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UPI NewsTrack Sports

UConn ties UCLA with 88th straight win

NEW YORK, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Connecticut's women's basketball team tied the all-time consecutive wins streak set by the UCLA men's team Sunday with an 81-50 victory over Ohio State.

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Tiffany Hayes scored 26 points and Maya Moore added 22 in the victory, Connecticut's 88th straight, which equals the mark set by Coach John Wooden's UCLA men's team from 1971-74.

The latest victory also extended the Huskies' NCAA Division I women's record and raised their record for this season to 10-0.

The game was part of the Maggie Dixon Classic, which attracted the largest crowd to ever see a women's basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York. Officials said 15,232 people attended.

UConn hasn't lost since the 2008 NCAA Final Four, winning two national championships since then.


Brewers acquire Greinke from Royals

MILWAUKEE, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Zack Greinke from the Kansas City Royals, multiple media outlets reported Sunday.

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The reports indicated the Brewers will send outfielder Lorenzo Cain, shortstop Alcides Escobar and minor-league pitcher Jake Odorizzi to the Royals for Greinke, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and cash.

MLB.com reported the deal won't be official until Greinke grants his approval to waive his no-trade clause with the Royals and undergoes a physical.

SI.com said Greinke used the no-trade clause to nix a deal with the Washington Nationals before accepting the move to Milwaukee.

The 27-year-old right-hander won the Cy Young following his eye-popping 2009 season, in which he led the majors in ERA (2.16) and walks/hits per inning pitched (1.07) while striking out 242 and compiling a 16-8 record for the last-place Royals.

But last season he regressed, registering a 10-14 mark and a 4.17 ERA for Kansas City.


Els holds off Goosen in South Africa

DURBAN, South Africa, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Ernie Els collected his fifth South African Open Championship title, holding off a determined Retief Goosen to claim a one-stroke victory.

Els posted a six-under-par 66 Sunday, but Goosen nearly caught the three-time major winner. He birdied his last three holes -- including an improbable 50-footer for birdie at the 16th -- and four of his last five, but his 66 came up a stroke short.

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The decisive hole for Els turned out to be the 14th, where he sank a 20-foot eagle putt to grab what then seemed an insurmountable four-shot lead.

Goosen, a three-time winner of the South African event, came close but was only able to par the last hole at Durban Country Club, where the field played 34 holes Sunday to make up for rain delays throughout the week.

British Open champ Louis Oosthuizen also fired a 66 in Sunday's final round, taking third at 21-under 267, and Charl Schwartzel (67) finished fourth at minus-18.

Knotted for fifth place were Robert Rock (67) and Romain Wattel (68) at minus-16.


Cubs legend Phil Cavaretta dies at 94

CHICAGO, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Phil Cavarretta, a leader of the Chicago Cubs' 1945 World Series team, died in Georgia during the weekend at the age of 94, the Chicago Tribune said Sunday.

Cavarretta, who was the National League Most Valuable Player in 1945, was also believed to be the last living player to have played against Babe Ruth, the Tribune reported.

The Chicago native spent 20 years playing first base and outfield for the Cubs. He managed the team from 1951-1954 before taking a job with the Chicago White Sox and remaining in the game until the 1970s.

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The Tribune said Cavarretta still holds the single-season team record for batting average by a left-hander, hitting .355 during his MVP season. He is in the Top 10 in a number of offensive categories.

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