Sebastian Vettel found himself spinning around on the track just after the start, watching helplessly as other cars whizzed past him. His Formula One title hopes seemed to be drifting away with them.
It was only the start of Vettel's problems Sunday in what he called the toughest race of his career. But he overcame all of them and walked away with the only prize that mattered — his third straight championship title.

Michael Schumacher's final race was a bit like the last three years he spent in Formula One after coming out of his first retirement — solid but unspectacular.
That didn't stop the German seven-time champion from thoroughly enjoying what he called an "exciting" Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday before walking away from a sport he dominated for many of his 19 seasons.

AC Milan earned a surprising 1-0 victory over defending champion and Serie A leader Juventus on Sunday after another disputed goal at the San Siro.
Robinho scored his first goal of the season from the penalty spot after Mauricio Isla was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area, although replays showed it appeared to have struck his side.

Andres Iniesta scored one goal and created three more to guide Barcelona to a 4-0 win at Levante on Sunday as Tito Vilanova's team took a major step toward reclaiming the Spanish league title.
Lionel Messi was the recipient of two of Iniesta's assists to score in the 47th and 52nd minutes. Iniesta himself netted five minutes later with a blast off the crossbar before setting up Cesc Fabregas in the 63rd at Ciutat de Valencia stadium.

Manchester United fought back to beat Queens Park Rangers 3-1 on Saturday, provisionally reclaiming top spot while condemning the bottom-placed team to the worst start any Premier League side has made after 13 games.
New QPR manager Harry Redknapp was watching from the stands at Old Trafford as Jamie Mackie gave the London club hope of a first win of the season by scoring the opener.

During a year with a monster storm and scorching heat waves, Americans have experienced the kind of freakish weather that many scientists say will occur more often on a warming planet.
And as a re-elected president talks about global warming again, climate activists are cautiously optimistic that the U.S. will be more than a disinterested bystander when the U.N. climate talks resume Monday with a two-week conference in Qatar.

Regional leaders called on DR Congo rebel group M23 Saturday to end hostilities and leave a key eastern town they seized in a rampant advance that has sparked fears of a wider conflict.
The meeting of east African heads of state went forward without a key player -- Rwandan President Paul Kagame, whose country the United Nations accuses of backing the rebels -- and wrapped up after less than an hour.

Gaza residents said Saturday that Israel has eased some border restrictions as part of its truce with the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers, allowing farmers to visit land near its security fence and letting fishermen head further out to sea.
The Egyptian-brokered cease-fire ended eight days of cross-border fighting that claimed 166 Palestinian and six Israeli lives, according to health officials.

Mexican federal police said they arrested one of the FBI's most-wanted fugitives, a Los Angeles man sought on charges of murder, kidnapping and rape.
U.S. officials in California said Joe Luis Saenz, who is about 37, was taken into custody in the western city of Guadalajara late Thursday and flown to Los Angeles on Friday.

Tablets are at the top of many wish lists this holiday season. But what to get? The choice used to be pretty limited, with the iPad dominating the latecomers. But this year, the field is more even, as tablets from Apple's competitors have matured. In addition, Google and Microsoft are diving in with their own tablets, providing more choice.
The first step in the buying process is to decide on the size of the tablet. They fall into two rough categories: the full-sized tablet, pioneered by the iPad, and the half-size tablet, epitomized by the Kindle Fire.
