Golf: Stricker claims Riviera victory

Steve Stricker will take over from Phil Mickelson as world number two after claiming a two-shot victory in the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles on Sunday.

FIA presidential candidate Ari Vatanen tells CNN that Nelson Piquet Jr should have been punished for his role in Formula One’s “Crashgate” affair.

Maria Sharapova took a step closer to her first tournament victory since January 2008 as she moved into the semifinals of the L.A. Women’s Tennis Championships on Friday night.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel keeps alive his faint hopes of winning this year’s Formula One world title with a convincing victory in the Japan Grand Prix at Suzuka. He is 16 points behind leader Jenson Button — who finished eighth.

Nemanja Vidic has been ruled out of Manchester United’s Champions League trip to Wolfsburg on Tuesday, leaving manager Alex Ferguson with a threadbare defence as his team attempt to secure top spot in Group B.

Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni put Sri Lanka’s inexperienced attack to the sword by smashing centuries as India regained the advantage on the opening day of the first Test match in Ahmedabad.

Mathieu Flamini scored the winner nine minutes from time as a second-string AC Milan side beat third division Novara 2-1 at the San Siro on Wednesday to reach the Coppa Italia quarterfinals.

Former world MotoGP champion Casey Stoner confirms he will miss the next three races in the series in a bid to cure the mystery illness which has hindered his season.

Giampaolo Pazzini scored the only goal as Sampdoria beat champions Inter Milan to leapfrog them at the top of Serie A on Saturday.

The Ivory Coast have reportedly sacked coach Vahid Halilhodzic despite the Bosnian having guided the African team to this year’s World Cup finals.

David Beckham looks set to rejoin AC Milan on loan after the vice-president of the Serie A giants claimed it was “very probable” that a deal would be reached to secure the services of the football icon.

Portsmouth are facing a fresh legal hurdle in their battle for survival after being placed in administration.

Unseeded former No. 1 Kim Clijsters, who came back to women’s tennis only last month, has won the U.S. Open women’s singles title — and is the first mother to win a Grand Slam in nearly three decades.

England will host the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the International Rugby Board (IRB) have announced at a meeting in Dublin on Tuesday.

Algeria grabbed Africa’s last qualification place for the 2010 World Cup by beating Egypt 1-0 in a tense deciding play off in Khartoum, Sudan on Wednesday, thanks to a first-half goal from Antar Yahia.

England called up Steve Harmison to their Ashes squad as they face an anxious wait on the fitness of all-rounder Andrew Flintoff for the second Test at Lord’s on Thursday.