Soccer-Villa will be like wounded animals, warns Southampton boss

LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Southampton must be ready for a backlash from "wounded animal" Aston Villa when the Premier League strugglers meet at Villa Park on Saturday, manager Nigel Adkins warned.
Villa, entrenched in a miserable run of form, suffered a shock 3-1 defeat at fourth tier Bradford City in their Capital One (League) Cup semi-final, first-leg meeting on Tuesday.
"They'll be a wounded animal after that defeat against Bradford in a game they'd have been expected to win," Adkins told Southampton's website (saintsfc.co.uk).
The teams are separated by one place and one point - with Villa 16th and Southampton 17th, just above the drop zone.
Both are in dire need of a victory with Saints having drawn three and lost one in their last four league games, while Villa have lost three and drawn one of their last four - and conceded 17 goals in the process.
"The players have been on a good run of form, so the confidence is there - we're going to Villa Park confident, strong, fit and with a desire to get three points," Adkins said in reference to his team's draws with Fulham, Stoke and Arsenal over the holiday period.
Southampton have Nathaniel Clyne and Gaston Ramirez again but remain without the injured Adam Lallana. Key defender Jose Fonte suffered a knee injury in the FA Cup mauling by Chelsea last weekend and Jos Hooiveld is set to deputise in centre back.
Villa also have injury issues but have been boosted by the return to training of Dutch defender Ron Vlaar, although this game may come too soon for him.
"Ron (Vlaar) trained a little bit yesterday so hopefully he will have no adverse reaction and he might join in this morning. That is a plus," Villa manager Paul Lambert told the club's website (avfc.co.uk).
"I don't know if he'll be in from the beginning as he hasn't done enough until yesterday but he is round about."
Lambert said Darren Bent, Marc Albrighton and Chris Herd were definitely out of the game, while goalkeeper Shay Given is a doubt after sustaining a hamstring injury.

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Soccer-Higuain back and ready to try and fill Ronaldo's boots

MADRID, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain has said he is ready to step up and fill Cristiano Ronaldo's boots when the champions visit bottom club Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday without their suspended leading scorer.
The Argentina international has just returned from two months on the sidelines with a hamstring problem picked up against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League two months ago.
He played his first minutes since then as a substitute in Wednesday's King's Cup win over Celta Vigo, when Ronaldo inspired the side to a 4-0 victory and a place in the quarter-finals against Valencia.
"I am feeling good. They have been two hard months. I am available and able to play the full 90 minutes," Higuain told a news conference on Friday.
Higuain is still Madrid's second highest scorer in La Liga with seven goals despite his time on the sidelines, with his strike partner Karim Benzema struggling in front of goal on five so far.
Ronaldo, who was runner up Lionel Messi in the World Player of the Year awards on Monday, has carried the team to victory with two inspirational performances in the last week and has scored five goals in their two games since the mid-season break.
"I don't know if he is in his best run of form," Higuain said of Ronaldo.
"He's been scoring more than 40 goals a season since he arrived here and we are pleased he has been doing well.
"We have been going through a tricky patch and his goals have helped us to win the games. When it comes together for him, it's good for all of us."
Real head to Pamplona without Ronaldo, and their first-choice centre-backs Pepe, who is injured, and Sergio Ramos, who was hit with a five-match ban on Thursday after being sent off and insulting the referee in the Cup against Celta.
With reserve keeper Antonio Adan suspended, Iker Casillas will be back in the starting line up, while fullbacks Fabio Coentrao and Marcelo returned to the squad after injury.
"Every player is important and we can't dwell on those who are missing," the 25-year-old said.
"We have to replace them, and we have players who can do that very well."
Real have slipped 16 points behind unbeaten leaders Barcelona, and are five behind second-placed Atletico Madrid, ahead of a traditionally tricky fixture for the bigger clubs.
Osasuna's compact Reyno de Navarra stadium, with their vociferous fans right up alongside the pitch, has been an uncomfortable venue for both Real and Barca in recent seasons.
Real have one win, a draw and two defeats from their last four trips there.

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Soccer-Sturridge made right choice in Liverpool, says Henderson

LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - New Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge made the right choice in joining the Anfield side from Premier League rivals Chelsea for an undisclosed fee last week, according to Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson.
Sturridge, who struggled to hold down a regular first-team place after joining Chelsea from Manchester City in 2009, scored after seven minutes on his debut in the FA Cup victory over minor league Mansfield Town on Sunday.
Henderson predicted a bright future at Liverpool for his fellow England international.
"He's definitely made the right choice in coming here and I think he'll be a top player for Liverpool," Henderson told the club's website (www.liverpoolfc.com) on Friday.
"I thought he was really good (against Mansfield). He hadn't played for a while but he was really sharp, he got his goal. He is a big talent.
"I think it's a great signing and he'll do really well."
Sturridge, who started 49 games and made 47 substitute appearances in three-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge, scoring 24 goals, is set to form a lethal partnership up front with Uruguayan Luis Suarez.
Henderson said he had played a small part in persuading the striker, whom he knows from the England set-up, to join.
"It wasn't anything much," said Henderson. "Just telling him what it's like, but Liverpool speaks for itself as a club and city. It's got great people here, the city's great and the club is massive."
Sturridge has won four England caps and featured in the British team at the 2012 London Olympics after overcoming a bout of meningitis.

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"Ubuntu for Phones" Turns Smartphones into Desktop PCs

Millions of people have tried out Ubuntu, a free operating system for desktop and notebook PCs. Like Android, Ubuntu is open-source and based on Linux, and while it's mostly seen as an OS for hobbyists here in the U.S., hardware manufacturers like Dell and HP make Ubuntu PCs for markets like mainland China.
Now Canonical, the startup which drives Ubuntu's partly community-based development, has announced a version of Ubuntu that's made for smartphones. The company previously showed off an experimental version of desktop Ubuntu that hobbyists could install on their Nexus 7 tablets. But the version Canonical demoed Wednesday was tailor-made for smartphones.
What makes Ubuntu different?
The smartphone version of Ubuntu bears little resemblance to the desktop version, aside from its graphical style. Its interface is based around gestures and swipes; instead of a back button, for instance, you swipe from the right-hand edge of the screen to return to a previous app. Swiping up from the bottom, meanwhile, reveals an app's menu, which remains off-screen until then.
Tech expect John Gruber was critical of the Ubuntu phone interface, noting that "gestures are the touchscreen equivalent of keyboard shortcuts" because they need to be explained to someone before they can use them. The Ubuntu phone site itself calls the experience "immersive," because it allows more room for the apps themselves.
What will Ubuntu fans recognize?
First, the apps. The same Ubuntu apps which are currently available in the Software Center (Ubuntu's equivalent of the App Store) will run on an Ubuntu phone, provided the developers write new screens designed for phones -- much less work than writing a new app from scratch. Ubuntu web apps, already integrated into its version of Firefox, will also work in the phone version.
Second, the dash and the app launcher. Ubuntu's universal search feature is easily accessible, and swiping in partway from the left edge of the screen reveals the familiar row of app icons.
What unique features does it have over other smartphone OSes?
Besides the gesture-based design, higher-end Ubuntu smartphones will be able to plug into an HDTV or monitor, and become a complete Ubuntu desktop PC. Just add a keyboard and mouse. This feature was originally announced for Android smartphones (using advertising which insults grandmothers), and Android phones featuring Ubuntu are expected before full Ubuntu phones launch.
When will it be available?
Ubuntu phones (not just Android phones with Ubuntu included) are expected to be on shelves starting in 2014. In a few weeks, however, Canonical will have a version available that you can put on your own Galaxy Nexus smartphone to try it out.
Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

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Acer and Asus to Stop Making Netbooks

The last two major netbook manufacturers, Acer and Asus, are closing the doors on these mini-laptops. According to Digitimes' Monica Chen and Joseph Tsai, Acer "has no plans to release more netbook products" such as its Aspire One, while Asus has already ended its Eee PC line.
Other netbook manufacturers, such as Samsung, have long since abandoned the market.
Why netbooks failed to catch on
Netbooks were "still enjoying strong sales" as late as 2010, according to an optimistic report by ABI Research. But the growth trend which it predicted flattened out and declined, thanks to four factors pointed out by the Guardian's Charles Arthur.
Not worth it for many, compared to notebooks
One is that the original, Linux-based netbooks failed to catch on, as they had trouble running Windows PC software. But Microsoft charged between $30 and $50 for each netbook's Windows license, and insisted that the new crop of Windows netbooks be larger and more expensive than the original Linux-based models. This placed them in close competition with low-end laptops, the prices of which were going down instead of up.
The rise of the iPad
The other biggest factor is that the iPad and Android tablets took the place of netbooks for many buyers. While Apple's iPad was the price of a full-sized laptop, the company soon introduced discounted or refurbished versions ... as well as the smaller, $329 iPad Mini, which doesn't cost much more than most netbooks. Besides that, the whole iPad line was even lighter than netbooks and had longer battery life, besides being more responsive and having more popular apps.
Meanwhile, companies like Amazon and Barnes and Noble made $199 Kindle and Nook tablets, which beat out even the original $249 Linux-based Asus Eee's price tag.
A little bit bigger, a lot better
During the netbook's heyday, many called for Apple to make one of its own. As Apple tech expert John Gruber pointed out, however, netbooks were "cheaper, not better," which contradicted Apple's business model of selling high-margin, premium products.
When Apple did release a small laptop computer, it was the $999 11-inch MacBook Air, which went on to be a best-seller. Other PC manufacturers tried to follow in Apple's footsteps with Intel's "Ultrabook" specification, which is basically a recipe for MacBook Air clones that run Windows, but so far have failed to make a dent in the market.
Taking the place of netbooks
Besides Ultrabooks, the other notable netbook-like computers on the market right now are Chromebooks, ultralight laptops which start at $199 and run a slimmed-down OS based on Google's Chrome web browser. Former netbook manufacturers Samsung and Acer are both making Chromebooks, while Asus manufactured Google's popular Nexus 7 tablet.

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HP Cloud Ushers in 2013 and GA Compute Service with Reduced Pricing

HP Cloud Services is continuously working to increase efficiency in our datacenters, so we can pass these efforts along to our customers via enhanced enterprise-class service and/or lower prices.  As a result, HP Cloud Services is starting the New Year by permanently lowering the prices on Linux instances of HP Cloud Compute by 12.5% and Object Storage by as much as 25%.
Furthermore, to celebrate our Compute service’s move to General Availability (GA), we are offering a time-limited 40% discount on all Windows and Linux instances until March 31st, 2013.  We’re doing this to make it even easier for new and existing customers to try our new GA service and perform their initial integration work. You can read more about our differentiated, industry-leading SLA at “Under the Hood of HP Cloud Services SLAs” and about what we’re doing behind the scenes to actually deliver on and surpass our SLAs at “How HP Cloud Services Became Enterprise Class.”
It’s worth noting that we also recently moved HP Cloud Block Storage to public beta and added several major new features, including bootable persistent volumes and enhancements in volume backup to object storage, as detailed here.  HP Cloud Block Storage is being discounted by 50% while in public beta, so now is the perfect time to give it a test drive if you haven’t already!
You can sign up now to start exploring our enterprise-class cloud.  For ongoing news about our new services, pricing and special offers, follow us on Twitter @hpcloud, subscribe to this blog, and follow our Facebook page.

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China says it will end prison labor camps. Will there be real reform?

China appears poised to end an inglorious history of labor camps, and the practice of “re-education through labor.”
This week, Beijing announced it would end the decades-old system, which gives police and other officials power to detain people up to four years without charge or having to go through the legal system.
It appears that the mounting dissatisfaction among citizens and lawyers has brought about a potential moment in the Middle Kingdom, and new leaders in Beijing are giving it some attention. Yet whether China will seize this moment and conduct real reform, close the camps, and stop incarcerating people without trial is unclear.
One concern, say longtime China justice watchers, is that Beijing may merely retool the policy on labor camps. That is, officials will create new legal measures that appear improved, but that change little – except to make it more difficult for monitors to claim or prove human rights violations.
RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about China? Take our quiz.
China admits to a network of some 310 labor camps with 190,000 inmates who are forced to work, often in grueling conditions – sent there without due process or a judge.
Re-education through labor has been used to control dissent and political prisoners. When the camps were started in the 1950s, they held “counter-revolutionaries” on ideological charges. But Beijing stopped that in the late ‘90s.
Today, the types of people who may end up in a camp for years are democracy organizers, upstart bloggers, underground church ministers, unhappy lawyers, members of the Falun Gong sect, Tibetan monks or ethnic Uighers with the temerity to protest, or those deemed too outspoken and thus threats to the “harmony” of China’s society.
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Labor camps may have been necessary in the past, said Chinese Ministry of Justice Chief Meng Jianzhu Monday, but in today’s China, “conditions have changed.”
So this week when Beijing started talking about ending “forced labor” – those words echoed loudly in China watch circles.
“This is a big measure if it really happens,” notes Nicolas Bequelin, a justice expert with Human Rights Watch based in Hong Kong, and author of many reports on conditions in China. “It is driven by the top and resisted by police and public security bureaus.”
What concerns Mr. Bequelin: “We may end up seeing a less overtly abusive system, one that has a different name and some small changes, but one that in the end makes the uprooting of abuse more difficult.”
To be sure, compared with the old Soviet Siberian wasteland labor camps chronicled by Alexander Solzhenitzyn, where inmates died in the snows by the thousands, Chinese camps are a kind of “Gulag-lite.” But they are also plenty grim. Torture is sanctioned, medical treatment withheld, and grueling work enforced. Beatings and other inhumane conditions are overseen by often-corrupt police officials.
“Chinese authorities will need to replace “re-education by labor” with something,” says Joshua Rosenzweig, a Hong Kong-based expert formerly with the Dui Hua group. “But what will it be? That is the question.”
The cornerstone of any justice system is that those accused by police must go to court where evidence is produced. In the case of the forced labor camps in China, police arrest and act as judge and jury without a trial. Currently, the camps are inspected by the Ministry of Justice, which happens to be the same ministry that operates them.
Will Chinese police give up some of their current power?
Can Chinese authorities start moving away from a long-held obsession with “stability” – and begin to acknowledge individual rights as more significant?
What concerns analysts like Mr. Rosenzweig is that there has not yet been a fundamental change of heart or spirit in Beijing behind the coming change.

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India lashes Pakistan after deadly Kashmir encounter

JAMMU, India (Reuters) - India denounced Pakistan on Wednesday over a firefight in the disputed territory of Kashmir in which two Indian soldiers were killed, but the nuclear-armed rivals both appeared determined to prevent the clash escalating into a full diplomatic crisis.

India summoned Pakistan's envoy in New Delhi to lodge a "strong protest", accusing a group of Pakistani soldiers it said had crossed the heavily militarized Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir of "barbaric and inhuman" behavior.

The body of one of the soldiers was found mutilated in a forested area on the side controlled by India, Rajesh K. Kalia, spokesman for the Indian army's Northern Command, said. However, he denied Indian media reports that one body had been decapitated and another had its throat slit.

"Regular Pakistan troops crossed the Line of Control ... and engaged the Indian troops who were patrolling the sector," India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement after Pakistan's high commissioner to India had been called in.

"Two Indian soldiers were killed in the attack and their bodies subjected to barbaric and inhuman mutilation."

India's foreign minister sought to cool tensions, however, saying that exhaustive efforts to improve relations could be squandered if the situation was not contained.

"I think it is important in the long term that what has happened should not be escalated," Salman Khurshid told a news conference. "We cannot and must not allow the escalation of any unwholesome event like this."

"We have to be careful that forces ... attempting to derail all the good work that's been done towards normalization (of relations) should not be successful," he added, without elaborating on who such forces might be.

MOST SERIOUS INCIDENT IN 10 YEARS

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence in 1947, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, and both are now nuclear-armed powers.

Away from the border, ties had appeared to be improving of late. Pakistan's cricket team completed a two-week tour of India on Sunday, its first visit in five years.

Firing and small skirmishes are common along the 740-km (460-mile) LoC despite a ceasefire that was agreed in 2003.

However, incursions by troops from either side are rare. Retired Indian army Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal, who previously commanded a brigade on the LoC, said Tuesday's incident - about 600 meters from the de facto border - marked the most serious infiltration since the ceasefire was put in place.

Indian army officials said cross-border firing broke out hours after the clash but, on Wednesday, the LoC was quiet.

Naveed Chand, a shopkeeper in Chatar village just 2 km from the LoC on the Pakistani side told Reuters by telephone that there had been a pick-up in cross-border firing recently, unusual movements of army trucks and reinforcement of bunkers.

"We think something is up. People in the area are very alarmed," he said.

It was not possible to independently verify events in the remote area, which is closed to journalists on both sides.

Pakistan's foreign ministry denied India's allegations of an incursion as "baseless and unfounded" and said in a statement that it was prepared for an investigation by a U.N. military observer group into recent ceasefire violations.

Like New Delhi, it stressed the need to pursue better relations, adding: "Pakistan is committed to a constructive, sustained and result-oriented process of engagement with India."

PROPAGANDA

Nevertheless, a Pakistani army spokesman described India's charges as "propaganda" aimed at diverting attention away from an Indian incursion two days earlier in which one Pakistani soldier was killed. India denies that its troops crossed over the line during last weekend's incident.

Mushahid Hussain, a Pakistani senator and member of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, said the Indian government - dogged by corruption scandals and facing a tough election as early as this year - was returning to "the war-like language of the past" for domestic political reasons.

"Pakistan has its hands full with a full-blown insurgency inside its borders. It doesn't suit Pakistani interests at all to raise the temperature along the LoC," Hussain said.

There was little coverage of the skirmish in Pakistani media, but a succession of commentators voiced fury on Indian news channels and the main opposition party urged the government to expose Pakistan's actions to the international community.

"Pakistan can be named and shamed for this brutal attack," Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley told reporters.

India considers the entire Kashmir region of snow-capped mountains and fertile valleys an integral part of its territory. Muslim Pakistan contests that and demands implementation of a 1948 U.N. Security Council resolution for a plebiscite to determine the wishes of the mostly Muslim people of Kashmir.

Some commentators drew parallels between Tuesday's clash and a conflict in 1999 when Pakistan-backed Islamist infiltrators occupied the heights in Kargil, in the north of Indian Kashmir. India lost hundreds of troops before re-occupying the mountains after fighting that almost triggered a fourth war.

"India's response will be measured but, as a former soldier, I do not rule out a measured military response to teach them a lesson," said retired Brigadier Kanwal. "You cannot tinker with bodies."

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Officials: Possible 5th killing by Mexico dog pack

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — A 15-year-old girl found fatally bitten by dogs outside a Mexico City park in mid-December may have been the first victim of a feral pack suspected of killing at least four other people over the last month, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Authorities began capturing dogs in the park this week after a mother and her infant boy were found dead and covered in dog bites on Dec. 29 and the bodies of a teenage couple were found covered in fatal bites from as many as 10 dogs a week later.
The four were believed to have been the only victims until the mother of 15-year-old Ana Gabriela Nataret Ramirez told Milenio Television lateTuesday that their daughter had died in hospital after being found covered with apparent dog bites near the Cerro de la Estrella park in the poor southeastern Mexico City district of Iztapalapa on the night of Dec. 16.
The city prosecutor's office confirmed the details of the case Wednesday and said it was looking into whether her case was connected to the other deaths.
"An autopsy revealed that the victim had multiple injuries and puncture wounds on both arms," the prosecutor's office said. "After the events of recent days, the Mexico City district attorney's office broadened the investigation and confirmed the possibility of a new case of homicide resulting from wounds caused by dogs."
Animal control officers swept the park for feral dogs again Wednesday after capturing 36 animals over the last two days. Borough president Jesus Valencia told reporters at the pound where the animals are being kept that 33 dogs were captured but his office said later that 36 dogs had been caught.
In addition to rabies, the dogs have been tested for traces of human blood and DNA in order to determine if they were involved in the killings. Valencia said the rabies tests had all come back negative, and the prosecutors' office said the other tests were pending.
He said the borough was helping pay funeral costs for the victims and get psychological help for the relatives.
Many family members have expressed skepticism that dogs could have killed their loved ones, saying their injuries appeared too devastating to have been the result of dog bites.
Valencia said that the borough planned to allow people to adopt any dogs not involved in the killings.
After authorities released photos of the captured dogs, activists started an online campaign protesting the animals' innocence and calling for authorities not to euthanize them. Tens of thousands of dogs are euthanized each year in Mexico if they are captured by animal control officers and not claimed within 72 hours.
Many people re-posted the images of the dogs staring sadly from behind bars at an animal shelter, and the hashtag for the campaign briefly became the top trending topic on Twitter in Mexico.
Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said his government would launch a new program to spay and neuter dogs in order to reduce the number of animals in the street, sending 25 mobile surgical units to neighborhoods where residents would be encouraged to take advantage of free sterilization for their pets.

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Friday's Sports In Brief

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Alabama coach Nick Saban sent home two backup players from the BCS championship game for violating curfew.
A person with knowledge of the decision said the players were freshman linebackers Dillon Lee and Ryan Anderson. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school didn't release names.
A statement from Saban announced the disciplinary action. Alabama's student newspaper, The Crimson White, first identified the players.
Lee played in eight games, mostly on kickoff coverage. He did intercept a pass in his college debut against Michigan in the season opener and made his only tackle in that game.
Anderson didn't play this season.
The second-ranked Crimson Tide will play No. 1 Notre Dame on Monday night.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M became the fourth FBS quarterback with 20 touchdowns passing and 20 touchdowns rushing in the same season.
Manziel got his school-record 20th rushing touchdown on the Aggies' opening drive of the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma when he tiptoed 23 yards down the sideline. He added a 5-yard TD run before halftime. The first freshman to win the Heisman, Manziel also has 24 passing TDs.
The other 20-20 quarterbacks were Auburn's Cam Newton and Florida's Tim Tebow, who like Manziel are Heisman winners from the SEC, and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick.
Three other A&M players had 19 rushing TDs in a season, the last Jorvorskie Lane in 2006.
NHL
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal mediator held over 12 hours of separate talks with the NHL and the players' association before stopping for the night with a promise to get going again in the morning.
The sides remained apart all day, buffered by the presence of federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh, who shuttled back and forth between the hotel where the union is working, and the league office. He started at 10 a.m. EST and wrapped up discussions for the day shortly before 11 p.m.
Similar talks were scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
It still isn't known when the league and the union will get back together at the bargaining table. Neither side provided details, but the all-day discussions may signal progress.
NFL
NEW YORK (AP) - With the ink not even dry on the New York Jets' dreadful season, Rex Ryan fled to the Bahamas only to be photographed lounging poolside at a resort hotel, book in hand, with an interesting tattoo gracing his right biceps.
It showed his wife, Michelle, wearing an unmistakably green Jets jersey emblazoned with the unmistakable No. 6 of embattled quarterback Mark Sanchez - and nothing else.
The Daily News ran a front-page photo and by lunchtime it was an Internet sensation. That's pretty much the way the NFL team's soap-opera season played out. Ryan was criticized for sticking with Sanchez despite losing efforts when Tim Tebow was available. The Jets finished the season 6-10.
NBA
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Kobe Bryant is no longer a holdout. He's on Twitter.
With five words - ''The antisocial has become social'' - the Los Angeles Lakers guard sent the first tweet from his account. About 365,000 people were following his verified account, (at)kobebryant, within a few hours.
Bryant tiptoed into the Twitterverse last week when he briefly took over Nike basketball's account, sending out things like a photo of him hanging out with his daughter, an ice bath that he was dreading and even a suit he was wearing to a particular game.
Heat star LeBron James has 6.8 million followers, the most of any NBA player.
GOLF
LONDON (AP) - World No. 1 Rory McIlroy said he may skip the 2016 Olympics because of the dilemma over which country to represent.
McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, is eligible to compete for either Britain or Ireland when golf returns to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. McIlroy said in a BBC documentary that missing the Olympics is ''definitely an option'' because ''I don't want to upset too many people.''
McIlroy stirred controversy last year when he said in a British newspaper interview that he felt ''more British than Irish.'' He then posted a letter on Twitter saying he grew up ''a proud product of Irish golf'' and had not made a decision on the Olympics.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - The seven Catholic schools that have decided to leave the Big East and form their own league continued to plot the future, retaining Proskauer Rose LLP and Pilson Communications, Inc., to aid in their defection.
St. John's, Georgetown, Marquette, DePaul, Seton Hall, Providence and Villanova all decided last month to set off on their own as the Big East continues to reshape itself.
The university presidents met in New York to discuss the future of the new league. They vow to ''Honor the history and tradition on which the Big East was established.''
There is no timetable for when other schools will join the league.
CYCLING
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The New York Times reported that Lance Armstrong, who has strongly denied the doping charges that led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, has told associates he is considering admitting to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
The report cited anonymous sources and said Armstrong was considering a confession to help restore his athletic career in triathlons and running events at age 41.
Armstrong was banned for life from cycling and cannot compete in athletic events sanctioned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
But Armstrong attorney Tim Herman told The Associated Press he had no knowledge of Armstrong considering a confession.

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Report says Armstrong may confess to doping

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lance Armstrong is reportedly considering a change in course, dropping his years of denials and admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported late Friday that Armstrong has told associates he is thinking about the move.
However, Armstrong attorney Tim Herman says that the cyclist hasn't reached out to USADA chief executive Travis Tygart and David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
USADA stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles last year and issued a report portraying the cyclist as the leader of a sophisticated doping operation on his winning teams.
A USADA spokeswoman declined comment on Saturday while Howman was quoted by the Sunday Star-Times in New Zealand, where he is vacationing, saying Armstrong has not approached his group

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Report says Armstrong may confess to doping, though move could have cons and benefits

AUSTIN, Texas - Lance Armstrong is reportedly considering a change in course, dropping his years of denials and admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported late Friday that Armstrong has told associates he is thinking about the move.
However, Armstrong attorney Tim Herman says that the cyclist hasn't reached out to USADA chief executive Travis Tygart and David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
USADA stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles last year and issued a report portraying the cyclist as the leader of a sophisticated doping operation on his winning teams.
A USADA spokeswoman declined comment on Saturday while Howman was quoted by the Sunday Star-Times in New Zealand, where he is vacationing, saying Armstrong has not approached his group.

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Oregon governor says Nike plans expansion

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Nike wants to expand its Oregon operations and hire hundreds of workers but is asking the government to promise it won't change the state tax code.
Gov. John Kitzhaber (KIHTS'-hah-bur) says he'll call the Legislature into session Friday to create a law to give Nike its wish.
The company has not specified its expansion plans except to say it would create at least 500 jobs and $150 million in capital investment over five years.
Nike Inc. has its headquarters in Beaverton, outside Portland. Company officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
It employs 44,000 people globally, including 8,000 in Washington County.
Nike has been selling off brands and making other moves to focus on its most profitable businesses, which include its namesake Nike brand, Jordan, Converse and Hurley.

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Report: Most Pakistani lawmakers do not file taxes

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The majority of Pakistani lawmakers do not file tax returns despite a legal requirement to do, a report said Wednesday, reinforcing concerns about the low level of tax revenue in the country.
Pakistan has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP rates in the world because payment is not well enforced, and major areas of the economy, such as the agriculture sector, are either taxed at very low rates or not at all.
Around two-thirds of the country's 446 lawmakers failed to file tax returns in 2011, the latest data available, said the report, co-published by the Center for Investigative Reporting in Pakistan and the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives.
A similar percentage of the government's 55 Cabinet members also failed to file returns, said the report, titled "Representation Without Taxation." Among those politicians who failed to file a return was Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
Even lawmakers who filed returns often paid very low amounts of tax on outside income. The lowest-paying lawmaker who filed a return, Senator Mushahid Hussain, paid less than $1 in taxes, said the report.
The figures do not take into account the tax paid by lawmakers on their official salaries, which is automatically deducted. It instead focuses on declarations of supplemental income from land, businesses and other sources of revenue.
Analysts have said that the country's effective tax rate is so low because a small elite, comprised of the military, land owners and the rising urban upper and middle classes is reluctant to give up any of its wealth. These groups either put pressure on lawmakers or are the lawmakers themselves.
"End result is the erosion of public trust in the government that is frequently blamed for serving the interests of the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and low-income groups," the report said.

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Pennies over patriotism: Look at tax-averse stars

PARIS (AP) — France's Socialist government is introducing a 75-percent income tax on those earning over €1 million ($1.3 million), forcing some of the country's rich and famous to set up residency in less fiscally-demanding countries.
Here's a look at some big stars in France and elsewhere who have, over the years, put their pennies above their patriotism.
DEPARTING DEPARDIEU
The French prime minister has accused actor Gerard Depardieu of being "pathetic" and "unpatriotic" for setting up residence in a small village just across the border in neighboring Belgium to avoid paying taxes in France.
The office of the mayor in Depardieu's new haunts at Nechin, also known as the "millionaire's village" for its appeal to high-earning Frenchmen, said that for people with high income, like Depardieu, the Belgian tax system, capped at 50 percent, is more attractive.
Depardieu, who has played in more than 100 films, including "Green Card" and "Cyrano de Bergerac," has not commented publicly on the matter.
BEATLE TAX
In 2005, the Beatles' Ringo Starr took up residency in Monaco, where he gets to keep a higher percentage of royalties than he would in Britain or Los Angeles. France's tiny neighbor Monaco, with zero percent income tax for most people, has obvious appeal for the 72-year-old drummer and his estimated $240 million fortune.
The Beatles' resentment of high taxes goes back to their 1960s song "Taxman." George Harrison penned it in protest of the British government's 95 percent supertax on the rich, evoked by the lyrics: "There's one for you, nineteen for me."
Harrison reportedly said later, "'Taxman' was when I first realized that even though we had started earning money, we were actually giving most of it away in taxes."
LICENSE TO DODGE
Former "James Bond" star Sean Connery left the U.K. in the 1970s, reportedly for tax exile in Spain, and then the Bahamas — another spot with zero income tax and one of the richest countries per capita in the Americas. His successor to the 007 mantle, Roger Moore, also opted for exile in the 1970s — this time in Monaco — ensuring his millions were neither shaken nor stirred.
EXILE ON MAIN ST.
In 1972, The Rolling Stones controversially moved to the south of France to escape onerous British taxes. Though it caused a stink at the time, it spawned one of the group's most seminal albums, "Exile on Main St." The title is a reference to their tax-dodging. In 2006, British media branded them the "Stingy Stones" with reports that they'd paid just 1.6 percent tax on their earnings of $389 million over the previous two decades.
FISCAL HEALING
In 1980, U.S. singer Marvin Gaye moved to Hawaii from L.A. to avoid problems with the Internal Revenue Service, the American tax agency. Later that year, Gaye relocated to London after a tour in Europe. Gaye, whose hits include "Sexual Healing" and "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" settled in Belgium in 1981. He was shot to death in 1984.

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South Africa complete innings victory

Africa in Cape Town, January 4, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa completed an innings victory over New Zealand on Friday in a result which was never in doubt after the visitors collapsed to 45 all out before lunch on the opening day of the first test.
Dean Brownlie's maiden test century helped New Zealand to 232 for five at lunch on the third day after South Africa had declared their first innings closed at 347 for eight on Thursday.
However five wickets fell for 23 runs in a lower order collapse in the second session and the New Zealanders ended up 27 runs short of making the world number one side bat again.
Brownlie, who had been brought into the team as a replacement for Ross Taylor who opted out of the tour after he was replaced as captain by Brendon McCullum, resumed on day three with wicketkeeper BJ Watling, who was on 10.
The duo were resolute in the morning session and a frustrated Proteas' outfit were forced to watch as Brownlie reached his century with a big six over long-off from the bowling of Robin Peterson.
South Africa eventually got their man in the penultimate over before lunch as Brownlie cut a Morne Morkel delivery straight to Alviro Petersen on the point boundary having made 109.
Watling and James Franklin continued to frustrate the Proteas in the first hour following the break as they looked to avoid an innings defeat.
Three dropped catches had marred the hosts fielding display on day two and Franklin was next to be given a reprieve as ro Petersen grassed his second chance of the innings at gully.
A double-strike by Vernon Philander shortly before the drinks break crippled the New Zealand innings though, as Watling edged to first slip and was out for 42.
Doug Bracewell was caught at gully for a duck to reduce the Black Caps to 252 for seven and Jeetan Patel (8) was clearly rattled by the fearsome pace of Dale Steyn before eventually chopping on to his stumps.
The final two wickets fell in quick succession, as Franklin too played onto his stumps for 22 having lasted 103 minutes to leave New Zealand on the brink at 274 for nine.
The test match ended in a fittingly shambolic fashion for the Black Caps when Chris Martin was run out one delivery later without having faced a ball after being sent back by Trent Boult.
Philander won the man-of-the-match award for his match figures of 7-83, which included five for seven in the first innings.

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UPDATE 2-Cricket-South Africa complete innings victory

(Updates with quotes)
CAPE TOWN, Jan 4 (Reuters) - South Africa completed an innings victory over New Zealand within three days on Friday in a result which was never in doubt after the visitors collapsed to 45 all out before lunch on the opening day of the first test.
Dean Brownlie's maiden test century helped New Zealand to 232 for five at lunch on the third day after South Africa had declared their first innings closed at 347 for eight on Thursday.
However five wickets fell for 23 runs in a lower order collapse in the second session and the New Zealanders ended up 27 runs short of making the world number one side bat again.
Brownlie, who had been brought into the team as a replacement for Ross Taylor who opted out of the tour after he was replaced as captain by Brendon McCullum, resumed on day three with wicketkeeper BJ Watling, who was on 10.
The duo were resolute in the morning session and a frustrated Proteas' outfit were forced to watch as Brownlie reached his century with a big six over long-off from the bowling of Robin Peterson.
South Africa eventually got their man in the penultimate over before lunch as Brownlie cut a Morne Morkel delivery straight to Alviro Petersen on the point boundary having made 109.
Watling and James Franklin continued to frustrate the Proteas in the first hour following the break as they looked to avoid an innings defeat.
Three dropped catches had marred the hosts fielding display on day two and Franklin was next to be given a reprieve as ro Petersen grassed his second chance of the innings at gully.
A double-strike by Vernon Philander shortly before the drinks break crippled the New Zealand innings though, as Watling edged to first slip and was out for 42.
SPECIAL ATTACK
Doug Bracewell was caught at gully for a duck to reduce the Black Caps to 252 for seven and Jeetan Patel (8) was clearly rattled by the fearsome pace of Dale Steyn before eventually chopping on to his stumps.
The final two wickets fell in quick succession, as Franklin too played on to his stumps for 22 having lasted 103 minutes to leave New Zealand on the brink at 274 for nine.
The test match ended in a fittingly shambolic fashion for the Black Caps when Chris Martin was run out one delivery later without having faced a ball after being sent back by Trent Boult.
Philander won the man-of-the-match award for his match figures of 7-83, which included five for seven in the first innings. He has now captured 74 wickets in 13 tests at 17.40 runs each since making his debut in November 2011.
"I think it's a special attack, it's a special place. This unit, and the way we operate, having each guy know his role," he told a news conference.
"There's days where he (Steyn) attacks and I do a holding job, and then vice versa. I think as a unit, we understand each other well and that's the way we operate.
"I think with the intensity of our bowling lineup we're going to exploit the weaknesses somewhere along the line. I think Brownlie played exceptionally well, but giving his wicket away there just opened up the whole tail to our bowlers."
McCullum also praised the qusality of the South African pace bowling.
"The Australian attack of a few years ago was pretty relentless as well and it's no surprise that they were the number one in the world at that stage as well with the ability to take 20 wickets," he said.
"This South African team posseses that too and they keep coming hard at you and constantly put you under pressure. Their seam attack is right up there in terms of the best attacks and is certainly the number one attack in the world at the moment.

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Odd Mammal Thought Long Extinct in Australia May Still Live

A critically endangered mammal thought to be extinct in Australia since the last ice age may still exist there, a new study suggests.
That speculation comes from the discovery that at least one long-beaked echidna, an egg-laying mammal thought to exist only in New Guinea, was found in Australia in 1901 and that native Aborigine populations reported seeing the animal more recently. The 1901 specimen, described in the Dec. 28 issue of the journal Zookeys, had been shot and stuffed and was lying in a drawer, long forgotten, in the Natural History Museum in London.
"What's amazing about this study is it all hinges on a single specimen, and it's a very well-documented specimen that was collected in 1901 in Australia," said study co-author Kristofer Helgen, a zoologist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. "It's taken until 2013 for myself and the team to really unbury the specimen from the cabinets of the Natural History Museum of London."
Primitive mammal
Monotremes, which include bizarre little mammals like the duckbill platypus, lay eggs like reptiles but feed their babies milk. They may have diverged from all other mammals as far back as the Triassic Period, which lasted from about 248 million to 206 million years ago. [Image Gallery: Photos of Bizarre Monotremes]
While short-beaked echidnas and duckbill platypuses still live in Australia, the long-beaked echidna, the largest monotreme in the world, was thought to live only in rainforests of New Guinea. The secretive creature, which can weigh up to 20 pounds (9 kilograms), is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Forgotten in a drawer
Scientists knew the spiny, nocturnal creatures once inhabited Australia but thought it died out after the last ice age, between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago, when New Guinea and Australia were one continent, Helgen said.
Helgen said he was visiting the Natural History Museum in London to look at its collections when he happened upon a skinned long-beaked echidna that was neatly tagged with the species name and where it was discovered.
It turns out that in 1901, an Australian naturalist named John Tunney shot the echidna on Mount Anderson, a mountain in a vast, arid and sparsely populated region of northwest Australia, while on an expedition for a British collector. Tunney, who was trained in taxidermy, stuffed and delivered the specimen, which was later bequeathed to the Natural History Museum. There it lay forgotten for a century.
Once they realized the echidna had been spotted in recent history, the team went back to aboriginal communities in the West Kimberley region. Some of the women remembered watching their parents hunt long-beaked echidnas.
"They remembered that there used to be an echidna in the area that was much larger, and they pointed to pictures of the modern long-beaked echidna from New Guinea," Helgen told LiveScience.
Still out there?
The new findings raise the possibility that the long-beaked echidna is still out there in Australia, and scientists should lead an expedition to find it, Helgen said. But the elusive, critically endangered creatures are difficult to spot even in New Guinea. They venture out at night, avoid humans and curl up into a spiky, unidentifiable ball at the first sign of danger, he said.
The discovery not only points to the importance of maintaining museum collections, it radically changes the picture of long-beaked echidnas, said Christopher Norris, a museums specialist at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the study. The New Guinea rain forest where long-beaked echidnas are normally seen is dramatically different from the rocky, arid scrubland of the Kimberley, Norris told LiveScience.

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YEARENDER-Tennis-Golden year for Murray, regrets for Nadal

LONDON, Dec 28 (Reuters) - For Andy Murray 2012 marked a golden milestone, for Novak Djokovic the year was an emphatic reminder of his status as the world's best male player, and for Roger Federer and his army of fans it was proof that the old master's magic still sparkles.
Serena Williams used the second half of the year to demonstrate that she continues to be head and shoulders above her rivals in the women's game, whatever the rankings suggest.
Of the sport's marquee names, only Rafa Nadal will reflect on the past year with regret after six months out with a knee injury, and all eyes will be studying the 11-times grand-slam winner's form once the new season swings into action.
Nadal, one of four different winners of the men's grand-slam titles this year, has not played a match since a shock Wimbledon defeat by Lukas Rosol.
He hopes to return at the Australian Open although he has sensibly lowered expectations of an immediate impact.
In any other era the absence of a player of Nadal's calibre would be an impossible void to fill yet such is the quality at the top of the men's game that the Mallorcan's extended lay-off merely took a little gloss off what was otherwise a vintage year.
Murray began it with a new coach in Ivan Lendl but still without a grand-slam title on his CV having lost in his first three major finals without taking a set.
The Scot became Britain's first male Wimbledon singles finalist since Bunny Austin in 1938 but Federer's grasscourt brilliance deprived Murray of the title.
Three weeks later Murray returned to the All England Club lawns like a man on a mission and he rode a wave of national euphoria to thrash Federer in the Olympic singles final.
Fuelled with belief, Murray then strode into New York and when a fifth shot at a grand-slam final duly arrived he rose to the occasion to beat Djokovic in a five-set epic.
It was a setback for Djokovic but the Serbian, who began the year by beating Nadal to retain the Australian Open title in the longest-ever men's grand-slam final, finished it off as year-end world number one for the second season running.
"Considering the circumstances that I had to face on and off the court, expectations, all these things, I believe that this year has been even more successful for me," Djokovic, who won three major titles in 2011, said after beating Federer to win the ATP Tour Finals at London's 02 Arena.
TOP SPOT
Though Federer's year ended in defeat, the 31-year-old Swiss will look back on 2012 with pride.
A record-equalling seventh Wimbledon title took his grand-slam haul to 17 and propelled him back to the top of the world rankings long enough to surpass Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as number one.
The father-of-two is expected to scale back his schedule in 2013 but will still be a force to be reckoned with when the big prizes are up for grabs.
"I think it's been a fantastic season to be part of," Federer said. "Four different grand-slam champs. Then having the Olympics, as well, was obviously very unique."
Fellow 31-year-old Serena Williams had a relatively slow start to the year but after losing in the first round of the French Open to Virginie Razzano she was unstoppable.
The American won a fifth Wimbledon title, completing a golden slam by winning the Olympic singles gold in London, as well as the doubles with sister Venus, and a fourth U.S. Open title and capped the year by not dropping a set at the WTA finals in Istanbul.
Belarus's Victoria Azarenka ended the year as a worthy number one having captured the Australian Open and five other titles, while Maria Sharapova completed a career grand slam at the French Open but Williams was rightly named WTA Player of the Year.
After her battles with serious injury and health problems in recent years, Williams appears as hungry as ever and will be the woman to beat when the new season begins at the end of December.
"It's amazing that I'm still considered like one of the top players to beat. For me it's the ultimate honour and the ultimate compliment," Williams said in Istanbul before suggesting that the best might still be to come.
"I definitely think I can improve," said the 15-times major winner. "The day I feel that I can't improve, I think that's the day I should probably hang up my racquet."
Should Nadal return to his full force in 2013 the top four of the men's game looks set in stone, although several players have shown in 2012 that they can shake up the top order.
Juan Martin del Potro enjoyed an injury-free year and got back to the form that saw him win the 2009 U.S. Open final while Canada's Milos Raonic, Japan's Kei Nishikori and Poland's Jerzy Janowicz will be worth watching.
On the women's side, 2011 Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova looks the most likely to threaten the leading trio, although consistency remains her undoing.
In team tennis the Czech Republic dominated.
Their men beat Spain to win the Davis Cup for the first time as an independent nation - reward for Tomas Berdych, one of the most consistent performers on the tour throughout the year - while the women retained the Fed Cup, beating Serbia.

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Olympics sparkle at height of magical British summer

LONDON (Reuters) - London defied Britain's wettest summer for 100 years, potential transport and security chaos and a depressed economy to stage a marvelous 2012 Olympics during a magical year for British sport.
Over the past century Britons have become resigned to watching the rest of the world beat them at games they had either invented or codified at the height of the island nation's imperial splendor.
This year, to their fans' surprise and delight, British teams and athletes surpassed themselves across a range of sports, including third place in the Olympic medals' table behind the world's two great economic powers the United States and China.
Englishman Bradley Wiggins, who looks like a throwback to the English beat groups of the swinging sixties with his mop of hair and straggling sideburns, became the first Briton to win the Tour de France prior to taking a fourth Olympic gold medal.
After finishing runner-up in four grand slam finals during a vintage era for men's tennis, Scotland's Andy Murray finally made the breakthrough as the first British male in 76 years to win one of the big four titles with victory over Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open.
And Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, winner of four PGA titles including the PGA championship by a record eight strokes, was awarded the annual Jack Nicklaus award for player-of-the-year. At the age of 23 he was the youngest recipient since Tiger Woods in 1997.
At the heart of the year's sporting action, London staged the summer Olympics for the third time to unanimous acclaim throughout the world.
Under the assured stewardship of organizing committee chairman Seb Coe, as adroit in the convoluted realm of sports politics as he had been on the track while winning two Olympic 1,500 meters titles, the London organization was impeccable.
Transport, one of the biggest worries in a cramped and crowded city, worked smoothly with enthusiastic and knowledgeable crowds flocking to venues sprinkled among some of London's more celebrated landmarks.
Rain fell nearly every day during the early part of a gloomy summer before an overdue burst of hot sunshine in the week leading up to the Games in late July. Thereafter the weather reverted to a more familiar English blend of the good, the bad and the indifferent without causing any serious disruptions.
Even the admission by a private security firm a fortnight before the 16-day festival that it could not supply enough guards proved an unexpected bonus.
Thousands of soldiers, sailors and airmen stepped into the breach and their disciplined professionalism and unfailing good humor further boosted the feel good factor.
The day after a quirky but compelling opening ceremony fusing historical and cultural glories with quintessentially British eccentricity, Michael Phelps took to the pool.
Winner of a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, Phelps faltered initially, finishing fourth in the 400 meters individual medley behind fellow-American Ryan Lochte.
By the end of the opening week, the American through sheer willpower was back to his best, finishing his competitive career with 18 gold medals from four Games. They included four golds in London and 22 medals overall to make him the most-decorated athlete in Olympic history ahead of former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, who collected 18.
FINEST HOUR
While Phelps was gracing an Olympic pool for the last time on the middle Saturday of the Games, the nearby Olympic stadium erupted during Britain's finest Olympic hour.
Reflecting the face of modern multi-cultural Britain, Somali immigrant Mo Farah won the 10,000 meters and the daughter of a Jamaican father and English mother Jessica Ennis finished first in the heptathlon. Greg Rutherford, the great-grandson of an England soccer international, won the long jump.
Usain Bolt, who had made a mockery of the world 100 and 200 meters records in Beijing, shrugged off doubts about his form, fitness and the threat of training partner Yohan Blake, who had beaten him twice at the Jamaican trials, to become the first man to retain both Olympic titles.
Jamaica swept the 200 medals and Bolt finished a triumphant week for his tiny Caribbean nation by anchoring the 4x100 relay team to a world record and establish beyond any doubt that he is the greatest sprinter to step on to a track.
Kenya's David Rudisha provided the most spectacular individual performance on the track, spread-eagling the field to break his own world 800 meters record without the benefit of pacemakers.
Chelsea kicked off the British sporting summer with an unexpected triumph in the Champions League final, defeating Bayern Munich on penalties at the Allianz Arena to win the European club title for the first time.
After the west London club had eliminated favorites Barcelona in the semi-finals with a scrupulously disciplined defensive display, Didier Drogba leveled the scores in the 88th minute of the final with a header before converting the final spot kick in the penalty shootout.
ARMSTRONG SCANDAL
Wiggins, who had survived the worst life could throw at him, triumphed in the most brutal and demanding of the European road cycling classics.
Abandoned at the age of two by his alcoholic Australian father, himself a professional cyclist who was found dead of head injuries on a street in 2008, Wiggins fought his way out of a council estate with gritty determination and drive.
His victory in the Tour, possibly the greatest individual British sporting achievement of the year and followed by a fourth Olympic gold, was accompanied by unwelcome if not unexpected baggage.
Given the sport in general and the Tour in particular are notoriously drug-tainted, Wiggins was forced to endure a barrage of questions about doping during and after the race.
"If I doped I would potentially stand to lose everything," he responded. "My reputation, my livelihood, my marriage, my family, my house... my Olympic titles, my world titles."
The questions, to Wiggins and his rivals, will not go away soon.
Later in the year, American Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency published a report accusing him of being involved in the "most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen". Armstrong continued to deny ever taking drugs but elected not to contest the charges, which the sporting authorities took as an effective admission of guilt.
Murray's breakthrough came after he avenged his Wimbledon final defeat to Roger Federer to beat the Swiss master in the Olympic final.
Serena Williams collected gold in the singles and doubles during a winning streak when she added the Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles to her trophy cabinet.
POULTER LEADS FIGHTBACK
McIlroy also played a full part in the year's most remarkable comeback. After confusion over a tee time, he needed a police escort in his haste to reach the Medinah course on the final day of the biennial Ryder Cup between Europe and the United States when the hosts needed only 4-1/2 points from 12 singles matches to win.
Instead, the Americans conceded 8-1/2 points to the Europeans who won 14-1/2 to 13-1/2. McIlroy prevailed over the previously undefeated Keegan Bradley and German Martin Kaymer sank a five-foot putt on the 18th green to secure the 14 points Europe needed to retain the trophy.
Englishman Ian Poulter, who like the late Seve Ballesteros and Colin Montgomerie before him reserves his best for the Ryder Cup, turned around Europe's fortunes by earning one of two points in the fourballs on Saturday. Poulter, possessor of one of the more startling wardrobes in a sport not noted for sartorial restraint, was one of eight players to win on Sunday to finish with a 4-0 record overall.
Although another Briton, Jenson Button, won the final Grand Prix of the season in Sao Paulo nobody could deny Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who at the age of 25 became Formula One's youngest triple world champion.
The German was last on the opening lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix but fought back in a damaged car to finish sixth.
One arena where a British national team performed much as it always does at major tournaments was in the national game of soccer.
For once, under a new coach Roy Hodgson, expectations were not exaggeratedly high for England before the European championships jointly hosted by Ukraine and Poland and losing on penalties to Italy in the quarter-finals was greeted with a resigned shrug rather than outraged indignation.
Spain, the country who took 44 years to win a major tournament, became the first to win three in a row, retaining the European title after triumphing in the 2010 World Cup.
They destroyed Italy 4-0 in the final and their endlessly inventive midfielder Andres Iniesta was named player of the tournament.
Iniesta's Barcelona team mate Lionel Messi was carried off in a stretcher with what appeared to be a serious knee injury after colliding with Benfica goalkeeper in a Champions League group match on December 5.
Four days later the Argentine scored both goals in a 2-1 La Liga win over Real Betis to overhaul German Gerd Mueller's previous record of 85 goals in a calendar year set in 1972. Both goals were set up by Iniesta.
Pele's record of 75 scored in 1958 was already well behind him and, at the age of 25, Messi is in exalted company.
"Leo is supernatural. He doesn't have limits," marveled Barcelona defender Gerard Pique.
Britain's golden year lingered into December, with yet further cause for celebration through sports developed in Victorian public schools whose passion for organized games inspired Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics.
England, 12/1 outsiders before the match, thrashed world rugby union champions New Zealand 38-21 at Twickenham to bring an abrupt halt to increasingly fevered speculation that the current All Blacks team are the best side ever to play the game.
Then the England cricket side, humiliated in the first test of a four-match series in India, bounced back with captain Alastair Cook leading by example to win the next two by convincing margins.
The last test was drawn and England sealed the series 2-1, their first test series victory in India since 1985 and India's first home series defeat in eight years.

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Asia delights in Olympic success but big names flop

Another shower of gold at the Olympics confirmed China's status as the powerhouse of Asian sport but there were few standout performances away from London for the continent's top sporting talents to crow about in 2012.
The likes of Sachin Tendulkar and the Indian cricket team, Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao and Chinese tennis player Li Na had years ranging from the mediocre to the downright awful.
There was better news in geopolitical terms when India decided to resume cricketing ties with neighbors Pakistan, while the sporting sphere avoided any serious repercussions from China's bitter territorial dispute with Japan.
Brilliant performances from swimmers Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen led the way as China won 38 golds in London to finish second on the medals table, but there was controversy as well as glory for the Chinese.
China was furious at suspicions of doping leveled at Ye, shamed by the scandal involving their badminton team and stunned by the second successive Olympic failure of hurdler Liu Xiang.
South Korea's heavy investment in Olympic success also paid healthy dividends with 13 golds and a best ever finish of fifth on the medals table, pushing them ahead of traditional middle-ranking powers Germany, France, Australia and Japan.
While the Chinese remained Olympic pacesetters, in soccer they continued their long pattern of underachievement despite the presence of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka in their domestic league.
Instead, it was their Japanese and Korean neighbors who again shared Asian bragging rights in the world's most popular sport.
Japan were in a class of their own on the international stage with a number of eye-catching performances as they moved to the brink of being the first team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Alberto Zaccheroni's side made a major breakthrough by beating France 1-0 in a friendly in Paris and Shinji Kagawa moved to Manchester United in June.
Ulsan Hyundai became the third K-League club in four years to win the Asian Champions League, going unbeaten through the continent's top club competition and clinching the title with a 3-0 win over Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia.
While Ulsan's triumph was a welcome turnaround after the Korean match-fixing scandal of 2011, controversy continued to dog Asian football.
The governing Asian Football Confederation spent the year trying to rid themselves of suspended president Mohamed Bin Hammam, long after the Qatari was first banned by FIFA for alleged bribery in May 2011.
Indonesian clubs remained stuck in the middle of a dispute over governance of the sport in the nation and Paraguayan striker Diego Mendieta was left to die in a hospital waiting on four months' wages owed by his former club.
Pacquiao, arguably the greatest ever pound-for-pound boxer, stood at a crossroads at the end of 2012 after a stunning knockout at the hands of Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in December handed him a second defeat of the year.
The 34-year-old Filipino, who has won world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions, may fight again but it was a signal that his illustrious career may be drawing to a close.
LOW EXPECTATIONS
India have rarely thrived at the Olympics and a reminder of their low expectations came when their unprecedented six-medal haul in London was hailed as a triumph.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) undermined even that moderate success when, despite several warnings, it was kicked out of the Olympic family after allowing government interference in its elections.
The country's cricketers can usually be relied upon to raise sporting spirits in the world's second most populous nation but the much vaunted India team lurched from one defeat to another.
The retirement of batting greats Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman deepened the gloom and even Tendulkar, who became the first cricketer to hit 100 international centuries this year, labored in the twilight of his career and quit one-dayers.
Sri Lanka won good reviews for its hosting of the Twenty20 World Cup but the hosts could not manage to provide Asia with a champion and succumbed to West Indies in the final.
Li won a WTA title at Cincinnati and reached three other finals to cement her position as a top 10 player but she never got past the fourth round at a grand slam in her attempts to back up her breakthrough 2011 French Open triumph.
Kei Nishikori finally gave Asian fans a men's tennis player to cheer when he crashed into the world top 20 and became the first local to win the Japan Open for his second ATP title.
Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish made a good start to his Major League baseball career with the Texas Rangers, being credited 16 wins in 29 starts and winning the club's Rookie of the Year award.
Millions of dollars continued to be pumped into golf in Asia but despite the many lucrative tournaments being played at sumptuous courses around the region, local success at the top level was rare.
India's Jeev Milkha Singh and Thai Thongchai Jaidee claimed titles on the European Tour but Hiroyuki Fujita's four wins on the Japan Tour were enough to make him Asia's top ranked golfer at world number 49.
There were signs that China might be on the verge of producing some promising talent when 14-year-old Guan Tianlang ensured he would become the youngest player to compete at the U.S. Masters by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.
Taiwan's Yani Tseng led the continued Asian dominance of women's golf by retaining the number one ranking throughout the year, while eight of the top 10 in the world are from the continent.
Perhaps the biggest development for the future of sport in Asia, and in particular for the continent's half a billion Muslim women, came when FIFA lifted its ban on the wearing of head scarves in competition and women athletes from Saudi Arabia and Qatar competed for the first time at the Olympics.
Teenager Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shaherkani became Saudi Arabia's first female Olympian with a brief appearance in the London judo competition.
"I advise all Saudi women to take part in sports," she said.

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