Digest

SOCCER

Lewandowski retains FIFA best player award

Robert Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski was voted the best men's player in the world on Monday, retaining the FIFA award he won last year despite being left off the ballot paper filed by runner-up Lionel Messi.

The Bayern Munich forward overturned the result last month of the Ballon d'Or prize where he placed second behind Messi, who finally led Argentina to a senior title at the 2021 Copa America. Mo Salah of Liverpool placed third.

"I am very honored to win this trophy," Lewandowski said on a video link from Munich. The trophy was presented by club officials during the online ceremony hosted at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

Lewandowski was the overwhelming choice of national team captains and coaches plus selected media in more than 200 countries, yet was almost caught by Messi, who got more than double the number of votes from fans worldwide than the Poland captain.

All three candidates voted as captains of their national teams, and Lewandowski ranked Messi second of his three choices. Salah had Lewandowski and Messi in his top three.

Ref apologizes as Milan misses out on top spot

Little went AC Milan's way in a dispiriting 2-1 home loss to Spezia as the Rossoneri wasted a chance to move back atop Serie A on Monday.

Emmanuel Gyasi was left unmarked to finish off a counterattack and score a stoppage-time winner for Spezia, which moved six points clear of the drop zone.

That came moments after a potential winner from Brazilian Junior Messias was disallowed for Milan because the referee whistled for a foul on Rossoneri forward Ante Rebic in the buildup.

Ref Marco Serra quickly held his hands up in an apparent apology to Milan's protesting players but still refused to allow the goal, assigning Milan a freekick instead.

Spezia goalkeeper Ivan Provedel then made two superb saves to keep out efforts from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Milan remained two points behind city rival Inter, which has a game in hand, and was only two points ahead of third-placed Napoli, which beat Bologna 2-0.

ICE HOCKEY

Team USA 'excited' for Beijing gold-medal bid

Fifteen current NCAA players and eight from European clubs were among the 25-man USA Hockey roster for Beijing 2022.

"We're excited about the roster we've put together," said John Vanbiesbrouck, general manager of the 2022 US Olympic men's ice hockey team.

"The Olympics are the biggest stage in sports and it was fun to hear the enthusiasm our players have to represent their country. We're fortunate to have a deep talent pool－thanks in part to all the great work of our volunteers in communities across the nation－and with the mix of players who are part of our team, we're looking forward to competing for a gold medal in Beijing," Vanbiesbrouck noted.

Brian O'Neill, one of five players from the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League on the US roster, is the lone returning Olympian after playing for Team USA in Pyeongchang 2018.

Instead of stars from NHL teams, the Beijing Olympics will witness talents from lower leagues, as did Pyeongchang 2018 where the Olympic Athletes from Russia took the gold medal.

Sharks' Meier nets franchise-record tally

Timo Meier

Timo Meier set a San Jose franchise record with five goals on Monday afternoon, and the Sharks used a huge first period to beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-2.

Meier, a sixth-year winger who made his first All-Star team this season, notched a hat-trick before the first period even ended. He then scored his fourth goal less than two minutes into the second period and broke the Sharks' record with his fifth just 27 seconds before the second intermission.

With fans chanting "Timo!, Timo!" at different points throughout the third period, Meier had a chance for his sixth goal midway through the period when he took the puck down the left side with open ice ahead of him, but Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson knocked the puck from his possession as Meier approached the net.

Joe Malone holds the NHL single-game record with seven goals, which he achieved with the Quebec Bulldogs back in 1920. Seven players have had six-goal games over the years.

According to NHL records, the New York Rangers' Mika Zibanejad was the last NHL player to score five goals, which happened on March 5,2020, against Washington.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Niners QB Garoppolo nursing shoulder sprain

San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo sprained his throwing shoulder during the second quarter of Sunday's playoff win against the Dallas Cowboys.

Garoppolo is expected to be able to participate when the 49ers return to practice Tuesday, with Shanahan saying the starter's shoulder is only "slightly" sprained.

"He had to play through some pain and stuff, but he ended up checking out alright," Shanahan said. "Just a slight shoulder sprain and he should be good for (Tuesday's) practice."

Garoppolo was already dealing with a torn ligament in his right thumb, which caused him to miss one regular-season game, in which Trey Lance led San Francisco to a Week 17 win over the Houston Texans. Lance also started in place of Garoppolo in Week 5－a loss to the Arizona Cardinals－while Garoppolo nursed a calf injury.

Garoppolo, 30, completed 16 of 25 passes Sunday for 172 yards and one interception and no sacks as the 49ers beat Dallas 23-17. They advanced to the divisional round and will visit the top-seeded Green Bay Packers this weekend.

Xinhua - Agencies