TENNIS: Federer advances in London
Roger Federer opened his quest for a seventh season-ending tour title, defeating Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-1 in his opening match at the ATP finals in London. The victory, his 40th in this event, moved him out of a tie with Ivan Lendl for the most wins at the tournament. In the other Group B match, David Ferrer beat Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
MLB: Yankees claim Herndon, Spence
The Yankees claimed right-handed pitcher David Herndon off waivers from the Blue Jays and left-handed pitcher Josh Spence from the Padres.
The Rockies narrowed their search for its next manager to two candidates, Walt Weiss and Matt Williams, the Denver Post reported yesterday. Weiss remains the favorite, a major league source said.
Texas pitcher Yu Darvish of Japan said he will not participate in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
The Astros hired David Stearns as assistant general manager. Stearns, 27, was Cleveland’s director of baseball operations last season.
NBA: Hornets coach fined 25G
Hornets coach Monty W
illiams was fined $25,000 by the NBA for public comments criticizing the league’s concussion policy. Williams blasted the NBA’s protocols for determining when a player can return from a concussion, saying, “Now, they treat everybody like they have white gloves and pink drawers and it’s getting old. It’s just the way the league is now.”
Lakers guard Steve Blake was fined $25,000 for directing inappropriate language toward a fan after fouling out late in a Nov. 2 loss to the Clippers.
FOOTBALL: Ball State upends No. 23 Toledo
Jahwan Edwards scored untouched on a 15-yard run around left end with 1:43 left to propel visiting Ball State (7-3, 4-2 MAC) to a 34-27 victory over No. 23 Toledo (8-2, 5-1), ending the Rockets’ eight-game winning streak.
Davidson fired head football coach Tripp Merritt following a disappointing season in which the Wildcats were 1-8 and 1-5 in the Pioneer Football League. Brett Hayford will serve as the interim head coach.
ETC.: Indiana players to be reinstated
The NCAA agreed to reinstate two Indiana freshman basketball players — Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Peter Jurkin — after they serve nine-game suspensions and repay a portion of the impermissible benefits they received before arriving on campus.
Due to Hurricane Sandy, the semifinals and finals of the Big East soccer championships, originally scheduled for Nov. 9 and 11 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., has been moved to PPL Park in Chester, Pa.
Manchester City, the big-spending English champion, is unlikely to advance from the group stage in the Champions League for the second successive season after being held to a 2-2 draw by Ajax. City, at the bottom of Group D with two points, must now beat Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in the remaining matches to have any chance of advancing.
Soslan Tigiev, an Olympic wrestler from Uzbekistan, was stripped of his bronze medal from the London Games because of a positive doping test.