Sports News Roundup: Soccer-Popp double sends Germany into Euro final; Motor racing-Mercedes have many more upgrades in the pipeline and more

The 31-year-old, a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) star who has played in Russia during the league's offseason, was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Feb. 17 with vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. Report: NBA will not have vaccination mandate in 2022-23 After some high-profile vaccine-related absences from games last season, the NBA will not have a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for players in 2022-23, Yahoo Sports reported Tuesday, citing a memo from the league office it had obtained.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Popp double sends Germany into Euro final

Prolific striker Alexandra Popp scored twice as Germany beat France 2-1 in their Euro 2022 semi-final on Wednesday to set up a clash with hosts England in Sunday's final at Wembley. The Germans, eight times European champions, will take on an England team on a high after their 4-0 thrashing of Sweden in Tuesday's other semi.

Motor racing-Mercedes have many more upgrades in the pipeline

Mercedes have many more upgrades to come as they seek to close in on Formula One leader's Red Bull and Ferrari, strategy boss James Vowles said on Wednesday. The defending world champions brought new parts to last weekend's French Grand Prix and Vowles said they were 'incremental'.

U.S. says 'substantial offer' on the table for Russia to release detainees Griner, Whelan

The United States has made "a substantial offer" to Russia to release U.S. citizens detained there, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, adding he would press his Russian counterpart to respond in a conversation planned for the coming days. Washington offered Moscow a deal to bring home WNBA star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan weeks ago, Blinken told reporters and hoped to advance the process when he speaks to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Rugby-Red card trial to continue in Rugby Championship

Southern hemisphere nations have agreed to continue their trial of the 20-minute red card rule in the Rugby Championship with the hope it will be adopted globally in the future, governing body SANZAAR said on Thursday. The rule allows red-carded players to be replaced after 20 minutes by another player rather than condemn teams to play out matches a man short.

Soccer-Palace sign U.S. international Richards from Bayern

Crystal Palace has signed American international defender Chris Richards from Bayern Munich on a five-year contract, both clubs said on Wednesday. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. BBC reported Palace will pay an initial 8.5 million pounds ($10.33 million) for the 22-year-old center-back, with the fee rising to 11 million pounds with add-ons.

Cycling-Jubilant Danes celebrate Tour-winner Vingegaard in Copenhagen

Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard was clearly moved as he was celebrated by thousands of jubilant Danes on Wednesday in Copenhagen where the world's biggest cycling race kicked off nearly a month ago. "It's fantastic. I'm almost completely speechless. I don't know what to say," Vingegaard said, before stepping onto a balcony where he was greeted by a throng of flag-waving Danes on Copenhagen town hall square.

Golf-Trump to play LIV Golf pro-am with Johnson and DeChambeau

Former U.S. President Donald Trump and son Eric will play a LIV Golf pro-am event with major championship winners Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau at his Bedminster, New Jersey, a course on Thursday, a source with the Saudi Arabia-funded series said. The pro-am at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster will be held the day before the third event of the LIV Golf Invitational Series -- which is already disrupting the dynamics of men's professional golf -- takes place on the same course.

'No one explained any of it' - Griner relives her arrest in Russian trial

U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner told a Russian court on Wednesday she was not read her rights when detained at a Moscow airport in February, as she stands trial for drug charges that could see her face up to 10 years in prison. The 31-year-old, a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) star who has played in Russia during the league's offseason, was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Feb. 17 with vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Report: NBA will not have a vaccination mandate in 2022-23

After some high-profile vaccine-related absences from games last season, the NBA will not have a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for players in 2022-23, Yahoo Sports reported Tuesday, citing a memo from the league office it had obtained. The league will "strongly suggest" team personnel stay up-to-date with vaccinations, per the report. Discussions between the league and the NBA Players Association remain ongoing about whether unvaccinated players will be subject to periodic COVID-19 testing during the upcoming season. Last season, the NBA did not require that all players be vaccinated against COVID-19, but unvaccinated players or players who did not receive a booster dose were subject to certain protocols, such as game-day testing. Players were also held accountable for mandates from states with their own vaccination requirements. While the NBA said 95 percent of its players were vaccinated heading into last season, one of the players who was not made frequent news. The Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving refused to be vaccinated and missed the first three months of the season. Even when Irving did return on Jan. 5, he could only play in road games because of local mandates in New York. He finally played his first home game on March 27, but the Nets were eventually bounced from the first round of the playoffs by a Boston Celtics sweep. Another player who was not vaccinated was the Philadelphia 76ers' Matisse Thybulle, who had to miss three games of his team's first-round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors. While a majority of the most stringent COVID-19 rules and mandates have been lifted throughout the United States, Canada still requires all persons entering the country to have been vaccinated against COVID-19. --Field Level Media

Soccer-Proud Popp leads Germany to Euros final

Alexandra Popp missed the last two women's European Championships through injuries but the German skipper has more than made up for it with six goals in this edition following a double in Wednesday's semi-final win over France. Eight-time champions Germany beat France 2-1 with Popp scoring the opener in the first half and the winner in the second to book a spot in Sunday's final at Wembley against hosts England.

(With inputs from agencies.)