Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Star shooter Aliyah Dunn is leaving the Pulse netball team.

22 year old Dunn was the backbone of the team's shooting circle as they claimed the ANZ Premiership title last weekend.

Dunn joined the Pulse in 2018 and has been the most accurate New Zealand shooter in the competition for the past four seasons.

However she says it is time for her to take on a fresh challenge.

"I have loved my time at the Pulse and I want to thank them for everything they have done for me over the past five seasons. However, I think a freshen-up of a new environment would benefit me, so that I can continue to keep growing.''

Dunn is a former World Youth Cup winner, Silver Fern and FAST5 Ferns World Series winner.

The Pulse team for the 2023 season will be named in the coming days.

Serena gets wildcard for SW19

Serena Williams gets Wimbledon wildcard, Mcllroy takes swing at LIV, Lawn Bowler suspended, Apple TV to broadcast MLS

Former world number one Serena Williams has received a wildcard for Wimbledon and will return to action after a year out when she competes in the doubles at the Eastbourne International.

Williams, 40, has not played on the Tour since a first-round exit at Wimbledon last year due to injury but the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) announced she was one of six women to receive a wildcard.

She will first team up with Tunisian world number four Ons Jabeur for the doubles event at Eastbourne which gets underway this weekend.

"SW and SW19. It's a date. 2022 See you there," Williams wrote on Instagram on Tuesday, referring to the postcode of the AELTC which hosts Wimbledon.

Britain's Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) confirmed the 23-times Grand Slam champion and Jabeur were in the doubles draw at Eastbourne, which will be conducted on Saturday.

But they are not likely to play their first match before Tuesday.

"I am excited to return to the Rothesay International tournament in England and to be back on the grass - a surface that has been so good to me throughout my career," Williams said in a statement.

"Eastbourne has a unique charm that you don't see anywhere else on Tour and I'm looking forward to playing in front of the fans again."

The American, now ranked 1,208 in the world, has won Wimbledon seven times in her career. Wimbledon begins on June 27.

Reuters

Rory McIlroy says LIV Golf defectors took 'easy way out'

The older players on the downswing of their careers who left the PGA Tour for the millions thrown at them by the LIV Golf Invitational Series? Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy said he understands their line of thinking, even if he doesn't agree with it.

The younger ones? That he doesn't understand at all.

McIlroy shared his thoughts on the rival tour on Tuesday in a news conference in advance of the U.S. Open, which begins Thursday at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.

Phil Mickelson, who turns 52 on Thursday, and 49-year-old Lee Westwood were among the participants in the first LIV event in London last weekend.

"I understand. Yes, because a lot of these guys are in their late 40s," McIlroy said. "In Phil's case, early 50s. Yeah, I think everyone in this room would say to themselves that their best days are behind them. That's why I don't understand for the guys that are a similar age to me going because I would like to believe that my best days are still ahead of me, and I think theirs are, too. So that's where it feels like you're taking the easy way out."

The 33-year-old McIlroy didn't exactly give Mickelson a free pass, saying he was "disappointed" in how he handled his decision to play LIV Golf. Multiple reports said Mickelson was paid $200 million to do so.

"Who am I to sit up here and give Phil a lesson on how to do things?" McIlroy said. "He has had a wonderful career. He is his own man. He is a great addition to the field this week. Am I disappointed he has taken the route that he has taken? I am, but I still respect him tremendously."

He wasn't as understanding of players such as Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson, who previously said they had no intention of leaving the PGA Tour for the Saudi Arabia-funded startup.

"I guess I took a lot of players' statements at face value," McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, said.

"I guess that's what I got wrong. You had people committed to the PGA Tour, and that's what the statements that were put out. People went back on that, so I guess I took them for face value. I took them at their word, and I was wrong."

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan suspended the 17 PGA Tour players who competed in the LIV Golf event in London and said future golfers who make the same choice will face suspension. The USGA granted the suspended players who qualified for the U.S. Open permission to compete.

--Field Level Media

NZ lawn bowler Lawson suspended for homophobic slur, to miss Commonwealth Games

New Zealand lawn bowler Gary Lawson is set to miss the Commonwealth Games later this year after receiving a 16-week suspension for the use of a homophobic slur, Bowls New Zealand said on Tuesday.

Lawson, who won the pairs and fours titles at the 2008 World Championships, used the slur during a competition in Christchurch in May last year.

Bowls Canterbury upheld a complaint of homophobia against Lawson last month, but dismissed two others regarding threatening behaviour.

In a statement released to New Zealand media, Bowls New Zealand said a judicial panel had dismissed Lawson's appeal against Bowls Canterbury's decision, resulting in a suspension which is backdated to May 26.

Bowls New Zealand said the 56-year-old can have the suspension reduced to 10 weeks by taking part in diversity and inclusion training.

The 14-times New Zealand champion has represented the country at two editions of the Commonwealth Games.

He spent several years out of the national set up following a six-month suspension in 2010, after his fours team were accused of deliberately losing to Thailand at the Asia-Pacific championships.

The Games will be held from July 28-Aug. 8 in Birmingham, England.

Reuters

Apple, MLS announce 10-year broadcast agreement

Apple TV will be the exclusive broadcaster of every Major League Soccer match under a 10-year deal that takes effect in 2023.

Apple and MLS announced their partnership on Tuesday. Soccer fans will be able to watch all live MLS matches as well as Leagues Cup and select MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT matches through the Apple TV app. There will not be any local broadcast blackouts.

Financial terms were not announced. MLS commissioner Don Garber told Sports Illustrated on Tuesday that he couldn't disclose the value of the deal, but Sports Business Journal said Apple guaranteed MLS a $250 million payday next year.

MLS and Apple will build a production studio, with matches presented in English and Spanish, with French-speaking announcers also calling the games of the Canadian-based MLS clubs.

To view the matches, fans must subscribe to the MLS streaming service through the Apple TV app.

Garber told Sports Illustrated that subscription options and prices have yet to be finalized.

--Field Level Media