Reuters Sports News Summary

09/09/2016 12:55

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Williams sign former Ferrari tire performance head

Williams have recruited former Ferrari tire performance head Antonio Spagnolo to help analyze their Formula One rivals' strengths. Spagnolo, who joined the Italian team in 2005 and left in February, also worked with 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen and double world champion Fernando Alonso as an engineer.

Blatter and two others facing FIFA investigation over salaries

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and ex-secretary general Jerome Valcke, already banned from football for ethics violations, are facing a fresh investigation, this time over the salaries and bonuses they received in office. FIFA's ethics committee said its investigators had opened formal proceedings against both men, along with former finance director Markus Kattner, for possible ethics violations which included "bribery and corruption."

European MPs call for FIFA to act against Israeli settlement soccer clubs

Members of the European Parliament called on world soccer's governing body FIFA on Friday to act against Israeli clubs based in settlements in the occupied West Bank and prevent them from participating in officially sanctioned play. Sixty-six members of the 751-member European Parliament signed a letter addressed to FIFA President Gianni Infantino urging action at next month's FIFA Council meetings.

Ducati's Iannone ruled out of San Marino GP

Ducati MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone was ruled out of the weekend's San Marino Grand Prix on Friday after suffering a fractured vertebra in a fall in practice. The works team said the Italian had been declared unfit to race after being taken to hospital near the Misano circuit in eastern Italy.

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.

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.

09/09/2016 12:55