National athletes and coaches will have a very merry holiday season as they stand to receive P10,000 each as Christmas bonus from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

No less than PSC chairman William “Butch” Ramirez bared the good news on Monday saying national team members deserve the gratuity for a successful year highlighted by the country’s historic Tokyo Olympics feat amid the pandemic.

“It’s the government’s way of saying thank you to our athletes and coaches for a job well done,” said Mr. Ramirez.

Truly, the year produced many highs including the feat of weightlifter HidilynF. Diaz delivering the country’s breakthrough Olympic gold medal in the Tokyo Games last August.

It was also the most productive performance by far by the country in the quadrennial event as it also raked in a couple of silvers and a bronze courtesy of boxers NesthyA. Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Felix D. Marcial, respectively.

PSC commissioner Ramon Fernandez, who is also the country’s chefdemission in the Hanoi Southeast Asian Games set in May next year, for his part, said he expects all the national teams to resume training on Jan. 10 at the PhilSports Complex in Pasig.

“We’ve instructed all NSAs (national sports associations) to submit their lineups as early as November to avoid delay,” said Mr. Fernandez. —Joey Villar

Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez gave instructions over the weekend to organize relief efforts for members of the national (team) severely affected by Typhoon Odette. The PSC management committee, led by PSC Executive Director Atty. Guillermo Iroy, Jr. met Monday to finalize the logistics for the care package.

“This is a force of nature that we cannot control. However, we can do our share to help them get through this. We will do all we can with the resources available,” Mr. Ramirez said.

The PSC has been monitoring the situation of the members of the Philippine National Team affected by Typhoon Odette which ravaged the Visayas and Mindanao region late last week.

“We are closely keeping track of the situation of our athletes. There is quite a number affected like in Bohol where Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas (SWP) has a small gym which was washed-out in the reports we received.” Mr. Ramirez added.

Mr. Iroy is leading the charge of efforts, connecting with the Armed Forces of the Philippines for the transport and delivery of goods like mattresses and water bottles.

Typhoon Odette, which has an international name Rai, is the 15^th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year. According to Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Typhoon Odette weakened slightly from a Category 5 to a Category 3 storm after making a landfall on Thursday on Siargao Island.

Brett Maher kicked three field goals and the New Orleans Saints defense dominated Tom Brady and the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 9-0 victory on Sunday night.

Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen served as Saints acting head coach because Sean Payton was sidelined after testing positive for COVID two days earlier. The Saints (7-7) won their second straight after losing five in a row.

Brady completed 26 of 48 for 214 yards, threw an interception and lost a fumble as the Buccaneers (10-4) missed an opportunity to clinch the National Football Conference (NFC) South title. It’s the first time Brady has been shut out since 2006.

New Orleans, which has won the last four NFC South titles, improved to 4-0 in regular-season meetings against Tampa Bay since Brady joined the team. That includes a 38-3 victory in Tampa Bay last season — the most lopsided loss of Brady’s career.

The Buccaneers’ top two wide receivers — Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (knee) — were sidelined in the second quarter and missed the rest of the game. Running back Leonard Fournette (hamstring) was sidelined for good in the third quarter.

The Buccaneers drove to the Saints 24 late in the third quarter, but as Brady scrambled, Cameron Jordan, who had two of the Saints’ four sacks, knocked the ball loose and Marshon Lattimore recovered for New Orleans.

After a scoreless third quarter, Maher kicked his third field goal in as many attempts, making a 42-yarder to give the Saints their first breathing room with a 9-0 lead with 7:28 remaining in the game.

The Saints drove 60 yards en route to Maher’s 39-yard field goal that gave them a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Maher added a 35-yard field goal early in the second quarter. The Buccaneers’ first scoring threat fizzled later in the period when Ryan Succup missed a 45-yard field goal.

Tampa Bay entered New Orleans territory again late in the quarter, reaching the 39 before Brady was sacked and the Buccaneers punted, leaving the Saints with a 6-0 halftime lead. —Reuters

NEWCASTLE, England — Manchester City’s João Cancelo scored one goal and made another as they overwhelmed struggling Newcastle United (4-0) on Sunday to ensure they will spend Christmas Day top of the Premier League, a position Liverpool occupied in the last three seasons.

The visitors were gifted the opening goal in the fifth minute when Cancelo acrobatically crossed for Ruben Dias to head into an empty net after a mix-up between Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka and defender Ciaran Clarke.

Cancelo added a second in the 27^th minute, cutting in from the right wing and capping off a solo run with a stunning strike to silence the home crowd.

Newcastle was denied what looked to be a clear penalty on the half-hour mark when City keeper Ederson clattered into Ryan Fraser, but neither referee Martin Atkinson nor the VAR decided to intervene.

“I am not too sure what happened with VAR and the referee, the goalkeeper wipes out Ryan and it is a stonewaller, a clear penalty,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said.

Things got worse for Newcastle as Mahrez turned home Kevin De Bruyne’s cross from the left with a deft volley in the 63^rd minute to notch his 50^th Premier League goal after a lengthy VAR review.

“I was quite sure I was onside as I saw the defender running with me so I didn’t think I was offside,” Mahrez said.

Newcastle had introduced Allan Saint-Maximin off the bench at halftime for Joe Willock but they only managed one effort on target over the 90 minutes — a close-range header from Callum Wilson that forced a superb one-handed save from Ederson.

Sterling’s industrious performance on the wing was rewarded in the 86^th as Gabriel Jesus drove the ball across the goal and the England forward slammed it home to complete the rout.

Champion City tops the table on 44 points, four ahead of second-placed Liverpool, who visits Tottenham Hotspur later on Sunday, and six clears of Chelsea in third after they were held to a 0-0 draw nL1N2T40AU at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Newcastle stayed second-bottom on 10 points and City manager Pep Guardiola thought they contributed to their own downfall.

“A good result, not a good performance. We were lucky but Newcastle did not defend well for the first goal and a brilliant action from João Cancelo for the second goal,” he told the BBC. — Reuters

While all eyes were on Tiger Woods and son Charlie as they carded 11 consecutive birdies, it was John Daly and son John II who walked off with the championship belts.

Team Woods put on a frantic run but Team Daly held them off to post a two-shot victory on Sunday in the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando.

Both duos shot 15-under 57 in the second and final round, with the Dalys finishing at 27-under 117 for the tournament. They broke the tournament record set by Davis Love III and his son three years ago by one stroke.

John Daly is a two-time Grand Slam winner but he said combining with his 18-year-old for a victory means more.

“It’s just one of the highlights of my life forever,” the 55-year-old Daly said. “To be able to play in a PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) Tournament with your son, it’s pretty special.”

It was a pretty big weekend for Woods too as he was playing for the first time since badly breaking his right leg 10 months ago in a single-car accident. He used a cart to navigate the course.

The 11-birdie stretch was filled with good shots from both Tiger and Charlie but the streak ended with a par on No. 18 as they couldn’t overtake the Dalys.

“We thought we would have to birdie every hole on the back nine to have a chance and it turned out to be that way,” Woods said. “We got to that last hole and we were on a run but we still needed to make it interesting for the Dalys back there. But what a blast it was. We just had a blast all day.”

Tiger and his son combined for a 10-under 62 in the first round before bettering that by five shots on Sunday. They had 13 birdies and one eagle during a bogey-free round.

Woods reiterated that he is nowhere close to being able to play in PGA tournaments. But he certainly got back into the competitive spirit without much prodding.

“The competitive juices, they are never going to go away. This is my environment,” Woods said. “This is what I’ve done my entire life. I’m just so thankful to be able to have this opportunity to do it again. Earlier this year was not a very good start to the year and it didn’t look very good.

“But the last few weeks, to push as hard as we have the last seven months with taking no days off and just working our butts off each and every day, and to have this opportunity to be able to play with my son and to have these memories, for us, for both of us, our lifetime, it’s worth all the pain.”

The Dalys also had one eagle and 13 birdies and ran off their own stellar stretch of six straight birdies from holes 9 through 14.

The Dalys led by one as they reached 18 and birdied the hole for the two-shot win.

The younger Daly is an 18-year-old college golfer for Arkansas, and he certainly held his own on the big stage.

“Every year, we always try and win, but this was the year,” John Daly II said. “Just enjoyed it and being here playing with him in the holidays.”

Defending champions Justin Thomas and his father, Mike, tied for third, three shots behind the Dalys. Also tying for third were Stewart Cink and his son, Reagan. — Reuters

BEIJING — Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai said on Sunday that she had never accused anyone of sexually assaulting her, and that a social media post she had made early last month had been misunderstood.

Peng’s well-being became a matter of concern among the global tennis community and rights groups when she appeared to allege that a former Chinese vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually assaulted her in the past. After that post, she was absent from public view for nearly three weeks.

“First, I need to stress one point that is extremely important, I have never said or written that anyone has sexually assaulted me, I have to clearly stress this point,” Peng said in the video posted by LianheZaobao, a Singapore media outlet.

Peng’s remarks on Sunday marked the first time she had addressed the matter on camera in public. She spoke on the sidelines of a cross-country skiing event in Shanghai that she attended.

She said that her post on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media site, which had been quickly removed, was a “private matter.”

Peng, 35, said in the video that “people have many misunderstandings” about her Weibo post. She did not elaborate.

She also said that she had been living at home in Beijing without supervision. She did not mention Zhang.

Reuters has been unable to reach Peng since her Weibo post.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), which early this month said it would suspend tournaments in China immediately due to concerns over the treatment of Peng and the safety of other players, continued to call for an investigation.

“It was again good to see Peng Shuai in a public setting and we certainly hope she is doing well,” it said in a statement.

“As we have consistently stated, these appearances do not alleviate or address the WTA’s significant concerns about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion,” the WTA said.

“We remain steadfast in our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern.”

China has not directly commented on Peng’s initial post, but said after the WTA’s move to suspend tournaments in China that it “opposes the politicization of sports.”

Zhang has not commented on the matter.

Discussion of the scandal, which emerged as Beijing prepares to stage the Winter Olympics in February, has been heavily censored in China.

Peng said in the video posted on Sunday that she had personally written a letter last month to WTA head Steve Simon, in which she denied the allegation of assault, and that an English translation of it by Chinese state media was accurate.

Simon had said at the time that he “had a hard time believing” that Peng had actually written the e-mail or believed what had been attributed to her.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has held two video calls with the 35-year-old Peng.

At the Shanghai event on Sunday, Peng appeared on a fifth floor viewing balcony with athletes from various sports, including former NBA basketball star Yao Ming, and watched for about 20 minutes, according to the LianheZaobao report.

She wore a black jacket with a China flag and a red T-shirt with the characters for China. —Reuters