Reuters Sports News Summary

08/29/2016 12:56

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

England boss Allardyce defends decision to omit Barkley

England manager Sam Allardyce has defended the decision to leave Everton midfielder Ross Barkley out of his first squad for the 2018 World Cup qualifier in Slovakia at the weekend. The 22-year-old has enjoyed an impressive start to the Premier League season and many observers felt he had done enough to deserve a place in the 23-man group named on Sunday.

Meares lauds Australian Olympians at home-coming event

Track cyclist Anna Meares praised the efforts of the Australian Olympic team during a welcome home ceremony at the Sydney Opera House on Monday, despite a disappointing overall showing in Brazil. Australia's 422 athletes amassed 29 medals in Rio, their lowest total since the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, with Meares claiming bronze in the keirin after failing to add a third gold to those she won in Athens in 2004 and London four years ago.

Winning run ahead of Manchester derby important for United: Rooney

Manchester United's unbeaten start to the Premier League has helped the club build momentum before the derby clash against Manchester City, striker Wayne Rooney has said. Marcus Rashford slotted in a winner in stoppage time against Hull City last weekend to ensure that Jose Mourinho's side were tied at the top of the Premier League on nine points after three league games.

Ramos surprised by Casillas exclusion from Spain squad

Spain defender Sergio Ramos was surprised to learn that the country's record appearance maker and long-time captain Iker Casillas had been left out of the Spain squad by coach Julen Lopetegui. The Spain players met up with their new manager for the first time on Monday to prepare for the international friendly in Belgium on Sept. 1 and their opening World Cup qualifier at home to Liechtenstein on Sept. 5.

McEnroe ends coaching partnership with Raonic

Seven-times major winner John McEnroe has ended his coaching role with Canada's Milos Raonic ahead of the year's final grand slam, the U.S. Open. McEnroe joined Raonic's coaching entourage in May as a consultant ahead of the grass-court season, and the world number six reached his first ever career grand slam final in Wimbledon, losing to Andy Murray in straight sets.

Quintana leads Tour of Spain again after winning stage 10

Nairo Quintana retook the red jersey in the Tour of Spain after winning stage 10 to take a commanding lead in the general classification, while Chris Froome recovered from a poor start to the final climb to claim third in the stage and overall. The Colombian launched a late attack in the final climb of the 188.km stage from Lugones to Lagos de Covadonga to pass Robert Gesink and held his own for the remaining 2.4km of the stage, finishing 24 seconds ahead of the Dutchman.

Former LA Dodgers owner McCourt to buy Marseille

Frank McCourt, former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, said on Monday he had entered exclusive negotiations to buy Olympique de Marseille and vowed to restore the club to their former glories. Billionaire businesswoman Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, the Russian-born chairwoman of Louis Dreyfus Commodities trading house, said in April she was looking for a buyer for the Ligue 1 side.

Players may be risking health by popping pain pills

For all the talk of banned performance-enhancing drugs in sport, mundane over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain medications may be more of an issue on the tennis tour, according to numerous players. Indeed, players competing at the U.S. Open which starts on Monday could be risking their long-term health by playing through pain to achieve their goals.

In the final grand slam event of the year, when the likes of Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are battling injuries, many are likely to popping pills to push their aching bodies one more time. "You would be surprised how many anti-inflammatories I take," said 15th-ranked Richard Gasquet, a Frenchman who has suffered numerous injuries during his career. "I do it a lot. Not during practice, but before matches. It's not something I would choose to do, but sometimes I have no choice. "It's nothing crazy to take anti-inflammatories. I imagine all the players are doing it. I know a lot of football (soccer) players, they do it a lot." Taking pain medication, before and after matches, has become the norm as the boundaries of physical possibility continue to expand. But taking too much is believed to actually slow down the recovery process after injury and taking them too regularly can cause long-term harm, some experts say. "With respect to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, persons should take as little as possible for the shortest duration possible," Dr Eric Matteson, a consultant in the Division of Rheumatology at the Mayo Clinic, said by email. "The concerns with prolonged use are risks of developing kidney failure and hypertension, as well as stomach ulcers." Goran Ivanisevic said taking anti-inflammatories was a necessary evil. "When I won Wimbledon (in 2001), I was smashing them," he told Reuters. "I took them like candies. After a while I didn't even feel it, it didn't do me any good. But when you have a chance, in my case, to win Wimbledon, you take whatever, you don't care.

Hamilton podium sours Rosberg's Belgian win

Nico Rosberg was handed a much-needed break in the Formula One title battle which he duly converted by winning Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, but victory could have tasted much sweeter for the German. Rosberg went into the weekend knowing this was his race to lose. Mercedes team mate and title rival Lewis Hamilton was set to start at the back of the field after taking a planned series of engine-related grid penalties. That gave Rosberg the perfect opportunity to reignite his title challenge after a run of lackluster form and make major inroads into the Briton's 19-point advantage in the standings.

Uehara ties LPGA record after second ace in Canada Open

Ayako Uehara became the fourth golfer in LPGA history to record two hole-in-ones in the same tournament when the Japanese player aced the par-three eighth in her final round at the Canadian Women's Open on Sunday. The 36-year-old had aced the par-three 11th hole from 158 yards in her third round and repeated the feat a day later, this time holing a seven-iron from 164 yards.

08/29/2016 12:56