Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Shadow of Kobe Bryant hangs over first Lakers game since his death

Kobe Bryant's former team the Los Angeles Lakers will make an emotional return to the court on Friday for the first time since his death earlier this week in a helicopter crash that shook basketball fans in the city and worldwide. Bryant, 41, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other people died on Sunday when the helicopter they were taking to a girls' basketball tournament crashed in foggy weather on a hillside northwest of Los Angeles. Thiem shoots down young gun Zverev to reach final

Dominic Thiem overcame Alex Zverev 3-6 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(4) to reach his first Australian Open final on Friday and set up the ultimate test against Melbourne Park maestro Novak Djokovic. In an enthralling semi-final featuring a rain interruption, a lighting failure and a plenty of drama besides, the fifth seeded Austrian shrugged off a sluggish start and was courageous on the big points to triumph under the roof at Rod Laver Arena. Players say safety key in debate over 17-game regular season

Members of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) on Thursday said player safety would have to come first amid discussions over the potential addition of a 17th game to the regular season. The NFL and its players' union are in negotiations for their collective bargaining agreement (CBA), with the current deal expected to expire in March 2021 and with issues like another game added to the standard 16-game regular season on the agenda. Top 25 roundup: UCLA takes down No. 20 Colorado

Chris Smith scored a career-high 30 points, and UCLA did not miss a free throw until the final minute en route to a 72-68 upset of No. 20 Colorado on Thursday in Los Angeles. The Bruins (11-10, 4-4 Pac-12 Conference) led almost wire-to-wire, building a 12-point lead by halftime. Behind Smith's outstanding performance, UCLA weathered a second-half surge from Colorado. Babos and Mladenovic win Australian Open women's doubles

Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic won their second Australian Open women's doubles crown in three years on Friday, beating top seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Barbora Strycova 6-2 6-1. Second seeded Babos and Mladenovic, who lost to Sam Stosur and Zhang Shuai last year, claimed their third Grand Slam doubles crown as a pair, having won last year's French Open. Helicopter company in Kobe Bryant crash not certified to fly in poor visibility: reports

The charter company whose helicopter crashed and killed basketball star Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others on Sunday was not certified to fly in conditions requiring pilots to fly using only cockpit instruments, media reports said. Island Express Helicopters, which owned the Sikorsky S-76B that crashed, was only certified to operate under visual flight rules, which mean pilots must be able to clearly see outside the aircraft in daylight, Kurt Deetz, a pilot and former safety manager at the company, told the New York Times. World Athletics puts the brakes on Nike's record-breaking shoes

Some variants of Nike's Vaporfly running shoes have been outlawed for elite competition and strict limits on the technology developed for any future shoes introduced after World Athletics announced significant changes to its rules on Friday. The sport's governing body (WA) said that with immediate effect and for elite competition only, road shoes must have soles no thicker than 40mm and not contain more than one rigid, embedded plate. Muguruza must take command against Kenin, says coach Martinez

Garbine Muguruza has to be the one taking charge in the Australian Open final against "fighter" Sofia Kenin if she is to win her third Grand Slam title, the Spaniard's coach Conchita Martinez said on Friday. Muguruza has been in three previous Grand Slam finals, winning two of them at Roland Garros (2016) and Wimbledon (2017), while the 21-year-old American will make her debut in a major final when they clash on Saturday. NBA roundup: Raptors defeat Cavs for ninth straight win

Serge Ibaka scored 26 points and the visiting Toronto Raptors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-109 Thursday night to extend their season-best winning streak to nine games. Kyle Lowry added 23 points -- 14 in the third quarter -- for the Raptors, who completed a three-game sweep of the season series with the Cavaliers. Norman Powell scored eight of his 16 points in the final 1:02 of the game for Toronto to help repel a Cleveland rally. Marathon record holders Kipchoge, Kosgei in Kenyan Olympic team

Kenya’s world record holders Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei will lead a star-studded marathon team to the Tokyo Olympic Games this year, Kenya’s athletics chiefs said on Friday. Multiple world champion and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic 5,000m gold medalist and 10,000m silver medalist, Vivian Cheruiyot and reigning world marathon champion Ruth Chemngetich will also represent the east African nation.