Latest - World champions South Africa are being lined up to replace Japan in an eight-team rugby tournament in Europe at the end of the year.
The Springboks celebrate their 2019 Rugby Championship win. Photo: Photosport
The Brave Blossoms, who hosted last year's World Cup, pulled out because of coronavirus travel restrictions.
Georgia were touted as replacements but World Rugby vice-chairman Bernard Laporte says they are now in "advanced discussions" with South Africa.
The Springboks involvement would put in doubt their participation in any Rugby Championship in New Zealand.
A spokesperson for South Africa Rugby said they had "no knowledge of such an arrangement being planned".
-BBC
Sydney win another title
Rhyan Grant scored the extra-time winner with his chest as Sydney FC claimed a record fifth A-League title with a 1-0 victory over Melbourne City in the final at Western Sydney Stadium.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
After 100 minutes of entertaining deadlock, the mullet-haired Socceroos full back ghosted in behind the defence to barrell a sublime angled pass from midfielder Luke Brattan into the net at the far post.
City, playing in their first final, fought to the bitter end but Sydney held on to retain the title, their third in fourth years, and move above four-times champions Melbourne Victory in the list of most decorated A-League clubs.
Sydney had dominated the 11-month season, which was halted for 16 weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak and needed all three Melbourne-based teams and the Wellington Phoenix to relocate to New South Wales to finish it.
A clash of strips meant City lined up in the red and white stripes Melbourne Heart wore from 2009 until 2014, when the club was bought and renamed by Abu Dhabi's City Football Group and followed the rest of the stable by switching to a sky blue kit.
-Reuters
Frenchman leads le Tour
Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe won the second stage of the Tour de France, a 186-km mountain ride around Nice, and took the overall leader's yellow jersey.
Swiss Marc Hirschi took second place with Briton Adam Yates coming home third.
Alaphilippe, who last year wore the coveted jersey for 14 days, kept his cool to prevail in a three-man sprint as the peloton was breathing down their neck.
Dark horse Dani Martinez, of Colombia, lost time after cracking in the last climb of the day shortly after crashing in a descent.
The three New Zealanders in the race all finished down the field with George Bennett the best placed in 41st, 1'16" behind Alaphilippe.
-Reuters
Captain Morgan to the rescue
Captain Eoin Morgan belted a half-century as England chased down a record target at Old Trafford to beat Pakistan by five wickets in the second Twenty20 international.
Pakistan posted 195 for four in their 20 overs on a flat wicket, but the home side completed their victory with five balls to spare and a take 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Morgan blasted 66 from 33 balls to secure the win in what is the highest chase in any form of 20-over cricket at Old Trafford.
The third and final match in the series will be at the same venue on Tuesday. The first match was abandoned due to rain.
-Reuters
Paire tests positive for Covid
The French tennis player Benoit Paire has tested positive for Covid-19 and pulled out of this week's U.S. Open, French sports daily L'Equipe is reporting.
Paire, seeded 17th at the Grand Slam event, had been scheduled to play Poland's Kamil Majchrzak in the first round at Flushing Meadows.
Paire's name no longer appeared on the list of seeds on the tournament website today and the men's draw showed that Majchrzak would play Spain's Marcel Granollers.
A United States Tennis Association spokesman said he could "only confirm that a player has tested positive and has been withdrawn".
The 31-year-old Paire arrived in New York to play the Western & Southern Open last week, a tune-up for the U.S. Open, but he did not complete his first-round match against Croatia's Borna Coric.
The U.S. Open is being played without fans and in a biosecure bubble due to the pandemic, but several high-ranking players skipped the tournament due to coronavirus concerns.
-Reuters
Messi contract still valid
La Liga has released a statement saying Lionel Messi's Barcelona contract was still valid, days after his shock announcement that he wants to leave the club and hours after he failed to attend a pre-season medical today.
The ruling body said the only way for the Argentine forward to be released from the contract was to trigger a 700-million euros (NZ$1.2 billion) release clause.
The 33-year-old six-times world player of the year informed his lifelong club last week he wished to leave immediately, plunging Barca into new turmoil less than two weeks after their humiliating 8-2 Champions League quarter-final defeat by Bayern Munich.
Messi's lawyers plan to invoke a clause in his four-year contract, signed in 2017, which would have allowed the forward to leave the club for free if he had requested it by June 10.
They will argue that that date - nominally the end of the season - is now irrelevant after the coronavirus delays that led to the season's extension and the team playing deep into August.
-Reuters
MLS owner forced to sell team after racial slur
Major League Soccer says Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen, who is being investigated by the governing body over allegations that he had used racist language, is set to sell Utah Soccer Holdings.
Utah Soccer Holdings owns the MLS side Real Salt Lake, National Women's Soccer League's Utah Royals and second division side Real Monarchs in the United Soccer League.
Hansen had come under fire after criticising players for refusing to take the field in protest against racial injustice following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Hansen had condemned the players' decision to protest and likened it to being "stabbed", saying the "disrespect was profound".
The MLS Players Association had described the allegations as "sickening" and implored the league to suspend Hansen, adding that he should be forced to sell the team if the allegations were substantiated.
-Reuters
