SPORTS

There were no surprises when the nominees for the FIFA Ballon d'Or was announced Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi shortlisted for the prestigious award.

10 out of 12 Big Ten teams will compete in bowl games, and two schools will compete in BCS bowl games, battling leaders from the Pac 12 and ACC in the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl.

Former Chicago Cubs third basemen Ron Santo was finally elected into the Hall of Fame on Monday, but unfortunately the election came a year too late for the recently deceased baseball great.

Tiger Woods broke his two year losing streak Sunday with a win the Chevron World Challenge golf tournament at Sherwood Country Club in Los Angeles.

Nine SEC schools will go bowling in the NCAA's BCS postseason, including six teams from the AP Top 25. Two SEC teams, LSU and Alabama, will also battle for the national championship title.

Here is the complete BCS bowl games schedule for the 2011-2012 season, including the match-ups and where you can watch the games.

The BCS National Championship game is set with a rematch of Alabama and LSU, but that doesn't mean the upcoming bowl game in New Orleans is without controversy.

Boxing great Miguel Cotto peppered his opponent Antonio Margarito's right eye all night long on Saturday.

The official college football bowl game schedule was released on Sunday night after yet another exciting finish to the regular season.

Major college football postseason bowls spurned Penn State Sunday because of the program's sex abuse scandal, and the Nittany Lions instead will play in a far less prominent game than its record suggests.

Rafael Nadal emerged victorious over Juan Martin del Potro in an enthralling Davis Cup final, powering Spain to their fifth title.

Stringing together five straight wins, QB Tim Tebow has turned around the Denver Broncos' season. Why the former Florida Gator is a legitimate candidate for the league's MVP award.

Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin met once again on the sidelines on Sunday, but Tebow rallied the Broncos over the Vikings with another fourth quarter win thanks to two Matt Prater field goals in 93 seconds.

The Miguel Cotto vs Antonio Margarito fight was lopsided. Cheered by his fans who filled the Madison Square Garden, Cotto dominated and retained his title as the WBA (Super) light middleweight title.

Marseille could bring Kalou in on loan.

Wenger will not go hunting in January.

Andre Villas-Boas, manager of English Premier League outfit, Chelsea, has confirmed that two of his players, French striker Nicolas Anelka and Brazilian defender Alex, have submitted written transfer requests, which have been accepted.

Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto avenged his controversial loss to Mexico's Antonio Margarito three years ago when he won Saturday to retain his World Boxing Association super-middleweight world title at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Angel Di Maria scored and had an assist in the win.

The Catalans received two goals from Cesc Fabregas.

Manager Andre Villas-Boas addressed the duo's status.

The Gunners move into fifth place with the victory.

Muhammad Ali may be down, but the man known as the world's greatest boxer ever is not out, despite reports to the contrary.

Kalou has bagged a total of 57 goals in as many as 135 starts.

Picking the best of anything is a tough task when it involves a huge sample size. It rings no truer than when attempting to pick out 10 best goals of a whole year. The task is no laughing matter. However, it was a lot of fun.

Arsene Wenger is looking for a fee of around £8-10 million for the forward.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who was admitted to hospital after falling unconscious Nov 19, is back at home in Scottsdale.

Oakland Raiders linebacker Rolando McClain released a statement about his arrest Thursday via his attorney, Billy C. Burney II, according to SB Nation. Burney told The Associated Press that McClain was innocent and believed he would be cleared of all charges.

Arsene Wenger may be searching for an upgrade at forward.