Top sports stories and upcoming coverage plans for Reuters text service as of 2 p.m

Here are the top sports stories and upcoming coverage plans for Reuters text service as of 2 p.m. GMT/9 a.m. ET. For a full schedule of news and events, go to our editorial calendar on Reuters Connect https://www.reutersconnect.com/planning or on Media Express http://mediaexpress.reuters.com/planning-tools/calendar.

TOP STORIES

SPORTS

FOOTBALL-NFL-PLAYOFFS/

NFL: Playoff races tighten into Week 15

The National Football League (NFL) playoff picture became clearer Sunday as teams made another push for the post-season in Week 15 action.

BASEBALL-MLB-NOTEBOOK/

MLB notebook: Red Sox reportedly owes $12 million luxury tax

The World Series champion Boston Red Sox owe nearly $12 million in luxury tax for having baseball’s biggest payroll in 2018.

BASKETBALL-NBA-DEN-TOR-RECAP/

Murray gets hot late as Nuggets hold off Raptors

Jamal Murray scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Toronto Raptors 95-86 on Sunday night.

UPCOMING

SOCCER

SOCCER-YEARENDER/CLUBS

Soccer - Predictability reigns in club football

Club football was remarkably predictable in 2018 with four of big five European leagues turning into one-horse races and Real Madrid winning the Champions League for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

18 Dec 21:00 ET / 02:00 GMT

SOCCER-YEARENDER/INTERNATIONALS

Soccer -World Cup again proves its worth as the jewel in the sporting crown

World Cup again proves its worth as the jewel in the sporting crown

18 Dec 21:00 ET / 02:00 GMT

SOCCER-CLUB-GUA-TUN/REPORT

Soccer - FIFA Club World Cup - Guadalajara v ES Tunis

Guadalajara play ES Tunis in the FIFA Club World Cup fifth-place playoff at Al Ain's Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.

18 Dec 08:30 ET / 13:30 GMT

TENNIS

TENNIS-YEARENDER/

Tennis-Review of the year

We look back at a year in which Novak Djokovic returned to the top of the men's game and Serena Williams was mired in controversy as a new star arrived in the women's

18 Dec 21:00 ET / 02:00 GMT

CRICKET

CRICKET-YEARENDER/

Cricket-Baptism by fire for new test teams, ball-tampering scandal rocks Australia

Test cricket subjected its new entrants to baptism by fire while the Ashes rivals endured a contrasting year with England continuing their red-ball ascendancy and Australia reeling under a rumbling ball-tampering scandal.

18 Dec 21:00 ET / 02:00 GMT

CRICKET-INDIA/IPL

Cricket-IPL players auction

More than 1000 players, including 232 overseas cricketers, have signed up for the auction in Jaipur. Aiming to fill up the available 70 spots are 200 capped, 800 uncapped and three Associate Nations players.

18 Dec 23:30 ET / 04:30 GMT

CRICKET-TEST-AUS-IND/ (PIX) (TV)

Cricket - Australia v India, second test, Perth

Australia meets India in the second test at Perth Stadium, looking to fight their way back into the four-match series after losing the opener in Adelaide.

18 Dec 05:00 ET / 10:00 GMT

RUGBY

RUGBY-UNION-YEARENDER/

Rugby-New Zealand defeats give hope to the rest

Review of the rugby year

18 Dec 21:00 ET / 02:00 GMT

OLYMPICS

USA-OLYMPICS/WILDFIRES

U.S. Olympic champions visit school devastated by Southern California wildfires

U.S. Olympic champions including wrestler Jordan Burroughs and Ice Dancers Maia and Alex Shibutani visit a school devastated by the Southern California wildfires last month to lift the spirits of a community where 95 per cent of students and staff had to evacuate their homes, many of which were lost.

18 Dec 08:30 ET / 13:30 GMT

MOTOR RACING

MOTOR-YEARENDER/

YEARENDER-Motor racing-Review of the motor racing season

Formula One's youth revolution will continue apace next season but Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, both celebrating their fifth titles, refused to be toppled in 2018.

18 Dec 21:00 ET / 02:00 GMT

GOLF

GOLF-YEARENDER/

Golf - Tiger the man to watch, if not the man to beat

The most memorable scene on the 2018 golf calendar was not the conclusion of a major championship, but rather the sight of a frenzied gallery swarming the final fairway as a certain player was on the brink of a winsome doubted would ever come.

18 Dec

SPORT-DOPING/RUSSIA

WADA delegation visits Moscow anti-doping laboratory A delegation from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) visit Moscow's suspended anti-doping laboratory to retrieve data that could reveal anti-doping violations among Russian athletes.

18 Dec

(With inputs from agencies.)