Sports News Roundup: Doping-WADA approves reforms to improve athlete representation; Tennis-Spain's Alcaraz out of Davis Cup Finals due to COVID and more

At its two-day board meeting, WADA decided to reform its athletes council whose 20 members will now be elected directly by sports professionals. Raiders edge Cowboys on OT field goal in Thanksgiving thriller Daniel Carlson kicked a 29-yard field with 4:28 left in overtime and the Las Vegas Raiders ended a three-game losing streak with a 36-33 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday at Arlington, Texas.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Doping-WADA approves reforms to improve athlete representation

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Thursday approved reforms designed to give athletes more representation in the organisation's decision-making process. At its two-day board meeting, WADA decided to reform its athletes council whose 20 members will now be elected directly by sports professionals.

Tennis-Spain's Alcaraz out of Davis Cup Finals due to COVID

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz has been ruled out of the Davis Cup Finals after testing positive for COVID-19, the country's tennis federation (RFET) said in a statement on Thursday. It was a huge blow for holders Spain who take on Ecuador in their Group A opener in Madrid on Friday.

Raiders edge Cowboys on OT field goal in Thanksgiving thriller

Daniel Carlson kicked a 29-yard field with 4:28 left in overtime and the Las Vegas Raiders ended a three-game losing streak with a 36-33 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday at Arlington, Texas. Carlson booted five field goals and Derek Carr completed 24 of 39 passes for 373 yards and one touchdown as Las Vegas (6-5) nabbed the crucial win.

Cricket-Cummins named Australia test captain, Smith vice-captain

Fast bowler Pat Cummins was named the 47th captain of the Australia test team on Friday in place of Tim Paine, who stood down from the position last week. Paine resigned after revelations he had been investigated and cleared over sexually explicit text messages sent to a female former colleague four years ago.

Soccer: River beat Racing to win Argentine league title

River Plate beat Racing 4-0 on Thursday to win the Argentine first division with three games to spare and secure the only major domestic title that had evaded coach Marcelo Gallardo. A first-half goal from Agustin Palavecino and three more in the second half from Julian Alvarez and Braian Romero's double gave River an unassailable 12-point lead at the top as they claimed the title in comfortable fashion, with the most goals scored and the least conceded.

'Diego lives on': Argentines pray for Maradona on anniversary of his death

Fans and family of Diego Maradona in Argentina and around the world gathered on Thursday to remember and pray for the troubled soccer star on the first anniversary of his death. In a church in Garin, in the province of Buenos Aires, family members joined a Mass in his memory, with a large portrait on the altar of the 1986 world champion, known as "Pelusa" for his long mane or just "D10S" - a play on the Spanish word for God and his famous No. 10 jersey.

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.

Tennis-Ymer brothers seal Sweden victory, Croatia and France win

Brothers Elias and Mikael Ymer comfortably won their singles rubbers against Canada as seven-time champions Sweden made a roaring start in the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid on Thursday. Runners-up in 2019 but without their top players Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime, Canada proved no match for the rejuvenated Swedes who are looking to revive past glory.

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.

Soccer: Rodgers happy Leicester in control of Europa League destiny

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted his side have their Europa League fate back in their own hands after Thursday's 3-1 win over Legia Warsaw put them top of the group and on the brink of qualification to the knockout stage. Leicester have eight points from five games in Group C, a point ahead of Spartak Moscow and Napoli with Legia a point further back.

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