Reuters Sports News Summary

Edmonton have placed five players and six members of their support staff in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol while New Jersey had four players enter the protocol this weekend. Soccer-Arsenal crash out, Liverpool and Tottenham survive FA Cup scares Arsenal became the highest-profile casualties of the FA Cup third round as the 14-time winners lost 1-0 at Nottingham Forest, but Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur avoided early exits after scares against lower-league sides on Sunday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Figure skating-Chen captures sixth consecutive U.S. national title

Nathan Chen won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships for a sixth consecutive year on Sunday in Nashville in dominating fashion to solidify his status as the gold medal favourite for next month's Beijing Olympics. Chen, whose sole defeat since the 2018 Pyeongchang Games came last October in the first Grand Prix event of the Olympic figure skating season, was far from perfect in his free skate as he fell twice but still did more than enough to separate himself from the pack.

Steelers' T.J. Watt ties NFL season sack record

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt matched the NFL's official single-season sack record of 22.5 by corralling Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley in the final minute of the first half of Sunday's game. The sack allowed Watt to tie Michael Strahan, who set the record in 2001 for the New York Giants.

Tennis-Nadal delighted with 'special' title win on return from injury

Former world number one Rafa Nadal said his title win at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 on Sunday was one to cherish, as the Spaniard made a successful return to competition from a niggling foot injury that had kept him out for nearly four months. The 35-year-old captured his 89th career title after seeing off American qualifier Maxime Cressy 7-6(6) 6-3 in the final of the ATP 250 event ahead of the Australian Open, which begins on Jan. 17.

Stay away in event of accident with Olympics vehicle, Beijing police warn

People should stay away from the special vehicles used to ferry people to and from the Winter Olympic venues in the event of a traffic incident, Beijing's traffic management authority warned on Sunday. Personnel involved in the Winter Olympics will be kept in a "closed loop" operation and should avoid contact with people outside it, the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau said in a post on its Twitter-like Weibo account.

Soccer-Amnesty International urges Spanish clubs to take a stand in Saudi Arabia

Amnesty International is calling on the four clubs involved in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia this week to take a stand over women's rights and equality issues. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao will compete in the revamped Super Cup in the Saudi capital Riyadh from Jan. 12-16 after the Spanish FA agreed a contract with the Saudis until 2029 that will earn the governing body 30 million euros ($34 million) a year.

Novak Djokovic's bid to stay in Australia goes before courts

Novak Djokovic's battle to remain in Australia and bid for a record breaking tennis title goes before the courts on Monday, with the star player's lawyers and the federal government to face off over his controversial COVID-19 vaccination exemption. Djokovic, who has been held in an immigration detention hotel since his visa was revoked on his arrival at Melbourne's airport on Wednesday, argues that a recent COVID-19 infection qualified him for the medical exemption from the country's requirement for all visitors to be double vaccinated.

Soccer-Juventus produce stunning fightback to beat Roma in seven-goal thriller

Juventus scored three goals in seven second-half minutes to complete an astonishing comeback and beat AS Roma 4-3 on Sunday after goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saved a late penalty to keep them in front at the Stadio Olimpico. Tammy Abraham put Jose Mourinho's side in front and Paulo Dybala made it 1-1 going into the break, but goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Lorenzo Pellegrini put Roma in charge early in the second half.

Olympics-James and Radford headline Canada's Olympic figure skating team

Pairs duo Vanessa James and Eric Radford headlined the skaters named on Sunday to Canada's figure skating team for next month's Beijing Olympics a day after they withdrew from their national championships. Radford, a two-time world champion with former partner Meagan Duhamel, and James contracted COVID-19 over the Christmas holidays and only returned to the ice earlier this week.

NHL-Two more NHL games postponed due to COVID-19 issues

The National Hockey League's (NHL) regular-season schedule took another hit as two games scheduled to be played on Monday were postponed due to COVID-19 issues affecting both the New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton have placed five players and six members of their support staff in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol while New Jersey had four players enter the protocol this weekend.

Soccer-Arsenal crash out, Liverpool and Tottenham survive FA Cup scares

Arsenal became the highest-profile casualties of the FA Cup third round as the 14-time winners lost 1-0 at Nottingham Forest, but Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur avoided early exits after scares against lower-league sides on Sunday. Forest repeated their third-round win over Arsenal in 2018 thanks to substitute Lewis Grabban's 83rd-minute finish.