Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. NFL notebook: Multiple contenders lose players for season

Week 14 proved to be a particularly painful one in the NFL, as numerous players went down with season-ending injuries. And contenders weren't immune from the damage -- particularly in the NFC West. San Francisco starting center Weston Richburg will miss the rest of the season after sustaining a torn right patellar tendon in his team's 48-46 road win over the New Orleans Saints, coach Kyle Shanahan announced Monday afternoon. Andreescu named Canada's athlete of the year after breakout season

Bianca Andreescu was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's athlete of the year on Monday, capping a remarkable year in which the teenager became the country's first tennis Grand Slam singles champion with her U.S. Open triumph. Andreescu, an unknown quantity to most in Canada a year ago, was a unanimous pick after a breakout season in which she upset Serena Williams in the U.S. Open final and reached a career-high fourth in the world rankings. Russia banned from next Olympics and World Cup soccer

Russia was banned from the world's top sporting events for four years on Monday, including the next summer and winter Olympics and the 2022 soccer World Cup, for tampering with doping tests. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) executive committee acted after concluding that Moscow had planted fake evidence and deleted files linked to positive doping tests in laboratory data that could have helped identify drug cheats. U.S. captain Woods does not expect Presidents Cup galleries to abuse Reed

United States captain Tiger Woods on Tuesday said he does not expect teammate Patrick Reed to be subjected to abuse by fans at the upcoming Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, after the golfer was penalized last week for breaching the rules. Woods has been bombarded with questions about the 2018 Masters champion since touching down in Australia on Monday, with the assembled media seemingly uninterested in anyone else. Russian F1 organizers say race stays despite WADA sanctions

Russia's Formula One Grand Prix in Sochi will not be affected by the country's four-year World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) ban for tampering with doping tests, the race's promoters said on Monday. The sanctions include a four-year ban on Russia hosting major sporting events. NBA roundup: AD drops 50, Lakers beat Wolves

Anthony Davis scored a season-high 50 points, sparking the Los Angeles Lakers to a 142-125 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night. Davis connected on 20 of 29 shots from the floor and converted all 10 of his free throws in 39 minutes. It was his fourth career 50-plus scoring game. Davis also had seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. Flamengo big winners at Brazil's Player of the Year awards

Flamengo were the big winners at Monday’s Player of the Year awards in Brazil with the Rio de Janeiro club taking the best player, coach and goal of the season honors. Nine of the 11 players chosen for the team of the year came from Flamengo, who did the double by winning the league and the Copa Libertadores, South America's equivalent of the Champions League. Australia backs Russia ban, athletes group unimpressed

The Australian Olympic Committee have welcomed the decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency to ban Russia from major sporting events, including next year's Tokyo Games, for four years as the sports world began to digest the suspension on Tuesday. WADA's executive committee acted on Monday after concluding that Moscow had planted fake evidence and deleted files linked to positive doping tests in laboratory data that could have helped identify drug cheats. Rapinoe wins Sports Illustrated's top prize to cap stellar year

Megan Rapinoe collected another accolade in a stellar year by claiming Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year honor on Monday for her performance on the U.S. women's World Cup-winning soccer team and for her campaigning off the field. Rapinoe rocketed to household fame this year, taking home the Golden Boot and Golden Ball from the World Cup as top scorer and best player, as the U.S. retained the trophy and on the way became advocates for gender pay equity in sport. NBA denies Rockets' protest

The NBA denied the protest the Houston Rockets filed in regard to their 135-133 double-overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs last Tuesday night. The Rockets held a 102-89 lead in the fourth quarter when star guard James Harden scored on a dunk. The force of the slam caused the ball to go back through the net and over the rim, and the officiating crew ruled that Harden missed the dunk.