MOTOR SPORTS
Despres wins Round 2
Frenchman Cyril Despres of Peugeot won the second round of the Dakar Rally on Sunday and took the overall lead of the race. The third-place finisher in last year's race finished in 2 hours, 56 minutes and 51 seconds for the 195 miles around Pisco, Peru. He finished ahead of two French teammates, with a 48-second lead on Stephane Peterhansel and 3:08 in front of Sebastien Loeb. Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah, who won the first round, ended nearly 15 minutes behind the leader in fifth. Despres leads the overall classification by 27 seconds on Peterhansel. Sunday's race was marked by a series of accidents, including one that affected American driver Bryce Menzies of Mini. Menzies was unharmed in the crash. In the motorcycles race, Spain's Joan Barreda Bort of Honda clocked in at 2:56:44 to win the second round. France's Adrien van Beveren of Yamaha finished second once again, 2:54 back. Austria's Matthias Walkner of KTM was third, 4:24 behind the leader. Overall, Bort leads with 2:30 on Van Beveren. The Dakar Rally will move on today to San Juan de Marcona, Peru.
FOOTBALL
Woodson picked for HOF
Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson of Michigan has been selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Woodson won the Heisman in 1997, becoming the first player who primarily played defense to win the award. The rest of the 2018 Hall of Fame class will be revealed this morning by the National Football Foundation. Some of the newly selected inductees will be honored before the College Football Playoff national championship game between Alabama and Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium tonight. Woodson was a star cornerback, and he also returned punts and played receiver for the Wolverines, who won The Associated Press national championship that season. A star in the NFL with Oakland and Green Bay, Woodson will be the 31st Michigan player inducted into the Hall of Fame.
UCF celebrates with parade
Unbeaten Central Florida celebrated its self-proclaimed national championship with a parade at Disney World on the eve of the College Football Playoff final. The Knights (13-0) finished with the only perfect season in the Football Bowl Subdivision with a Peach Bowl victory over Auburn, which during the regular season beat both Alabama and Georgia, who'll meet in the CFP championship game tonight in Atlanta. UCF feels its accomplishment in winning the American Athletic Conference championship was undervalued by the CFP selection committee, which listed the Knights 12th in the panel's final rankings. After beating Auburn on New Year's Day, UCF's athletic director said the Knights were declaring themselves national champions and intend to hang a championship banner at the school's stadium. In addition, the coaching staff is going to be paid bonuses for winning the self-proclaimed title. The celebration, also featuring UCF cheerleaders and the school's marching band, began with Sunday's parade down Main Street, USA, at Disney World. It resumes tonight with a pep rally and free block party in downtown Orlando.
Titans: Mularkey stays
Tennessee owner Amy Adams Strunk said Coach Mike Mularkey is going nowhere after helping change the Titans' culture and getting their first playoff victory in 14 years. Strunk issued a statement Sunday afternoon trying to dispel rumors and reports that "gained a life of their own." The owner said no one has been a bigger supporter of Mularkey than she has since making him interim head coach in November 2015. Strunk said to eliminate any distractions as the Titans (10-7) prepare for their first AFC divisional playoff game since January 2009 that Mularkey will be their coach moving forward. Mularkey addressed national reports that his job was on the line after the Titans beat Kansas City 22-21 on Saturday, saying he assumed the worst.
New Packers GM named
A person familiar with the decision said the Green Bay Packers are promoting player personnel director Brian Gutekunst to be the team's next general manager. The person requested anonymity because the team has made no formal announcement. Gutekunst would replace Ted Thompson, who is transitioning to a senior advisory role in the front office. The Houston Chronicle first reported Sunday that Gutekunst had taken the job. Gutekunst has been Green Bay's player personnel director for nearly two years, though he has been with the Packers' player personnel department for nearly two decades. The Packers (7-9) finished with a losing record and out of the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
FIGURE SKATING
Ice-dancing upset
With an entertaining and seductive performance that could practically have melted the ice, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue pulled off an ice dancing upset to close the U.S. Figure Skating championships Sunday at San Jose, Calif. The team beat out two-time defending champion sibling tandem Maia and Alex Shibutani with a score of 197.12, edging the Shibutanis' 196.93. Hubbell and Donohue should be headed to their first Olympics; a federation committee later Sunday was to decide the three duos headed to South Korea. Striking in dark evening-wear costumes, Hubbell and Donohue skated to "Across the Sky" in which their lifts were both lovely and sultry for a 118.02 score. They came into the free dance in second place after the short program Friday. The Shibutanis floated across the ice so light on their feet they appeared to not touch it at all, but didn't receive marks from the judges high enough to make it three consecutive U.S. championships. Still, the brother-sister team all but locked up a trip to a second consecutive Olympics next month in Pyeongchang. Madison Chock and Evan Bates were third at 196.60 skating to "Imagine" and also figure to make the Olympic squad.
Husband-wife pair picked
Sticking with the standings at the national championships, U.S. Figure Skating has selected husband-and-wife team Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim for the Olympic team. The Knierims won their first U.S. title in 2015, repeated on Saturday and are the only U.S. pair to complete a quadruple twist. Pairs competition has been a problem area for the United States for years and the country has only one spot in the Pyeongchang field next month. The Knierims were selected Sunday. In 2015, they were the first U.S. pair to qualify for the Grand Prix Final since 2007. Although they missed the 2016-17 season because of her illness, they have earned the highest U.S. finish at each of their international assignments since their return at the 2017 Four Continents Championships. Alternates for the Olympic team will be Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea (first alternate), Deanna Stellato and Nathan Bartholomay (second alternate), and Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc (third alternate).
GOLF
Johnson powers way to win at Kapalua
KAPALUA, Hawaii — A new year brought out the best in Dustin Johnson, who powered his way to an 8-under 65 and an eight-shot victory Sunday in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
In a field that featured the top five players in the world, Johnson made a strong opening statement that a No. 1 ranking he has held for nearly a year might be difficult to take away.
Johnson stretched a two-shot lead to six shots at the turn, then delivered the biggest moment of the week with a drive on the par-4 12th hole that stopped 6 inches from the cup for a tap-in eagle. He also drove the par-4 14th hole.
He finished at 24-under 268. The eight-shot margin of victory was his largest ever, and it was one short of the tournament record set by David Duval since this event moved to Kapalua in 1999. Jordan Spieth also won by eight shots in 2016.
Sports on 01/08/2018