BASEBALL
Source: Mets to hire agent
A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press the New York Mets and Brodie Van Wagenen are getting close to completing a deal that would make the high-profile agent the team's next general manager. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Saturday night because negotiations were ongoing. Van Wagenen, 44, appears set to switch sides after representing several Mets stars including Jacob deGrom, Yoenis Cespedes and Todd Frazier, among others. Van Wagenen has been co-head of CAA Baseball since 2010 and emerged as the club's top choice for GM from a list of 10-12 original candidates. Tampa Bay Rays senior vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom also was a finalist and remains a possibility, according to the person. An announcement is expected shortly after the World Series -- but no earlier than Tuesday. Doug Melvin also had a second interview with ownership this week, but the former Texas and Milwaukee general manager was told he is no longer in the running.
SOCCER
Owner dies in crash
English soccer club Leicester City said Thai owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, 60, was among five people who died when a helicopter crashed next to the stadium. The retail entrepreneur's helicopter burst into flames shortly after taking off from the soccer field Saturday at the team's King Power stadium, which is named after his duty-free chain of retail stores. Vichai bought Leicester for $50 million in 2010 when it was in the second-tier Championship and bankrolled a revival that peaked with the 5,000-to-1 outsiders improbably of winning the English Premier League in 2016. Having accomplished one of the greatest underdog stories in the history of sports, the central England team is now valued by Forbes at $476 million. The sight of Vichai's helicopter taking off from the middle of the field -- to take him to his English base near London in Berkshire -- was a regular feature after the club's home games. On Saturday, it turned into a horror scene when the chopper appeared to suddenly lose power, plummeting to the ground in a parking lot outside the stadium and bursting into flames. Of the other four people who died in the crash, Leicestershire police said two were members of Vichai's staff: Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare. Also killed were pilot Eric Swaffer and passenger Izabela Roza Lechowicz. Police said no one else was believed to have been injured.
GOLF
Schauffele wins in playoff
Xander Schauffele has made it a clean sweep of American winners in the World Golf Championships. Schauffele birdied his last two holes Sunday for a 4-under 68 and then two-putted for birdie on the par-5 18th in a playoff to beat Tony Finau and win the HSBC Champions at Shanghai. Schauffele began the week by celebrating his 25th birthday. He ended it with a tight finish at Sheshan International for his first victory since the Tour Championship last year. Finau, who closed with a 71, hit into a bunker in the playoff, had to lay up and narrowly missed a 20-foot birdie to extend the playoff. Defending champion Justin Rose shot 72 and finished third, missing out on a chance to return to No. 1 in the world.
Champ gets 1st Tour win
Cameron Champ birdied five of the last six holes to win the Sanderson Farms Championship at Jackson, Miss., recovering for his first PGA Tour victory after giving up a four-shot lead Sunday. Champ, 23, won in his ninth career tour start, closing with a 4-under 68 for a four-stroke victory. He finished at 21-under 267 in the wire-to-wire victory at the Country Club of Jackson. Champ began the day four shots ahead, but played the front nine in 1 over to fall into a tie. Corey Conners pulled even on No. 9 with a 13-foot birdie putt, but Champ pulled away on the back nine with four straight birdies on Nos. 13-16. Conners had a 68 to finish second. Carlos Ortiz (64) and Sam Burns (68) were six shots back.
Korda takes 1st title
Nelly Korda shot a 4-under 68 to win the Taiwan Championship on Sunday at Taoyuan, Taiwan, for her first LPGA tour title. Korda -- the younger sister of Jessica Korda, who has won five titles on the LPGA tour -- had an eagle on the par-5 sixth hole and added two more birdies at the Ta Shee Golf and Country Club to finish at 13-under 275. She was two strokes ahead of Minjee Lee, who shot a bogey-free 66. Ryann O'Toole carded seven birdies against a pair of bogeys for a 67 and sole possession of third place at 10-under 278. Carlota Ciganda offset two bogeys with five birdies for a 69 that left her tied for fourth with Megan Khang (71). Local favorite Wei-Ling Hsu, who held a share of the lead with Korda after the third round, had five bogeys and closed with a 74 to finish tied for sixth with Lydia Ko (72).
Parel wins Champions event
Scott Parel won the Invesco QQQ Championship, taking the PGA Tour Champions playoff event at Thousand Oaks, Calif., for his second victory in two months. Parel shot a 4-under 68, parring the final five holes at Sherwood Country Club to hold off Paul Goydos by a stroke. Parel, 53, jumped from sixth to second in the season standings, with the top 36 qualifying for the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in two weeks at Phoenix Country Club. He won the Boeing Classic in late August for his first tour victory. Parel finished at 11-under 205. Goydos parred the final four holes in a 67. Kenny Perry shot 67 to tie for third with David McKenzie (70) and Stephen Ames (71) at 8 under. Season points leader Bernhard Langer had a 70 to get to 7 under. Miguel Angel Jimenez, the second-round leader, shot a 73 to also finish at 7 under.
TENNIS
Federer wins 99th title
Roger Federer won his 99th career ATP Tour title on Sunday, beating qualifier Marius Copil 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the Swiss Indoors final. A ninth title at Federer's hometown event in Basel, where he was once a ball boy, matched the nine he won at the Halle grass-court event in Germany. Federer rallied from trailing by a service break in each set against the 93rd-ranked Romanian, whose serve was measured at 243 kph (151 mph) in his opening service game. The top-seeded Swiss clinched when Copil sent a backhand into the net. Federer's title was his first in more than four months since winning on grass at Stuttgart in June. He closed the gap on the all-time singles titles list to Jimmy Connors, who leads with 109.
Anderson takes Vienna
Kevin Anderson won his second title of the season at the Erste Bank Open at Vienna on Sunday, sealing his place at next month's ATP finals. The eighth-ranked Anderson defeated Kei Nishikori 6-3, 7-6 (3), handing his opponent his ninth consecutive defeat in a final. Anderson, who also won in New York in February, earned a fifth career title but first at a higher-level ATP 500 event. He became the sixth player to qualify for the eight-man, season-ending event in London. A winner of 11 events, Nishikori hasn't triumphed since winning in Memphis in February 2016.
Svitolina rebounds to win
Elina Svitolina secured the biggest title of her career on Sunday, becoming the first Ukrainian player to win the season-ending WTA Finals at Singapore. The No. 6-seeded Svitolina rebounded from a one-set deficit for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over fifth-seeded Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion. Svitolina fell onto her back on the court in celebration, and then shared a hug with Stephens. The Ukrainian player raced to a 3-0 lead in the third set, but Stephens managed to secure a break in the fifth game. Svitolina broke back immediately to take a 4-2 lead. Stephens, making her debut at the WTA Finals, surrendered her serve again on a first match point for Svitolina in the eighth game by sending a backhand crosscourt wide.
Sports on 10/29/2018