Reuters Sports News Summary

"We greatly appreciate Darvin's efforts on behalf of the Lakers and recognize the many accomplishments achieved over the past two seasons including last year's remarkable run to the Western Conference finals," general manager Rob Pelinka said in a team-released statement. Boxing-Beterbiev injury forces postponement of title bout with Bivol The undisputed light heavyweight championship bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol in Saudi Arabia has been postponed after Beterbiev suffered a ruptured meniscus in training, promoters Top Rank Boxing said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

LeBron James favored to stay with Lakers as potential suitors emerge

LeBron James is going to take some time away from the court to decide where -- and even if -- he will play his 22nd NBA season. The Lakers were back in the news with Friday's firing of coach Darvin Ham after two seasons. Who general manager Rob Pelinka tabs to replace Ham could also weigh heavily on James' decision.

Cycling-Narvaez outsprints Pogacar to win Giro d'Italia stage one

Jhonatan Narvaez of Ineos Grenadiers outsprinted Giro d'Italia favourite Tadej Pogacar to win Saturday's stage one 140-kilometre ride from Venaria Reale to Turin, with the Ecuadorian taking the leader's maglia rosa jersey. Narvaez had the legs not only to follow Pogacar as he accelerated towards the finish to catch the leaders, but also beat the Slovenian to the line, with Germany's Max Schachmann taking second ahead of Pogacar.

Cricket-Former NZ all-rounder Anderson in USA squad for T20 World Cup

Former New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson has been named to the United States squad for the T20 World Cup in June, USA Cricket has announced. Anderson was part of the New Zealand team who lost to Australia in the final of the 50-overs World Cup in 2015 and also played two T20 World Cups for them.

Olympics-IOC bans former senior Olympic member Sheikh Ahmad for 15 years

Kuwait's Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah has been banned for 15 years from all positions within the International Olympic Committee over ethics breaches, the Olympic ruling body has decided. In a letter seen by Reuters, IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper informed all IOC members of the Executive Board decision to sanction the once-powerful Sheikh Ahmad over a court case in Switzerland.

Tennis-Injured Sinner withdraws from Rome Masters

Jannik Sinner has been forced to withdraw from the Masters 1000 event in Rome next week due to a hip injury he suffered at the Madrid Open, the world number two said on Saturday, hampering his preparations for the French Open. Sinner pulled out before his quarter-final against Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in Madrid and the 22-year-old Italian said he was heartbroken to take the decision to skip his home tournament which runs from May 8-19.

MLB roundup: Twins down Red Sox for 11th straight win

Edouard Julien and Ryan Jeffers drove in two runs apiece, and the Minnesota Twins held on for a 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night in Minneapolis. Willi Castro went 2-for-3 with a double for Minnesota, which won its 11th game in a row. The Twins have not lost since April 21 against the Detroit Tigers.

Biden gives Katie Ledecky, Michelle Yeoh the Medal of Freedom

A winner of seven Olympic gold medals, a leader of the Mississippi civil rights struggle and a pioneer of television's tabloid talk show genre are part of this year's class of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients. U.S. President Joe Biden extended the highest U.S. civilian award to 19 people, including Team USA swimmer Katie Ledecky, the assassinated civil rights leader Medgar Evers and television host Phil Donahue.

Motor racing-Verstappen takes Miami sprint race pole

Red Bull's Max Verstappen grabbed pole position for the Miami Grand Prix sprint race on Friday and he was joined on the front row by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who missed most of the morning practice after spinning out. Triple world champion Verstappen, who came from fourth on the grid to win the first sprint race of year at the Chinese Grand Prix, will start from the front on Saturday after clocking the top time of one minute, 28.194 seconds around a steamy Miami International Autodrome.

Lakers fire head coach Darvin Ham after 2 seasons

The Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Darvin Ham on Friday after two seasons and a 90-74 regular-season record. "We greatly appreciate Darvin's efforts on behalf of the Lakers and recognize the many accomplishments achieved over the past two seasons including last year's remarkable run to the Western Conference finals," general manager Rob Pelinka said in a team-released statement.

Boxing-Beterbiev injury forces postponement of title bout with Bivol

The undisputed light heavyweight championship bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol in Saudi Arabia has been postponed after Beterbiev suffered a ruptured meniscus in training, promoters Top Rank Boxing said on Friday. The bout, scheduled for June 1 in Riyadh, was set to unify Russian-born Canadian Beterbiev's WBC, IBF and WBO belts with his Russian rival's WBA championship.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)