Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Tennis: Germany, Australia off to strong starts in Davis Cup qualifying

Former winners Germany, Australia and Serbia made solid starts on Friday in their quest to qualify for November's Davis Cup finals week in Madrid. Germany took a 2-0 lead over Hungary with ATP Finals winner Alexander Zverev, the only current top 10 player in action this weekend, beating Peter Nagy 6-2 6-2 after Philipp Kohlschreiber had given them the lead in Frankfurt. Super Bowl LIII will be the 'Super Bowl' of sports betting

Office pools be warned. Americans will be able to bet on Sunday's Super Bowl for the first time outside of Nevada without running afoul of the law. The National Football League championship game and biggest U.S. television event of the year will almost surely be the country's single biggest betting event of the year. It is expected to generate twice as much in legal wagers across the country as last year, following the opening of sportsbooks in seven more states. Lindsey Vonn to retire next week as body 'broken beyond repair'

U.S. ski great Lindsey Vonn announced on Friday she would be retiring after this month's Alpine world championships in Sweden because her body was "broken beyond repair" and screaming at her to stop. "I have accepted that I cannot continue ski racing. I will compete at the World Championships in downhill and SG (super-G) next week in Are, Sweden, and they will be the final races of my career," Vonn, 34, said on Instagram. Dynamic Rams get ready to unveil Oscar-winning performance

With a charismatic young coach, an entertaining offense and a personality-driven defense, the Los Angeles Rams are on the verge of scripting a dramatic ending to their Hollywood blockbuster when they face the New England Patriots in Sunday's Super Bowl. When the Rams returned to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, after spending the previous 21 campaigns in St. Louis, they had no idea if they would enjoy a happy homecoming. NFL: Want a Super Bowl? Build stadium and it will come

You want to host a Super Bowl? Be prepared to take on an Olympic-sized bidding process and throw in a billion or two for a new stadium to enhance your chances of staging the biggest party and sporting event in the United States. Budweiser spends big on Super Bowl, targets small markets

This Bud's for you. At least, that is what Anheuser-Busch InBev hopes as it strives to reach more than 100 million U.S. TV viewers during Sunday’s Super Bowl, promoting vintage brands such as Budweiser and Bud Light. Patriots stand firm against NFL's new era

The New England Patriots have found new ways to achieve the familiar and predictable result of reaching the Super Bowl as they burnish their claim as the most dominant NFL franchise of the modern era. In their third consecutive Super Bowl, the Patriots have joined the Buffalo Bills (1990-93) and Miami Dolphins (1971-73) as the only teams to achieve such a run. Doping: London 2012 high jump champion Ukhov among 12 Russians banned

London 2012 Olympic high jump champion Ivan Ukhov is among 12 Russian track and field athletes to be handed doping bans by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) acting for the IAAF in the absence of the banned Russian Athletics Federation (RUSAF). Ukhov and Svetlana Shkolina, who won high jump bronze in 2012 and gold at the 2013 world championships, were given four-year bans on Friday, starting from Feb. 1 2019, and retrospectively disqualified, meaning they will be stripped of their medals. Super Bowl clash of generations sets stage for 100th season

The New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams will play for a Super Bowl title on Sunday in a generational clash that could come to define an era or mark a new beginning for the National Football League. The NFL will celebrate a landmark 100th anniversary next season with either the Patriots' old guard as defending champions looking to extend their dynasty into a new century or with the kids from Los Angeles having seized the torch. Golf: Rose to take month off after missing Saudi cut

World number one Justin Rose will have a month off after missing the cut at the Saudi International on Friday. A few days after winning the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, a no-doubt jet-lagged Rose could not replicate that form in what turned out to be a hit-and-run visit to the Middle East.