Reuters Sports News Summary

09/09/2016 3:56

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Castro leads by one at weather-hit BMW

Roberto Castro upstaged some of the biggest names in golf to take a one-shot lead at the rain-hit BMW Championship on Thursday with a seven-under-par 65, while defending champ Jason Day ended the day eight strokes back after a six bogey 73. FedEx Cup points leader Patrick Reed managed a respectable two-under 70 while Rory McIlroy, winner of the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday, was three-under after 10 holes.

Rested Djokovic big favorite against Monfils

World number one Novak Djokovic, the only member of the so-called "Big Four" to reach Friday's semi-finals of the U.S. Open, also has the distinction of being the least tested of the last four at Flushing Meadows. Serbian top seed Djokovic goes against 10th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils, while number three Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland takes on sixth seed Kei Nishikori of Japan to set up the men's final at the year's last, and rather unusual, grand slam.

Denver Broncos' Marshall kneels in protest during national anthem

Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall became the latest athlete to kneel during the U.S. national anthem in a protest against social injustice before his team's game against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday. Marshall, following in the path of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, knelt on the sideline before the anthem began, and remained in that position while his team mates stood to his left.

Peyton's replacement Siemian gets win in season opener

Trevor Siemian has been given the tough task of replacing five-time league MVP Peyton Manning at the helm of the Denver offense but the unheralded quarterback looked up for the job on Thursday in a Super Bowl rematch against Carolina to open the NFL season. Siemian, whose only previous NFL experience was taking a knee in a game last December, was far from perfect but showed plenty of confidence in his first start, helping reigning champions Denver to a 21-20 win over the Panthers.

Broncos survive late FG miss to beat Panthers

The Denver Broncos began the new season the same way they ended last season, by beating the Carolina Panthers. In the NFL's kickoff game, C.J. Anderson ran for a score and caught another in the fourth quarter, and the Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 21-20 on Thursday night in a Super Bowl rematch.

Clijsters, Roddick headline Hall of Fame nominations

Former world number one players Kim Clijsters and Andy Roddick headlined the list of nominees up for induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The Class of 2017 will be announced early next year, the Newport, Rhode Island-based Hall of Fame said on Thursday.

Lochte banned for 10 months by USOC

American swimmer Ryan Lochte has been suspended for 10 months and will miss next year's world championships for his part in a scandal involving the U.S. athlete and three other swimmers at the Rio Olympics, the United States Olympic Committee said on Thursday. Lochte, who won gold in the 4x200 meters freestyle relay in Rio, will also forfeit bonus money from the Games, monthly funding he receives from USOC and USA Swimming and will not be allowed access to USOC training centers.

Serena stunned by Pliskova in U.S. Open semis

For the second straight year Serena Williams saw her bid for a seventh U.S. Open title halted in the semi-finals with a 6-2 7-6(5) loss to Karolina Pliskova on Thursday that also ended her long reign as world number one. A year ago Williams went into the semi-finals on the cusp of a rare calendar-year grand slam but was the victim of one of the biggest upsets in tennis history when Roberta Vinci, a 300-to-1 longshot, prevailed.

Kerber celebrates number one by reaching U.S. Open final

Reaching top of the world seems to agree with Angelique Kerber, who celebrated her ascension to the number one ranking with a 6-4 6-3 win over Caroline Wozniacki on Thursday to advance to Saturday's U.S. Open final. The German left-hander was assured of becoming number one when the new rankings come out on Monday after top-seeded American Serena Williams was defeated by Czech 10th seed Karolina Pliskova 6-2 7-6(5) in the earlier semi-final.

Pacquiao made retirement U-turn to continue his 'journey'

While Manny Pacquiao's political career became a priority after he announced his "retirement" from the ring in April, he says the lure of continuing his journey in boxing ultimately led to his comeback. Seven months after defeating American Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas in his much trumpeted farewell to the sport, the Filipino southpaw will return to the same city in November to challenge World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Jessie Vargas.

09/09/2016 3:56