Sports News Roundup: Rugby-Kicking woes a major headache for Bok coach Nienaber; Baseball-Astros Pena voted World Series most valuable player

Irving later issued a more fulsome apology late on Thursday for promoting a project he said contained "false anti-Semitic statements." Baseball-Houston Astros beat Phillies 4-1 to clinch World Series Yordan Alvarez crushed a three-run homer to power the Houston Astros past the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 on Saturday, claiming their second World Series title in six years and first since a sign-stealing scandal in 2017 tarnished their crown.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Rugby-Kicking woes a major headache for Bok coach Nienaber

South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber says his side need to improve their accuracy from the kicking tee in what has become a handicap for the Springboks in the absence of injured flyhalf Handre Pollard. The Boks started Saturday's 19-16 autumn international defeat against Ireland in Dublin with Damian Willemse on kicking duties but ended it with Cheslin Kolbe taking on an unfamiliar role. Between them they missed out on seven points.

Baseball-Astros Pena voted World Series most valuable player

Houston Astros rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena was named the World Series most valuable player on Saturday after his team beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 to clinch the Fall Classic. Pena becomes the third rookie to be named World Series MVP joining Florida Marlins Livan Hernandez in 1997 and Larry Sherry with the 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers.

NBA roundup: Celtics set team record with 27 treys

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum each hit six 3-pointers in a record-setting performance as the Boston Celtics pulled away from the host New York Knicks for a 133-118 victory Saturday night. Every Celtics player who took the court Saturday hit at least one 3-pointer, and they went 27-for-51 on treys. The 27 3-pointers were two more than the previous team record, set against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 15, and two shy of the NBA record, set by the Milwaukee Bucks against the Miami Heat on Dec. 29, 2020.

Swimming-Ledecky breaks 800m freestyle short-course world record

Ten-times Olympic medallist Katie Ledecky broke her second world record in just over a week on Saturday, beating the all-time women's short-course time in the 800 metres freestyle at the Indianapolis FINA World Cup meeting on Saturday. The American led from the start and finished in 7:57.42, shaving nearly two seconds off the previous mark set by Spain's Mireia Belmonte in 2013.

Sri Lanka's Gunathilaka arrested in Australia on sexual assault allegations

Sri Lankan cricket authorities said on Sunday that Danushka Gunathilaka, a member of their team for the T20 World Cup tournament in Australia, had been arrested in Sydney over an alleged sexual assault. Gunathilaka is due to face charges in court on Monday, Sri Lankan Cricket said. It said in a statement it would closely monitor court proceedings and, in consultation with the International Cricket Council, launch an inquiry into the matter.

NBA-Nike suspends ties with Kyrie Irving, cancels next shoe release

Nike Inc. on Friday suspended its relationship with Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving and canceled its next Irving-branded shoe release in the aftermath of his promotion of an anti-Semitic documentary. The Nets had already suspended Irving at least five games after he stopped short of fully disavowing the documentary on two occasions. Irving later issued a more fulsome apology late on Thursday for promoting a project he said contained "false anti-Semitic statements."

Baseball-Houston Astros beat Phillies 4-1 to clinch World Series

Yordan Alvarez crushed a three-run homer to power the Houston Astros past the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 on Saturday, claiming their second World Series title in six years and first since a sign-stealing scandal in 2017 tarnished their crown. After falling behind 2-1 in the best-of-seven series the Astros roared back with three straight wins, including just the second no-hitter in World Series history in Game Four.

Rugby-Wales were outmuscled by powerful All Blacks, says Pivac

Wales were largely outmuscled by New Zealand as they conceded more than 50 points in losing their test at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, coach Wayne Pivac admitted afterwards. The marauding All Blacks were back to their impressive best as they scored eight tries and a record number of points against Wales in a 55-23 win that extends their winning run against Wales to 33 successive internationals.

Soccer-Hollywood ending as LAFC beat Union in thriller to win MLS Cup

Gareth Bale scored a dramatic equalizer in extra time and backup goalkeeper John McCarthy shut out Philadelphia in a penalty shootout to lead LAFC to their first MLS Cup championship with a thrilling win on Saturday in Los Angeles. Bale, who came on as a late substitute after sitting out the playoffs with a wrist injury, rose up to head a cross from Diego Palacios over Union's Jack Elliott in the 128th minute to level at 3-3.

Tennis-Djokovic fights past Tsitsipas to reach Paris Masters final against Rune

Reigning Paris Masters champion Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in a three-set epic on Saturday to set up a title clash with Holger Rune, who reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final after a comfortable win over Felix Auger-Aliassime. Djokovic won his eighth straight match against Tsitsipas but needed more than two hours to seal a 6-2 3-6 7-6(4) victory, keeping alive a 13-match unbeaten run as well as his hopes of clinching a seventh title in Paris.