Sports News Roundup: Owners approve new CBA; McCourt set to kick-start new Irish MMA and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

NFL notebook: Owners approve new CBA, await players

After months of negotiating, representatives for the NFL owners and players union appear to have an agreement in place for a new collective bargaining agreement, with a vote by the players on ratification apparently the only hurdle remaining for the new pact to be approved. The NFL on Thursday afternoon released a statement indicating that the owners have approved the terms of the proposed CBA, agreed to by negotiators for the NFL and NFLPA. The current CBA was ratified in 2011 and is set to expire following the 2020 season. If approved by the players, the new CBA reportedly could go into effect in time for the new league year, which begins March 18.

Japan's indigenous Ainu dance dropped from the opening ceremony

Olympic organizers have dropped a dance by Japan's indigenous Ainu people from the opening ceremony of this year's Games in Tokyo, a representative of the group said on Friday. "Ainu dancers will not be included in the opening ceremony in Tokyo," said Kazuaki Kaizawa, an official at the Hokkaido Ainu Association in Sapporo.

McCourt set to kick-start new Irish MMA era in Dublin

Mixed martial artist Leah McCourt is relishing the chance to headline Bellator's Dublin card at the Three Arena on Saturday, knowing a win over Judith Ruis in the building where Conor McGregor rose to fame could usher in a new era for Irish MMA. Thrust into the spotlight due to an injury to bantamweight headliner James Gallagher, Northern Ireland's McCourt is one of 13 Irish fighters on the bill, and she found out she was topping the card in the steamy surroundings of a Belfast sauna.

Nevada bans Wilder, Fury faceoff after weigh-in

Heavyweights Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, who will clash in a highly-anticipated rematch on Saturday, won't be able to faceoff after Friday's weigh-in, a Top Rank Boxing official said. The Nevada State Athletic Commission will not allow the fighters to stand toe-to-toe as is customary after a weigh-in, Top Rank media relations director Evan Korn said on Thursday.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics President says no plan to wear a mask: media

Tokyo 2020 Olympics President Yoshiro Mori said he did not intend to wear masks, despite the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 2,000 people in China, a Japanese sports newspaper reported on Friday. "I pray to God every day that the coronavirus will just vanish," Mori, a former Japanese prime minister, was quoted by the Sponichi Annex paper as saying.

Athletics: Ethiopia's Yeshaneh smashes half marathon world record by 20 seconds

Ethiopia's Ababel Yeshaneh smashed the half marathon world record by 20 seconds on Friday to win the Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) event in the United Arab Emirates on Friday. Yeshaneh crossed the finish line in one hour, four minutes and 31 seconds at the World Athletics Gold Label road race, eclipsing the previous record of 1:04:51 set by Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei in Valencia in 2017.

'All about the spirit': Japanese kendo master readies for Olympic torch relay

Shigeru Aoki weathers the assault by his young student, who whacks him on the head with her bamboo sword until she suddenly stops, takes a few steps back and, slightly out of breath, bows. Aoki, 70, an eighth-degree kendo master, returns the bow, cutting a menacing but graceful figure in his kendo armor, which hides his face behind metal bars built into a helmet.

NBA notebook: Irving to have season-ending shoulder surgery

Brooklyn point guard Kyrie Irving will undergo season-ending surgery to repair his right shoulder, Nets general manager Sean Marks announced Thursday. The injury, described throughout the season as an "impingement," has bothered Irving since early November. He missed 26 games between Nov. 16 and Jan. 10. In that time, he visited a specialist and received a cortisone shot, but his shoulder hasn't been 100 percent since his return to action on Jan. 12.

NBA roundup: Young scores 50 as Hawks upend Heat

Trae Young scored a career-high 50 points to help the host Atlanta Hawks to a 129-124 win over the Miami Heat on Thursday. Young helped the Hawks defeat the Heat for the first time in four tries this season. Young was 8-for-15 on 3-pointers, matching his career-high, and 18-for-19 from the free-throw line. It was the 10th time this season he's scored 40-plus points.

NHL roundup: Knights snap Lightning's 11-game win streak

Defenseman Alec Martinez had a goal and an assist in his Vegas debut, as Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty also each had a goal and an assist as the Golden Knights snapped the Tampa Bay Lightning's franchise-record 11-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory on Thursday night in Las Vegas. Paul Stastny and Ryan Reaves also scored goals for Vegas, which won its fourth straight game and moved into sole possession of the first place in the Pacific Division. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24 shots.