Only one week into 2014 and English cricket is already in despair after the national team was humiliated by archrival Australia in the traditional Ashes series.

Australia sealed only the third 5-0 whitewash in the Ashes' 130-year history on Sunday, winning the fifth test in Sydney by 281 runs with more than two days to spare.

Alexis Sanchez netted his first hat trick for Barcelona to spark its 4-0 win over Elche at Camp Nou on Sunday, setting up a highly anticipated showdown with Atletico Madrid next week between the top two teams in the Spanish league.

With Lionel Messi watching from the stands and Neymar waiting in the dugout, Barcelona turned to Alexis and its core of Spain internationals for a second straight victory without its star forwards on either side of the two-week winter break.

Serie A leader Juventus remained on course for a third straight title with a 3-0 victory over second-placed Roma, which was forced to play with nine men for the final 13 minutes on Sunday.

It was a 10th successive win for Antonio Conte's team and saw it extend its lead at the top of the table to eight points at the halfway stage of the season. It was Roma's first loss of the season.

While Kobe Bryant heals from his latest injury, he has an unusual campaign message for the fans who select the NBA All-Star game's starters: Don't vote for me.

The Los Angeles Lakers' superstar guard is hoping fans elect younger, more deserving players to start next month's showcase in New Orleans.

Fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany beat Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 7-6 (5), 7-5 on Monday to move into the second round of the Sydney International, one of the last warm-up tournaments for the Australian Open starting next week.

Kerber will next play Estonia's Kaia Kanepi, who beat American qualifier Victoria Duval 6-1, 6-3.

Poland striker Robert Lewandowski said he will give his all for Borussia Dortmund before switching to Bundesliga rival Bayern Munich at the end of the season.

Lewandowski, who signed a five-year deal with Bayern on Saturday, told Dortmund fans on the club website: "We still have half a year ahead of us in which we have certain targets that we want to achieve together. Even if there are a few fans among you that don't agree with my decision, I hope for your support!"

Egypt's interim president on Sunday made a rare visit to see the pontiff of the nation's Orthodox Christians at St. Mark's Cathedral, the papal seat in central Cairo, according to a brief statement by the church.

The highly symbolic visit to Pope Tawadros II by Adly Mansour was made ahead of the Coptic Christmas, which falls on Tuesday.

A senior Iraqi military commander said Sunday that it will take a few days to fully dislodge al-Qaida-linked fighters from two key western cities.

Lt. Gen. Rasheed Fleih, who leads the Anbar Military Command, told the state television Sunday that "two to three days" are needed to push the militants out of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi. Fleih added that pro-government Sunni tribes are leading the operations while the army only is offering aerial cover and logistics on the ground. He didn't elaborate on the operations.

Saul Zaentz, a music producer whose second career as a filmmaker brought him best-picture Academy Awards for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," ''Amadeus" and "The English Patient," has died. He was 92.

Zaentz died Friday at his San Francisco apartment after suffering from Alzheimer's disease, PaulZaentz, the producer's nephew and longtime business partner told the Associated Press.

A small plane traveling to Connecticut after taking a tour of the Statue of Liberty made an emergency landing Saturday on a New York City interstate highway, startling drivers but touching down safely with no serious injuries to anyone aboard or on the ground, officials said.

The aircraft, a Piper PA-28, set down at around 3:20 p.m. on the northbound side of the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx borough, in an area where the highway passes through Van Cortlandt Park.