Reuters Sports News Summary

Mets' Cano handed 162-game suspension for positive doping test New York Mets second baseman Robinson Cano has been suspended for 162 games without pay after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, Major League Baseball (MLB) said in a statement on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Tennis: Zverev rebounds to beat Schwartzman at ATP Finals

Germany's Alexander Zverev stayed in contention at the ATP Finals as he beat Diego Schwartzman 6-3 4-6 6-3 in his second round-robin match at the O2 Arena on Wednesday. The 23-year-old world number seven knew his hopes of reaching the semi-finals would be as good as over if he suffered a second loss, having been beaten by Daniil Medvedev on Monday. Olympics: Athletes’ Village must be safest place in Tokyo, IOC official says

The purpose-built Athletes' Village must be the safest place in Tokyo during next year's Olympics, a senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official said on Wednesday after meetings with the Tokyo 2020 organisers. IOC President Thomas Bach and other officials have been in the Japanese capital this week as a show of support for the organisers as they try to arrange the Games despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Pro Bowl will be contested on Madden NFL 21

The Pro Bowl, previously canceled by the NFL due to the coronavirus pandemic, is back on -- albeit with a major twist. The game will be conducted virtually using the Madden NFL 21 video game. IOC and WADA question why U.S. sport exempt from Rodchenkov Act

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday acknowledged the passing of the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act (RADA) in the U.S. Senate but questioned why American professional and college athletes are exempt from the legislation. The Rodchenkov Act, named after the whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov who helped expose Russia's state-sponsored doping, will give U.S. justice officials the ability to pursue criminal penalties against anyone involved in doping at international events involving American athletes, sponsors or broadcasters. Tennis: Government declines to guarantee Australian Open, ATP Cup schedule

Australia's Victoria state government is confident the Australian Open will go ahead but offered no assurances on Wednesday that players would be allowed to arrive in time for the season-opening ATP Cup and other events in January. The men's ATP Tour told players on Tuesday that the start of the 2021 season remained up in the air due to "challenges" in Australia, which is effectively closed to international arrivals due to COVID-19 protocols. Mets' Cano handed 162-game suspension for positive doping test

New York Mets second baseman Robinson Cano has been suspended for 162 games without pay after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, Major League Baseball (MLB) said in a statement on Wednesday. Cano tested positive for anabolic steroid Stanozolol, MLB said. Djokovic says he's been nominated for return to ATP player council

World number one Novak Djokovic confirmed on Wednesday that he had been nominated for a return to the player council after resigning in August following his decision to create a separate organisation. The 33-year-old Serb said, however, that the ATP was blocking his path to rejoin. NFL: All teams to adopt 'intensive protocol' amid COVID-19 surge

The National Football League (NFL) has instructed all clubs to adopt a set of more aggressive health and safety regulations beginning on Saturday amid a rise in new COVID-19 cases across the U.S. Clubs will operate under "intensive protocol", an existing set of safety criteria that was previously applied on a temporary and case-by-case basis. Britain's Dowsett calls off hour record attempt after COVID-19 positive

British rider Alex Dowsett has postponed his attempt at the hour record next month after testing positive for COVID-19, cycling's governing body the UCI said on Wednesday. The 32-year-old, who broke the record in 2015 when he covered 52.9km, was hoping to take the record back from Belgian Victor Campenaerts who rode 55.08km last year in Mexico. NFL digs into alleged October 15 Antonio Brown incident

Antonio Brown's alleged off-field conduct has the attention of the NFL once again. The league is investigating an incident reported by the Miami Herald in which Brown was accused of breaking a surveillance camera and heaving a bicycle at a security guard on October 15.