Sports News Roundup: HBO getting out of boxing business, League to sell games by quarter and lot more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

HBO getting out of the boxing business after 45 years

U.S. broadcaster HBO said on Thursday it will be dropping live boxing from its programming schedule from 2019 due to dwindling ratings, ending a 45-year association with the sport. With the top fights on Pay Per View and boxing available on other places and platforms such as the streaming service DAZN, which in May partnered with Matchroom Boxing in a $1 billion eight-year deal to broadcast 16 U.S. based fights a year, HBO has decided to put those resources into other projects.

NBA notebook: League to sell games by quarter

NBA fans can buy any part of out-of-market games as part of the league's pay-per-view League Pass package in the 2018-19 season. The NBA and Turner Broadcasting are making the fourth quarter of games available at the start of the season, which begins Oct. 16. It will be available for purchase once the third quarter ends for $1.99, which is the first step in a multi-pronged approach to what commissioner Adam Silver terms "micro-transactions."

Olympics: Koreas to discuss unified gymnastics team for Tokyo

The two Koreas will pursue a plan to form a joint artistic gymnastics team for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Seoul's gymnastics association has said, with discussions set to be held during the upcoming world championships. Yonhap news reported that Korea Gymnastics Association (KGA) officials will meet their North Korean counterparts and consider the proposal at the Oct. 25-Nov. 3 event in Doha.

NFL notebook: Panthers sign safety Reid

The Carolina Panthers signed safety Eric Reid, the team announced Thursday after the former Pro Bowl player spent more than six months as a free agent. The first player to join then-teammate Colin Kaepernick in kneeling during the national anthem during the 2016 season, Reid filed a collusion grievance against the NFL in May as he remained unsigned in free agency.

Consider commissioner to heal rifts, Wimbledon chief says

World tennis should consider appointing a global commissioner to bring rival governing factions together for the good of the sport, the chairman of Wimbledon says. Tensions over tournaments, ranking points and new events in an already crowded calendar have bubbled to the surface in recent weeks, most notably with the ITF's controversial re-fashioning of the Davis Cup men's team competition into a year-end one-week extravaganza.

Doping - Triple jumper Claye cleared by USADA after a positive test

Triple Olympic medalist, Will Claye was cleared of wrongdoing after returning a positive doping test that was determined to be the result of contaminated meat he consumed in Mexico, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said on Thursday. The 27-year-old American, who won triple jump silver medals at the last two Olympics and a long jump bronze in 2012, tested positive for trace amounts of clenbuterol as a result of an out-of-competition urine sample collected last month.

MLB roundup: the Red-hot Rockies win seventh straight

David Dahl, Trevor Story, and Gerardo Parra homered, helping the Colorado Rockies move closer to their first division title with a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday in Denver. The Rockies increased their National League West lead over the idle Los Angeles Dodgers to a full game with their seventh straight win, completing a four-game sweep. Colorado hosts the Washington Nationals for a season-ending, three-game weekend series with a magic number of three to win the division.

Goff's five TD passes lead unbeaten Rams past Vikings

Jared Goff fired five touchdown passes, four in the first half, and Cooper Kupp caught nine passes for 162 yards and two scores as the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams won a 38-31 shootout Thursday night against the visiting Minnesota Vikings. Goff completed 26 of 33 passes for 465 yards in leading the Rams to their first 4-0 start since 2001 when the St. Louis Rams won their first six games.

Report: Wolves' asking price high for Butler

Despite Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor's reported insistence that the team trade disgruntled star Jimmy Butler, the asking price is said to be too high. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe reported Thursday morning that the Timberwolves are seeking a package of both prospects and veterans for Butler, who wants to be traded.

NHL investigating Flyers' Lehtera after cocaine ring report

The NHL is investigating Philadelphia Flyers forward Jori Lehtera after a Finnish news outlet reported he was questioned by police in his native Finland about his involvement in a cocaine ring. According to an online translation of the report, Lehtera is among 23 suspects from a group accused of distributing two kilos of cocaine since January of 2017, and seven people are currently in jail relating to the case. The report adds that a house Lehtera owns was raided, but he has denied involvement and has not been charged.