Sports News Roundup: Motor racing-Alonso sets wet F1 practice pace in Japan; Athletics-Nageotte, Johnson-Thompson nominated for Fair Play Award and more

Messi, who will be playing his fifth World Cup in Qatar, told Star+ he is feeling nervous ahead of the tournament but is in positive mood. Baseball-Five things to watch for in the MLB playoffs The expanded Major League Baseball playoffs will for the first time feature 12 teams fighting for a World Series glory including the favored Los Angeles Dodgers, the defending champion Atlanta Braves and surprising Cleveland Guardians.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Motor racing-Alonso sets wet F1 practice pace in Japan

Alpine's Fernando Alonso set the fastest time in a wet opening practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday. The Spaniard lapped the soaked Suzuka track in one minute, 42.248 seconds ahead of compatriot Carlos Sainz in his Ferrari.

Athletics-Nageotte, Johnson-Thompson nominated for Fair Play Award

Olympic pole vault champion Katie Nageotte and Commonwealth Games heptathlon winner Katarina Johnson-Thompson have been named among the nominees for the International Fair Play Committee's Fair Play Award, World Athletics said on Thursday. American Nageotte drew praise for helping Holly Bradshaw after the Briton injured herself during this year's world championships in Eugene, later defending her fellow competitor on social media over her withdrawal from the event.

Soccer-Messi is counting the days until the World Cup

Argentina captain Lionel Messi has said he is counting the days until the World Cup and believes his team has a good chance of winning the tournament. Messi, who will be playing his fifth World Cup in Qatar, told Star+ he is feeling nervous ahead of the tournament but is in a positive mood.

Baseball-Five things to watch for in the MLB playoffs

The expanded Major League Baseball playoffs will for the first time feature 12 teams fighting for World Series glory including the favored Los Angeles Dodgers, the defending champion Atlanta Braves and the surprising Cleveland Guardians. Here are five things to watch for when the postseason gets underway on Friday:

Soccer-U.S. players 'angry, exhausted' after report on abuse, says Rapinoe

Megan Rapinoe said on Thursday she and her fellow U.S. women's national team members are angry and exhausted in the wake of a scathing report into allegations of abuse and sexual misconduct in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The independent investigation released on Monday revealed player abuse within women's professional soccer in the United States was systemic and that the NWSL and governing U.S. Soccer body failed to adequately protect players.

MLB playoffs: Under-the-radar postseason performers for all 12 teams

Every baseball postseason, there is an unsung hero who delivers a walk-off home run, makes a game-saving catch or comes out of the bullpen to close out a game. Those players etch their names in baseball lore -- players like Bill Mazeroski, Bucky Dent, Kirk Gibson, Joe Carter, Aaron Boone, David Freese and Don Larsen, to name a few.

Motorcycling-British great Phil Read dies aged 83

Britain's Phil Read, the first motorcycle rider to win world championships in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc grand Prix categories, died on Thursday aged 83, his family said. Read, who competed in the world championship from 1961 to 1976, was a seven-time world champion and an eight-times winner at the Isle of Man TT races.

Indonesia police say 6 facing criminal charges over soccer stampede

Six people including police and match organizers are facing criminal charges in Indonesia over a stampede at a soccer game at the weekend that killed at least 131 people, the country's police chief said on Thursday. Saturday's stampede in the Malang region of East Java was among the world's worst sporting disasters, as hundreds of soccer fans tried to flee a stadium riot and the firing of tear gas by police, leading to a crush worsened by several locked exits.

LeBron James wants to own NBA expansion team in Las Vegas

LeBron James made his post-retirement goals clear: He wants to own an NBA team, and he wants it in Las Vegas. "I would love to bring a team here at some point," he told reporters after scoring 23 points in the Los Angeles Lakers loss to the Phoenix Suns in a preseason game played Wednesday night in Las Vegas.

No world ranking points for next 2 LIV events despite MENA deal

The Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) organization released a statement Thursday saying that no world rankings points will be given to LIV golfers over their next two events , despite the partnership the circuit struck with the MENA Tour. LIV Golf on Wednesday announced its "strategic alliance" with MENA (Middle East and North Africa), which is recognized by the OWGR.