Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Spring training roundup: Strasburg struggles in spring debut

World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg had a rough spring debut, giving up three runs in 1 1/3 innings, as the Washington Nationals lost 8-1 to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Friday at West Palm Beach, Fla. Strasburg struck out three and threw 22 of 35 pitches for strikes before being removed. The right-hander gave up three hits and one walk. Soccer: Leeds goalkeeper handed eight-game ban after racism charge

Leeds United goalkeeper Kiko Casilla was banned for eight matches and fined 60,000 pounds ($77,964.00) on Friday after being found guilty of racist abuse in a Championship match against Charlton Athletic last September. The FA said the 33-year-old Spaniard, who joined Leeds from Real Madrid last year, must also attend face-to-face education after the breach of rule E3 (2) which covers discriminatory abuse. Djokovic saves three match points to set up Dubai final with Tsitsipas

World number one Novak Djokovic saved three match points to beat France's Gael Monfils 2-6 7-6(8) 6-1 on Friday as he set up a final showdown at the Dubai Open with Greek second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. Djokovic is yet to lose this year and the Australian Open champion extended his unbeaten run in 2020 to 17 matches with what was also his 17th win over Monfils. NHL roundup: Predators tie it in last second, beat Flames in OT

Mikael Granlund scored with one-tenth of a second remaining in regulation and then netted the winner 1:20 into overtime as the Nashville Predators defeated the visiting Calgary Flames 4-3 Thursday night. In overtime, Granlund took a pass from Ryan Ellis between the bottom of the faceoff circles and floated a shot over Rittich's blocker. Colton Sissons and Roman Josi also scored for the Predators, who improved to 6-1-1 in their past eight games. Goaltender Juuse Saros made 36 saves. Golf: Steele takes second-round lead as Koepka misses Honda Classic cut

Brendan Steele seized the second-round lead as the Honda Classic lost much of its star power when Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose missed the cut in Florida on Friday. American Steele almost had a hole-in-one and tamed testing winds to shoot a three-under-par 67 that could have been even better had he not found the water with his second shot for a closing bogey at the par-five 18th. Lawmakers: Put Flood in Hall of Fame

A bipartisan group from Congress is leading the drive to see the late Curt Flood elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, 50 years after he challenged the power of Major League Baseball owners. On Thursday, Rep. David Trone (D-Md.), Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) held a news conference in Washington, D.C., urging the Golden Era Committee to elect Flood when it meets in December. More than 100 lawmakers signed a letter in support that was sent to Jane Forbes Clark, chairwoman of the Hall of Fame. Cycling: Kajihara makes history for Japan, Ganna breaks world record

Yumi Kajihara became the first Japanese woman to be crowned as a world track cycling champion as she claimed gold in the omnium, while Italy's Filippo Ganna kept the records tumbling with a masterful day of riding on Friday. Olympic omnium champion Laura Kenny, recovering from a broken shoulder, crashed heavily in the opening scratch race which Kajihara won and the 22-year-old never looked back. NBA roundup: Harris carries short-handed Sixers

Tobias Harris scored 34 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists to lift the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers past the visiting New York Knicks, 115-106, on Thursday. Al Horford had 15 points, nine assists and seven boards, and Shake Milton scored 19 points as the Sixers improved to a league-best 28-2 at home. Milton hit all five of his 3-point attempts, while Horford hit all four. Exclusive: Tokyo has no 'Plan B' for Games despite coronavirus

Tokyo has no Plan B for this year's Summer Olympics despite alarm over the spread of the coronavirus in Japan and elsewhere with under five months before the event, a senior official said on Friday. "There will not be one bit of change in holding the Games as planned," Katsura Enyo, deputy director general of the Tokyo 2020 Preparation Bureau at the city government, told Reuters. Nike shoe debate rages as runners weigh advantages at U.S. Olympic trials

A debate over Nike's record-breaking distance footwear raged on ahead of Saturday's U.S. Olympic marathon trials, as the shoe's buzz-worthy technology continued to raise questions over whether it offered an unfair advantage to runners. The Nike Vaporfly shoe captured the spotlight in October when Eliud Kipchoge broke the two-hour marathon barrier wearing a pair, and various versions of it have featured in other record-smashing runs since.