The women's final at the Australian Open is set for Saturday night (3:30 a.m. et) between third seed Victoria Azarenka and No. 4 seed Maria Sharapova. The winner will ascend to No. 1 on the WTA rankings on Monday - Azarenka for the first time or Sharapova for the 18th week of her career and first time since the week of June 8, 2008. Azarenka is the first Belarusian woman to contest a Grand Slam final since Natasha Zvereva reached the French Open final in 1988. Sharapova is gunning for her fourth Grand Slam championship. The Russian captured the Aussie Open in 2008.

The Philadelphia Phillies have avoided arbitration with outfielder Hunter Pence, agreeing to terms on a one-year deal worth $10.4 million. Pence was acquired from Houston on July 29 and was an integral part of a Phils club which recorded the most wins in franchise history. He hit .324 with 11 home runs, 12 doubles and knocked in 35 runs in 54 games for the NL East champions, also leading the club with a .394 on-base mark and .560 slugging percentage following the deal. All told, the 28-year-old Pence batted .314 and collected 22 homers, 38 doubles and 97 RBI in 154 games.

Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut will miss the next 8-to-12 weeks with a fractured left ankle. Bucks general manager John Hammond made the announcement on Friday through the club's Twitter account. Bogut left Wednesday's game with what was originally called a left ankle sprain and did not return. He suffered the injury early on against the Rockets while battling for a rebound. The Aussie native is averaging 11.3 points per game and 8.3 rebounds in just 12 games so far this year. He missed four games earlier this season due to personal reasons, and missed one other contest due to a concussion.

New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony missed Friday's 99-89 loss at Miami and is expected to sit out Saturday's contest at Houston in an effort to heal thumb, wrist and ankle injuries. Anthony is averaging 23.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 17 games this season, but has made just 31.7 percent of his shots over his last six games. Meanwhile, Miami guard Dwyane Wade made his return to the lineup Friday after a six-game absence due to a right ankle/leg injury suffered in a January 13 loss at Denver.

The Oakland Raiders have made it official and named Dennis Allen as their new head coach. According to the club's website, Allen will be introduced at a news conference on Monday. Allen, who spent this past season as defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos, reportedly reached an agreement with the Raiders and new general manager Reggie McKenzie earlier this week. The Raiders needed a replacement for Hue Jackson, who was fired January 10 -- McKenzie's first official day on the job -- after just one season as head coach.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and team owner Jim Irsay issued a joint statement Friday to dispel any notion that the two are at odds. Manning and Irsay both made comments through the media in recent days following the upheaval in the club's front office and coaching staff, but Friday's missive was issued in an attempt to quell rumors of a disruptive spat between the two. A March 8 deadline looms for the Colts, who must decide whether to keep Manning and pay him a $28 million roster bonus for 2012 or allow him to leave as a free agent. Manning made comments to the Indianapolis Star on Monday, saying the situation surrounding the Colts is "not a real good environment down there right now, to say the least. Everybody's walking around on eggshells. I don't recognize our building right now. There's such complete and total change." Irsay responded and said Manning should not have gone public with his statements and should have instead kept things in house.

Miami Dolphins new head coach Joe Philbin chose his coaching staff on Friday, naming Mike Sherman as offensive coordinator and Kevin Coyle as defensive coordinator. Sherman has spent the last four years as the head coach of Texas A&M, leading the team to a 25-25 record with one Big 12 title and three consecutive bowl appearances. Prior to coaching the Aggies, Sherman was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 2000-2005, where he compiled a 57-39 record in the regular season and a 2-4 mark in the playoffs. Coyle has spent the last 11 seasons as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals coaching staff, including the last nine as the defensive backs coach. The Bengals' defense allowed 211.6 yards per game through the air last season and 104.7 yards on the ground, ranking them ninth in the league in total defense.

The Denver Broncos have agreed to terms with former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio to become their new defensive coordinator. The Broncos to replace Dennis Allen, who spent last season as defensive coordinator but left to become head coach of the Oakland Raiders. As defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers, Del Rio took the team from last place in the NFL to second overall in 2002. At the time, he was working under current Broncos head coach John Fox. The Jaguars were 3-8 when Del Rio was fired in the midst of his ninth season as head coach. He went 68-71 at the helm in Jacksonville but the team failed to post a winning record in each of his last four seasons.

Also on Friday, the Cleveland Browns named former Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress offensive coordinator. Childress becomes the first offensive coordinator under Browns head coach Pat Shurmer. Among his 33 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and NFL levels, Childress was an offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles under Andy Reid from 2006-10. The Vikings fired Childress as head coach and replaced him with Leslie Frazier in November 2010 during his fifth season at the helm.

The NHL's best will gather to participate in the Skills Competition on Saturday as part of All-Star weekend. This will be the second skills event under the league's current All-Star format of selecting team captains and having the rosters chosen by a fantasy draft, which took place this past Thursday. Boston's Zdeno Chara is the head of one team and he is opposed by hometown favorite Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators. The events on tap will determine who has the hardest shot, the fastest skater, the most accurate shooter and enable some of the game's most talented puck magicians to shine.

The U.S. women's national soccer team punched its ticket for the 2012 Summer Olympics on Friday with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica in the semifinals of CONCACAF Olympic qualifying. After outscoring its three opponents in the group stage by a combined score of 31-0, the Americans ran into a determined Costa Rica side that made them work for their place in London. Tobin Heath put the U.S. in front after 16 minutes, but it wasn't until the 72nd minute that the berth looked secure as Carli Lloyd added a second goal before Alex Morgan tallied one of her own in the closing minutes.