Football: Troubled Terry thanks fans

John Terry has made his first public comments since being stripped of his role as England’s football captain, thanking the fans of his club Chelsea for their support.

Serena Williams claimed a fourth successive win over older sister Venus to triumph in straight sets in the final of the season-ending Sony Ericsson WTA Championship in Doha on Sunday.

Tennis: Safina backs out of Dubai date

World No. 2 Dinara Safina has been forced to pull out of next week’s Dubai Tennis Championships due to her ongoing back problems.

While the football community is gearing up for next week’s World Cup draw in Cape Town, the globe’s most popular game is embroiled in match-fixing scandals on two continents.

Football: Van Gaal snubs Nigeria job

Nigeria’s short-list of targets for the vacant national manager’s job has been cut by one after Bayern Munich coach Louis Van Gaal distanced himself from the role.

England had to dig deep on day two of the third Test at Newlands, Cape Town, to stay on course to protect their 1-0 series lead over South Africa.

Yachting: America’s Cup stalls again

After two years of bitter legal wrangles, the start of the 33rd America’s Cup has been delayed yet again by a lack of wind off the coast of Valencia in Spain.

German driver Nico Rosberg reveals he is looking for a new Formula One team for next year, and that this weekend’s season-ending race in Abu Dhabi will be his last for Williams.

Football: Robinho nets Santos winner

Manchester City misfit Robinho made a winning second debut for Santos as he scored the decisive goal in a 2-1 victory against Brazilian rivals Sao Paulo on Sunday.

Costa Rica suffered World Cup heartbreak as the United States salvaged a last-gasp 2-2 draw in Washington to deny the visitors an automatic place at next year’s finals.

Cricket: Steyn shreds Indian line-up

South Africa pace bowler Dale Steyn ripped through India’s batsmen on the third day of the first cricket Test in Nagpur, taking eight wickets as the hosts were forced to follow on.

Russian Nikolay Davydenko comes out on top in a high-quality final with top seed Rafael Nadal to win the Shanghai Masters title in straight sets on Sunday — his third Masters success.

NFL: Saints win first Super Bowl

The New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl for the first time in the team’s 43-year history with a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

The International Olympic Committee names the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro as the host of the 2016 Olympic Games — defeating Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago in the process. It will be the first Games to be held in South America.

NFL: New Orleans wins Super Bowl

The New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl for the first time in the team’s 43-year history with a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

West Indies fought their way back into the final Test against Australia at the WACA in Perth as 16 wickets fell on a topsy-turvy third day.

NFL: New Orleans win Super Bowl XLIV

New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl for the first time in their 43-year history with a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at the Sun Life Arena in Miami on Sunday night.

Togo’s players flew home from the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday after the deadly machine gun attack on their team bus 48 hours before.

Football: Drogba double lifts Chelsea

Chelsea reclaim the lead in the English Premier League as Didier Drogba continues his hot scoring run against title hopefuls Arsenal with both goals in a 2-0 victory.

Tennis officials reacted with disappointment to Andre Agassi’s revelation that he had used a banned drug and then lied about it to avoid a ban.