Jan 8 (Reuters) – Lance Armstrong will break his silence about his lifetime ban from cycling and the doping charges made against him in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey next week, the television presenter announced on Tuesday.

The interview, to be broadcast on the Oprah Winfrey Network on Jan. 17, will be the first the American cyclist has conducted sine receiving his ban and being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.

MIAMI (Reuters) – University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban, showered with acclaim after a fourth national title, said on Tuesday he has no desire to return to the National Football League and that the college game is where he belongs.

Saban’s Crimson Tide won their second successive national title on Monday and third in four years with a 42-14 hammering of Notre Dame.

MIAMI (Reuters) – University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban secured his status as one of the greats of college football on Monday, guiding the ‘Crimson Tide’ to their third national title in four years with a crushing 42-14 victory over Notre Dame.

In the same Sun Life Stadium where he endured a brief, fruitless and unhappy experience as an NFL head coach with the Miami Dolphins, Saban tasted college football glory for the fourth time having won earlier in his career with Louisiana State University (LSU).

MIAMI (Reuters) – Alabama’s ‘Crimson Tide’ swept aside Notre Dame in the BCS Championship game on Monday, dominating the ‘Fighting Irish’ 42-14 to win their third college football title in four years.

Notre Dame, 12-0 in the regular season, had been looking for their first national title since 1988 but were all at sea against irresistible Alabama, who set the tone of the game with an utterly one-sided 28-0 first half.

MIAMI (Reuters) – The Miami Heat’s rebounding troubles cost them dearly as Carlos Boozer scored 27 points and pulled down 12 boards to spark the Chicago Bulls to a 96-89 win over the NBA champions in South Florida on Friday.

Although LeBron James scored 30 points, the Heat fell behind in the first quarter and were never able to recover as Chicago improved to 18-13 in the Eastern Conference.

By Simon Evans

(Reuters) – Sunday’s divisional clash between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers headlines a fascinating penultimate weekend of regular season National Football League (NFL) action where playoff dreams are on the line.

Nineteen teams still have a mathematical shot at qualifying for the playoffs but the field of hopefuls dreaming of a berth in February’s Super Bowl will be cut after the weekend action.

MIAMI (Reuters) – A new generation of talented quarterbacks emerged in 2012 but a refereeing fiasco, worries over concussions and player behavior all left their mark on the National Football League (NFL).

The year was also a tantalizing tale of the Mannings with New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning winning his second Super Bowl title in four years with a win over New England in the same stadium where older brother Peyton played for Indianapolis.

MIAMI (Reuters) – LeBron James and Chris Bosh feel the defending champion Miami Heat have work to do if they are to reach peak form in time for the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs, but both embrace the challenge.

The Heat (16-6) trail only the New York Knicks (19-6) in the Eastern Conference just past the quarter-mark of the NBA’s regular season but Bosh is well aware his team is not playing at the same level compared to this point last season.

MIAMI (Reuters) – LeBron James says he is engaged in a “vendetta” against himself as he pushes himself to reach his physical peak and win a second straight NBA championship with the Miami Heat.

On Tuesday, James, last season’s Most Valuable Player, who spent his off-season playing in the London Olympics, was on court against the Minnesota Timberwolves for 42 minutes.

MIAMI (Reuters) – The Miami Heat overcame a 28-point rebounding differential to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-92 on Tuesday with Dwyane Wade top scoring with 24 points.

The Timberwolves slaughtered Miami 52-24 on the boards, with Kevin Love winning 18 of the rebounds and Montenegrin Nikola Pekovic 12.