COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Tebow has shoulder surgery

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow had surgery on his right shoulder Monday. He is expected to be ready for spring practice.

Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, underwent a procedure to remove a bone spur and hopefully reduce chronic inflammation.

Tebow injured his non-throwing shoulder against Kentucky in October 2007 and re-aggravated it earlier this season. He had painkilling injections before each of the final six games last season. It was unclear whether he received shots this season.

Tebow completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,746 yards with 30 touchdowns this season. He also led the team in rushing, with 673 yards and 12 TDs.

• Southern Mississippi gave first-year coach Larry Fedora a contract extension, through 2012. The Golden Eagles (7-6) ended the season with five consecutive victories and knocked off Sun Belt champion Troy 30-27 in the New Orleans Bowl, extending their streak to 15 winning seasons.

• Former Auburn All-America defensive lineman Tracy Rocker is returning to his alma mater as defensive line coach, Tigers coach Gene Chizik said. Rocker held the same position at Mississippi.

• Florida State safety Myron Rolle will study at Oxford instead of entering this year's NFL draft. Rolle won a Rhodes scholarship in November and plans to seek a one-year master's degree in medical anthropology, The New York Times reported Monday

• Utah sophomore defensive end Paul Kruger and Utes junior safety Sean Smith said they will enter this year's NFL draft.

SOCCER

Ronaldo is player of the year

Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA World Player of the Year award, completing a sweep of soccer's top individual honors for 2008.

The Portugal winger led Manchester United to the Premier League and Champions League titles in May. He scored 42 goals in all competitions last season and became the first English Premier League player to win the honor in the award's 18-year history.

Brazil's Marta won the women's award for the third year in a row. The 22-year-old striker said Monday she will sign a three-year contract to play for the Los Angeles Sol of the new Women's Professional Soccer league.

HORSE RACING

Top thoroughbred doesn't get asking price at Keeneland

Former Horse of the Year Azeri is still the property of Michael Paulson after a bid of $4.4 million fell short of the owner's reserve price. The 11-year-old mare was expected to be the highlight of the first day of Keeneland's horses of all ages sale in Lexington, Ky.

Paulson declined to disclose the reserve price he set, but said Monday's high bid of $4.4 million was close.

AROUND THE HORN

Auto racing: Spain's Carlos Sainz won his third consecutive stage of the Dakar Rally, driving the 279 miles from La Serena to Copiapo in northern Chile in 5 hours, 56 minutes, 8 seconds. Six stages remain.

Olympics: The U.S. Olympic Committee hired former NFL executive Lisa Baird as its chief marketing officer. Baird, who also previously worked for IBM, takes over for Rick Burton, who resigned in November.

Tennis: Former NHL lawyer and Nike executive Adam Helfant was hired to run the men's professional tennis tour. The 44-year-old Helfant replaces Etienne de Villiers, who ran the tour since 2005.

ASSOCIATED PRESS