Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Ice hockey-New professional women’s league set to launch in 2024
A new professional women’s ice hockey league will launch in January 2024, bringing together the world’s best players in a unified league, it was announced on Friday. News of the league ends a long-running divide between the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) and the seven-team Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).
Athletics-Ingebrigtsen holds off Girma to win 1,500m at Diamond League in Lausanne
Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen held off Lamecha Girma in a battle of world record holders to win the much-anticipated men’s 1,500 metres at the Athletissima Diamond League meet on Friday. The 22-year-old from Norway, who broke the world mark in the seldom-run two-mile event this month in Paris, clocked three minutes 28.72 seconds, less than a second off his personal best despite a chilly evening at Stade Olympique de la Pontaise.
ESPN lays off on-air talent including NBA analyst Van Gundy
ESPN laid off about 20 of its sports personalities on Friday as the Walt Disney unit seeks to more closely manage costs, a source said. Among those affected by the cuts were long-time NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy, former head coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, and studio analyst Jalen Rose, a former NBA player at six teams including the Indiana Pacers.
Cycling-Tour de France organisers ready to adapt amid riots
Tour de France organisers are ready to adjust to any situation amid the riots that have erupted in the country following the fatal shooting of a teenager by police, race director Christian Prudhomme said on Friday. “We are in constant liaison with the State services and we are following the situation and how it has been evolving,” Prudhomme told reporters.
Fencing-Three Russian fencers to compete at U.S Summer Nationals
Russian fencers Sergey Bida, Oleg Knysh and Konstantin Lokhanov have been allowed to compete at the United States Summer Nationals, which started on Friday in Phoenix, Arizona, after fulfilling criteria from the host country’s Fencing Board.
USA Fencing had announced on Wednesday that Russian and Belarusian fencers based in the country could compete in the Summer Nationals as there are competitors who “contribute in positive ways to the USA Fencing community.”
Tennis-WTA chief says ‘big issues’ going to Saudi Arabia, but ruling nothing out
Saudi Arabia still poses “big issues” as a host for Women’s Tennis Tour events but the organisation’s chairman and CEO Steve Simon says they are engaging with players and evaluating whether to follow other sports to the Gulf state. “We haven’t made any decisions or entered in to any formal negotiations. They’re talking to a lot of people and a lot of different sports right now. We’re evaluating like everybody else,” Simon told reporters at an event in London to mark the 50th anniversary of the formation of the WTA.
Motor racing-Verstappen sees off Leclerc for fourth pole in a row
Formula One’s dominant leader Max Verstappen took his fourth pole position in a row at Red Bull’s home Austrian Grand Prix on Friday while team mate and closest title rival Sergio Perez qualified only 15th. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will line up alongside Verstappen on the front row on Sunday with team mate Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Lando Norris, in a newly upgraded car, immediately behind.
MLB roundup: Astros demolish Cardinals 14-0
Kyle Tucker drove in five runs and Alex Bregman hit a grand slam as the visiting Houston Astros routed the St. Louis Cardinals 14-0 on Thursday. Tucker hit a two-run single and a three-run homer as the Astros won their second straight game to claim the three-game series. Jose Abreu drove in two runs and Jose Altuve had an RBI single, two walks and two runs.
Tennis-Players face ‘mental torture’ at Wimbledon, says sports psychologist
Tennis club hackers know only too well the paralysing nerves that can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory but they are in good company with even the elite players at Wimbledon suffering ‘mental torture’, according to a leading sports psychologist. The All England Club’s lawns will be the focus of the tennis world over the next fortnight as the world’s leading players battle opponents and often their own psychological demons.
Horse racing-Churchill Downs reinstates suspended trainer Joseph
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who was suspended after two of his horses died in the lead up to last month’s Kentucky Derby, has been reinstated after necropsy reports found no banned substances in the horses, Churchill Downs said on Friday.
Joseph-trained four-year-old filly Parents Pride and five-year-old gelding Chasing Artie collapsed and perished following races at the famed Louisville track in late April and early May.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
