Sports News Roundup: Soccer-Australia players back coach Arnold to continue after best World Cup; Nike cuts ties with Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving and more

Unfancied Australia won two matches for the first time at a World Cup finals before bowing out in the round of 16 against Argentina. Nike cuts ties with Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving Nike Inc said on Monday it has cut ties with Kyrie Irving, a month after suspending its relationship with the Brooklyn Nets star in the aftermath of his promotion of an anti-Semitic documentary.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Australia players back coach Arnold to continue after best World Cup

Australia players have endorsed Graham Arnold to continue as coach after the Socceroos' best World Cup performance in Qatar. Unfancied Australia won two matches for the first time at a World Cup finals before bowing out in the round of 16 against Argentina.

Nike cuts ties with Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving

Nike Inc said on Monday it has cut ties with Kyrie Irving, a month after suspending its relationship with the Brooklyn Nets star in the aftermath of his promotion of an anti-Semitic documentary. Irving faced heavy criticism after he posted a link to the 2018 documentary film on Twitter in late October and later defended the post. The seven-time All Star has since deleted the post and apologized.

Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt top All-MLB teams

Most Valuable Player honorees Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Paul Goldschmidt of the St. Louis Cardinals were among the selections for the All-MLB first team, which was announced Monday. The first- and second-team choices were determined by a vote of fans, media members, ex-players and baseball officials. The awards are in their fourth year, and Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman became the only player selected all four years. He made the first team in 2020 and the second team in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

Analysis-Soccer-Agony in Qatar again as Samurai Blue fail to find World Cup nerve

For a team that beat Germany and Spain in the group stages, Japan's three horrendous misses in Monday's penalty shootout defeat by Croatia underline how the Samurai Blue still lack the nerve to make a deep World Cup run. Japan oozed confidence against 2018 runners-up Croatia, relentless in attack and steadfast in defence in a tense match. But they crumbled when it mattered most, failing in their attempt to reach the quarter-finals for the fourth time in two decades.

NHL roundup: Knights snap Bruins' home win streak

Reilly Smith scored in the fifth round of the shootout as the visiting Vegas Golden Knights held off the Boston Bruins for a 4-3 win on Monday night, ending the Bruins' historic home win streak. Boston was 14-0-0 on home ice this season -- the longest home winning streak to begin a season in NHL history -- before former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy's club took two points.

New Zealand says self-identity enough for transgender athletes in community sport

Transgender athletes will be able to participate in community sport in New Zealand in the gender they identify with and not need to prove or justify their identity, according to guiding principles released by Sport New Zealand (SNZ) on Tuesday. The guidelines do not apply to elite sport and it will be up to individual sports to define where and how transgender athletes participate, the governing body said.

Rugby-England coach Jones to be sacked, say UK media

The Rugby Football Union is expected to make an announcement on Tuesday or Wednesday regarding the future of coach Eddie Jones, with widespread media reports suggesting the Australian is to be sacked in the wake of the team's poor run. Jones met his RFU bosses on Monday following a review of England's November series when they were booed off at Twickenham after losing to South Africa, following another defeat against Argentina, a draw against New Zealand and a victory over Japan.

NBA roundup: Rockets outlast Sixers in double OT

alen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. combined for 51 points as the Houston Rockets extended their homecourt winning streak to three games with a 132-123 double-overtime victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. Green paired a team-high 27 points with seven assists while Porter added 24 points and six rebounds. Porter, Eric Gordon (14 points) and Jabari Smith Jr. (16 points, 11 rebounds) nailed 3-pointers in the second overtime to help Houston send the 76ers to their third straight loss.

Analysis-Soccer-It's just like watching Brazil

Brazil produced a footballing masterclass as they hammered South Korea 4-1 in their World Cup last-16 match that brought back sweet memories for fans around the world who have been waiting for the return of Brazilian swagger on the pitch. Animated by a soundtrack of samba drums and rhythmic dancing cascading down from the stands of the 974 Stadium, Brazil enjoyed themselves while toying with a team that had progressed at the expense of Ghana and Uruguay and had beaten Portugal.

Athletics-McLaughlin, Duplantis named world athletes of the year

American Sydney McLaughlin and Sweden's Armand "Mondo" Duplantis were named World Athletes of the Year on Monday, after a record-breaking 2022 that saw them each collect gold a the world championships. McLaughlin whipped the Eugene, Oregon, crowd into a frenzy when she won the 400 meters hurdles in a breathtaking 50.68 seconds, shattering her own record that she set less than a month earlier at the same track.