Reuters Sports News Summary

No queue-jumping says IOC chief, as nations mull vaccines for athletes The International Olympic Committee is not in favour of athletes "jumping the queue" for COVID-19 vaccines, President Thomas Bach said on Wednesday, after some National Olympic Committees (NOCs) revealed plans to inoculate athletes before the Tokyo Games.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. McIlroy keeping busy in bid to snap victory drought

Rory McIlroy, who was unable to close out victory in the European Tour's 2021 opener last week, is hopeful an ambitious tournament schedule will help him get more comfortable with his game as he looks to snap a 15-month victory drought. World number seven McIlroy will be the third-highest ranked player competing in this week's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Club in San Diego, which will be the second of seven tournaments over an eight-week span for the Northern Irishman. Tennessee names UCF's Josh Heupel as head coach

Josh Heupel is the new head coach at Tennessee. Heupel accepted the position with the Volunteers from new athletic director Danny White, whose previous football coaching hire was Heupel at UCF. Sharks acquire D Christian Jaros in three-team swap

The San Jose Sharks acquired Ottawa Senators defenseman Christian Jaros in a pair of deals Wednesday that also involved the Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks first sent defenseman Trevor Carrick to the Ducks in exchange for forward Jack Kopacka, then bundled Kopacka and a 2022 seventh-round pick to the Senators in exchange for Jaros. Murray enters Italian challenger event after Australian Open withdrawal

Former world number one Andy Murray will compete in a challenger tournament in Biella next month following his Australian Open withdrawal, the Italian Tennis Federation confirmed on Wednesday. Three-time Grand Slam winner Murray was forced to pull out of the first major of 2021 in Melbourne after he was unable to find what he called a ‘workable quarantine’ following a positive COVID-19 test on Jan. 14. Sailing: Dalin first to complete Vendee Globe race but awaits final result

Charlie Dalin became the first to cross the finish line of the Vendee Globe round-the-world sailing race on Wednesday but he is not yet guaranteed a victory. The Frenchman aboard 'Apivia' arrived in Les Sables d'Olonne to finish with a time of 80 days 6 hours 15 minutes and 47 seconds in a five-boat sprint to the finish. No queue-jumping says IOC chief, as nations mull vaccines for athletes

The International Olympic Committee is not in favour of athletes "jumping the queue" for COVID-19 vaccines, President Thomas Bach said on Wednesday, after some National Olympic Committees (NOCs) revealed plans to inoculate athletes before the Tokyo Games. Bach added that it was up to NOCs to coordinate with their respective governments over athlete access to vaccines. Braves launch $2M Hank Aaron fund to promote diversity

The Atlanta Braves launched a $2 million foundation to honor the late Hank Aaron's passion for increasing diversity in baseball. The Henry Louis Aaron Fund, operated by the Atlanta Braves Foundation, received initial seeding of $1 million from the Braves and $500,000 each from Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association. Black Lives Matter needs to be more than a slogan, says Ray Allen

NBA great Ray Allen believes more investment in underserved communities is needed if the rallying cry that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement is going to lead to meaningful change. The sharpshooting Hall of Famer, who won championships with the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, has long been an advocate for social justice causes and thinks now is the time to make overdue improvements. Nuggets G Jamal Murray fined $25K for low blow

The NBA fined Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray $25,000 for Monday's low blow against Dallas Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. The fine was announced Wednesday by NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe. IOC says it is fully committed to staging Tokyo Games

IOC President Thomas Bach said on Wednesday the International Olympic Committee was fully committed to the successful organisation of the Tokyo Summer Olympics this year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Though much of Japan is under a state of emergency because of a third wave of infections, Bach said all stakeholders were committed to pressing ahead as planned with the rescheduled Games, which are due to open on July 23 after being postponed for a year because of the coronavirus.