Reuters Sports News Summary

The youngster also became the first Italian player to reach an Australian Open singles final. NHL roundup: Connor McDavid leads Oilers to 15th straight win Connor McDavid scored two goals and had an assist and backup goalie Calvin Pickard stopped 27 shots, including a penalty shot for his first shutout of the season, as the Edmonton Oilers extended their franchise-record win streak to 15 games with a 3-0 victory over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Falcons hire Rams DC Raheem Morris as head coach

The Atlanta Falcons hired Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris as their head coach on Thursday. Morris, 47, beat out the likes of Bill Belichick for the job. Atlanta interviewed 14 candidates in all, including Michigan's Jim Harbaugh (now with the Los Angeles Chargers) and former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.

Alabama amateur Nick Dunlap turns pro, headed to Pebble

Sophomore golfer Nick Dunlap wiped tears with his gray Alabama jacket and went to great lengths to thank family, coaches, teammates and trainers for teeing him up for the opportunity to turn pro starting immediately. "At this time I do want to announce that I am turning professional. I am accepting PGA Tour membership and will debut at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am," Dunlap said Thursday. "A week from today, the first round starts. I'm going to continue to live here, hang out with the guys and at least live out some of my college life the rest of this year."

Women's Top 25 roundup: No. 1 South Carolina gets past No. 9 LSU

Chloe Kitts scored 14 points as No. 1 South Carolina remained undefeated and held off an upset bid by No. 9 LSU to win 76-70 in front of an announced crowd of 13,205 fans on Thursday night in Baton Rouge, La. South Carolina (18-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) extended its road winning streak to 28 games. LSU (18-3, 5-2), which hasn't beaten the AP No. 1 team since 2008, saw its 29-game home winning streak end.

Tennis-Dreamer Zheng stands between Sabalenka and second Australian Open

Aryna Sabalenka has blown all-comers off court on her march to the final of the Australian Open and China's Zheng Qinwen will need to produce something extraordinary to deprive her of back-to-back titles on Rod Laver Arena on Saturday. The Belarusian is the first woman since Serena Williams in the middle of the last decade to reach consecutive finals and, while she has a long way to go to match feats of the American great, they do have something in common.

Tennis-Hsieh, Zielinski in thrilling mixed doubles win at Australian Open

Taiwanese-Polish duo Hsieh Su-wei and Jan Zielinski won a match tiebreaker to claim the Australian Open mixed doubles title on Friday, with an nail-biting 6-7(5) 6-4 (11-9) victory over American Desirae Krawczyk and Britain's Neal Skupski. The victory earned Hsieh her first mixed doubles Grand Slam title, and the 38-year-old is also in the running to win her seventh major women's doubles trophy, having reached the final Down Under with partner Elise Mertens.

Tennis-Sensational Sinner dethrones Djokovic to reach Australian Open final

Jannik Sinner downed defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3 at the Australian Open on Friday to hand the top seed a first defeat at his Melbourne Park fortress in six years and power into his maiden Grand Slam final. Sinner's masterclass in the opening two sets set the wheels in motion for Djokovic's only defeat in the semi-finals of his favourite major. The youngster also became the first Italian player to reach an Australian Open singles final.

NHL roundup: Connor McDavid leads Oilers to 15th straight win

Connor McDavid scored two goals and had an assist and backup goalie Calvin Pickard stopped 27 shots, including a penalty shot for his first shutout of the season, as the Edmonton Oilers extended their franchise-record win streak to 15 games with a 3-0 victory over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night. The 15-game win streak tied the New York Islanders (1981-82) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (2012-13) for the third longest in NHL history. Pittsburgh holds the record with a 17-gamer in 1992-93 while Columbus had a 16-game win streak in 2016-17.

Wizards, under new management, fall to Jazz

Lauri Markkanen and John Collins had big nights to help the Utah Jazz snap a three-game losing streak with a 123-108 road win over the Washington Wizards on Thursday night. Markkanen scored 29 points, sinking six 3-pointers, and Collins totaled 22 points and 16 rebounds as Utah improved to 1-2 on its six-game road trip.

NFL-Bills' Hamlin named finalist for Comeback Player of the Year

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was named a finalist for the National Football League's Comeback Player of the Year award on Thursday following his return this season after suffering cardiac arrest during a January 2023 game. Hamlin, who had his heartbeat restored on the field, made a remarkable recovery as he was discharged from hospital after nine days and cleared for full football activities three months later.

New Titans coach Brian Callahan ready to call plays for QB Will Levis

Brian Callahan has been around some great quarterbacks in his 14 years as an NFL assistant coach. As he takes over as head coach of the Tennessee Titans and starts calling plays for the first time, he is hoping second-year quarterback Will Levis becomes something akin to Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford or Joe Burrow.