Sports News Roundup: Indian Wells postponed due to COVID-19 concerns; Gisin ends Shiffrin-Vlhova slalom stranglehold and more

The 24-year-old set a new 10,000 mark of 26 minutes, 11.00 seconds at the Valencia World Record Day event in October to beat Kenenisa Bekele's time of 26:17.53 set in 2005.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Blackhawks captain Toews out indefinitely with illness

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said on Tuesday he will not report to training camp next month ahead of the NHL season and will be out indefinitely due to a medical issue. The 32-year-old Canadian, a three-times Stanley Cup winner and two-times Olympic gold medallist, said in a statement he has been experiencing symptoms that have left him feeling "drained and lethargic."

Cheptegei gunning for 5,000m-10,000m double at Tokyo Games

Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei says he is targeting the 5,000m-10,000m double at the Tokyo Olympics after breaking the world records in both distances this year. The 24-year-old set a new 10,000 mark of 26 minutes, 11.00 seconds at the Valencia World Record Day event in October to beat Kenenisa Bekele's time of 26:17.53 set in 2005.

Frenchman Tsonga not fit enough for Australian Open

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has joined Roger Federer in withdrawing from the 2021 Australian Open after failing to recover fully from a lower back injury. The 35-year-old has not played since retiring from his first-round match at Melbourne Park in January when trailing Alexei Popyrin 6-7(5) 6-2 6-1.

Washington LB Davis announces retirement

Three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Thomas Davis announced Tuesday that he is retiring after the season. That could be as soon as Sunday, as a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles would knock the Washington Football Team out of the postseason.

Alabama's Smith becomes first WR to win AP player of the year

Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith was voted the Associated Press college football player of the year, it was announced Tuesday, making him the first wide receiver to win the award since it was established in 1998. Smith received 26 first-place votes and totaled 114 points, outscoring his teammate, quarterback Mac Jones, who received nine first-place votes and 67 total points. Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence was third with nine first-place votes and 49 points.

Alpine skiing-American Cochran-Siegle takes first World Cup win in Bormio

Ryan Cochran-Siegle ended a long U.S. men's Alpine ski team drought on Tuesday by taking his first World Cup win in a super-G in the Italian resort of Bormio. The 28-year-old, son of 1972 Olympic slalom gold medallist Barbara Cochran, beat Austrian Vincent Kriechmayer by 0.79 seconds down the Stelvio piste with Norwegian Adam Smiseth Sejersted third.

Gisin ends Shiffrin-Vlhova slalom stranglehold

Michelle Gisin on Tuesday became the first Swiss woman in nearly 19 years to win a World Cup Alpine skiing slalom when she finished first under the floodlights in Semmering, Austria. The victory in the last women's race of the year also ended a dominant run by American Mikaela Shiffrin and Slovakia's Petra Vlhova, who between them had won every World Cup slalom since January 2017 -- a sequence of 28 races.

Indian Wells postponed due to COVID-19 concerns

The prestigious BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells that was scheduled to be held in California in March has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, organizers said on Tuesday. It marks the second consecutive year the dual ATP-WTA hardcourt event, which is often called the "fifth major" after the four Grand Slam tournaments, has been impacted by the virus as the 2020 edition was cancelled.

NBA roundup: Morant sprains ankle in Grizzlies' OT win

Brandon Clarke converted the go-ahead tip-in with 38.6 seconds remaining in overtime and the visiting Memphis Grizzlies outlasted the short-handed Brooklyn Nets for a 116-111 victory on Monday night. Joe Harris saw his 3-point try hit the front of the rim with 5.6 seconds remaining, and Memphis' Kyle Anderson capped a career-high, 28-point night by hitting three free throws in the final 3.9 seconds.

Tennis-Simon, Daniell and Andujar join ATP Council after Djokovic withdrawal

Gilles Simon, Marcus Daniell and Pablo Andujar were voted as the new members on the 2021-22 ATP Players Council, the governing body for men's tennis said on Tuesday, days after world number one Novak Djokovic pulled out of the elections. Djokovic set up the breakaway Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA) on the eve of the U.S. Open in September after he resigned as the head of the player council.

(With inputs from agencies.)