Sports News Roundup: Motor racing-Buzz and smiles growing after Mercedes tops Canada practice; MLB roundup: Red Sox thrash Yankees 15-5 and more

Schauffele birdied the difficult final two holes at the Los Angeles Country Club on Friday to follow up his history-making opening round 62 with an even par 70 and sit two back of leader Rickie Fowler. Soccer-Southgate and Alexander-Arnold delighted with midfield switch England coach Gareth Southgate said he plans to give Trent Alexander-Arnold more opportunities in midfield after the Liverpool right back starred in the role during Friday's 4-0 victory over Malta in their Euro 2024 qualifier.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

NBA-League suspends Morant 25 games over alleged firearm video

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has suspended Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant 25 games without pay after finding he "intentionally and prominently" displayed a firearm in a live-streamed video on May 13. The two-time All-Star was previously suspended for eight games in March after he appeared in another social media video holding a firearm at a nightclub.

Motor racing-Buzz and smiles growing after Mercedes tops Canada practice

Lewis Hamilton played down an impressive practice session at the Canadian Grand Prix on Friday, but the buzz and momentum is still building around the Mercedes with the seven-times world champion back at the top of the timing sheets.

Back at one of his all-time favourite tracks it was like old times for Hamilton, a seven-timer winner at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, leading a Mercedes one-two ahead of team mate George Russell that offered signs and a bit of hope that finally a challenger to mighty Red Bull might be emerging.

MLB roundup: Red Sox thrash Yankees 15-5

Justin Turner tied a career high with six RBIs and Masataka Yoshida posted his first career four-hit game as the host Boston Red Sox rolled past the New York Yankees 15-5 on Friday night. Turner went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and a grand slam as Boston compiled a season-high 17 hits.

Golf-Schauffele maintains focus to stay in the mix at U.S. Open

Xander Schauffele said a quick pep talk with himself after he endured a stretch of three back-nine bogeys helped him shift the momentum and stay in the mix for a first U.S. Open title. Schauffele birdied the difficult final two holes at the Los Angeles Country Club on Friday to follow up his history-making opening round 62 with an even par 70 and sit two back of leader Rickie Fowler.

Soccer-Southgate and Alexander-Arnold delighted with midfield switch

England coach Gareth Southgate said he plans to give Trent Alexander-Arnold more opportunities in midfield after the Liverpool right back starred in the role during Friday's 4-0 victory over Malta in their Euro 2024 qualifier. Alexander-Arnold thrived in a hybrid midfield role for Liverpool in the final months of the 2022-23 season and was at his creative best against Malta in his first international start for a year, scoring a long-range goal and playing a part in two others.

Soccer-Scolari comes out of retirement to coach Atletico Mineiro

World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has agreed to another stint in the dugout, coming out of retirement on Friday to take over at Brazilian Serie A club Atletico Mineiro until December 2024. The 74-year-old left his job as technical director at Athletico Paranaense to sign on at the Belo Horizonte-based club, where he succeeds Argentine coach Eduardo Coudet.

Golf-Fowler stays hot to maintain U.S. Open lead

Rickie Fowler continued to make U.S. Open history at the Los Angeles Country Club on Friday with another birdie blitz that saw the fan favourite take a one-shot lead into the weekend. Fowler followed up his record-breaking first round 62 with a rollercoaster 68 that mixed eight birdies with six bogeys to sit 10-under par after 36 holes, one clear of fellow American Wyndham Clark.

Soccer-Fringe players' discipline pleases Klinsmann despite defeat

South Korea coach Juergen Klinsmann praised the efforts of his fringe players despite seeing a side missing key duo Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae slip to a 1-0 defeat against Peru on Friday. Tottenham Hotspur's Son was ruled out of the friendly in Busan due to injury while Napoli defender Kim was not included in the squad for the current window due to his requirement to complete mandatory military training.

Golf-Fan favorite Fowler seeks to revive career with U.S. Open run

Rickie Fowler, in the midst of reviving a golf career once brimming with promise, took a another major step in his journey back to relevance as he held the outright U.S. Open lead after a seesaw second round on Friday. Fowler has not won a PGA Tour title since 2019 and sank to a career-low 185th in the rankings last September. Yet all along, the Californian has remained one of the game's most popular players due in part to his contemporary fashion sense on the fairways.

Golf-Spieth, Thomas headline notable players to miss U.S. Open cut

Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Max Homa will miss out on a chance at major glory this weekend as they all failed to take advantage of unusually low U.S. Open scoring conditions and missed the halfway cut on Friday. The trio, all in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking, had one under-par round between them through two days of the U.S. Open and were among the more notable players to finish outside the two-over-par cutline.