Sports News Roundup: Horse racing-US horse racing authority seeks to vacate 'unconstitutional' ruling; Back Down Under, Novak Djokovic bears no ill will over deportation and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Horse racing-US horse racing authority seeks to vacate 'unconstitutional' ruling

Lawyers will ask a federal appeals court to vacate its ruling that a law designed to make horse racing safer was unconstitutional after changes to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act were adopted on Thursday. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) was created by Congress in 2020 to replace the state-by-state patchwork of regulations with national rules following a series of high-profile doping scandals and horse deaths.

Back Down Under, Novak Djokovic bears no ill will over deportation

Novak Djokovic is back in Australia and the 21-time Grand Slam champion maintains that he harbors no bitterness or ill will over last January's deportation. The unvaccinated Djokovic had his visa canceled due to his COVID-19 status and he lost an appeal just before the start of the Australian Open. But the country waived his three-year travel ban in November to open the door for his return and the nine-time Australian Open champion is doing his best to move on from the messy ordeal.

NHL roundup: Aleksander Barkov (3 goals, 2 assists) powers Panthers

Aleksander Barkov scored a first-period hat trick and also had two assists and Matthew Tkachuk added two goals and two assists as the Florida Panthers cruised to a 7-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday in Sunrise, Fla. Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist, Eetu Luostarinen scored a goal and Brandon Montour added three assists for Florida, which snapped a three-game losing streak while producing a season-high goal total.

Soccer-Mbappe dismisses Argentina keeper Martinez's "futile" World Cup taunts

France striker Kylian Mbappe has shrugged off Argentina keeper Emiliano Martinez's taunts after the World Cup final, saying he did not "waste energy on such futile things" as he awaited the return of Paris Saint Germain team mate Lionel Messi. Mbappe became the second player to score a World Cup final hat-trick as he dragged his country back into the match with a late second-half double and an extra-time penalty, which was still not enough as Argentina prevailed in a shootout.

Pele or Maradona? Debate will continue raging over who was greater

Before Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo came along, the enduring debate in soccer about who was the greatest player centered on two men: Pele and Diego Maradona. It was an argument that played out for years on terraces and in bars, on radio and on television.

Pele, Brazil's sublimely skilled soccer star who charmed the world, dead at 82

Pele, the magical Brazilian soccer star who rose from barefoot poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history, died at the age of 82, his daughter said on Instagram on Thursday. He had been in and out of hospital in recent months after a tumor was found on his colon.

NHL-Crosby named to Order of Canada, country's highest honour

Three-times Stanley Cup champion Sidney Crosby will be appointed as an officer of the Order of Canada, officials announced on Thursday, one of the country's highest honours. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain is widely regarded as being among the greatest ever to take the ice after helping Canada win two Olympic gold medals and is among 99 new appointments.

Soccer star Pele, Brazilian legend of the beautiful game, dies at 82

Pele, the legendary Brazilian soccer player who rose from barefoot poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history, died on Thursday at the age of 82. Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein hospital, where Pele was undergoing treatment, said he died at 3:27 p.m. "due to multiple organ failures resulting from the progression of colon cancer associated with his previous medical condition."

NBA roundup: Luka Doncic's second straight triple-double carries Mavs

Luka Doncic recorded his eighth triple-double of the season, while Christian Wood scored 12 of his 21 points in the third period as the host Dallas Mavericks sprinted past the Houston Rockets 129-114 on Thursday for their fifth consecutive victory. Doncic finished with 35 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists to lead a Mavericks offense that shot 51.6 percent overall while producing a 25-5 advantage in fast-break points. Doncic was coming off a historic 60-21-10 line against the Knicks two nights earlier.

Cricket-India wicketkeeper Pant 'stable' after fiery car crash

India cricketer Rishabh Pant is in a stable condition in hospital following a car crash in the early hours of Friday morning. Police said the wicketkeeper-batsman, who was alone in the car when it crashed in the northern state of Uttarakhand, had lost control of the vehicle when he "dozed off". The car flipped over twice, police added.