Weekend Sports In Brief
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NEW YORK (AP) Miami is back at No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll , the Hurricanes’ best ranking since 2003.
The undefeated Hurricanes leaped five spots from No. 7 after routing Notre Dame on Saturday night. Alabama remained No. 1, where it has been since the preseason, getting 57 first-place votes. Miami received the other four first-place votes.
Oklahoma moved up to two spots to No. 3, jumping Clemson, which remained No. 4. Unbeaten Wisconsin moved up a spot to No. 5.
Three matchups of top-10 teams on Saturday produced lopsided victories for the home teams, including Miami over Notre Dame. The Irish dropped six spots to No. 9.
Auburn moved up to No. 6 after beating Georgia. The Bulldogs fell from second to seventh. TCU dropped out of the top 10 after losing at Oklahoma.
MARATHON
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Las Vegas ramped up security for the annual Rock `n’ Roll Marathon, which was the first major outdoor event on the Strip since the mass shooting.
The city posted snipers and used a helicopter to watch for danger as tens of thousands of people participated in the race. Many wore T-shirts that read ”Vegas Strong,” in memory of the Oct. 1 attack.
Some runners who picked up their race packages Thursday at a convention center mentioned defiance, strength and resilience among their reasons to take part in the event less than two months after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history rattled a city known for its partying atmosphere.
With an American flag pinned to his shirt, Ben Rumph, who lives in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, said he never considered canceling his participation after the shooting. The 80-year-old U.S. Navy veteran had trained year-round to run the half marathon for the 10th time.
Gilles Rubio won the men’s race Sunday with a blistering time of 2 hours, 38 minutes and four seconds. Marisa Hird won the women’s field with a time of 2:55.19.
GOLF
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) – Patton Kizzire won his first PGA Tour title on Sunday by beating Rickie Fowler in a 36-hole marathon in the rain-plagued OHL Classic at Mayakoba.
Kizzire closed with rounds of 66-67 for a one-shot victory over Fowler, who fell four shots behind at El Camaleon Golf Club until staging a late rally that again fell short. Fowler had rounds of 67-67 on the final day.
Kizzire won in his 62nd career start on the PGA Tour, and it required some steady nerves on the back nine when it could have gotten away from him.
PHOENIX (AP) – Kevin Sutherland finally broke through on the PGA Tour Champions, taking the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship – and topping the yearlong competition, too.
Sutherland closed a 5-under 66 on Sunday for a one-stroke victory over Vijay Singh at Phoenix Country Club, the tree-lined course hosting its first tour event since the Phoenix Open left for TPC Scottsdale in 1988.
Bernhard Langer, the winner of the first two playoff events, had a 64 to tie for 12th – five strokes back. Langer slipped to second in the season standings, missing a chance to win the title for the fourth straight year and fifth overall.
AUTO RACING
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Matt Kenseth doesn’t get to end his career the way he hoped. He thinks he’s got a handful of good years left in him, and can win races and compete for championships.
But, the economics of the sport have made Kenseth a casualty of NASCAR’s new youth movement. He doesn’t have a job for next year. So he’s going away. But he’s not going quietly.
Kenseth won for the first time this season, snapping a 51-race winless streak, to earn one final victory celebration.
Kenseth passed Chase Elliott with 10 laps remaining to win Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway and deny Elliott the final berth in next week’s championship race. Had Elliott hung on for the win, he would have qualified for the championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Brad Keselowski earned the final spot in the championship on points because a playoff-eligible driver did not win the race. Keselowski will race Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick for the championship next Sunday at Homestead.
SOCCER
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Julie Ertz, Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd scored and the U.S. national team closed out play this year with a 3-1 victory over Canada at Avaya Stadium on Sunday night.
The two teams also faced each other Thursday at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, playing to a 1-1 draw. The tie snapped a six-game winning streak for the top-ranked Americans.
Canada, which won the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics, is ranked fifth in the world and considered a team on the rise. But the Canadians have not defeated the United States since 2001.
HOCKEY
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Hannah Brandt scored twice in the second period and the United States women beat Canada 5-1 on Sunday to win their third straight Four Nations Cup championship.
Hilary Knight and Amanda Kessel each added a goal and an assist. Kendall Coyne had a goal, and Dani Cameranesi added four assists.
Maddie Rooney made 18 saves and improved to 3-0 in the Americans’ four games at this tournament. The goalie now is 4-0-0 this fall with three of her victories against Canada.
The United States won the event for the eighth time overall. Better yet, the Americans now have beaten their biggest rivals for the third time in four games over the past month as they tune up for the Pyeongchang Games in February. The two women’s hockey powers will meet again as part of their pre-Olympic exhibition tour on Dec. 3 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
