Europe again proved to be the best in the Ryder Cup with its performance Sunday, handing the Americans their worst loss in the 77-year history of the matches.

The final stroke of this Ryder Cup rout was fitting. Padraig Harrington rammed in a 25-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a point that counted only in the record books. Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood raced to their boisterous fans and unfurled the European Union flag, the new symbol of dominance in Ryder Cup matches.

They came to Oakland Hills as underdogs. They celebrated as underdogs.

Europe 18 1/2, United States 9 1/2. The score was astounding. The winner was familiar.

Europe has won the Ryder Cup four of the last five times, and seven of 10.–Vlado PupinoskiThe fall of a champion

Bernard Hopkins may never get the respect he feels he deserves, but he will always have a place in history. Hopkins made his record 19th successful middleweight title defense a stunning one as he became the first fighter to knock out former light middleweight champion Oscar de la Hoya, dropping “the Golden Boy” with a sneaky body shot midway through the ninth round. Other than the sudden nature of the knockout, Hopkins (45-2-1, 32 KOs) did little to elevate his status as a tenured champion who has faced inferior competition. He enjoyed the biggest payday of his career, possibly in excess of $10 million.

De la Hoya fell to 37-4, and possible retirement, but he earned $30 million in the loss. –Vlado PupinoskiSoccer news

After a devastating loss to Bayer Levercusen 3-0 in the Champions League, Real Madrid seems to be falling into deeper crises. Their first loss at the Primera League came on Saturday to rivals Espanyol, and Jose Antonio Camacho resigned as Real Madrid coach on Monday. He is being replaced by assistant Mariano Garcia Remon, although the club has yet to clarify whether it is on temporary or full-time basis.

Rio Ferdinand made his long-awaited Manchester United FC comeback, but it was his central defensive partner Mikaël Silvestre who took the limelight with both goals in a 2-1 English Premiership victory against arch rivals Liverpool FC. Nothing new on the top of the EPL, as Arsenal stays unbeaten for the 46th straight time and leads the English Premier League with 16 point–Vlado PupinoskiBrowns head into the weekend shorthanded

The battle of the first-round Miami tight ends will have to wait. The Cleveland Browns head into their clash on Sunday with the New York Giants at the Meadowlands minus their first round pick and sparkplug Kellen Winslow Jr. The self-proclaimed “soldier” will miss at least two months of his first NFL season thanks to a broken leg sustained in last week’s 19-12 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

The Browns will be further shorthanded due to injuries to defensive end Courtney Brown (left foot, out for season) and starting right tackle Ryan Tucker (quad, 2-4 weeks). Running back Lee Suggs (neck), another important cog for Cleveland, is questionable for Sunday.

The Giants’ first round pick from the Hurricanes in 2002, Jeremy Shockey, had been in rehab for most of training camp but has started the first two games of the season and is expected to play on Sunday.

Kurt Warner will start under center once again for New York after picking up his first win with the franchise in last week’s 20-14 victory over Washington. The win, however, should be attributed to the team’s defense, which forced seven Redskin turnovers.

The Giants are three point favorites.