Latest - Steven Adams Oklahoma City Thunder have kept alive their NBA basketball title hopes alive with a 104 to 100 win over the Houston Rockets in game six of the first round Western Conference series against the Houston Rockets.
Photo: AFP
The win levels the best of seven series at three games all with the winner advancing to play the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semifinals.
Chris Paul scored a team-high 28 points while Adams Adams managed just six points sinking just three of his nine shots but more importantly had a game high 14 rebounds.
In the first round of the Eastern Conference semis Miami Heat had a 115-10 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Djokovic off to winning start
The world tennis number one Novak Djokovic got his campaign to win a fourth U.S. Open, and 18th Grand Slam title overall, off to a flying start.
Photo: Photosport / Icon Sportswire
Djokovic beat Damir Dzumhur 6-1 6-4 6-1 to advance to the second round.
Djokovic broke Dzumhur's serve for a seventh time to seal the win on Arthur Ashe Stadium court, which, due to COVID-19, was missing the thousands of rowdy New York tennis fans that usually flock to Queens every year.
With the two other members of the sport's Big Three - Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal - not playing at the tournament, Djokovic is a heavy favorite to hoist the trophy and pull within one Grand Slam title of Nadal (19) and two of Federer (20).
-Reuters
Ewan times run to perfection
Australian Caleb Ewan timed his effort to perfection to win the third stage of the Tour de France in a bunch sprint at the end of a 198-km hilly ride through the Alpine foothills.
Caleb Ewan Photo: Photosport
Sam Bennett looked in control but the Irishman had probably underestimated the headwind and settled for second place as he watched Lotto-Soudal fastman Ewan whizz around him to snatch his fourth stage win on the Tour.
Italian Giacomo Nizzolo took third place.
France's Julian Alaphilippe retained the overall leader's yellow jersey.
New Zealander Jack Bauer was 14th, Sam Bewley 69th and George Bennett 74th, all recording the same time as the winner.
Tuesday's fourth stage is a 160.5-km effort from Sisteron to Orcieres-Merlette for the first summit finish of the race, with Briton Adam Yates, who trails Alaphilippe by four seconds overall, eyeing the yellow jersey.
-Reuters
Root to miss T20's
England test captain Joe Root has been left out of the Twenty20 squad for the three-match series against Australia but will return for the three one-day internationals.
All-rounder Ben Stokes, who missed the last two test matches against Pakistan to visit his father in New Zealand who was diagnosed with brain cancer, has been omitted from both squads.
Opening batsman Jason Roy, who missed the T20 series against Pakistan due to a side strain, has been left out of the T20 squad but will remain with the squad as he bids to recover for the ODI series.
Batsman Jos Buttler and fast bowlers Jofra Archer, Sam Curran and Mark Wood have been named in both squads.
The three-match T20 series will be played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, with the first game scheduled for Friday. The three ODIs take place from Sept. 11-16 at Old Trafford in Manchester.
-Reuters
England players to take pay cut
England rugby players will take a 25% cut to their match fees as part of a new one-year deal with the RFU to help the governing body deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Telegraph reported.
The players' previous four-year deal, which saw them earn $45,000 per game, expired over the summer and the new agreement is worth $34,,000 per match, it said.
The pay cuts are in line with the 25% reductions accepted by head coach Eddie Jones and his coaching staff.
Last month, the RFU projected a short-term revenue loss of $212 million due to the closure of Twickenham Stadium and also proposed making 139 positions within the organisation redundant.
-Reuters
Legendary Hoyas coach passes away
Coach John Thompson, who led the Georgetown University Hoyas basketball team to victory at the 1984 national championship, has died aged 78.
Thompson, who was the first black coach to win the title, is credited with boosting minority representation in college basketball during the 1980s.
He recruited more than 20 players who went on to join the NBA and four who - like him - are in the Hall of Fame.
His team included New York Knicks centre Patrick Ewing.
Thompson was also known for protesting against racial injustice as a coach.
Known to fans and players as Big John, Thompson was raised in Washington DC and played professionally for the Boston Celtics when the team won the championship in 1965 and 1966.
He coached Georgetown for 27 seasons, and in 1988 led the US Olympic basketball team to a bronze medal.
-BBC
Olympic flame reignited
At a low-key ceremony to mark the unveiling of the Olympic flame display, Tokyo officials reiterated that next year's Games will be a symbol of hope for the world as it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
The flame will be on show from today at the Japanese Olympic Museum, located next to the National Stadium purpose-built for the Games which were due to take place this year but were rescheduled for 2021 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The flame was last seen in Fukushima after the torch relay was cancelled following its arrival from Greece but before it could start a planned tour of Japan following the decision to postpone the Games in March.
Organisers have chosen to display the flame at the JOC museum, held in a small lantern in the corner of the lobby.
Organisers have not announced details of the torch relay. The original 121-day plan had the torch travelling to all of Japan's 47 prefectures.
To limit crowds gathering to view the flame, there will be a reservation system with a designated date and time.
-Reuters