Vikings blow as Peterson suffers knee injury

Agence France-Presse

Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a torn meniscus is his right knee, the club confirmed on Monday.

Peterson hobbled off the field during Sunday's win over the Green Bay Packers after falling awkwardly near the end of the third quarter.

The 31-year-old underwent an MRI scan which found a tear in his right meniscus, dealing a further injury blow to the Vikings, who lost star quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a season-ending knee injury last month.

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WTA elite unchanged, as teenager leaps rankings

Agence France-Presse

The top 20 in the WTA rankings were unchanged Monday with German Angelique Kerber ahead of Serena Williams and Garbine Muguruza of Spain in third place.

New faces emerged lower down the order with French teenager Oceane Dodin breaking into the top 100 with her first WTA title in Montreal on Sunday.

It was her first ever final and launched the 19-year-old 39 places up the rankings to 93.

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Seahawks penalized for violating offseason workout rules

Reuters

The Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl champions of two seasons ago, have been fined $400,000 and will also forfeit their fifth-round selection in the 2017 Draft for violating offseason workout rules, the NFL said on Monday.

The league fined Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll $200,000 for his role in the violation while the team will also lose one week of organized team activities (OTAs) in 2017.

The decision to impose the punishments was made after the National Football League and its players association independently reviewed an on-field practice video filmed on June 6.

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Tebow begins Mets career wearing No. 15 jersey

The Sports Xchange

In a blue New York Mets' batting practice jersey stitched with a No. 15 on the back, Tim Tebow began his bid to make it in professional baseball on Monday at Tradition Field at Port St. Lucie, Fla.

"It was a lot of fun, it was great to be a on a team, go through a warm-up, take batting practice, try to remember as many names as possible," Tebow said. "It was just fun."

Tebow drew a crowd, as expected. The Mets have added "Tebow - Instructional League" to the media credential dropdown menu just below the "Mets Division Series" selection option.

More than 67 media outlets were credentialed for the start of workouts. The instructional league spans three weeks.

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Exhausted Murray desperate for a break

Reuters

Andy Murray is itching for a break after an exhausting few months, the world number two said, after defending champions Britain were knocked out by Argentina 3-2 in the Davis Cup semi-final.

The 29-year-old had a busy European summer when he reached the French Open final, followed by his second Wimbledon triumph, and then successfully defended his Olympic gold at Rio.

A tired Murray then lost to Japan's Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open.

"I have played so much tennis in the last few months, I need a break and I need it now," Murray was quoted as saying by the Times.

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Rio champ Puig back to winning ways in Tokyo

Agence France-Presse

Olympic champion Monica Puig thrashed American Varvara Lepchenko 6-0, 6-3 at the Pan Pacific Open on Monday, her first victory since winning a stunning gold in Rio.

Puig beat Germany's Angelique Kerber in last month's Olympic final to nab Puerto Rico's first ever gold medal.

"A win is a win for me," shrugged the world number 33 after her first-round victory in rainy Tokyo.

Elsewhere, wildcard Naomi Osaka overpowered fellow Japanese Misaki Doi 6-4, 6-4 to reach the second round.

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ATP top 20 unchanged

Agence France-Presse

No change at the top of the ATP rankings Monday after a weekend of Davis Cup action with Andy Murray, whose Great Britain side lost their semi-final to Argentina, in second spot behind Novak Djokovic.

US Open champion Stan Wawrinka is third ahead of Rafael Nadal, who helped Spain to return to the Davis Cup World Group following their defeat of India in the playoffs.

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Auto racing's NASCAR accused of racial discrimination in lawsuit

Jonathan Stempel, Reuters

NASCAR was hit with a $500 million lawsuit accusing the auto racing body of racial discrimination for preventing black-owned teams and drivers from competing, including in the Sprint Cup Series.

Terrance Cox and his company, Diversity Motorsports Racing LLC, filed a lawsuit late on Friday in U.S. district court in Manhattan against NASCAR, its parent company, International Speedway Corp, and 18 teams, according to court records.

The plaintiffs are also seeking an injunction requiring the defendants to "fully integrate the African-American community."

In a statement, NASCAR said the lawsuit has no merit.

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Draisaitl winner as Europe down Czechs in World Cup of Hockey

Agence France-Presse

Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime as Europe upset the Czech Republic 3-2 at the World Cup of Hockey on Monday to leave the United States facing a must-win battle with Canada to stay in the competition.

Edmonton's German star Draisaitl scored on a breakaway after 2min 6sec of overtime at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto to maintain Europe's 100 percent record with two wins out of two in Group A.

The result leaves the United States side -- beaten 3-0 by Europe on Saturday -- clinging onto their place in the competition. A defeat to Canada on Tuesday would see them eliminated.

Europe dominated the Czechs from the outset and led twice before Draisaitl's late winner. The Europeans took a 2-1 lead in the third period after Czech goalie Petr Mrazek fumbled a shot from Mats Zuccarello, the Norwegian winger who plays for the New York Rangers.

READ: Iran wins FIBA Asia Challenge 2016

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World Cup scores on diversity, says NHL

Steve Keating, Reuters

Despite staging a World Cup that features only six nations and two gimmicky teams, the National Hockey League insisted on Monday it is the most international of the Big Four North American professional sports.

With 25 percent of players in the NHL now coming from outside North America, commissioner Gary Bettman boasted that the league continues to lead the way when it comes to inclusion.

Yet Canada, United States, Russia, Sweden, Finland and Czech Republic are the only nations represented in the World Cup of Hockey being played in Toronto while the two other teams are hybrids, a concept developed to avoid unappealing routs.

Team Europe has been cobbled together with players from eight smaller hockey playing nations while Team North America features the best under-24 players from Canada and the United States.

"Historically, and we are about to celebrate our 100th anniversary, we have been and still are the most international of the North American sports leagues," said Bettman, speaking at the Hockey Sense Summit looking at social equality.

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Paris to commit 145 mn euros for 2024 bid

Agence France-Presse

Paris will commit 145 million euros ($162 mn) for the renovation of stadiums and other infrastructure to ensure it hosts the 2024 Summer Olympics, city officials said on Monday.

A meeting of Paris' City Council next week will vote on a resolution formally giving Mayor Anne Hidalgo the power to sign guarantees required by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the Games.

"It's a formal stage but at the same time extremely important," Jean-Francois Martins, Deputy Mayor of Paris responsible for Sport told AFP.

Paris is in competition with Budapest, Los Angeles and Rome to stage the sporting spectacular in 2024.

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