Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Sports writing legend Dan Jenkins, author of 'Semi-Tough,' dies at 89

Dan Jenkins, who specialized in covering golf and football on the pages of Sports Illustrated and in making readers laugh with satirical sports novels such as "Semi-Tough" and "Dead Solid Perfect," has died at the age of 89. Jenkins' literary agent, Esther Newberg, told Reuters in an email on Friday that Jenkins' death on Thursday was a result of him falling and breaking his hip last week at his home in Fort Worth, Texas. NBA: Former Air Force Lieutenant flying high as head of NBA referees

Retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Michelle Johnson has reached the upper echelons of two very different but equally male-dominated fields and credits her decorated military career with helping her serve as the NBA's head of referee operations. Johnson, who was the first woman to lead the U.S. Air Force Academy and one of the top women’s basketball players in school history, had no previous NBA experience when the league named her senior vice president and head of referee operations in 2017 Top women's soccer players sue U.S. Soccer for gender discrimination

All members of the reigning World Cup champion U.S. women's soccer team sued the U.S. national soccer federation on Friday, claiming the organization pays them less than male players and denies them equal training, travel and playing conditions. The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Los Angeles on International Women's Day, came three years after several players filed a similar complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Querrey shakes off sluggish start to advance at Indian Wells

American Sam Querrey bounced back from a sluggish start to claim a 7-6(5) 2-6 6-4 win over Matteo Berrettini during a windy first-round match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Thursday. The hard-hitting Californian was in a hole at 3-0, 40-0 down in the first set but rallied to break back and ultimately force a tiebreak he won to the delight of the partisan crowd. NBA notebook: Lakers reportedly to limit LeBron's workload

With the playoffs slipping further away with every loss, the Los Angeles Lakers will scale back LeBron James' minutes for the remainder of the season, multiple outlets reported Thursday. Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes, the first to report on the plan, said both the Lakers' front office and people in James' camp have agreed to limit the superstar's minutes to "in the range of 28-32 minutes per game." What's more, Haynes reported, James may sit out one side of back-to-backs, depending on how he feels. Weightlifting: Thailand to host World Championships despite voluntary ban

Thailand has voluntarily banned itself from all weightlifting, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, because of its recent doping record but will still host the 2019 World Championships, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) said on Friday. Eight Thai weightlifters tested positive for banned substances at last year's World Championships, two of whom are reigning Olympic champions. Osaka a Barbie girl, in a tennis world

Naomi Osaka, whose meteoritic rise to the top of the tennis world over the past year has included two Grand Slam titles and the world number one ranking, on Thursday said the newly unveiled Barbie in her likeness was another big honor. The 21-year-old told reporters she played with the famous Mattel dolls as a child and was proud to be part of the company's 60th anniversary campaign, which includes a more racially diverse set of figurines. NHL roundup: Wild snap Lightning's home win streak

Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk made 25 saves and Jason Zucker scored a hat trick as the visiting Wild cooled off Tampa Bay in a 3-0 win on Thursday, breaking the Lightning's eight-game home winning streak. Dubnyk recorded his second shutout this season and the 31st of his career and improved to 6-0-1 in his last seven starts for the Wild. The Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots and saw his 10-game winning streak end. Wide receiver Brown denies report of pending deal to Bills

The Pittsburgh Steelers might be ready to trade wide receiver Antonio Brown to the Buffalo Bills. Or maybe not. Tennis: Venus overcomes illness to advance at Indian Wells

Venus Williams played through illness to win a seesaw opening round match against German Andrea Petkovic 6-4 0-6 6-3 at the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday. Williams, who said she was not feeling 100 percent, saved her best tennis for the biggest moments, breaking Petkovic for a sixth time in the final game to make up for a dismal second set.