BASKETBALL
The Maine Celtics went on a 30-2 run in the second quarter and cruised to a 134-106 win Saturday night against Raptors 905, completing a weekend sweep in Mississauga, Ontario, as they extended their winning streak to seven games.
The game began at 2 p.m. but was suspended in the first quarter because of unplayable court conditions, then resumed at 8 p.m.
Maine led 42-36 midway through the second quarter before Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet made back-to-back 3-pointers to start the decisive surge.
Brodric Thomas led Maine with 24 points. Chris Clemons scored 21, Hauser finished with 20 and Juwan Morgan had 18, as seven Celtics reached double figures.
ELKS HOOP SHOOT: The Portland Elks Club will hold a free-throw shooting contest for children ages 8-13 on Sunday, Dec. 19, at Rowe Elementary School in Portland. There is no entry fee, but masks must be worn. Registration is at 9 a.m. Contest winners will advance to district championships. For more information, contact Bruce Jordan at 207-415-3712 or Joe Winschel at 207-232-0133.
HOCKEY
ECHL: Jordan Smotherman scored twice in the third period and completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal as the Worcester Railers held on for a 4-2 win over the Maine Mariners in Massachusetts.
Jake Bricknell and Andrew Romano scored for the Mariners in the second period after they fell behind 3-0 in the first.
• Maine’s game against the Adirondack Thunder on Sunday in Glens Falls, New York, was postponed because of the ECHL’s health and safety protocols. A make-up date has not been determined.
NHL: Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop’s career is over because of a degenerative condition in his right knee, General Manager Jim Nill said.
Bishop, 35, last played in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against Colorado on Aug. 31, 2020. The former UMaine goalie had surgery for a torn meniscus after the season.
AUTO RACING
FORMULA ONE: A first Formula One championship for Max Verstappen was in reach after masterful Red Bull strategy helped the Dutchman overcome an early qualifying mistake to beat Lewis Hamilton for the top starting spot in the title-deciding Abu Dhabi GP.
Verstappen flat-spotted his medium tires in Saturday qualifying, which forced Red Bull to blueprint a plan to give its star any sort of edge over his rival. Sergio Perez was tasked to help and went out first in the final qualifying segment – a move that allowed Perez to tow Verstappen down the long straight at Yas Marina Circuit before Perez bailed out and sacrificed his own lap to aid his teammate.
Verstappen clocked his lap at 1 minute, 22.109-seconds, good enough to hold off Hamilton by .371-seconds. The pole-sitter has won in Abu Dhabi the last six years, including Verstappen’s victory last season when he led all 55 laps around the yacht-filled marina.
Hamilton on Sunday will attempt to win a record eighth Formula One championship to break a tie with Michael Schumacher. Hamilton and Verstappen are tied in the standings – the first time since 1974 that the top contenders were even going into the deciding race.
SOCCER
ENGLAND: Manchester City maintained its one-point lead over Liverpool in the Premier League, as Raheem Sterling’s 100th league goal secured a 1-0 home win over Wolverhampton.
Mohamed Salah’s penalty in the 67th minute secured a 1-0 win at home against Aston Villa.
Chelsea remained two points behind in third place, as Jorginho converted two spot kicks – the second in the fourth minute of stoppage time – in a 3-2 win at home against Leeds.
• Cristiano Ronaldo’s 13th goal of the season helped Manchester United close in on the top four with a hard-fought 1-0 win at last-placed Norwich.
GERMANY: Bayern Munich extended its lead in the Bundesliga to six points, as Jamal Musiala scored in a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Mainz while Borussia Dortmund was held by local rival Bochum to a 1-1 draw.
GOLF
QBE SHOOTOUT: Marc Leishman holed out for eagle for the second straight day as he and Jason Day posted an 8-under 64 in the modified alternate shot format to build a three-shot lead in Naples, Florida.
Defending champions Harris English and Matt Kuchar, were still in the mix for a fourth title at the Greg Norman charity event. They had a 66 and were tied for second with the teams of Jason Kokrak and Kevin Na, and Billy Horschel and Sam Burns.
TENNIS
SANTANA DIES: Manuel “Manolo” Santana, who reached No. 1 in the world rankings and was the first Spaniard to win a Grand Slam singles title, has died. He was 83.
The Madrid Open announced the death of its honorary president on Saturday. No cause of death was given.
Santana won four major singles championships – the French Championships in 1961 and 1964, the U.S. Championships in 1965 and Wimbledon in 1966, the same year he reached No. 1. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1984.
SKIING
WORLD CUP: Lara Gut-Behrami won a women’s super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland, racing down the typically tricky terrain 0.18 seconds faster than Sofia Goggia.
Mikaela Shiffrin was exactly one second further back of Goggia in third to retain her lead in the overall World Cup standings.
• Swiss skier Marco Odermatt dominated the second men’s giant slalom of the season to win by almost six-tenths of a second in Val d’Isere, France.
Odermatt best handled challenging course conditions following overnight snowfall as he defeated Alexis Pinturault by .59 seconds. Austrian skier Manuel Feller was 1.24 behind in third for his first career podium in the discipline.
SNOWBOARDING
U.S. GRAND PRIX: Shaun White will have to wait at least one more week to get an inside track on a trip to his fourth Olympics after an eighth-place finish at the season’s first qualifying event in Copper Mountain, Colorado.
The three-time gold medalist could not put together a completely clean run on any of his three trips down the halfpipe and failed to earn the podium spot that would put him in the best position for a trip to Beijing.
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