Cycling
Greipel wins fourth stage of Tour Down Under — Germany’s Andre Greipel won the fourth stage of the Tour Down Under on Thursday in Adelaide, Australia, claiming his second stage win this year and 13th overall in the season-opening race. The relatively flat 79-mile stage between Modbury and Tanunda in the wine-producing Barossa Valley favored sprinters, and Greipel was the overwhelming favorite.
Winter sports
Wagner in control at U.S. Figure Skating — Ashley Wagner is on her way to becoming the first woman since Michelle Kwan to win back-to-back titles, winning the short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Thursday night in Omaha, Neb. Wagner’s clean and elegant “Red Violin" program earned her 67.57 points. That puts her more than two points ahead of Agnes Zawadzki going into Saturday’s free skate.
Football
Face of Te’o’s girlfriend says hoaxster confessed - The woman who was unknowingly the face of Lennay Kekua said the man who concocted the hoax confessed to her and said he wanted to end the ruse that snared Notre Dame star Manti Te’o many times before it unraveled. Diane O’Meara is the woman whose pictures were used to make an online profile of Kekua, the fake person who Te’o said he fell for without meeting in person. O’Meara said Ronaiah Tuiasosopo told her that he created the hoax and wanted to end it before Kekua “died" in September, but Te’o wanted the relationship with Kekua to continue. O’Meara said Tuiasosopo confessed in a 45-minute phone call Jan. 14 that he had “stalked" her Facebook profile for five years and stolen photos to create Kekua.
Attorney insists she did nothing wrong — Nevin Shapiro’s attorney said Thursday that she did nothing wrong during the former Miami booster’s bankruptcy proceedings, instead insisting that the NCAA’s problems during an investigation of the Hurricanes’ athletic department were self-inflicted. Further, the attorney, Maria Elena Perez, said she’s one of the victims of the NCAA’s mistakes. In an interview with The Associated Press, Perez said that the NCAA had representation present during two depositions in the bankruptcy case of her client, who is currently serving a 20-year prison term for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme. The NCAA said Wednesday that it has ordered an outside review of the Miami investigation after finding “a very severe issue of improper conduct" by former investigators working the Miami case.
Basketball
Hornets announce name change — Hornets owner Tom Benson says changing his team’s nickname to the Pelicans will create a bond with the city that could lead to a championship. The Hornets announced Thursday they are going ahead with the name change. The NBA has to approve it, but Commissioner David Stern has said he wouldn’t object to any name Benson chose. The league is expected to expedite the change at the start of next season. The new color scheme is blue, gold and red.
Motor sports
Pruett earns pole for Rolex 24 — Scott Pruett’s run for the record book will start from the front of the field. Pruett earned the pole Thursday for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the prestigious, twice-around-the-clock endurance event that kicks off the racing season. Pruett covered the 3.56-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway in 1 minute, 40.553 seconds. He averaged 127.455 mph in the Daytona Prototype class, a tad faster than Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon.
— From wire reports
