Tennis:
Second-seed Serena Williams will have to beat her sister, Venus, if she wants to win the Australian Open and wrap up her 23rd Grand Slam singles title. Serena Williams reached the final with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Mirjana Lucic-Bartoli after 36-year-old Venus knocked out fellow American Coco Vandeweghe, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3. Venus is the oldest player in the Open era to advance this far in the Australian Open final, 14 years after her last appearance in the final.
NBA:
In the NBA, Boston beat Houston 120-109, Dallas won against the Knicks 103-95, Philadelphia topped Milwaukee 114-109, Miami bested Brooklyn 109-106, Sacramento defeated Cleveland 116-112, Oklahoma City trumped New Orleans 114-105, Atlanta beat Chicago 119-114, Memphis won against Toronto 101-99, and it was Portland over the Lakers 105-98.
The Celtics have reached a three-year agreement with General Electric that includes displaying the company's logo on their uniforms. The patch will appear above each player's left breast and will be in the team's green and white colors instead of the traditional GE blue. The Celtics are the third NBA team to announce a deal to wear a sponsor's patch on its jersey, following the 76ers and Kings. Financial terms of the Celtics deal were not revealed.
NHL:
In the NHL, Philadelphia blanked the Rangers 2-0, Vancouver edged Colorado 3-2, Edmonton shut out Anaheim 4-0, and it was Toronto over Detroit 4-0.
Albany’s long affliliation with the AHL might be coming to a close. According to a report from the Times Union, the Albany Devils are on the verge of relocating to Binghamton. The Devils’ departure is expected to be finalized Sunday at an AHL’s governors meeting in Pennsylvania. If the move is approved the team will start playing next season in the central New York city. Binghamton previously had an AHL team, but the Ottawa Senators announced they purchased the franchise from local owners with intent of moving it to Belleville, Ontario.
NCAA:
In college men's basketball, Connecticut beat South Florida 81-60 last night. Jalen Adams scored 20 points and matched a career-high with 12 assists to lead the Huskies to an American Athletic Conference victory. UConn pulled away for good during a 23-9 run over a nine-minute stretch of the second half. Christian Vital finished with 17 points and Rodney Purvis had 14.
Boston University beat Army West Point 90-88 last night. Eric Fanning scored 32 points. Fanning sank a 3-pointer in overtime to put Boston up 85-81 with 1:09 to play. Justin Alston's dunk stretched it to 87-83 with 23 seconds left and the Terriers held on for the win.
Saint Louis held off Massachusetts 74-70 last night. Aaron Hines scored a season-high 21 points for Saint Louis. DeJon Jarreau led UMass with 17 points. UMass was 21 of 31 on free throws with the teams combining for 64 fouls.
Vermont defeated Albany 60-49 last night for the Catamounts' ninth-straight win. Trae Bell-Haynes scored 18 points. Kurt Steidl added 10 points for Vermont, which is 7-0 in the American East Conference for the first time in 12 seasons.
Binghamton used a big second half to beat Hartford 76-55 last night. Marlon Beck II scored 15 points, and Thomas Bruce grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds for Binghamton. Jalen Ross scored 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting for Hartford, which was held to 36.2 percent shooting. It was Ross' first 20-point game in league play this season.
Bryant pulled away from Central Connecticut for a 65-54 win last night. Nisre Zouzoua scored 24 points and Bosko Kostur had 15 points. Bryant outscored Central Connecticut 19-6 in the final 5:58. Zouzoua's 3-point play off a layup gave the Bulldogs a 49-48 lead they'd never surrender.
University of Kansas police say they are investigating the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl last month at a dorm housing the men's basketball team. Five members of the Jayhawks team are listed as witnesses on the police report, but no charges have been filed and no suspects have been identified. Police said in their release that the athletics department is cooperating and has assisted investigators. The alleged assault and other related crimes occurred sometime between 10 p.m. on Dec. 17 and 5 a.m. on Dec. 18. The Jayhawks played a game against Davidson in nearby Kansas City the night of Dec. 17.
MLB:
The Boston Red Sox have avoided salary arbitration with Drew Pomeranz by working out a one-year, $4.45 million contract with the All-Star lefty. Pomeranz was seeking $5.7 million and the Red Sox offered $3.6 million after he went 11-12 with a 3.32 ERA in 170 2/3 innings for Boston and the Padres last season. And a person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press that former Royals closer Greg Holland has agreed to a contract with the Rockies.
NFL:
The NFL says its concussion protocol wasn't strictly followed when Miami Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore was treated for a hit to the chin and mouth in an AFC wild-card playoff game. An NFL investigation concluded Moore was bleeding from the mouth and was allowed to return to the game too quickly against Pittsburgh.
Olympics:
Usain Bolt has lost a gold medal and a world record without breaking a sweat. The International Olympic Committee has stripped Jamaica's 2008 Olympic 4x100 relay team of its gold medal because one of Bolt's teammates has tested positive for a banned stimulant in re-analysis of samples. Nesta Carter's PED use was detected in re-analysis of samples the IOC has held since the Beijing Games, leaving Bolt with eight Olympic gold medals instead of nine.
NASCAR:
Politics may be in Carl Edwards' future now that his NASCAR driving days are over. Edwards told The Associated Press that he would consider a challenge to Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill next year, although he added that he has no plans at the moment to enter the race. His comments come two weeks after he ended his racing career. Columbia College political science professor Terry Smith speculated in a piece for KBIA's Talking Politics that Edwards will challenge the Democratic two-term senator next year.
MLS:
The New York Red Bulls have re-signed center back Damien Perrinelle. The MLS team announced the signing on Wednesday without disclosing contract details. Perrinelle missed the first half of last season while recovering from an injury suffered in the 2015 MLS Cup playoffs. The Frenchman made 10 MLS appearances, including seven starts, down the stretch and played in both playoff games. Perrinelle has played in 40 games for New York over 2 1/2 seasons, with two goals and an assist. Before joining MLS, he played for FC Istres of Ligue 2 in France.
Sports Media:
Brent Musburger is ending his sportscasting career at ESPN to get in the sports handicapping business. The 77-year old will bow out after calling the Jan. 31 basketball game between Kentucky and Georgia. Musburger came to prominence as part of CBS's NFL Today program in the 1980's before he was let go by the network in what was considered a salary dump.
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