Digest

VOLLEYBALL

Tianjin chucks away lead to drop opener

Chinese and Asian champion Tianjin Bohai squandered a two-set lead to crash to defeat in its opening match at the FIVB Women's Club World Championship in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, on Tuesday.

Tianjin, captained by Team China superstar Zhu Ting, appeared to be cruising to victory when it claimed the first two sets, 25-17 and 25-15, against Italy's Igor Gorgonzola Novara.

However, the Italians dragged themselves back from the brink, thanks mainly to a drastically improved service performance, as they reeled off the next three sets (18-25, 15-25, 11-15) for victory.

Zhu and Li Yingying scored 20 points apiece for Tianjin, with Yuan Xinyue adding 16.

Guangdong Evergrande gave the home fans something to cheer when they defeated Brazil's Itambe Minas 3-1 (25-22, 28-26, 23-25, 25-22).

SNOOKER

Ding to face O'Sullivan at UK Championship

Ding Junhui set up a last-16 encounter with defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan by beating Ali Carter 6-4 at the UK Championships in York on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old Chinese No 1, a two-time UK champion, raced into a 4-0 lead with a top break of 104. Carter, though, wasn't going down without a fight and battled bravely to trail 4-5 before Ding closed out victory with a break of 116.

"I'm looking forward to it. I like playing Ding," said world No 2 O'Sullivan, who beat Thailand's Noppon Saengkham 6-2. "He looked like he was playing good. It should be fun."

China's Liang Wenbo and Yan Bingtao also advanced, with victories over Eden Sharav (6-4) and Jack Lisowski (6-3), respectively.

NFL

Soaring Ravens rated top team in media poll

Lamar Jackson and the surging Baltimore Ravens passed their latest test.

The Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 on Sunday for their eighth consecutive victory and, as one of five teams with a 10-2 record, are the unanimous choice as the top team in the latest Associated Press Pro32 poll.

The Ravens earned all 12 first-place votes for 384 points in balloting on Tuesday by media members who regularly cover the NFL.

Despite the loss, the 49ers remained third in the poll.

The Seattle Seahawks climbed two spots to No 2 after a 37-30 win on Monday night over the Minnesota Vikings, who dropped four spots to No 10.

The New Orleans Saints remained at No 4. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots dropped three places to No 5.

BASKETBALL

Free-falling Warriors axed from TV schedule

The Golden State Warriors are no longer must-see TV.

The NBA is taking two upcoming Golden State games off the North American TV schedule, with the injury-riddled former dynasty owning the worst record in the league.

Golden State was scheduled to play on ESPN against Utah on Dec 13 and against Portland on Dec 18. The league announced on Tuesday that both games would be replaced.

The Warriors are playing without the injured Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, while Kevin Durant departed for Brooklyn in the summer. All that upheaval means they have been forced to use a number of unfamiliar players.

Golden State was one of the league's biggest draws during its run to five straight NBA Finals but is currently 4-18.