Boyd throws for 5 TDs in Clemson win
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Junior quarterback Tajh Boyd equaled a career best with five touchdown passes Thursday in leading No. 13 Clemson to a 42-13 win over Wake Forest.
All of Boyd's scoring throws came in the first half and went to five different receivers, as was the case last season when he threw for five touchdowns against North Carolina.
Clemson improved to 7-1 for the season and is 4-1 in the ACC's Atlantic Division, tied for the lead with Florida State. The Tigers have won four in a row since suffering a 49-37 setback to Florida State.
Wake Forest slipped to 4-4 for the campaign and is 2-4 in the Atlantic Division.
Clemson scored the game's first five touchdowns with Boyd hitting Brandon Ford on a 9-yard pass to open the scoring.
He then threw for four scores in the second period, the passes going to Sam Cooper for 12 yards, DeAndre Hopkins for 12, Charone Peake for two and Tommy Bohanon for eight.
D.J. Howard produced Clemson's only second-half touchdown on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Boyd completed 27-of-38 passes for 428 yards without an interception. He has 20 touchdowns for the season.
Tanner Price threw two touchdowns passes for the Demon Deacons, both to Tommy Bohanon. The first one came with 12 seconds left in the opening half.
Price was 27-of-44 for 232 yards.
CC Sabathia undergoes elbow surgery
NEW YORK, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- The New York Yankees announced Thursday pitcher CC Sabathia had undergone arthroscopic surgery on the elbow of his throwing arm.
The team said a bone spur was removed from the elbow and that he was expected to be fully recovered when spring training begins in 2013.
Sabathia has spent the last four seasons of his 12-year career with the Yankees and went 15-6 in 2012 with an earned run average of 3.38.
He went on the disabled list in August after developing soreness in the elbow, but returned to action on Aug. 24 and made seven more starts in the regular season and three in the playoffs.
In other baseball medical news Thursday, the Washington Nationals said arthroscopic surgery had been performed on the right shoulder of third baseman Ryan Zimmerman.
Zimmerman played in 145 games this season with a .282 batting average. He had 25 home runs and 95 RBI while helping Washington win the National League East title with the best record in the majors.
S. Williams goes 3-0 at WTA Championship round robin
ISTANBUL, Turkey, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Serena Williams completed a 3-0 sweep through round-robin play with a win Thursday over world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka at the WTA Championships in Turkey.
Williams improved to 11-1 lifetime versus Azarenka with a 6-4, 6-4 victory. She has taken the last nine matches, including the final of this year's U.S. Open.
Williams ended up with five breaks in 10 receiving games, finishing off all but one of her break chances. Azarenka managed three breaks herself, but Williams seemed more solid than in the uncharacteristic off serving games Wednesday.
Williams, seeded third, went 3-0 and didn't drop a set in finishing atop the Red Group standings. Azarenka and eighth-seeded Li Na meet Friday with the other group semifinal berth at stake. They are 1-1 in group play.
Li kept her hopes of advancing alive with a 6-4, 6-3 decision over fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber. Li took 57 percent of the points off Kerber's serve and finished off three breaks in each set. Kerber had two match points in her match against Azarenka but finished group play 0-3.
Seventh-seeded Sara Errani also earned a meaningful Friday match, beating Samantha Stosur 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 to get to 1-1 in the White Group. Stosur had a solid second set to even the match but Errani dominated the third set, winning two-thirds of the points overall.
Errani will go against fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska Friday with the winner joining No. 2-ranked Maria Sharapova as the White Group semifinalists. Sharapova, 2-0 in the group, plays Stosur (0-1), who is subbing for Petra Kvitova (0-1) after Kvitova withdrew due to illness. Errani and Radwanska are both 1-1 in round-robin play.
Historic matchups looming in Breeders' Cup
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Defending champions, top Europeans and a rising Japanese star are among 180 horses set for this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships.
The event, Nov. 2-3 at Santa Anita, includes 15 races with total purses of $25 million, capped by the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic Saturday night.
The prospective Classic field includes last year's runner-up, Game On Dude, as well as Fort Larned, Ron the Greek, Dullahan, Richard's Kid and as many as seven others. The 1 1/4-mile event will be contested over the Santa Anita dirt track.
While last year's Classic winner, Drosselmeyer, is retired, eight defending or former Breeders' Cup Champions are back for more and some of their races could overshadow the Classic itself.
The $2 million Ladies' Classic, featured event on the Friday card, will end at least one undefeated streak as Awesome Feather puts her 10-for-10 record on the line and My Miss Aurelia defends her 6-for-6 mark. Both will have to overcome defending champion Royal Delta, who romped to an easy, 9 1/2-lengths victory in the Beldame at Belmont Park in her last start. Include Me Out is here and she beat Royal Delta this summer at Saratoga. Others to consider are Grace Hall, Questing and In Lingerie -- all in good form. In Lingerie may go in the Filly & Mare Turf, however.
The $2 million Mile on the grass features top-ranked Wise Dan; Frankel's long-time foe Excelebration, fresh off a win on British Champions day at Ascot; Moonlight Cloud, who just missed ending Black Caviar's undefeated streak at Royal Ascot; and 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom.
