The Los Angeles Clippers arrested their four-game losing skid while their city rivals the Los Angeles Lakers provided a rare bright spot in their dire season by beating the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

The Clippers were again without star guard Chris Paul but this time his teammates picked up the slack and beat the Portland Trail Blazers 96-83.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo warmed up for their teams' upcoming Copa del Rey clash with high-scoring displays on Sunday to help Barcelona and Real Madrid cruise to comfortable wins against helpless Spanish league opponents.

After Ronaldo hit his 20th career hat trick in an 11-minute span to help Madrid rout Getafe 4-0, an insatiable Messi did him one better by netting four times in Barcelona's 5-1 thrashing of 10-man Osasuna.

Cape Verde joined host South Africa in the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations on Sunday after the small island nation scored two late goals to secure advancement in its first appearance in the tournament.

Cape Verde netted an injury-time winner through Heldon Ramos to come from behind and advance with a 2-1 victory over Angola, preventing the Angolans from stealing through from last place in the group.

Victoria Azarenka won an incident-packed final against an injury-hit Li Na to successfully defend her Australian Open title and retain the world number one ranking on Saturday.

After a scrappy match marked by boos for Azarenka, a break for Australia Day fireworks and two painful falls for China's Li, the Belarusian top seed dissolved in tears when she sealed the 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has rounded on critics of his under-fire goalkeeper David de Gea, who include former United right-back Gary Neville, by branding them "idiots".

De Gea came in for criticism after his weak punch led to Tottenham Hotspur's injury-time equalizer in United's 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane last weekend.

With superstar Kobe Bryant doing his utmost to get his teammates involved, the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a four-game NBA losing streak with a 102-84 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace scored 17 points apiece while Bryant, the NBA's second-leading scorer, handed out 14 assists to go with 14 points and nine rebounds in the much-needed win.

Lance Armstrong lied in his confessional interview with Oprah Winfrey and the shamed cyclist has two weeks to finally come clean, the U.S. anti-doping official who pursued him for years has said.

Travis Tygart said in an excerpt of an interview with the CBS network that Armstrong failed to tell Winfrey the truth about several key points over doping -- including a claim that he raced drug-free in his comeback in 2009 and 2010.

NBA fan Michael Drysch drained a basket from midcourt Friday to win a $75,000 prize and an enthusiastic hug from Miami Heat superstar LeBron James.

Drysch, a 50-year-old computer technician from Illinois, won a draw to try for the prize, with the shot also earning $75,000 from one of James's sponsors for the Girls and Boys Clubs of America.

Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas will be sidelined for eight to 12 weeks after undergoing surgery on his fractured left hand in Madrid on Friday.

"The period of unavailability is between eight and 12 weeks," doctor Miguel del Cerro said in a statement released by the La Liga club, adding that Casillas would be in a cast for approximately three weeks.

Andy Murray has finally beaten Roger Federer at a Grand Slam.

The U.S. Open champion stayed in the hunt for a second consecutive major title with a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 win over the 17-time Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open on Friday.