Reuters Sports News Summary

07/30/2016 0:55

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Head of Rio lab: Security paramount for Olympic doping tests

Security is the top focus for the laboratory that will conduct doping exams at the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the lab's director said Friday, amid global scrutiny following the recent scandal surrounding Russian athletes. Citing major breaches that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) described at a Russian laboratory, chemist Francisco Radler said the lab must ensure that cheating, through infiltration by outsiders or other efforts to manipulate testing, is "impossible."

Mickelson makes cut despite horror start, McIlroy misses it

Phil Mickelson made a "horrific" start to the second round of the PGA Championship on Friday but recovered to make the cut with nothing to spare, while Rory McIlroy's bogey at the last saw him miss out by one stroke. Mickelson sliced his tee shot out-of-bounds at the par-four first, his ball landing on the adjacent Shunpike Road and bouncing onto another street.

Laser's 'El Demolidor' seeks last medal at home

Robert Scheidt, one of three Olympic sailors to win five medals, two of them gold, reckons he has a good chance of making it six when racing begins on Aug. 8 at home in Rio de Janeiro. And if the medal is gold, even better.

Kerber, Halep set for Wimbledon rematch in Montreal

Angelique Kerber cruised past Daria Kasatkina 6-2 6-2 to reach the last four of the Rogers Cup on Friday, where she will reprise her Wimbledon quarter-final clash with Simona Halep after the Romanian beat ninth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. Fifth seed Halep had the tougher quarter-final, recovering from a rough start to beat Kuznetsova 3-6 6-1 6-1.

Big finish lifts Streb to share PGA Championship lead

Unheralded Robert Streb fired a record-equaling 63 to share a two-shot lead with Jimmy Walker after the second round of the PGA Championship on Friday, with heavyweights Jason Day and Henrik Stenson lurking nearby. Streb, who has one PGA Tour victory, rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt on his last hole, the ninth at Baltusrol, for the 30th round of 63 ever shot in a major championship.

NHL players union says Bettman can't restore defenseman's ban

The National Hockey League's players union on Friday urged a U.S. court not to grant Commissioner Gary Bettman broad power to override arbitrators when deciding how severely to discipline players for improper on-ice conduct. Citing a recent appeals court ruling against New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, the NHL Players Association said Bettman should not be allowed to restore a 20-game suspension of Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman for hitting a linesman, after an arbitrator cut the ban to 10 games.

Wawrinka, Nishikori reach last four in Toronto

Swiss second seed Stan Wawrinka advanced into the semi-finals at the Rogers Cup with a comprehensive 6-1 6-3 victory over big-serving South African Kevin Anderson at the Aviva Centre in Toronto on Friday. Wawrinka raced into a 4-0 lead as he swept through the opening set in 30 minutes, and then overcame tougher resistance by Anderson in the second before wrapping up the win in one hour, 14 minutes.

Australia team safe after Rio Olympic Village fire evacuation

The Australian team said they evacuated their building at the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro because of a fire in the basement on Friday, one week before the Games open. The fire, which filled the stairwells of the building with smoke, caused no injuries and the team was back in the building after around half an hour, a team spokesman said.

Russian weightlifters barred from Rio Games

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) on Friday formally suspended Russia's eight-strong weightlifting team, effectively excluding it from next month's Rio Olympics, because of doping offenses. Last month, the IWF said its Executive Board had decided to suspend for a year national federations that produced three or more doping violations in re-tests from the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games - made possible by improved detection techniques.

U.S. sailor lends hand to clean Rio's bay before Games

Bobbing on Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Bay in a blue and white fishing boat, American sailor Brad Funk uses a plastic bin to scoop rubbish from the waters where Olympic sailing races will take place next month. Funk missed out on his dream of competing in Rio 2016 in the two-man 49er sailing class, but traveled to Brazil anyway with the aim of clearing the path for those who did, including his girlfriend British windsurfer Bryony Shaw.

07/30/2016 0:55