Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Sailing: Team New Zealand victim of 'sinister attack,' says Dalton

Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton said on Friday there had been a "deliberate" and "sinister" attempt to damage their reputation ahead of their America's Cup defence and that they were working with the government to address the issues. The team said earlier this week "informants" had been spreading "highly defamatory and inaccurate" allegations about some of the practices of America's Cup Events (ACE), a subsidiary of the team formed to organise and run the event.

PGA Tour shortens players' path to return from COVID-19

The PGA Tour announced Wednesday that it will alter its health and safety plan to allow asymptomatic players a quicker road to return. Tour player Cameron Champ will be the first to take advantage of the new standards as he was allowed back into the field at this weekend's Rocket Mortgage Challenge at Detroit after three negative coronavirus tests in a 72-hour period.

NFL: Redskins stadium sponsor FedEx requests team change its name

Key sponsor FedEx Corp has asked the Washington Redskins to change their name, adding to renewed calls for the NFL franchise to be rebranded. FedEx has the naming rights to the team's Landover, Maryland, stadium, known as FedExField, under a 27-year deal for which it paid $205 million in 1999, according to media reports at the time.

Former boxing champ Roberto 'Hands of Stone' Duran recovers from COVID-19

Former world boxing champion Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran was wheeled out of a hospital amid applause from medical staff after recovering from the coronavirus, a social media post from the pugilist showed on Thursday. "It was a World Championship fight, which I was able to win in a team, with the support, care and dedication of a medical crew," Duran wrote on Instagram alongside a video in which hospital workers in scrubs and face masks waved Panamanian flags as he flashed a thumbs-up.

Players held secret workouts, games in Florida - report

Secret workouts and games involving Major League Baseball players were held between March and July in Florida, The Athletic reported on Thursday. The underground activities were held at Cressey's Sports Performance in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., according to The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli. Games were played at nearby Palm Beach Gardens High School.

Swimming: Morning finals for Australian nationals ahead of Tokyo Olympics

Australia's national championships in Adelaide next year will have heats in the evening and finals in the morning to help swimmers prepare for a similar schedule at the Tokyo Olympics, Swimming Australia (SA) said on Friday. With competition shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, SA have put together a busy schedule to give swimmers as many opportunities as possible to race at home over the next 12 months.

NBA: Nine more players test positive for COVID-19

Nine more NBA players have tested positive for COVID-19, less than a week before teams are set to travel to Florida to resume the 2020 season. A total of 25 players and 10 team staff members have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since testing began on June 23, the National Basketball Association said in a statement on Thursday.

NFLPA hasn't signed off on two-game preseason: report

The NFL Players Association reportedly has not yet signed off on an abbreviated, two-game preseason. "Some in union leadership continue to question whether it's smart to play ANY preseason games," NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported late Wednesday.

MLB will be lucky to finish season amid virus surge: Manfred

While attempting to clarify comments he made a day earlier that caused a bit of a stir, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday admitted the league will "be lucky" to play a full 60-game abbreviated season. During an interview on the "Dan Patrick Show" on Wednesday, Manfred said, "The reality is, we weren't going to play more than 60 games no matter how the negotiations with the players went or any other factor."

NFL to play 'Black national anthem' before Week one games

The NFL will play "Lift Every Voice and Sing," a song often referred to as the Black national anthem, prior to the kickoff of Week 1 games, a source familiar with the league's discussions told Reuters on Thursday. The song, written by James Weldon Johnson and his brother J. Rosamond Johnson in the early 1900s, will precede the traditional pre-game playing of the "Star-Spangled Banner," the official national anthem.