Ireland centre Brian O'Driscoll is the hot favourite for the International Rugby Board's Player of the Year award after being included on a seven-man shortlist on Monday.

Aaron Brooks scored a career-high 33 points as the Houston Rockets beat Los Angeles 101-91 on Sunday night, sending the NBA champion Lakers to a second consecutive loss.

Peyton Manning threw a touchdown pass with 13 seconds remaining as the unbeaten Colts rallied from a 17-point deficit to edge the New England Patriots 35-34 on Sunday.

Jussi Jokinen and Michael Leighton helped Carolina end its winless streak at 14 games, leading the Hurricanes to a 5-4 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia secured back-to-back ATP titles on Sunday by edging past battling Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7/3) in a thrilling Paris Masters final.

Michelle Wie broke through for her first professional tour victory on Sunday, winning the LPGA Lorena Ochoa Invitational by two strokes over fellow American Paula Creamer.

Australian sports fans were still buzzing on Monday and pining for more of Tiger Woods after the world's best golfer's masterclass performance to win the Australian Masters at Kingston Heath.

Debutant Switzerland was crowned Under-17 world champions here on Sunday when they defeated host and defending champion Nigeria 1-0 inside a packed Abuja National Stadium.

Struggling giants River Plate earned a rare victory in the Argentine championship on Sunday when they beat Atletico Tucuman 3-1.

Jimmie Johnson rebounded from a rare bad race with a dominating victory at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday that pushed him to the edge of a NASCAR record fourth consecutive championship.