Pro tennis
SERENA TAKES THREE SETS TO WIN AUSTRALIAN: Serena Williams loves a good underdog story and understood that most of the crowd was behind Justine Henin.
All that sentiment was put aside once she heard an insult from the stands, a crack that went right to the heart of all athletes. Williams surged to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory in the Australian Open final Saturday, closing this chapter on Henin's remarkable comeback from retirement.
"I think everyone was for Justine tonight," Williams said. "But you know what really helped me out? This one guy was like, 'You can beat her Justine, she's not that good.'
"I looked at that guy and I was like, you don't know me," Williams added, wagging her finger. "I think I won all the games after that because that's totally rude."
Williams plopped on her back at Rod Laver Arena after capturing her fifth Australian Open title, breaking her sequence of victories in this major in each odd-numbered year since 2003. It also gave her more Australian titles than any woman in the Open era and allowed her to match Billie Jean King's career total of 12 majors in singles.
Henin, in her first Grand Slam and only second tournament since she quit suddenly in May 2008, had gone on a stunning run to win 20 of 22 points to even the final at one set apiece and take a lead in the third.
Pro golf
IMADA TAKES TWO-SHOT LEAD: Ryuji Imada, a runner-up at Torrey Pines two years ago, has a much better opportunity this time. He won't be starting the final round 12 shots behind, or trying to catch up to Tiger Woods.
Imada avoided the trouble that caught up with so many other contenders Saturday, making only one bogey and escaping with several key pars for a 2-under 70 that gave him a two-shot lead over Ben Crane and Michael Sim in the Farmers Insurance Open.
Imada was at 13-under 203 and will be in the final group with Crane (69) and Sim (70), the 25-year-old Australian playing Torrey Pines for the first time since he was a teenager at the Junior World Championship in 2002.
College basketball
BRUSZEWSKI, IRISH ROLL: Ashley Barlow, who had missed her previous four 3-point attempts, was true from the right wing with 34.2 seconds left and Notre Dame escaped with a 74-73 victory over Syracuse on Saturday.
Becca Bruszewski (Wheeler) added seven points for the Fighting Irish.
JERNIGAN, XAVIER ROLL: Freshman Katie Rutan helped No. 10 Xavier put forth one of its best effort this season.
Rutan scored 16 points, hitting five 3-pointers, as Xavier routed Dayton 74-49 on Saturday. The victory capped off a 7-0 month for the Musketeers -- their first perfect January in school history.
Xavier (16-3, 6-0 Atlantic 10) outrebounded the Flyers 56-30 while limiting them to just 26.2 percent shooting.
Amber Harris led Xavier with 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Ta'Shia Phillips added 16 points and a team-leading 15 rebounds for the Musketeers who won their seventh straight.
E.C. Central grad Dee Dee Jernigan contributed seven points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Xavier, which now has won 12 of the past 15 meetings with the Flyers.
College football
GILYARD, NEAL HELP NORTH WIN SENIOR BOWL: Mardy Gilyard had 103 yards receiving and caught a 32-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to help the North race to a 31-13 victory over the South in Saturday's Senior Bowl.
The Cincinnati receiver didn't need to hook up frequently with college teammate Tony Pike to be the game's big playmaker. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, meanwhile, had a shaky outing running a pro-style offense against a sturdy defense.
He fumbled twice and finished 8 of 12 passing for 50 yards in the showcase for senior NFL prospects.
One of the nation's top all-purpose threats, Gilyard also set up a third-quarter touchdown with a 43-yard catch down the right sideline. Both that pass and the TD came from Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour.
Merrillville grad and Purdue product Mike Neal had an assist on a 3-yard tackle for loss for the North.
Around the horn
For the first time in four seasons under head coach John Pigatti, South Suburban went undefeated in January, using Saturday's 69-64 road win over Black Hawk College to improve to 8-0 for the month. ... A Swedish ice hockey referee died after being hit in the back of the head by a puck during a junior game. A police spokesman said the 62-year-old man was refereeing an under-18 game in northern Sweden on Saturday and was struck by the puck when a player tried to lob it into the offensive zone. It was not immediately clear whether he died from being hit by the puck or from hitting his head on the ice when he fell. ... Mark Myers completed 7 of 10 passes for 79 yards and directed a key second-half touchdown drive to give the United States team of high school football stars a 17-0 win over the World team on Saturday.
