TENNIS
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Maria Sharapova recovered from the longest, hottest match of her career to beat Alize Cornet 6-1, 7-6 (6) and reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Sharapova’s boyfriend, Grigor Dimitrov, progressed to the second week at a major for the first time when he converted his fifth match point to beat No. 11-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10).
The 22-year-old Bulgarian, considered one of the up-and-coming players on the men’s tour, held his nerve in a long tiebreaker and is starting to live up to expectations.
He has been sometimes referred to as the mini Roger Federer, due their similar styles and single-handed backhands. Even Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam winner, told a news conference after his 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 win over Teymuraz Gabashvili that everyone in the locker room was watching the Dimitrov-Raonic match.
Three-time finalist Andy Murray reached the fourth round for the sixth straight year with a 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-2 win over No. 26-seeded Feliciano Lopez.
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BASEBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - AL Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer and major league home run champion Chris Davis reached rich deals as players and teams swapped proposed figures in salary arbitration.
Ninety-one players reached agreements, leaving 39 headed toward hearings next month in St. Petersburg, Fla., from among the 146 who filed for arbitration earlier in the week.
Every case settled last year, the first time that happened since arbitration began in 1974.
Scherzer and the Detroit Tigers reached a one-season deal for $15,525,000 that leaves him less than a year from free agency. Davis and the Baltimore Orioles agreed at $10.35 million.
Also, NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers completed their $215 million, seven-year contract, a record for a pitcher and at $30.7 million the highest average salary in baseball history.
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GOLF
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes to post a 5-under 67 and is two shots off the lead two rounds into the Abu Dhabi Championship.
At 7 under overall in the European Tour event, McIlroy was rapt to be in contention for a second win in three tournaments. Playing partner Phil Mickelson was also happy, though in relief to make the cut by two shots at 1 under with a 70 after a first-round 73.
LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) - Patrick Reed found La Quinta Country Club to his liking, too, leaving everyone else behind again in the Humana Challenge.
A day after shooting a 9-under 63 at PGA West’s Arnold Palmer Private Course to take the lead, Reed had another 9-under 63 down the road at tree-lined La Quinta to stretch his advantage to two strokes over Brendon Todd. Todd had a 63 on the Palmer course. He’s the only player in the field without a bogey.
KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii (AP) - Rocco Mediate fought off a left hip problem to take the first-round lead in the Champions Tour’s season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship.
Mediate shot a 9-under 63 at Hualalai Golf Course, playing the first seven holes in 6-under with four birdies and a chip-in eagle on the par-5 seventh. He added birdies on Nos. 10, 14 and 18 - holing a 15-footer from the fringe on the closing hole.
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WINTER SPORTS
MAMMOTH LAKE, Calif. (AP) - Shaun White skipped the Friday morning Olympic snowboarding qualifier to get some needed rest, a calculated risk considering the two-time Olympic gold medalist still wasn’t assured of a spot in Sochi for his signature event.
Two thrilling trips down Mammoth Mountain later in the afternoon all but solved that problem. Oh, and they sent a message too.
The sport’s greatest ever is still on top of his game. In fact, he’s building on it.
Soaring through the California air looking very much like someone intent on making history, White dominated the afternoon session, posting a score of 98.6 to move closer to one of the four spots on the U.S. Olympic halfpipe team.
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) - Only a handful of athletes can master both slopestyle and halfpipe skiing at a world-class level. Devin Logan headlines that select group.
Logan isn’t satisfied with simply competing at an elite level in two different events. She wants a shot at a gold medal in both events at the Sochi Olympics.
Logan took a step closer to realizing that dream with a victory in the slopestyle final at the U.S. Grand Prix. The 2011 U.S. halfpipe champion clinched one of three automatic berths after scoring 87.40 points on her first run.
It was just enough for Logan to hold off Canada’s Dara Howell, who scored 87.00 on her second run to finish second. Canada’s Kaya Turski, the 2013 World slopestyle champion, took third after scoring 86.80 points on her second run.
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NFL
MIAMI (AP) - Cleveland Browns and former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Davone Bess was arrested Friday on charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer at an airport, the latest in a series of personal problems for the NFL player.
According to a Broward Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Bess was approached by Deputy Thomas O’Brien inside the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport terminal because he was “acting irrationally, dancing, singing with his pants repeatedly falling down.”
“I inquired if he was all right and received no response,” O’Brien said in the report, adding later that Bess “appeared to be looking through me” while they talked.
Bess, 28, then picked up a cup of hot coffee from a counter and squeezed it, “which caused the cup to break with the liquid going all over my uniform,” the deputy wrote. Bess then took up a “fighting stance,” and O’Brien said he hit the player on the leg with a baton to no effect.
“Bess proceeded to take off his shirt and once again took up a fighting stance refusing my repeated orders to get on the ground,” O’Brien said, adding that Bess was finally taken into custody when backup officers arrived.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Vanderbilt took less than a week before filling its vacant head football coaching position, announcing the university had tabbed Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason. Mason will be introduced at a news conference Saturday morning.
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