Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Motor racing: Leclerc dream and Lauda memories stir Monaco emotions

Charles Leclerc will race around his home streets in a Ferrari for the first time in Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, a boyhood dream come true, but dominant Mercedes also have sentiment on their side. The death on Monday night of Austrian Formula One great Niki Lauda, a triple world champion and non-executive director of the Mercedes team, has cast the showcase race into a different light. Athletics: Former Kenya athletics head Rotich banned for 10 years

Michael Rotich, the former head of Kenya's track and field team, has been banned from athletics for 10 years after the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) found him guilty of "dishonest and corrupt" conduct. The IAAF's ethics panel found that Rotich, who managed the Kenyan athletics team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, agreed to give advance notice of drugs tests to athletes and coaches in return for money. IOC recommends boxing keeps its place in Tokyo but not under AIBA

Boxing should keep its place at next year's Olympic Games but recognition of AIBA, the governing body of the sport's amateur version, should be suspended, the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) executive board recommended on Wednesday. The IOC said in a statement that it would instead set up a task force to organize the boxing competitions, including the qualification events to be held between January and May. Cycling: Australia's Ewan wins stage 11 of Giro d'Italia

Australia's Caleb Ewan claimed the 11th stage of the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday after a bunch sprint at the end of a 221-kilometer ride from Carpi to Novi Ligure. The Lotto-Soudal rider edged Arnaud Demare (Groupama–FDJ) and Pascal Ackermann (Bora–hansgrohe) to add to his victory on stage eight. Blues KO Sharks in Game 6, reach first Final since '70

The worst team in the entire NHL a few days into the new year completed an astounding turnaround Tuesday as the St. Louis Blues advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1970. The team that fired its coach in November and sat dead last in the NHL when the sun rose on Jan. 3 dispatched the San Jose Sharks in a six-game Western Conference final, capped by a 5-1 home-ice victory on Tuesday. The Blues will meet the Boston Bruins in the championship round. Motor racing: Hamilton exempted from media duties as F1 mourns Lauda

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was exempted from media duties at the Monaco Grand Prix on Wednesday as teams and drivers came to terms with the death of triple world champion Niki Lauda. A team spokesman said they had asked for Hamilton to be excused on the grounds that he had "lost a very close friend in Niki". Swimming: 'Iron Lady' Hosszu fired up by ISL battle

She was one of the stars of the Rio Olympics and is now leading a revolution in swimming but Hungarian triple gold medal winner Katinka Hosszu believes she has the energy to fight to win both inside and outside the pool. In an interview with Reuters, Hosszu said swimmers have had enough of the sport appearing on the global stage just once every four years at the Olympics and believes the time is right for a radical new approach. Lowry, Raptors down Bucks, level East finals

Kawhi Leonard carried the Toronto Raptors through most of the postseason. However, after Leonard played 52 minutes in Toronto's double-overtime win on Sunday and was noticeably favoring his left leg, Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said teammates knew Leonard was limited Tuesday and that the rest of them "had to step up." MLB roundup: Verlander, Astros dominate White Sox

Justin Verlander carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and Michael Brantley keyed a four-run uprising in the fifth with an opposite-field double to left as the Houston Astros claimed a 5-1 victory over the visiting Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. Verlander (8-1) flirted with his third career no-hitter, dominating the White Sox with a season-high 12 strikeouts while allowing just one baserunner entering the top of the seventh. Soccer: U.S. '99 World Cup win should have done more for women's game - Foudy

The United States' World Cup triumph on home soil in 1999 was a watershed moment for the sport but midfielder Julie Foudy had hoped it would help the women's game grow at a much faster pace. The third edition of the tournament was held in the U.S. in massive stadiums for the first time and new heights were reached for attendance, media coverage and television audiences.