Sports News Roundup: Formula One statistics for the Miami Grand Prix; Cubs' Shota Imanaga stellar again in win and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Motor racing-Formula One statistics for the Miami Grand Prix

Statistics for Sunday's Miami Grand Prix at the Hard Rock Stadium, round six of the 24-race Formula One championship:

Lap distance: 5.412km. Total distance: 308.326km (57 laps)

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce 'extremely grateful' for new deal

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce wanted more money but was not interested in executing a leverage play as a means to get it. Kelce, as it turns out, got what he wanted as the Chiefs reworked his contract, pumping up his salary to $34.25 million over the next two seasons. The $17.125 million per year represents the highest average annual salary among all NFL tight ends.

Doping-USADA slams WADA for 'half-truths' in China doping case

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) criticised the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Wednesday for "doubling down on half-truths", after the global body published a document outlining its handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers.

WADA has been under fire since the New York Times reported last month that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) ahead of the Tokyo Games in 2021 but were allowed to compete after being cleared by a Chinese inquiry.

NBA-Wembanyama's Spurs to play two games in Paris next season

Victor Wembanyama will return to his native France in January as his San Antonio Spurs will play two regular season games against the Indiana Pacers in Paris, the National Basketball Association said on Thursday. The games on Jan. 23 and Jan. 25 will mark the first time the NBA has held two regular-season games in the French capital in the same season. The NBA did not disclose venues for the games.

MLB roundup: Cubs' Shota Imanaga stellar again in win

Rookie Shota Imanaga had another strong start and Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the fifth inning Wednesday night as the visiting Chicago Cubs beat the New York Mets 1-0. Nico Hoerner had two hits and a stolen base for the Cubs, who have won two of the first three games of the four-game series. Jeff McNeil collected a pair of hits for the Mets, who have lost seven of 10.

Motor racing-Verstappen chases Miami hat-trick as Newey makes headlines

Red Bull's Max Verstappen can complete a hat-trick of Miami Grand Prix victories on Sunday but the announced departure of his team's star designer Adrian Newey is the big talking point going into the weekend. The sixth round of the season is, for the second weekend in a row, run to the sprint format with only one practice session and a 100km race on Saturday before qualifying for the main event.

Comcast pulls Bally Sports channels, imperiling US broadcaster's restructuring

Cable provider Comcast stopped broadcasting Bally Sports channels on Wednesday, taking some MLB games off the air and imperiling the bankruptcy restructuring of the sports channels' operating company. Diamond Sports, a Sinclair subsidiary that broadcasts nearly half of all MLB, NHL and NBA games, has said that its bankruptcy restructuring depends on renewed deals with three major cable partners, including Comcast, that provide 80% of the company's revenue.

Boxing-Garcia denies doping before Haney fight

American super lightweight boxer Ryan Garcia has denied taking a banned performance-enhancing substance before his victory over WBC world champion Devin Haney in New York last month. ESPN, citing a leaked letter from the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), reported on Wednesday that Garcia had tested positive for ostarine on the day before and day of the fight.

Steven Stamkos covets return to Tampa Bay for 17th season

Steven Stamkos has spent all 16 of his NHL seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning and he's highly interested in continuing the relationship. Stamkos, 34, is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. But he said he had a preliminary conversation with Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois after Tampa Bay was eliminated from the postseason Monday night.

Swiatek dismantles Keys to reach second straight Madrid final

Top seed Iga Swiatek made light work of Madison Keys to book a place in back-to-back finals of the Madrid Open as she beat the American 6-1 6-3 after 70 minutes in the semi-finals on Thursday. Up next for Swiatek is the winner of the clash between second seed Aryna Sabalenka and number four Elena Rybakina, who meet later on Thursday.

(With inputs from agencies.)