Sports News Roundup: Report: NBA reducing COVID return time for some players; Tennis-Spain, Argentina early winners as ATP Cup opens new season and more

ESPN reported Friday that the league and the National Basketball Players Association have agreed on a new health and safety protocol for vaccinated and asymptomatic players who have tested positive. Tennis-Spain, Argentina early winners as ATP Cup opens new season Spain and Argentina both won their ATP Cup ties with some ease as men's professional tennis returned for the 2022 season in the lucrative team tournament at Sydney's Olympic Park on Saturday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Report: NBA reducing COVID return time for some players

Some NBA players could face a shorter waiting period to return to action following a positive COVID-19 test. ESPN reported Friday that the league and the National Basketball Players Association have agreed on a new health and safety protocol for vaccinated and asymptomatic players who have tested positive.

Tennis-Spain, Argentina early winners as ATP Cup opens new season

Spain and Argentina both won their ATP Cup ties with some ease as men's professional tennis returned for the 2022 season in the lucrative team tournament at Sydney's Olympic Park on Saturday. Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta made light of the absence of Rafa Nadal with contrasting victories over Chileans Cristian Garín and Alejandro Tabilo.

Lamar Jackson questionable for Ravens vs. Rams

Lamar Jackson could make his return from injury Sunday for the Baltimore Ravens. Jackson is listed as questionable on Baltimore's injury report for the game against the visiting Los Angeles Rams despite sitting out the last two days of practice with an ongoing ankle injury.

Athletics-Ethiopians Aregawi, Taye smash 5km world records in Barcelona

Ethiopia's Berihu Aregawi and Ejegayehu Taye ended 2021 on a high when they broke the men's and women's 5km world records at the Cursa dels Nassos in Barcelona on Friday. Aregawi, 20, nearly broke Joshua Cheptegei's world record in Lille last month and was successful this time with a time of 12 minutes and 49 seconds, shaving two seconds off the Ugandan's mark.

Celtics legend, Hall of Famer Sam Jones dies at 88

Boston Celtics legend Sam Jones, a Hall of Fame member and 10-time NBA champion, has died at age 88. Only longtime Celtics teammate Bill Russell, with 11, earned more NBA rings as a player than Jones, a five-time All-Star and a member of the NBA's 25th, 50th and 75th anniversary teams.

Soccer-Three Liverpool players COVID-19 positive before Chelsea trip - Klopp

Three Liverpool players and more staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the trip to Chelsea but it is too soon to ask the Premier League to postpone the game, manager Juergen Klopp said on Friday. The league has postponed 18 games so far due to a mixture of COVID-19 outbreaks and injuries at several clubs, leaving them without enough players to fulfil fixtures.

Report: Liberty to hire Sandy Brondello as new coach

The New York Liberty will hire former Phoenix Mercury coach Sandy Brondello to the same position, ESPN reported Friday night. Brondello coached Phoenix for eight years, but the two sides agreed to mutually part ways in early December despite the Mercury reaching the WNBA Finals.

Tennis-'Here I am' - Nadal reaches Melbourne ahead of Australian Open

Rafa Nadal confirmed his bid for a record 21st Grand Slam title on Friday by posting a picture of himself at Melbourne Park on social media and allaying fears that he could miss next month's Australian Open. Nadal caught the novel coronavirus while playing in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi this month and said he would make a decision nL1N2T50ML on his future tournaments depending on his "evolution" over the weeks ahead.

NHL postpones more games in Canada due to fan limits

Even as teams return to the ice following their extended break due to coronavirus outbreaks around the league, the NHL continued Friday to postpone games due to attendance restrictions in Canada, extending the list of postponements to 16 games in the next two weeks. The league announced Tuesday it would move games in five of its seven Canadian cities to "dates later in the season when such restrictions may be eased or lifted." With the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, capacity at indoor sporting events is currently limited in Canada, depending on the province.

Soccer-Lukaku's comments on being unhappy at Chelsea unhelpful -Tuchel

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku's comments about being dissatisfied with life at the club are unhelpful, manager Thomas Tuchel said on Friday, adding that they would discuss matters with the striker behind closed doors. Lukaku, who joined Chelsea from Italian champions Inter Milan in August, told Sky Italy that he was unhappy with Tuchel's system while also admitting he would like to return to Italy at some point in his career.

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