position to win on a day when that seemed improbable, and had a chance to make a game-winning shot at the buzzer. But his final long-range shot was off the mark in the Saitama Broncos' 85-83 loss to the visiting Ryukyu Golden Kings on Sunday at Tokorozawa Municipal Gymnasium.

Humphrey, a two-time bj-league scoring champion (2005-06 and 2006-07) with the Tokyo Apache, finished with a jaw-dropping 40 points, including 7-for-12 from 3-point range, on an afternoon when his teammates needed him to shoulder the offensive load.

The Broncos fell to 3-5, while the Golden Kings, the 2008-09 champion, improved to 6-2, including 5-1 on the road.

"Okinawa, they just made one more shot than us at the end of the game," Saitama coach Dean Murray said. "They deserved to win it, but our guys fought all the way until the end."

Humphrey, the former Apache star, who returned to the league after a two-year absence, scored 18 fourth-quarter points. Rookie forward John Flowers, who had a 26-point game, added nine points in the final stanza.

It appeared as though Humphrey and Flowers were feeding off each other, knowing when to get the ball to the each other and getting their teammates to look for them within the flow of the offense.

"It's just playing the game within the game," Humphrey said.

"I don't believe in moral victories," Humphrey added, "but in a sense it lets our team know that when we play together, we can play with anybody.

"If one shot goes in, or one rebound goes the other way, we win the game. We've just got to play together like that every game. We can't pick and choose . . . and that's one thing, the team is young and they just don't understand yet. But we're coming together and we'll get it right."

Ryukyu led 21-20 after the first quarter. Saitama took a 41-40 lead into the locker room at halftime as Humphrey drained a 3-pointer to put his team ahead in the closing seconds of the half.

In a sign of things to come, Humphrey and Flowers were the two main scorers for the Broncos, combining for 29 of Saitama's first-half points.

That was partly due to this development: Saitama's Kenny Satterfield, a former NBA point guard, played only 6 minutes, 55 seconds in the series opener on Saturday due chronic ankle pain. The Broncos lost that game, falling 96-75 to the Golden Kings. And Satterfield, who has been called the best guard in league history by Osaka's Lynn Washington, didn't play on Sunday, though he did participate in pregame warmup drills.

Much of the Broncos' offense ran through Humphrey, who had a team-high four assists, rookie forward John Flowers and forward Daiki Terashita (two assists).

"I needed to score more today, so I needed to be more aggressive," Humphrey said. "I looked for my shot more, and a couple went in and I got rolling so I might as well keep playing."

"First of all, John is the best leader we have on our team," Murray said. "He always comes to play hard every day, and it carries over. He has a great work ethic by himself. Even this week, he got hurt in practice on Tuesday and didn't practice for a few days. . . . He knew he had to fight for the team this weekend, so he fought all the way to the end. I didn't even know he had 40 but it's no surprising. From the tipoff to the last second, John always plays hard."

Jeff Newton led the Golden Kings with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Reggie Okosa had 13 points, Yasufumi Takushi had three big 3-pointers and 11 points, Dzaflo Larkai scored 10 and Narito Namizato and Naoto Kosuge each had nine.

As part of a 7-2 run to close out the third quarter, Takushi drained a corner 3 to give Ryukyu a 63-54 advantage entering the final period.

Larkai made a strong move in the lane and hit a shot in traffic as the Golden Kings stretched the lead to 68-58 early in the fourth.

Saitama pulled within 72-69 on a Flowers basket with 5:55 remaining, but he missed a chance at a three-point play on the subsequent free throw. Namizato then sank two free throws to stretch the lead back to five, the newcomer making all five of his fourth-quarter free-throw attempts and scoring a team-high seven points total in the decisive quarter.

The Broncos led for short stretches (78-77 and 81-80) before the Golden Kings pulled ahead for good down the stretch.

Namizato's jumper made it 82-81 and, after Flowers lost the handle while dribbling, Namizato got the ball back, was fouled and sank two free throws to make it a three-point game.

Flowers was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with 7.8 seconds left and went to the line for three shots. He made the first two but missed the last one, making it 84-83 in Ryukyu's favor. After the miss, Newton grabbed the defensive rebound and was sent to the line, where he made the second of two shots to account for the final margin, but not before Humphrey's miss to end the game.

Ryukyu coach Dai Oketani said his team played a good game, but at the end it was a little too close for comfort. As the season progresses, newcomers Okosa and Larkai are growing more comfortable with the team's system, he said, adding that in the fourth quarter, he has "confidence in Namizato to take the ball inside and execute the offense."

Shining Suns 100, Five Arrows 77

In Takamatsu, Dexter Lyons scored 23 points and Lewis Witcher had 22to lead Miyazaki to a series sweep over the winless hosts.

Taishiro Shimizu added six assists for the Shining Suns (2-6).

Nyika Williams paced the Five Arrows (0-8) with 18 points.

Miyazaki took control of the game after halftime, outscoring Takamatsu 35-14 in the third quarter.

Lakestars 83, Susanoo Magic 69

In Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Josh Peppers finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and three steals and Julius Ashby had a 26-point, 13-rebound, two-block afternoon as the hosts earned a series split.

Ray Nixon scored 12 points and Shinya Ogawa had 11 and made 3 of 4 3-point shots as Shiga improved to 6-2.

Michael Parker paced Shimane (5-3) with 24 points and Tatsuhiro Yokoo scored 11. The Magic struggled at the charity stripe (14-for-29).

Phoenix 74, B-Corsairs 72

In Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, Jermaine Dixon scored 19 points, Jeffrey Parmer contributed 17 and Hamamatsu Higashimikawa earned a series sweep over Yokohama.

Shoji Nakanishi, a former Tokyo and Shimane player, added 16 points and Atsuya Ota had 12 for the Phoenix (4-4).

For the B-Corsairs (4-6), who played their fourth game in five days, Justin Burrell was the leading scorer with 18 points and Kenji Yamada had 16. Marcus Simmons and Chas McFarland each had 12 points for the first-year club.

Grouses 98, Big Bulls 88

In Kamiichimachi, Toyama Prefecture, Devin Searcy and Brian Harper scored 20 points apiece and the Grouses improved to 4-4 with their second win in as many days.

Masashi Joho and Ira Brown both poured in 15 points for Toyama, which sank 15 of 17 free throws. Searcy grabbed 13 rebounds.

For Iwate (1-7), Yoshiaki Yamamoto scored a game-best 29 points, Makoto Sawaguchi had 18 and Thomas Kennedy 15.

Evessa 78, Hannaryz 62

In Kyoto, Osaka made 17 of 20 free throws, including Cohey Aoki's 6-for-6 en route to a well-rounded victory.

Aoki had a team-high 21 points and drained 3 of 6 3-pointers. The Evessa improved to 7-1, the best record in the nine-team Western Conference. Lynn Washington added 16 points, 11 boards and six assists, while Daisuke Tamura scored 10.

For Kyoto (3-5), Rick Rickert notched a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Lance Allred scored 14. The Hannaryz were 1-for-14 from beyond the 3-point arc.

89ers 88, Brave Warriors 72

In Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Dan Fitzgerald scored 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to lead Sendai to a sweep over Shinshu.

The 89ers' O'Neal Mims added 26 points and exhibited poise at the foul line, draining 12 of 16 shots. Sendai captain Takehiko Shimura had 15 points and four assists and Johnny Dukes dished out eight assists as the 89ers improved to 5-3.

Tyler Hughes and Derek Raivio finished with 17 points apiece for the Brave Warriors (4-4) and Takato Saito handed out seven assists.

After the victory, Sendai coach Bob Pierce said, "(Small forward Yoshihiro) Tachibana was the unsung hero of this one, playing aggressive defense on Raivio in the second half."

Pierce added: "Dan took over scoring honors . . . as we fought hard to get that second win in a row on the road. Great team effort."

Jets 65, Northern Happinets 54

In Akita, Marcus Hargrow had 22 points, Jamel Staten supplied 17 points and 10 boards and Chiba's defense clamped down on the high-scoring hosts to salvage a series split.

Akita guard Michael Gardener was held to five points on 2-for-11 shooting. E.J. Drayton led the Happinets (6-2) with 20 points.

The Jets' Gaston Moliva had a productive afternoon (eight points, eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks), Tomoya Nakamura hauled in six rebounds in 10:15 playing time and Reina Itakura scored 12 as Chiba (6-2) remains tied with Akita for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

"One of the greatest parts of the game of basketball is when you can play team defense with energy and intensity for all four quarters," Jets coach Eric Gardow told The Japan Times. "It only takes one or two players to be a part of a made basket on offense,

"It takes all five guys on the floor to commit to stopping an opponent from scoring. And that is special. Great win and a long bus ride just got a little shorter. Back home and back to work."

Rizing 92, HeatDevils 79

In Oita, Kevin Palmer's 29 points and six steals and Carlos Dixon's 21-point performance sparked Fukuoka to a win over the hosts.

Akitomo Takeno made seven assists as the Rizing improved to 4-4.

For Oita (3-5, Wendell White had 25 points and 10 boards and T.J. Cummings scored 20 points.

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