Sports News Roundup: Golf-Meronk masters Scott to claim Australian Open title; Soccer-Dutch full backs show the way to the quarter-final and more

The changes to the law, which would provide greater federal oversight of the board charged with writing and implementing safety rules, would be included in a full-year spending bill, known as an omnibus, which could pass later this month. Top 25 roundup: 17-0 surge carries Rutgers past No. 10 Indiana Caleb McConnell collected 16 points and 10 rebounds as host Rutgers scored 17 straight points midway through the second half and pulled away for a 63-48 victory over No. 10 Indiana on Saturday afternoon in Piscataway, N.J., in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Golf-Meronk masters Scott to claim Australian Open title

Adam Scott's hopes of a second Australian Open crown crumbled in the heat and wind on Melbourne's 'Sandbelt' on Sunday as Polish trailblazer Adrian Meronk coolly closed out a five-stroke win in style at Victoria Golf Club. South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai won the women's component of the inaugural dual-gender event by a stroke from Shin Jiyai, the South Korean missing a five-foot birdie putt that would have forced a playoff.

Soccer-Dutch full backs show the way to the quarter-final

The Netherlands' full backs proved the difference as veteran Daley Blind and hard-running Denzel Dumfries turned in decisive performances to help secure a 3-1 win over the United States in Saturday's opening match of the World Cup knockout stages. Dumfries netted and had two assists while Blind scored too as the Dutch saw off a brief spell of U.S. resistance to book a quarter-final with Argentina or Australia, who play later.

Soccer-Messi helps Argentina past Australia into World Cup quarter-finals

Lionel Messi scored on his 1,000th career appearance in Argentina's 2-1 win over Australia at the World Cup on Saturday to surpass his great predecessor Diego Maradona's tournament total and set up a quarter-final clash with the Netherlands. Seeking a first World Cup at his fifth attempt, the mesmerizing Messi curled the ball low past goalkeeper Mat Ryan from inside the area in the 35th minute to send the legions of Argentine fans into delirium at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.

Soccer-With 2026 on the horizon future looks bright for young Americans

The United States exited the World Cup with a Round of 16 loss to the Netherlands on Saturday but looking towards the 2026 horizon, a bright future is rising for the young Americans.

Having failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter opted for youth this time, fielding a lineup with an average age of 25 - the second youngest of the 32 nations assembled in Qatar after Ghana.

NHL roundup: Kasperi Kapanen's hat trick sends Pens past Blues

Kasperi Kapanen notched his second career hat trick to help the Pittsburgh Penguins top the visiting St. Louis Blues 6-2 on Saturday. Bryan Rust added a goal and three assists, Jason Zucker a goal and two assists, Sidney Crosby a goal and Evgeni Malkin three assists for the Penguins, who have points in 11 of 13 games (9-2-2). Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry made 26 saves.

Top 25 roundup: No. 10 Kansas St. upends No. 3 TCU in OT

Ty Zentner kicked the winning 31-yard field goal in overtime following a massive goal-line stand by the Kansas State defense as the No. 10 Wildcats posted a dramatic 31-28 win over No. 3 TCU in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday afternoon at Arlington, Texas. Kansas State twice stopped TCU's Kendre Miller on runs from the 1-yard line on the Horned Frogs' overtime possession. The Wildcats took over and Zentner's decisive boot put a major dent in TCU's College Football Playoff aspirations.

Exclusive-Horse racing-U.S. Senator McConnell pushing for legislative fix to safety law

U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is pushing for a legislative fix to a law designed to make horse racing safer after an appeals court last month ruled it unconstitutional, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters. The changes to the law, which would provide greater federal oversight of the board charged with writing and implementing safety rules, would be included in a full-year spending bill, known as an omnibus, which could pass later this month.

Top 25 roundup: 17-0 surge carries Rutgers past No. 10 Indiana

Caleb McConnell collected 16 points and 10 rebounds as host Rutgers scored 17 straight points midway through the second half and pulled away for a 63-48 victory over No. 10 Indiana on Saturday afternoon in Piscataway, N.J., in the Big Ten opener for both teams. In his third game back from a knee injury, McConnell made 4 of 12 shots, including the 3-pointer that sparked the decisive run, and also made six free throws to help Rutgers (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten) beat Indiana for the sixth straight time and eighth time in 11 meetings under coach Steve Pikiell. The Scarlet Knights improved to 10-3 at home against ranked teams since the start of the 2019-20 season.

NBA roundup: Anfernee Simons, Blazers hang on to beat Jazz

Anfernee Simons recorded a career-high 45 points and Jerami Grant scored 33 as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Utah Jazz 116-111 Saturday night in Salt Lake City. Simons and Grant hit key free throws in the waning moments, and the Jazz committed four costly turnovers in the final minute to help Portland pick up the win after blowing an early 15-point lead. Jusuf Nurkic contributed 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Boxing-Fury taunts Usyk after beating Chisora to retain WBC title

Britain's Tyson Fury roared out a challenge to rival heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine after retaining his WBC title with a savage 10th-round stoppage of compatriot Derek Chisora on Saturday. Fury's one-sided victory in front of 60,000 fans packing Tottenham Hotspur's North London stadium on a chilly December night completed a trilogy over a brave but outclassed opponent.

(With inputs from agencies.)