Reuters Sports News Summary

Maple Leafs look to drink from Cup and end longest drought It has been 53 years since the Toronto Maple Leafs hoisted the Stanley Cup but as the National Hockey League prepares to resume on Saturday after the COVID-19 shutdown, there is hope that one of sport's longest title droughts could be about to end.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. League ready to launch postseason unlike any in NHL history

When the National Hockey League (NHL) resumes its virus-hit season on Saturday it will be a postseason unlike any other in league history with teams competing in two Canadian cities in a bid to limit travel and minimize COVID-19 risk. While some of the changes, including regular testing of all players, will not be so obvious, many other aspects of the NHL's Return to Play plan will be hard to miss when the puck is dropped for the first time since mid-March. Blues' hopes of Stanley Cup repeat aided by Tarasenko return

The St. Louis Blues were already the team to beat in the NHL's Western Conference when COVID-19 halted play in March, and the defending Stanley Cup champions have only gotten stronger as veteran sniper Vladimir Tarasenko has returned from injury. The Russian forward, who has not played since suffering a shoulder injury last October, gives the Blues yet another weapon heading into Sunday when they play the first of three round-robin games to determine their seeding for the playoffs. Hockey comes home to Canada as NHL season resumes

Canada has always wanted more National Hockey League teams and starting on Saturday will have 24 as the sport returns from a COVID-19 forced hiatus in the country regarded as its spiritual home. The NHL has long shown a preference for United States expansion but opted for the safety of two hub cities in the Great White North where the pandemic is widely contained over the U.S. which has seen a surge in positive cases. Strong ratings boost momentum for women's sport

U.S. women's soccer and basketball earned strong television ratings as they returned after being put on hold due to COVID-19, helping to quell concern that the pandemic would undo progress made in women's sports over the last year. The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) Challenge Cup final on Sunday averaged 653,000 viewers, up almost 300% from the 2019 final, broadcaster CBS said. Fowler grabs clubhouse lead in Memphis, Koepka finds form

Rickie Fowler put a poor recent run behind him to grab the clubhouse lead in the first round of the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis on Thursday. Fowler, who has missed the cut in five of his last nine tournaments, birdied three of his final five holes for a six-under-par 64 at TPC Southwind that left him one shot clear of Sung Kang (65) of South Korea. Phillies close ballpark over positive tests, games postponed

Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies said on Thursday they closed Citizens Bank Park after two staff members tested positive for COVID-19, leading to the postponement of their weekend series versus the Toronto Blue Jays. The Phillies, whose park will be closed until further notice, said in a statement tests taken on Wednesday showed a member of the coaching staff and member of the home clubhouse staff tested positive for the virus. U.S. coaches complain of athlete abuse at NBA's China camps: ESPN

American coaches at the National Basketball Association's training academies in China have complained of abuse of young players by local staff and harassment in the Xinjiang region, ESPN has reported citing unnamed sources. The report quoted NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum, who oversees the league's international operations, as saying the league received "a handful" of complaints about mistreatment of young players and immediately informed Chinese authorities. He said the league wasn't aware any of its employees had been detained or harassed in Xinjiang. NBA: Players protest racial injustice as league returns to action

Players from the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans bowed their heads and knelt during the playing of the U.S. national anthem while wearing Black Lives Matter T-shirts as the NBA returned for the first time since the coronavirus halted play in March. Coaches and officials joined the players in taking a knee to protest against racial injustice and police brutality at the first NBA game in 140 days. Maple Leafs look to drink from Cup and end longest drought

It has been 53 years since the Toronto Maple Leafs hoisted the Stanley Cup but as the National Hockey League prepares to resume on Saturday after the COVID-19 shutdown, there is hope that one of sport's longest title droughts could be about to end. With six-of-seven Canadian franchises still in the postseason chase and all games being played north of the border for the first time since 1925, the stars seem to be aligning for a Canadian club to get their hands on Lord Stanley's famous mug. Swiss launch criminal probe of FIFA boss Infantino

Criminal proceedings have been opened against FIFA president Gianni Infantino by a special prosecutor looking into dealings between the head of the global soccer body and Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber, Swiss authorities said on Thursday. The special prosecutor Stefan Keller, appointed last month to review complaints against the two men and others, had found indications of criminal conduct related to their meetings, according to the AB-BA watchdog which oversees the Attorney General's Office.