Sports News Roundup: Kings halt longest playoff drought in NBA history; Wild defeats Avs to extend division lead and more

The IOC on Wednesday issued a set of recommendations for international sports federations that will allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return since their ban last year following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. NBA roundup: Kings halt longest playoff drought in NBA history Malik Monk scored 19 points off the bench and the Sacramento Kings ended the longest playoff drought in NBA history with a 120-80 thumping of the host Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Swanson returns to U.S. spotlight older and wiser ahead of World Cup

With a blockbuster 2023 that shows no sign of slowing down, United States forward Mallory Swanson has shed her early "wunderkind" image and unveiled what she calls a 'Mal 3.0' version of herself ahead of this year's Women's World Cup. The 24-year-old flicked her seventh goal of the year into the net at the SheBelieves Cup last month in an astonishing run that underlined her claim to a spot in the squad when the U.S. seek an unprecedented third straight World Cup title.

Olympics-Governments' criticism of Russia return to sport is deplorable - IOC

Criticism by some European governments of a plan to see a full return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international sport is deplorable and cuts into the autonomy of sport, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said on Thursday. The IOC on Wednesday issued a set of recommendations for international sports federations that will allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return since their ban last year following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

NBA roundup: Kings halt longest playoff drought in NBA history

Malik Monk scored 19 points off the bench and the Sacramento Kings ended the longest playoff drought in NBA history with a 120-80 thumping of the host Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. De'Aaron Fox scored 18 points, Kevin Huerter added 17 and Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings (46-30), who missed the playoffs for 16 consecutive seasons since last qualifying during the 2005-06 campaign.

Soccer-Premier League tightens owners' test to cover human rights abuses

The Premier League tightened up its owners' and directors' test on Thursday with a new rule barring anyone found to have committed human rights abuses. The changes, to apply with immediate effect, were approved unanimously by England's top-flight clubs at a shareholders meeting.

Manchester United back in the black ahead of potential sale

Manchester United swung to a second-quarter net profit on the back of higher commercial revenue and lower wages, the club said on Thursday. Net profit came in at 6.3 million pounds ($7.78 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, against a 1.4 million pound loss a year earlier.

Motor racing-Verstappen still feeling under the weather at Albert Park

Formula One champion Max Verstappen is still recovering from a stomach bug that affected his race in Saudi Arabia and is looking forward to a break after Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman finished runner-up behind Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez at Jeddah despite feeling ropey through the race weekend.

Fencing-Denmark cancels event over Russian, Belarusian participation

An international fencing event in Copenhagen has been cancelled due to the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, the Danish Fencing Federation said on Thursday. Athletes from the two countries have been banned from most elite international sporting competitions since last March in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation".

Olympics-American football closer to full Olympic recognition with IOC board approval

American football took the penultimate step needed before it can attempt to get onto the Olympic Games programme on Wednesday when it got the approval of the International Olympic Committee's powerful executive board. The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) will now need to wait for the approval of the decision by the IOC session in October in Mumbai, India.

Soccer-'Buried dreams': Players, fans dismayed as Indonesia dumped as U-20 World Cup host

Indonesian players and fans were dismayed on Thursday after the country was dropped as host of the Under-20 soccer World Cup following outrage among politicians in the predominantly Muslim nation about Israel's participation. Soccer's world governing body FIFA stripped Indonesia of hosting rights on Wednesday over what an Indonesian official said was a failure to honour its commitments to the tournament.

NHL roundup: Wild defeats Avs to extend division lead

Frederick Gaudreau netted two short-handed goals, Sam Steel and Marcus Johansson also scored and the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 on Wednesday in Denver. Filip Gustavsson made 42 saves to help the first-place Wild (44-22-9, 97 points) increase their lead in the Central Division to three points over both the Avalanche (44-24-6, 94 points) and the idle Dallas Stars (40-20-14, 94 points).

(With inputs from agencies.)