Reuters Sports News Summary

MLB and players agree framework for 2020 season Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Rob Manfred said on Wednesday he met with the head of the MLB Players Association this week and they put together the framework of a deal to salvage a 2020 season amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Serena 'cannot wait' to compete in this year's U.S. Open

Serena Williams confirmed on Wednesday she will compete at this year's U.S. Open in New York amid the COVID-19 outbreak, where the seven-times champion will seek a record-tying 24th career Grand Slam singles title. "Ultimately, I really cannot wait to return to New York and play the U.S. Open 2020,” Williams said in a video message played during a United States Tennis Association news conference to confirm that the Aug. 31-Sept. 13 tournament will proceed without fans. Pilot in Kobe Bryant helicopter crash may have become disoriented in heavy fog, NTSB says

U.S. federal safety investigators said on Wednesday that the pilot of a helicopter that crashed in foothills near Los Angeles, killing basketball great Kobe Bryant and seven others, likely became disoriented in the fog. The findings came in a so-called "public docket" released by the national Transportation Safety Board as it investigates the January crash. The NTSB has not yet released it's final report. Golf: You should be here, McIlroy tells European players upset about rankings

The European players who opted not to travel to the United States for the PGA Tour's restart after a three-month COVID-19 break should not complain about losing out on world ranking points, world number one Rory McIlroy said on Wednesday The Official World Golf Ranking decided to unfreeze the ranking with last week's resumption of the PGA Tour even though competitors on the European Tour cannot preserve their ranking at home since action remains on hold. Horse racing: Favourite Tiz the Law draws eighth post for Belmont

The Belmont Stakes's 6-5 favourite Tiz the Law will break from the eighth post on Saturday, at the start of American horse racing's prized Triple Crown. Traditionally the third leg of the thoroughbred racing series, the Belmont will be the first Triple Crown race after the COVID-19 outbreak forced the postponement of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes to Sept. 5 and Oct. 3, respectively. Lamine Diack should serve four years in jail, French prosecutor tells court

French financial prosecutors on Wednesday sought a four-year jail sentence for Lamine Diack, the former head of athletics' governing body, on trial for corruption and money laundering linked to a Russian doping scandal. They told the three judges that Diack and his son, Papa Massata Diack, were at the heart of a scheme that solicited bribes worth millions of euros from Russian athletes to cover up failed doping tests and allow them to continue competing. McLaren considering sale of a minority stake in F1 team: Sky

McLaren are considering selling a minority stake in their once-dominant Formula One team to raise funds to help the company weather the COVID-19 crisis, Sky News reported on Wednesday. It said the proposal was at a 'conceptual stage' alongside other options, including raising capital from existing bondholders. Golf: Top three eye rebound at Harbour Town after rough re-start

The top three golfers in the world - Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka - will all try to bounce back from a rough return to competition when they tee it up at this week's RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The trio showed plenty of rust during the PGA Tour's return from a three-month COVID-19 break last week in Fort Worth, Texas as McIlroy and Koepka finished in a share of 32nd place while Rahm missed the cut. French Open pushed back a week, ATP and WTA announce August resumption

The re-scheduled French Open has been pushed back a further week and the ATP Tour and WTA Tour have both issued revised calendars as professional tennis gears up to emerge from the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Usually held at the end of May, the French Open was first moved to a Sept. 20-Oct. 4 slot but the main draw will now start on Sept. 27 and end on Oct. 11. MLB and players agree framework for 2020 season

Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Rob Manfred said on Wednesday he met with the head of the MLB Players Association this week and they put together the framework of a deal to salvage a 2020 season amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Manfred, who had previously said he was "not confident" a 2020 season would happen, requested a one-on-one meeting with MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark and the two spent several hours together in Phoenix. Soccer: Players take a knee as Premier League restarts

Premier League players, including champions Manchester City, took a knee before kickoff in support of the "Black Lives Matter" movement as the English season restarted on Wednesday. The league returned after a 100-day hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the teams and match officials sent out a strong statement of support for the worldwide protests against racism.