SPORTS

||| NFL. Dolphins finally end slide, Patriots move to 14-0

One streak is over

||| The Dolphins got their first victory of the season after 13 losses on a day when their undefeated team of 35 years ago was honored. ||| Meanwhile, the Patriots beat the Jets in icy, windy conditions and became the second NFL team to go 14-0. ||| The other was the 1972 Miami club that went on to take the Super Bowl.

The Associated Press

Maybe all the Miami Dolphins needed was the right kind of inspiration.
The Dolphins got their first victory of the season after 13 losses on a day when their undefeated team of 35 years ago was honored. Perhaps it was the presence of seven Hall of Famers from that team as honorary captains that finally made the difference in a 22-16 overtime victory on Sunday against reeling Baltimore.
"I talked to coach Shula, and I told him we would win," Miami defensive end Jason Taylor said. "I'm glad we did. I can't lie to coach Shula."
And he didn't, thanks to Baltimore's Matt Stover missing a 44-yard field goal in the extra period, then Miami's Greg Camarillo turning a short completion into a 64-yard touchdown.
"I've been looking forward to this day for quite some time," said coach Cam Cameron after getting his first NFL win as a head coach.

For one afternoon, the Dolphins got to feel what has become a habit for New England.
The Patriots beat the New York Jets 20-10 in icy, windy conditions and became the second NFL team to go 14-0. The other was the 1972 Miami club that went on to take the Super Bowl.
"As long as that zero stays in that (loss) column, I'm cool with it," star receiver Randy Moss said.
Also Sunday, Tampa Bay clinched the NFC North by routing Atlanta 37-7, and San Diego took the AFC West with a 51-14 romp past Detroit. Indianapolis clinched a first-round playoff bye with its 21-14 victory at Oakland. Green Bay did the same after its 33-14 victory at St. Louis.
Elsewhere, it was Philadelphia 10, Dallas 6; Jacksonville 29, Pittsburgh 22; Cleveland 8, Buffalo 0; Carolina 13, Seattle 10; New Orleans 31, Arizona 24; Tennessee 26, Kansas City 17; and Washington 22, NY Giants 10.

 “I talked to coach Shula, and I told him we would win. I’m glad we did. I can’t lie to coach Shula.”

The weekend began with Houston's 31-13 win over Denver on Thursday night, then continued on Saturday night, when San Fran-cisco downed Cincinnati 20-13.
The Monday night game was Chicago at Minnesota.
Miami snapped a 16-game losing streak and sent Baltimore (4-10) to a franchise-record eighth consecutive defeat. Camarillo broke over the middle on third down and had two steps on the secondary when he caught a pass from Cleo Lemon near midfield.
Camarillo sprinted to the end zone for his first NFL touchdown, and his jubilant teammates ran after him to create a mob scene in the corner of Dolphin Stadium.
"Man, I haven't run in the open field in a long time," Camarillo said. "To see it open up, to see the end zone, to see everybody cheering, it was a great feeling."
With their first victory since Dec. 10, 2006, the Dolphins avoided matching the worst start in NFL history, 0-14 by the 1976 expansion Buccaneers and the 1980 Saints.

Meanwhile, host New England clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs even though Tom Brady failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time this season. Laurence Maroney ran for 104 yards, just the fourth time this season a New England rusher surpassed 100.
On New York's second offensive play, Richard Seymour slammed Kellen Clemens to the ground in the Jets' end zone, forcing a bad throw and an interception that Eugene Wilson returned 5 yards for a touchdown. Clemens didn't return.                 

||| GOLF. Woods closes out the year winning the Target

Another victory for Tiger

Doug Ferguson | AP Golf Writer

First came a kiss for his daughter. Then came a pose with the trophy.
For Tiger Woods, life has never been better.
"This year on the golf course, it's been a great year," he said on Sunday after closing out the season with a seven-shot victory in the Target World Challenge. "Off the golf course, it's been the greatest year I've ever had."
He could not have picked a better way to end 2007.
Woods hosted an elite, 16-man field at Sherwood Country Club to play 72 holes in gorgeous weather for $5.75 million in prize money, with last place getting $170,000 without even having to show up on Sunday.

But the relaxed setting gave way to a frightening future.
Woods had been out of competition for 10 weeks, dating to his singles loss to Mike Weir in the Presidents Cup on Sept. 30. He began hitting balls about 10 days ago to get ready for the Target World Challenge, then played as if he never left the couch.
He set the course record with a 62 in the second round. He tied the tournament record at 22-under 266, first set by Davis Love III in 2000 the first year the tournament came to Sherwood. And his 68 in the final round Sunday gave him a seven-shot victory, the largest in tournament history and his third win this year by at least that many.

So much for rust. "Doesn't help us, does it?" Colin Montgomerie said. "If he took a bloody year off, it would help."
Paul Casey was coming off a four-week break and expected to hit a few loose shots. He did not think he would wind up 21 shots behind a guy who took off 2½ months.
"We have a saying in England that he was Rolls-Roycing it," he said. "You fire up the car and it purrs perfectly."   

||| TENNIS. Federer, Henin win awards

The 2007 champions

The Associated Press

Roger Federer and Justine Henin are the ITF World Champions for 2007.
Federer became only the second man to win the International Tennis Federation's award in four straight years on Monday, joining Pete Sampras.
"Every year brings new challenges, and I am proud that I have been able to raise the level of my game when needed," said Federer, who won three Grand Slam titles this year and reached the final at the French Open.

Henin, who received the award for the second straight year and third time in her career, won two majors and the season-ending Sony Ericsson Cham- pionships.
"This has definitely been the best season of my career," said Henin, who was 63-4 with 10 titles in 2007 after skipping the Australian Open for personal reasons related to splitting up with her husband. "It has been a very challenging year overall, but I have stayed positive and proved that nothing is impossible if you work hard."
Bob and Mike Bryan won the doubles award for the men, and Cara Black and Liezel Huber were the women's champions.