Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Lottery and combine postponed by coronavirus outbreak

The lottery to determine which NBA team will get the number one overall draft pick along with the draft combine have both been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, the league said on Friday. Both events had been scheduled for Chicago with the lottery set for May 19 and the combine, where prospects for the draft are evaluated, held May 21-24. U.S. Soccer scores victory in equal pay suit with women's team players

The U.S. women's soccer team's claims for equal pay were dismissed by a court on Friday, handing a victory to the United States Soccer Federation. Judge R. Gary Klausner of the United States District Court for the Central District of California threw out players' claims that they were under paid in comparison with the men's national team but allowed complaints of unfair medical, travel and training to proceed to trial. MLS opens up training fields for individual workouts

Players will be able to use outdoor team training fields for solo workouts from next Wednesday, Major League Soccer said on Friday as the sport takes its first steps towards a return to action following the shutdown forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Like most North American sport, MLS shuttered operations mid-March and a league wide moratorium on group and team training remains in place through May 15. Many top male players support ATP-WTA merger, says Murray

Andy Murray has backed Roger Federer's call to merge the men's and women's tours, saying that many top male players believe it will be a positive step for tennis. "When you have a lot of the top male players now starting to discuss and talk about it, that's definitely very promising," the Briton, who has often voiced his support for gender equality, told CNN on Friday. Sprinter Thomas denies charge after she and Stevens suspended by AIU

American sprinter Gabrielle Thomas said on Friday she expected to be cleared of charges by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of failing to make herself available for anti-doping tests. The 23-year-old and fellow American Deajah Stevens earlier in the day were provisionally suspended by the AIU for allegedly missing three tests in a 12-month period, a violation of anti-doping rules. Former A's minor-leaguer Marte dies of COVID-19

Former Oakland minor-leaguer Miguel Marte died after a battle with the coronavirus, the Athletics announced Friday. He was 30. A GoFundMe account to aid his family indicates Marte died Tuesday. FIA warns championships against post-pandemic 'turf wars'

Motor racing's world governing body has warned its various championships against waging 'turf wars' in rearranging their calendars once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. Formula One, the world rally and endurance championships and a swathe of other national and continental series are on hold and looking at cramming races into the second half of the year to complete their seasons. Berrettini set for Florida series as live action returns in U.S

Live professional tennis will return to the U.S. with a number of high-profile male and female players taking part in the UTR Pro Match Series in Florida this month. Italian world number eight Matteo Berrettini will be joined by Americans Reilly Opelka, Tennys Sandgren and Tommy Paul in West Palm Beach from May 8-10. Indians Clase handed 80 game doping ban

Cleveland Indians pitcher Emmanuel Clase has been banned for 80 games after testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance, Major League Baseball said on Friday. With the MLB season on hold due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, Clase's suspension will not begin until the 2020 campaign officially gets underway. Titans decline 2021 option for WR Davis

The Tennessee Titans declined the fifth-year option for wide receiver and former No. 5 overall pick Corey Davis, NFL Network reported Friday. Davis, who saw his targets drop by nearly half last season, will become an unrestricted free agent after the 2020 campaign.