Sports News Roundup: Jackets rebound, even series with Lightning; Lillard, Blazers claim final play-in berth and more

NBA roundup: Lillard, Blazers claim final play-in berth Damian Lillard scored 42 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers escaped with a 134-133 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night near Orlando to clinch the eighth seed in the Western Conference and a berth in the play-in series against the Memphis Grizzlies.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 14-08-2020 22:57 IST | Created: 14-08-2020 22:28 IST
Sports News Roundup: Jackets rebound, even series with Lightning; Lillard, Blazers claim final play-in berth and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

NHL roundup: Jackets rebound, even series with Lightning

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored the go-ahead goal late in the first period to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series in Toronto. Defenseman Ryan Murray and Alexander Wennberg also scored, and Pierre-Luc Dubois had two assists for the Blue Jackets, who evened the series at one victory apiece after a crushing five-overtime defeat in Game 1 on Tuesday.

NBA roundup: Lillard, Blazers claim final play-in berth

Damian Lillard scored 42 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers escaped with a 134-133 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night near Orlando to clinch the eighth seed in the Western Conference and a berth in the play-in series against the Memphis Grizzlies. Following games of 51 and 61 points, Lillard helped Portland (35-39) clinch by scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer from the edge of the NBA logo at halfcourt. He produced his 11th game of at least 40 points this season by shooting 13 of 22, including 8 of 14 on 3-point attempts.

Cycling: Roglic extends Dauphine lead, Formolo claims stage win, Froome nowhere

Primoz Roglic extended his lead in the Criterium du Dauphine when he finished second behind Davide Formolo on the third stage on Friday but Chris Froome continued to struggle. Italian Formolo (UAE) produced a superb attack from a lead group on the day's big ascent, the Col de la Madeleine, as he opened up a near six-minute gap to the peloton.

Woods commits to next week's FedExCup playoff opener

Tiger Woods will begin his quest for a record third FedExCup championship next week as the former world number one on Friday committed to the playoffs opener at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts. When Woods tees it up at The Northern Trust in only his fifth tournament of 2020, he will also be seeking an 83rd PGA Tour victory that would eclipse Sam Snead on the all-time list.

Tennis-Italian Open brought forward as ATP revises 2020 calendar

Next month's Italian Open in Rome will be held a week earlier than scheduled following the cancellation of the Madrid Open due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the governing body of men's tennis (ATP) said on Friday. The ATP announced several updates to the remainder of the 2020 calendar badly affected by the novel coronavirus outbreak, with no place for the NextGen ATP finals, the flagship event for the top players aged 21 and under, in its provisional schedule.

MLB roundup: Darvish dominates as Cubs edge Brewers

Yu Darvish carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and the Chicago Cubs held on for a 4-2 win over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night. Brewers slugger Justin Smoak broke up Darvish's no-hit effort with one out in the seventh when he ripped a solo home run down the right-field line. The blast marked the only hit of the night against Darvish (3-1), who walked two and struck out 11 before yielding to the bullpen to start the eighth.

Uighur group urges IOC to reconsider 2022 Beijing Winter Games venue

The largest group of exiled ethnic Uighurs has called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reconsider holding the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, citing what it says is evidence of crimes against humanity committed in China's Xinjiang region. The IOC, contacted about the submission by the World Uyghur Congress, which uses that spelling of Uighur, said in a statement to Reuters that it “must remain neutral on all global political issues”. It said it had received assurances from Chinese government authorities “that the principles of the Olympic Charter will be respected in the context of the Games”.

Habs' Julien heads home after heart procedure

Canadiens coach Claude Julien is heading home to Montreal to rest Friday after doctors inserted a stent into his coronary artery. The 60-year-old is expected to make a full recovery, according to a statement released by the team.

Athletics meetings to feature 'pioneering' artificial crowd noise

Several Diamond League athletics meetings this season will use a pioneering system that will faithfully reproduce crowd noise to make up for the lack of spectators caused by COVID-19 safety precautions, the sport's governing body said on Friday. World Athletics said in a statement https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/atmosphere-technology-diamond-league that the system "can create the typical crowd sounds heard at athletics meetings, at the right moment".

Chiefs TE Kelce signs four-year extension

Travis Kelce put pen to paper Friday morning on a four-year extension with the Kansas City Chiefs reportedly worth $57 million. The Chiefs announced the deal with an accompanying photo of the All-Pro tight end signing the contract. The agreement comes on the heels of the San Francisco 49ers making George Kittle the highest-paid player at the position.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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