CHICAGO (AP) ― Derrick Rose scored 22 points and the struggling Chicago Bulls beat the San Antonio Spurs 104-81 on Thursday night.The Bulls came away with a much-needed win after dropping six of eight and handed the defending champions their most lopsided loss of the season.The Central division leaders broke this one open in the third quarter, outscoring the Spurs 31-20, and snapped San Antonio’s four-game win streak. Rose, who called out his team after Monday’s loss at Cleveland, backed it up b

MELBOURNE (AP) ― For the first time in a dozen years, Roger Federer won’t be featuring in the Australian Open semifinals after being beaten 6-4, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (5) Friday in the third round by Andreas Seppi.The 17-time Grand Slam champion had never lost to Seppi in 10 previous meetings, but made some uncharacteristic errors including nine double-faults ― including one to surrender a mini break in the fourth-set tiebreaker.Seppi, a 30-year-old Italian who had only advanced beyond the second ro

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ― Lionel Messi finished off his own missed penalty with five minutes left to give Barcelona a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal on Wednesday.Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak blocked Messi initial spot kick, but he couldn’t recover in time to stop Messi from rushing forward to slam home the rebound and ignite the Camp Nou. Messi was set up to get the winner after Juanfran Torres fouled Sergio Busquets in the area.“I still see the t

MELBOURNE (AP) ― Top-ranked Serena Williams fended off three set points before going on a 10-game roll to beat Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-0 and move into the third round of the Australian Open.Men’s No. 1 Novak Djokovic had an easier run, spending a minute less than Williams on Rod Laver Arena in his 84-minute, 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 win over No. 88-ranked Andrey Kuznetsov on Thursday. Defending champion Stan Wawrinka, who ended four-time champion Djokovic’s 25-match winning streak at Melbourne Park in the qu

MELBOURNE (Yonhap) ― On the eve of his squad’s quarterfinals match against Uzbekistan at the AFC Asian Cup, South Korea head coach Uli Stielike said Wednesday he will look to winger Son Heung-min to carry the offense.At the prematch press conference at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Stielike announced that Son will get the starting nod for South Korea. The showdown will kick off at 6:30 p.m. here, or 4:30 p.m. in Seoul, on Thursday.This will be Son’s first start at the Asian Cup since the team’s

MELBOURNE (AP) ― Maria Sharapova had a narrow escape in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday, saving two match points with big forehand winners before beating No. 150-ranked Alexandra Panova 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.Roger Federer dropped the first set, and asked for medical advice on his sore right pinkie finger, before beating Simone Bolelli 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round.The No. 2 seeds didn’t get it entirely their way on day three.Sharapova made 51 unforced errors as she wen

LONDON (AP) ― Lionel Messi topped the Associated Press Global Football 10 for the second straight week on Tuesday after his latest hat trick.His 22nd Spanish league treble in Barcelona’s 4-0 rout of Deportivo La Coruna saw him beat Santi Cazorla, the inspiration of team-of-the-week Arsenal.Messi is one hat trick away from matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s league record of 23.“One of the few (records) that is not yet the Argentine’s,” Leonardo Bertozzi of ESPN in Brazil said. Lionel Messi. (AFP-Yonhap

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) ― Raheem Sterling found a way past formidable Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with an exquisite solo goal to earn Liverpool a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their English League Cup semifinal on Tuesday.It needed something special to beat Courtois at Anfield and Sterling delivered in the 59th minute, picking up the ball 40 meters from goal, turning and speeding away from Chelsea’s defense before applying a low finish.That canceled out an 18th-minute penalty won and conv

MELBOURNE, Australia (Yonhap) ― South Korea’s quest to end a 55-year title drought at the AFC Asian Cup will enter the knockout phase this week, as the country prepares to take on Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals.The kickoff at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium between the 69th-ranked South Korea and 71st-ranked Uzbekistan will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, or 4:30 p.m. in Seoul.South Korea had the top seed in Group A with three 1-0 victories over Oman, Kuwait and host Australia. Uzbekistan finished seco