Sports News Roundup: Sport-Aussie Rules teams flee COVID outbreaks, rugby league crowds banned; Olympics-Injured Halep pulls out of Tokyo Games after Wimbledon withdrawal and more

Halep, who also pulled out of Wimbledon last week, joins 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, men's world No.3 Rafa Nadal and last year's U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem in skipping the Tokyo Games, which begin on July 23. Tennis-Barty to lead Australia's gold hopes at Tokyo World number one Ash Barty will lead Australia's biggest Olympic tennis team at Tokyo as the nation bids for its first medal in 17 years at the Games.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Sport-Aussie Rules teams flee COVID outbreaks, rugby league crowds banned

Four Australian Football League (AFL) teams are set to base themselves in Melbourne as COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns across the country play havoc with the competition's schedule. The Gold Coast Suns and Brisbane Lions were booked on a charter plane for Melbourne to beat a snap three-day lockdown starting late on Tuesday in Brisbane and surrounds.

Olympics-Injured Halep pulls out of Tokyo Games after Wimbledon withdrawal

World number three Simona Halep has become the latest big-name tennis player to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics after the Romanian said she would not recover from a calf injury in time. Halep, who also pulled out of Wimbledon last week, joins 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, men's world No.3 Rafa Nadal and last year's U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem in skipping the Tokyo Games, which begin on July 23.

Tennis-Barty to lead Australia's gold hopes at Tokyo

World number one Ash Barty will lead Australia's biggest Olympic tennis team at Tokyo as the nation bids for its first medal in 17 years at the Games. Barty, Australia men's number one Alex de Minaur and world number 60 Nick Kyrgios are among eight Olympic debutants in the 11-strong team, with former U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur on board for her fifth Games.

Biden, Trudeau bet on NHL Stanley Cup finals

U.S. President Joe Biden has accepted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's offer they bet on the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens. In a Twitter post on Monday night, Trudeau challenged Biden. “Two of the best teams in the NHL are facing off right now. How about a friendly wager, @POTUS?” using Biden’s Twitter handle.

MLB roundup: Nats' Kyle Schwarber belts two more HRs

Kyle Schwarber continued his power surge by belting two of Washington's five home runs as the Nationals earned an 8-4 victory over the visiting New York Mets on Monday night. The sizzling Schwarber has hit 11 homers over the past nine games and 24 on the season, including seven in his past three games against the Mets. The only other player since 1901 to hit 11 home runs in a nine-game span was Frank Howard of the 1968 Washington Senators.

Olympics-Tokyo likely to shift part of torch relay off public roads-Kyodo

Authorities are likely to move the first eight days of the Tokyo leg of the Olympic torch relay off public roads due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, the Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday. The traditional torch relay was due to reach the capital on July 9, passing mostly through outer suburbs and islands before parading through the centre of the city from July 17 until the Games opening ceremony on July 23.

Tennis-Tiafoe dumps third seed Tsitsipas in opening day shock

American Frances Tiafoe caused the first big upset of the Wimbledon men's singles tournament by beating third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-4 6-3 on Monday. Tsitsipas, playing his first match since his French Open final defeat by Novak Djokovic on June 13, was on the backfoot from the beginning against a 57th-ranked opponent who took the game to him.

Soccer-Messi scores twice as Argentina overrun Bolivia 4-1

Lionel Messi passed Javier Mascherano as Argentina’s most capped international on Monday and scored twice as they beat Bolivia 4-1 to set up a Copa America quarter-final against Ecuador. Messi was in fine form on his 148th appearance for Argentina and it was his sublime pass that set up Alejandro Gomez to volley home the opening goal after five minutes.

Mavericks name Jason Kidd as coach, Nico Harrison as GM

The Dallas Mavericks officially named Hall of Famer Jason Kidd as their new head coach and former Nike executive Nico Harrison as general manager on Monday. The moves come after Rick Carlisle resigned after 13 seasons as head coach on June 17, one day after longtime general manager Donnie Nelson was let go after 24 seasons with the franchise.

NHL-Lightning thrash Canadiens 5-1 in Stanley Cup Finals opener

The Tampa Bay Lightning kicked off their NHL title defense in dominant fashion on Monday by downing the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 in front of a roaring hometown crowd in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals series. Slovakian defenseman Erik Cernak got the party started early for the heavily favored Lighting with a redirect goal in the first period before Yanni Gourde extended the lead to 2-0 in the second as the Canadiens struggled to get a foothold into the game at Amalie Arena.

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