Reuters Sports News Summary

Bubba Wallace leaving Richard Petty Motorsports Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver at NASCAR's top level, will not return to Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2021 season, the two sides said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Ex-New York Jets player Josh Bellamy charged with coronavirus-relief fraud: Justice Department

Former New York Jets player Josh Bellamy has been charged with participating in a scheme to fraudulently receive coronavirus-relief loans, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. Bellamy, 31, allegedly obtained a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan of $1.2 million for his company, Drip Entertainment, and used the money to purchase over $104,000 in luxury goods, the department said. Golf: Four players tied for lead midway through first round of ANA Inspiration

Four players were tied for the early lead at the ANA Inspiration as the second women's golf major of the year got underway in Rancho Mirage, California on Thursday. Brooke Henderson, Danielle Kang, Yu Liu and Kelly Tan shared the lead after carding rounds of four-under-par 68 at the Mission Hills Country Club's Dinah Shore Tournament Course. Rossi quashes retirement talk

Seven-times MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi has dismissed speculation he will be retiring from the sport at the end of the season, saying he is on the verge of signing a new deal with Petronas Yamaha. Rossi, 41, will leave the Yamaha factory team at the end of the season but is poised for a seat at the satellite Petronas Yamaha outfit in a straight swap with young Frenchman Fabio Quartararo. Missing 'Big Three' means new kind of pressure for last four at U.S. Open

The perennial challenge for the men's field at any Grand Slam has been taking down one of the dominant 'Big Three', but for those left at this year's U.S. Open, it is about tamping down the pressure of playing a semi-final shorn of tennis' titans. The aggressive, nothing-to-lose mentality a player might adopt as he gazes across the net at Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer or world number one Novak Djokovic no longer applies at Flushing Meadows. Pavic, Soares claim U.S. Open men's doubles crown

Croatia's Mate Pavic and Brazil's Bruno Soares captured the U.S. Open men's doubles crown with a 7-5 6-3 win over eighth seeds Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Nikola Mektic of Croatia on Thursday. In their first Grand Slam men's doubles final as a team, Pavic did damage with his powerful serve while Soares did well to force their opponents into difficult shots and they sealed the win when Mektic sent a backhand volley into the net. Surfing: Gabeira breaks women's big wave record with Nazare giant

Brazilian daredevil Maya Gabeira has improved her own world record for the biggest wave surfed by a woman, riding a 73.5 foot (22.4m) giant at Portugal's Nazare and overshadowing the top male surfers in the process. Gabeira, who broke her leg and almost drowned at the same spot in 2013, was towed by jetski into her winning wave during a World Surf League (WSL) Big Wave competition in February. Bubba Wallace leaving Richard Petty Motorsports

Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver at NASCAR's top level, will not return to Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2021 season, the two sides said on Thursday. Wallace, who was in the national spotlight in June after NASCAR said a noose was found hanging in his garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, will finish the final nine races of the season in the No. 43. Chevrolet. Boxing: Former world middleweight champion Minter dies at 69

Britain's former undisputed world middleweight champion Alan Minter has died at the age of 69, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) said on Thursday. British media reported he had been suffering from cancer. Factbox: The masks of Naomi Osaka at the U.S. Open

Former champion Naomi Osaka is wearing a different facemask for each of her matches at the U.S. Open this year. They each carry the name of a Black American and aim to highlight racial injustice in the United States to a wider audience: ROUND ONE - BREONNA TAYLOR Report: No NBA before Christmas Day

The 2020-21 NBA season will not begin before Christmas Day, league officials told the Board of Governors on Thursday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The league also will move the 2020 draft, originally scheduled for June but moved to Oct. 16 amid the coronavirus pandemic, to Nov. 18, he tweeted.

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