Sports News Roundup: Verstappen takes his fourth pole in a row; Astros demolish Cardinals 14-0 and more

The seven-times world champion, whose Mercedes team won eight constructors' titles in a row from 2014-21, said on Thursday Red Bull's dominance was such that they could stop developing their current car already to focus on 2024. Cycling-Tour de France organisers ready to adapt amid riots Tour de France organisers are ready to adjust to any situation amid the riots that have erupted in the country following the fatal shooting of a teenager by police, race director Christian Prudhomme said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Poland arrests Russian ice-hockey player on spying charges

Poland has detained a Russian professional ice-hockey player on spying charges, prosecutors said on Friday, describing him as the 14th person that had been arrested from one espionage network. The player for a first division Polish team was taken into custody in the southern Polish region of Silesia, prosecutors said in a statement. The player and his team were not publicly identified. Prosecutors said he had arrived in Poland in October, 2021.

Motor racing-Williams complete management structure with technical head

Williams have completed their top management structure with the appointment of a chief technical officer, team principal James Vowles said on Friday without identifying the new signing. Former champions Williams have been without a chief technical officer since the departure of Paddy Lowe in 2019, and also need a technical director following the exit last year of Francois-Xavier Demaison.

Cycling-Padding to be installed on Tour descent amid growing safety concerns

Tour de France organisers will install padding on the trickiest section of the descent from the Col de la Loze on the 17th stage as part of a global effort to improve riders' safety following the death of Gino Mader. The decision to use padding was made before Swiss rider Mader died in a high-speed crash in a descent at the Tour de Suisse this month.

Motor racing-Horner dismisses Hamilton's rule change suggestion

Red Bull boss Christian Horner enjoyed a dig at Lewis Hamilton's expense on Friday while dismissing his suggestion teams should be forced to wait until a certain point in the Formula One season before starting work on next year's car. The seven-times world champion, whose Mercedes team won eight constructors' titles in a row from 2014-21, said on Thursday Red Bull's dominance was such that they could stop developing their current car already to focus on 2024.

Cycling-Tour de France organisers ready to adapt amid riots

Tour de France organisers are ready to adjust to any situation amid the riots that have erupted in the country following the fatal shooting of a teenager by police, race director Christian Prudhomme said on Friday. "We are in constant liaison with the State services and we are following the situation and how it has been evolving," Prudhomme told reporters.

Tennis-WTA chief says 'big issues' going to Saudi Arabia, but ruling nothing out

Saudi Arabia still poses "big issues" as a host for Women's Tennis Tour events but the organisation's chairman and CEO Steve Simon says they are engaging with players and evaluating whether to follow other sports to the Gulf state. "We haven't made any decisions or entered in to any formal negotiations. They're talking to a lot of people and a lot of different sports right now. We're evaluating like everybody else," Simon told reporters at an event in London to mark the 50th anniversary of the formation of the WTA.

Motor racing-Verstappen takes his fourth pole in a row

Red Bull's Formula One leader Max Verstappen took pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday while team mate and closest title rival Sergio Perez qualified only 15th after having a lap deleted. The pole was Verstappen's fourth in a row, while Mexican Perez, 69 points behind Verstappen after eight races all won by Red Bull, failed to make the top 10 for the fourth race in succession.

MLB roundup: Astros demolish Cardinals 14-0

Kyle Tucker drove in five runs and Alex Bregman hit a grand slam as the visiting Houston Astros routed the St. Louis Cardinals 14-0 on Thursday. Tucker hit a two-run single and a three-run homer as the Astros won their second straight game to claim the three-game series. Jose Abreu drove in two runs and Jose Altuve had an RBI single, two walks and two runs.

Alive and kicking for now, but isolated Russian football risks going backwards

Isolated from European and international competitions, Russian football risks going backwards, one of the country's leading sports broadcasters told Reuters, but must keep knocking on doors to try and find a way back. Both European soccer body UEFA and global football's governing body FIFA decided that all Russian teams - national or club sides - would be suspended from participation in their competitions following Moscow's decision to despatch troops to Ukraine in February 2022.

Tennis-Djokovic to face Cachin in Wimbledon opener, Rybakina up against Rogers

Defending women's champion Elena Rybakina will face American Shelby Rogers in the opening round at Wimbledon while men's second seed Novak Djokovic will begin his title defence against Argentina's 67th-ranked Pedro Cachin. Friday's draw at the All England Club pitched women's top seed Iga Swiatek against China's 33rd-ranked Zhu Lin, a potentially tricky first hurdle for the Pole.