Real Madrid: Gonzalo Higuain and Rafael van der Vaart scored two apiece as Real Madrid tore apart struggling Real Zaragoza to win 6-0 in La Liga on Saturday night. Real Madrid climbed to 37 points from 15 games, two short of leaders Barcelona.
Podolski: Germany striker Lukas Podolski insisted yesterday he has no regrets about quitting Bayern Munich to return to struggling Cologne. "I would take the same decision again without hesitating for a second," Podolski said.
In Holland: Twente Enschede went into the winter break on top of the Dutch league yesterday after all five top-flight matches were postponed because of heavy snowfall. Only the pitch for the match between NEC Nijmegen and Vitesse had been declared unplayable but travel advice prompted the Dutch FA to postpone all the day's matches.
Slovenia: Slovenia will be based in Johannesburg for the 2010 World Cup finals, the country's football federation announced yesterday. Slovenia will train at a school pitch in the Hyde Park district.
Boxing: Boxing referee Jimmy Villers was rushed to hospital after collapsing following a fight on the undercard of Kelly Pavlik's middleweight bout against Miguel Espino. Villers, who was listed in stable condition, had just worked a featherweight fight between Miguel Angel Garcia and Yogli Herrera at the Beeghly Center when he grabbed his chest and collapsed after suffering a heart attack.
Pool: South Korea's pin-up pool player Cha Yu-ram has insisted she has no plans to switch to a career in modelling despite publishing a book of racy photos this year. The cue-wielding beauty has won international titles this year, proving there is substance behind the style, and has vowed to deliver at next year's Asian Games in Guangzhou. "I had a photo shoot for a sexy photo album this summer but promise my fans I won't go into the entertainment business," Cha said.
Golf: Record-breaking Japanese teen-ager Ryo Ishikawa fired a warning he may be about to add power to his game by smashing a drive 367 yards in an exhibition tournament. The 18-year-old averaged just over 290 yards during the 2009 Japanese season.