Lionel Messi Favorite To Win Fourth Straight Ballon d'Or; Seahawks, Ravens Advance In NFL Playoffs
LU STOUT: Live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream. Now AC Milan returned to the pitch a week after suffering racial abuse during a friendly. Amanda Davies joins us now with more on this story -- Amanda.</s>AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kristie. Yeah, the team are back on the pitch, but the Italian interior minister has very much weighed into the racism row in football saying that matches shouldn't be stopped if only a handful of fans are involved in racist chanting. Anna Maria Cancellieri has spoken following Kevin-Prince Boateng's decision to walk off the pitch last week in protest to racist abuse from fans. That match was stopped. But she did, however, praise Boateng's actions for highlighting the issue. Boateng and Milan were back in action on Sunday for the first time since their abandoned game. And they ran out 2-1 winners against Serie A's bottom side Siena. Ahead of the game, they wore anti-racism slogans on the backs of their shirts. Well, on the NFL playoffs, the final eight line-up is now decided after the wild card games this weekend. And Ray Lewis's last horrah goes on after the Baltimore Ravens saw off the Indianapolis Colts. Lewis went into the game knowing it could have been his last having announced his retirement ahead of the playoffs. And he made sure he was going to enjoy it in front of the Baltimore faithful. With the Ravens ahead 3-0 in the second here, he almost made a huge play, but drops the interception. But despite that, the Ravens pulled away in the second half thanks to a couple of touchdown passes from Joe Flacco here going 24-9 ahead midway through the fourth quarter. And the vaunted Ravens defense put the game away later in the fourth as Kerry Williams intercepts Colt's quarterback Andrew Luck. Ravens win 24-9. And Ray Lewis will have to put off that retirement for at least one more game. They play at Denver next week. It was a sad end to the season for Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins, though. The rookie quarterback inspired the Redskins to a 14-0 first quarter lead over the Seattle Seahawks, but his troublesome right knee just couldn't keep pace. His counterpart Russell Wilson responded late in the second quarter, finding Michael Robinson for the four yard touchdown pass that cut the deficit to 14-10. With Seattle down by one midway through the fourth quarter when Marshawn Lynch gets the handoff, makes one man miss and runs 27 yards for the score. Seahawks take a 21-14 lead after a successful two-point conversion. One last chance for RGIII and Washington, but he goes down after a bad snap and reinjures that knee. So that was it for his game and his season. Seattle tacked on a field goal to win 24-14. In the end, there was a little bit of argy-bargy after the game. Nothing too serious. But it's Seattle that advance to play the Falcons next week. Now the golf community are hoping it'll be fourth time lucky for the PGA Tour's season opening tournament of champions in Hawaii. They're hoping Monday will see 36 hole plays with another 18 on Tuesday to finally get a 54 hole event completed, because for the last three days players failed to get going because of strong gales and heavy rain. It is quite sunny, but not great golfing conditions. Matt Kutcher, for instance, tries to tee off, but there goes the golf ball off the tee. And have a look at Ben Curtis trying to line up an already difficult birdie. The little white ball there just takes off on its own. There we were thinking Hawaii was a wonderful place for holidays. Not at the moment, Kristie. They are going to try again today, though.</s>LU STOUT: That's right, that's more than trade winds there in Hawaii. Literally blown off course there. Amanda Davies, thank you so much. Take care. Now, let's slip over here. Lionel Messi, he is one of the most recognizable names in international football and he could soon become one of the most decorated. He is in the running to win the prestigious Ballon d'Or for a fourth time. As Pedro Pinto shows us, the Argentinian is facing some tough competition.</s>PEDRO PINTO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Lionel Messi can do something no one has ever done before: win the Ballon d'Or four years in a row. The 25 year old Argentine is quite an expert at beating records. In 2012, he set a new mark for goals scored in a calendar year. The Barcelona star hit the back of the net 91 times for club and country.</s>EMERSON, FORMER BRAZIL MIDFIELDER (through translator): Considering everything Messi has done this year, I think he is the favorite. He has really played at a different level at Barcelona.</s>PETER SCHMEICHEL, FORMER MANCHESTER UNITED AND DENMARK GOALKEEPER: With 90 goals in one season, I don't think he's ever put that kind of output. So if he doesn't win it this year, he shouldn't have won it the other years for sure. So, tough luck for Ronaldo, I have to say that, but I think he'll win it.</s>PINTO: Speaking of Christiano Ronaldo, he may not have reached Messi's heights when it comes to goal scoring, but he did win the Spanish League title and helped Portugal reach the semifinals of Euro 2012. In a recent interview, the 27-year-old Portuguese star told me how much he would like to win this award.</s>CHRISTIANO RONALDO, REAL MADRID MIDFIELDER: A lot. This would mean a lot for me.</s>PINTO: So if you were someone voting and someone would ask you why are you going to pick Christiano Ronaldo instead of Messi, what would you say?</s>RONALDO: Well, I will put everything in one bag and to see what they've done by the year. If you speak about me and Lio, who win more things, who play better. So I cannot say I deserve to win. But I think I'm in good position.</s>PINTO: Andres Iniesta could be seen as an outsider to win Monday's big prize, but he shouldn't be overlooked. The 28 year old midfielder already beat the odds when he was named UEFA's European footballer of the year ahead of Ronaldo and Messi back in August. The fact he lead Spain to an unprecedented second straight European championship title stands him in good stead with the voters. And who are those voters? National team coaches and captains, plus an elite group of journalists. They're not only picking the FIFA Ballon d'Or winner, but also the women's world player of the year with Marta looking to pick that award up for the sixth straight time. The coach of the year title is also up for grabs. Vicente Del Bosque of the Spanish National Team is the favorite for that. No doubt, it should be a drama filled evening here at the Congress House. Pedro Pinto, CNN, Zurich.</s>LU STOUT: Now still ahead on News Stream, could this man be the next U.S. Defense Secretary? If former Senator Chuck Hagel is nominated today, he could face a big battle before he even gets the job. And taking a stand against censorship, journalists in China stage a rare protest. We'll tell you why.