AUTO RACING
Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss this weekend’s Sakhir (Bahrain) Grand Prix.
The Mercedes team said in a statement Tuesday that Hamilton was tested three times last week and returned a negative result each time, the last on Sunday afternoon at the Bahrain International Circuit.
“But he up woke Monday morning with mild symptoms and was informed at the same time that a contact prior to arrival in Bahrain had subsequently tested positive,” the team said. “Lewis, therefore, took a further test and returned a positive result. This has since been confirmed by a retest.”
Hamilton is in isolation in accordance with the health protocols in Bahrain.
“Apart from mild symptoms, he is otherwise fit and well, and the entire team sends him its very best wishes for a swift recovery,” the team statement said.
The 35-year-old Hamilton appeared to be drained at the end of the Bahrain GP on Sunday, which was marred by a crash that left Romain Grosjean with minor burns to his hands and ankles after his Haas car crashed and burst into flames moments after the start.
Hamilton clinched the drivers’ championship last month in Turkey and has a big lead in the standings with 332 points, well ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas (201) and Max Verstappen (189). He has won 11 races this season. But his absence in Sakhir means he will not be able to win a 13th and equal Sebastian Vettel’s record, set in 2013 with Red Bull.
BASKETBALL
BOGUT RETIRES: Andrew Bogut is retiring after 15 years in professional basketball, with injuries, age and the COVID-19 pandemic ending his bid for one last shot at an Olympic medal. The 36-year-old Australian had initially targeted a retirement date after the 2020 Olympics, but the postponement of the Tokyo Games to next year was a stretch too far. On Tuesday he made it official.
Bogut was the No. 1 draft pick by Milwaukee in 2005 and won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2015.
“I just can’t physically and mentally get to 2021 with the way the body has been,” Bogut said on his “Rogue Bogues” podcast. “I mean, I could, on a lot of painkillers and with a lot of physical and mental anguish, but it’s just not worth it at this point in my career.”
Bogut played for Sydney in the National Basketball League the past two seasons, winning the NBL’s MVP in 2019 and leading the Kings to a grand final last season, but was hampered by back and ankle injuries.
NBA: The Los Angeles Lakers have re-signed veteran Jared Dudley to a one-year contract.
The NBA champions announced the move Tuesday, giving them 13 players under contract as they head into training camp for the new season.
The 35-year-old Dudley was a minor bench contributor during the Lakers’ championship season, averaging 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds in 45 regular-season games and appearing sparingly in the playoffs. He is heading into his 14th NBA season and has played for seven teams.
Dudley has hit 39.3% of his 3-pointers during his career, and he serves as a key veteran leader in the Lakers’ locker room, particularly as a mentor to Kyle Kuzma.
The Lakers still haven’t re-signed Anthony Davis, but the All-Star big man is expected to finalize the length of his new contract with the team this week.
SKIING
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: Mikaela Shiffrin will skip World Cup races in Switzerland this weekend after missing training time in speed events during the coronavirus pandemic, the United States ski team said Tuesday.
The three-time overall World Cup champion opted out of two super-G races scheduled for St. Moritz, where she won two years ago. Shiffrin is now preparing for two giant slaloms on Dec. 12-13 in Courchevel, France.
“Due to travel restrictions associated with COVID-19, opportunities for training speed this summer were non-existent for Americans,” the team said in a statement.
Shiffrin has not trained since January for downhill or super-G, the team said. She has six of her 66 career World Cup race wins in speed disciplines, with 59 coming in the technical events of slalom or giant slalom. Shiffrin also has been limited by a back injury this season. She placed second and fifth in a pair of slaloms in Levi, Finland — both won by World Cup leader Petra Vlhova.
TENNIS
MATCH FIXING: Spanish tennis player Enrique López was banned for eight years on Tuesday for fixing matches at tournaments in 2017.
The Tennis Integrity Unit said López cannot play in or attend any officially recognized tournament while banned. He was fined $25,000. The 29-year-old Lopez reached a career high singles ranking of No. 154 in 2018, though never qualified for the main draw at a Grand Slam event. His best doubles ranking was No. 135.
The TIU said three charges of match fixing were proven and two charges were not proven. The tournaments López tried to corrupt were not identified.
OLYMPICS
IOC PRESIDENCY: The International Olympic Committee says Thomas Bach will have no opponents for his re-election as president in a vote scheduled in March. More than 100 IOC members were told Bach is the only candidate for the presidential poll at their meeting due to be staged in Athens.
The German lawyer’s re-election seemed a formality after around 50 voting members publicly supported his candidacy in July at their annual meeting held virtually. Bach is eligible for four more years in office after winning an eight-year term in 2013. His final term begins officially after the Tokyo Olympics close on Aug. 8.
SOCCER
U.S. WOMEN: U.S. women’s national team players and the U.S. Soccer Federation have settled their long-running lawsuit over inequitable working conditions with the men’s team while leaving their dispute over unequal pay for additional litigation.
The parties filed a redacted public notice of the settlement with the federal court in Los Angeles while providing the complete agreement to U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner. The deal with the world champion American women and the sport’s U.S. governing body calls for charter flights, hotel accommodations, venue selection and professional staff support equitable to that of the men’s national team.
MLS: Greg Vanney resigned as Toronto’s coach after more than six seasons in charge of the team.
Toronto finished second in the Eastern Conference at 13-5-5 during the pandemic-shortened season, then lost to Nashville 1-0 in overtime in the first round of the playoffs.
A defender who played 37 matches for the U.S. from 1996-2006, Vanney was an assistant coach at Chivas USA and was hired by Toronto in December 2013 as assistant general manager and academy director. He replaced Ryan Nelsen in August 2014, becoming Toronto’s ninth coach in eight years.
Vanney led Toronto to 87 wins, 68 losses and 48 draws in the regular season, and the 2017 MLS Cup title.
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