Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Olympics-Unvaccinated Russian minors won't have to quarantine for Beijing

Russia's Olympic Committee chief said on Wednesday it had received assurances from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that its Under-18 athletes would not be subjected to three weeks of quarantine ahead of next year's Beijing Winter Games. China requires athletes and team officials to be vaccinated to avoid 21 days in quarantine ahead of the Games, which run from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20. Some exceptions for medical reasons can be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Tennis-Australian Open director expects up to 95% of players to be vaccinated by January

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley expects up to 95% of professional players will be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the time of the Grand Slam in January but is unsure whether Novak Djokovic will be among them. Tiley said Victoria state's strict vaccination mandate had motivated players to get their shots before Melbourne Park, where fans and staff will also be banned if unvaccinated.

Ice hockey-American Coyne Schofield cuts new path for girls in sport

Kendall Coyne Schofield never wanted to be a figure skater. She preferred spending hours playing the informal game of shinny hockey with her older brother but found herself in a pair of figure skates aged three with the rest of the girls at the local ice rink when it came time for skating classes.

Soccer-Liverpool maintain perfect record with 2-0 win over Porto

Second-half goals by Thiago Alcantara and Mohamed Salah earned a below-strength Liverpool a 2-0 win over Porto to maintain their 100% record in Champions League Group B on Wednesday. Porto, who started the day second in the group behind already-qualified Liverpool, wasted numerous first-half opportunities and were made to pay a heavy price.

Rangers slam Isles as teams keep heading in opposite directions

Chris Kreider and Kevin Rooney each scored twice Wednesday night for the surging New York Rangers, who cruised to a 4-1 win over the free-falling New York Islanders in the first game between the rivals at the Islanders' new home, UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. Goalie Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves for the Rangers, who have won six of seven (6-1-0).

Golf-Morikawa, McIlroy to start 2022 season in Abu Dhabi

World number two Collin Morikawa and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy will begin their 2022 DP World Tour season at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January. The 24-year-old Morikawa, who won this year's British Open, ended the season as the European Tour's number one and capped off a memorable year with victory at the DP World Tour Championship on Sunday.

NHL roundup: Wild arrive late, beat Devils in SO

Cam Talbot made a season-high 40 saves and stopped three shots in the shootout as the visiting Minnesota Wild squandered a late lead before recording a 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night in Newark, N.J. The Wild prevailed after encountering heavy traffic. They were delayed in getting from their Manhattan hotel due to a closure in the Holland Tunnel connecting lower Manhattan and Jersey City. Minnesota did not arrive at the arena until 6:26 p.m. ET, and the opening faceoff was delayed 24 minutes.

NFL-Rams, league settle lawsuit over team's relocation for $790 million

The city and county of St. Louis and other parties have agreed to settle for $790 million a dispute over whether the NFL violated its relocation guidelines when it allowed the Rams to move to Los Angeles in 2016. The settlement agreement was reached with Rams owner Stan Kroenke and the National Football League, the city said in a statement on Wednesday.

Tennis-Sydney to host ATP Cup as part of bumper Australian Open warm-up schedule

Sydney will host the $10 million ATP Cup from Jan. 1-9 as part of a bumper schedule of warm-up tournaments ahead of the Australian Open, organisers said on Thursday. Governing body Tennis Australia (TA) also confirmed Melbourne would host Australian Open qualifying from Jan. 10-14 after 2021 qualifying was played abroad due to COVID-19.

NBA roundup: Rockets beat Bulls, end 15-game drought

Danuel House Jr. scored 18 points off the bench and served as the spark plug as the Houston Rockets snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 118-113 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. House nailed a 3-pointer with 2:23 left to stall what was a 14-3 Bulls run to within a three-point deficit. House added a pair of critical free throws after Garrison Mathews sank a corner 3 out of a Chicago defensive trap that lifted the Rockets to a 114-108 lead with 25.5 seconds remaining.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)