GOLF
DeChambeau wins Dubai
Bryson DeChambeau shot an 8-under 64 to cruise to his first overseas victory at the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday. The American golfer, who was the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 5, started the final round with a one-stroke lead and held his nerve to extend his winning margin with an eagle and seven birdies to finish on 24-under 264. England's Matt Wallace was second after shooting a 4-under 68 for a total of 271. Overnight runner-up Li Haotong, who was looking to claim back-to-back victories at the Emirates Golf Club, shot a final-round 71 to finish on 272 in joint third place. Englishmen Ian Poulter (64) and Paul Waring (64) joined him along with Spain's Sergio Garcia (66) and Alvaro Quiros (68).
FIGURE SKATING
Chen takes title
Nathan Chen lived up to his own impressive standard at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit on Sunday, wrapping up his third consecutive national title with a sensational free skate. Chen, the reigning world champion, finished with a score of 342.22, defeating runner-up Vincent Zhou by more than 58 points. Jason Brown was third. Chen's free skate alone earned 228.80 points, which was higher than the total score for 14 of the 20 skaters. Chen landed four quad jumps in his routine, one of which was in combination. When he wasn't impressing with his jumping ability, he kept the crowd captivated with his easy, elegant skating.
FOOTBALL
Chiefs' Thomas arrested
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver De'Anthony Thomas was arrested Saturday on suspicion of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia in Allen County, Kan. A mug shot of Thomas, 26, was published on the Allen County sheriff's office Facebook page. According to the post, Thomas was booked into the Allen County jail on Saturday. He has since been released on bond. A Chiefs spokesman said the team is aware of the incident but has no further comment. Allen County is located in Southeast Kansas. Its county seat is Iola, Kan. Thomas, who signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs in 2018, finished his fifth season with the Chiefs on the injured reserve list after fracturing his leg in practice in October. The injury occurred in the same leg he fractured in Week 17 of the previous season. He had 3 receptions for 29 yards and 1 touchdown in the first 5 weeks of the season. For his career, Thomas has 64 receptions for 503 yards and 4 touchdowns. Thomas is set to be a free agent when the market opens in a few months.
HORSE RACING
Desormeaux wins No. 6,000
Jockey Kent Desormeaux rallied XS Gold over the final furlong in the first race Sunday at Santa Anita to earn his 6,000th career victory. The 48-year-old Hall of Famer won the race by a head for trainer Jim Cassidy to reach the plateau. Desormeaux won his first race at Evangeline Downs in his native Louisiana on July 13, 1986. He soon moved to Maryland and went on to be the nation's leading rider in 1987 with 450 victories. Two years later, he again led the nation with 598 wins. In 1990, he relocated to Southern California. He has won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness three times each, the Belmont once and has six Breeders' Cup victories. Desormeaux said he's now taking aim at Eddie Delahoussaye, who ranks 15th all-time with 6,383 victories. He said he would also like to win two more Kentucky Derbies to tie Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack's mark of five each.
Espinoza OK to ride
Triple Crown-winning jockey Victor Espinoza said doctors have cleared him to resume his Hall of Fame riding career. Espinoza exercised two horses at Santa Anita on Sunday. He has been sidelined since breaking a vertebra in his neck and injuring his left shoulder and arm in a training accident at Del Mar in July. The 46-year-old jockey said now that doctors have signed off, it's up to him to decide when he's fit and ready to ride. Brian Beach, Espinoza's agent, said after getting opinions from three doctors he expects Espinoza to return in mid-February.
BASEBALL
Peter Magowan dies
Longtime San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan has died. He was 76. The team said Magowan died Sunday after a battle with cancer. Magowan was a lifelong Giants fan ever since going to games at the Polo Grounds in New York and then played a critical role in the team's success over the last quarter-century. Magowan helped form the ownership group that bought the franchise for $100 million from Bob Lurie in December 1992 to keep the team from moving to Tampa Bay. One of his first moves was signing Barry Bonds to a six-year, $43.5 million free-agent deal even before he formally completed the purchase of the team. With the game's greatest slugger in place, the Giants went on to have great success and Magowan put together a plan to build a privately funded ballpark on the water in downtown San Francisco. That park opened in 2000 and became one of the jewels of the game. Magowan stepped down following the 2008 season but had put in place the management team that helped bring San Francisco its first World Series title in 2010 followed by championships in 2012 and '14.
MOTOR SPORTS
Alonso anchors rain-shortened Rolex 24 win
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Fernando Alonso deftly maneuvered through some of the most dangerous driving conditions of his career to grab another victory in a bucket-list event.
Alonso drove a Cadillac DPi to the front of the field in each of his three stints in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, including the final pass for the lead in a heavy rain, on a slick track, with almost no visibility. The race was red-flagged minutes after Alonso put Wayne Taylor Racing out front, and IMSA pulled the plug about two hours later.
The decision to call the race came 10 minutes before the scheduled conclusion and marked the first time rain prevented the Rolex from going the full 24 hours. It also was the first time in race history the event was stopped twice for red flags for rain.
The Spaniard now has won the Rolex, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix. The next big event on his schedule is the Indianapolis 500 in May, the one victory he needs to complete auto racing’s unofficial version of the Triple Crown.
Alex Zanardi’s return to a North American race for the first time since his legs were severed in a 2001 crash was hampered by mechanical problems, including an early electrical issue with the BMW-designed steering wheel that allowed the Italian to race without his prosthetic legs.
Zanardi used the wheel to accelerate, brake, shift and communicate with the car. Even though the Bobby Rahal-owned team finished 18 laps down in the GT Le Mans class, the venture was a success. Zanardi drove three times totaling 6 hours, 17 minutes; his final stint was disrupted by the heavy rain at daybreak.
Rahal’s second BMW M8 entry won the GTLM class with Augusto Farfus, Connor De Phillippi, Phillipp Eng and Colton Herta.
The LMP2 class was won by the No. 18 DragonSpeed Oreca with drivers Roberto Gonzalez, Pastor Maldonado, Sebastian Saavedra and Ryan Cullen, while the No. 11 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan won the GT Daytona class for the second consecutive year with Rolf Ineichen, Mirko Bortolotti, Christian Englehart and Rik Breukers.
Sports on 01/28/2019