Exciting Sports Updates: LeBron's Advice, Doping Investigations, and More

Get insights on LeBron's advice to Caitlin Clark, US House doping investigations, MLB's Pirates-Giants clash, Venus Williams' Barbie doll, and French Open contenders. Also, updates on College Football Playoff broadcast, Knicks' surgeries, Ravens' Lamar Jackson's new weight, and Coco Gauff's French Open preparations.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Words of wisdom: LeBron James offers advice to Caitlin Clark

LeBron James knows a thing or two about having great expectations thrust upon him before he even entered a professional basketball league. With that in mind, the Los Angeles Lakers star offered some advice to Caitlin Clark as the latter navigates her way through the early stages of her WNBA career.

Doping-House members call for DOJ, IOC investigations into Chinese doping case

A U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to launch inquiries ahead of this summer's Paris Olympics into a doping case involving Chinese swimmers. Earlier this month, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed that 23 Chinese swimmers avoided sanctions after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

MLB roundup: Pirates stun Giants with late outburst

Nick Gonzales hit a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning after Pittsburgh tied the score with four runs in the ninth, lifting the Pirates to a 7-6 victory over the visiting San Francisco Giants on Tuesday. Gonzales singled up the middle on the first pitch of the inning from Erik Miller (0-2), scoring automatic runner Michael A. Taylor from second base.

Venus Williams among sporting figures to get own Barbie doll

Seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams and Australian soccer player Mary Fowler are among nine athletes to get a Barbie doll in their likeness as toy maker Mattel seeks to shine a light on women sports role models ahead of the Paris Olympics. Mattel unveiled the dolls on Wednesday, each with their bespoke accessories. Fowler's wears gloves and holds a football while Williams' doll, dressed in an all white tennis dress and visor as well as wearing earrings, comes with a miniature racket.

Tennis-Collins, Jabeur outside shots for maiden Grand Slam title at French Open

Iga Swiatek's victory at this month's Italian Open has nailed down her status as pre-tournament favourite ahead of the French Open, while Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have also been in fine form in the build-up to the clay-court Grand Slam. However, should any of the "Big Three" on the women's tour falter at Roland Garros, there are a few promising contenders ready to step up.

Cardinals rally for rare series sweep of Orioles

Brendan Donovan hit a two-run double as the St. Louis Cardinals rallied past the visiting Baltimore Orioles 5-4 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep. That snapped the Orioles' streak of 106 series of two-plus decisions without being swept. The streak -- the third-longest in National League/American League history -- started in May 2022.

Warner Bros Discovery's TNT signs deal with ESPN for College Football Playoff

Warner Bros Discovery's TNT network has signed a five-year deal with Walt Disney-owned ESPN to broadcast select College Football Playoff games, starting from the upcoming college football season. Walt Disney said on Wednesday TNT will present two-round games for two years and include two quarter-final through 2028 season.

Knicks' Jalen Brunson, Bojan Bogdanovic undergo surgeries

New York Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson and forward Bojan Bogdanovic underwent surgeries to repair their respective injuries and will be re-evaluated in six to eight weeks, the team announced Wednesday. Brunson fractured his left hand during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the visiting Indiana Pacers on Sunday. He said he was hurt when his hand hit Tyrese Haliburton as the Pacers' guard went up for a layup in the third quarter.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson aims to be more elusive at lighter weight

Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson, the most prolific running quarterback in the league, aims to make it even tougher on opposing defenses this coming season. Coming off his second NFL Most Valuable Player award, Jackson has lost weight and appears slimmer at the team's OTAs this week. Though he didn't reveal his exact weight Wednesday, saying it was "two something," Jackson had said in a video posted by Complex Sports last week that he was at 205 pounds.

Tennis-Gauff brings self-belief to latest French Open campaign

World number three Coco Gauff will take lessons learned from a challenging clay court swing to Roland Garros, as she looks to build on her Grand Slam breakthrough last year at the U.S. Open. The 20-year-old American has not won a clay court tournament since 2021 and had focused all her efforts on ending that barren run before her latest French Open campaign.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)