Digest

BASKETBALL

NBA veteran Young to sign for Zhejiang Lions

NBA veteran Nick Young is headed to the Chinese Basketball Association to play with the Zhejiang Lions, The Athletic reported on Monday.

Young, 35, has been out of the NBA since a four-game stint with the Denver Nuggets in the 2018-19 season. As the No 16 overall pick by Washington in the 2007 draft, he played with the Wizards (2001-12), Los Angeles Clippers (2012), Philadelphia 76ers (2012-13), Lakers (2012-17) and Golden State Warriors (2017-18).

He won his only NBA title with the Warriors.

The 6-foot-7(2.01-meter) Young, who played at Southern California, has career averages in the NBA of 11.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.

Zhejiang is 9-13 and in 14th place in the 19-team CBA.

Dominique dominant as Tigers roar to victory

Dominique Jones notched a game-high 53 points as the Jilin Northeast Tigers snapped their three-game CBA losing streak with a 123-98 victory over the Zhejiang Lions in Zhuji, Zhejiang province, on Monday.

Jones also contributed 12 rebounds, eight assists and six steals, while Jiang Yuxing finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.

Miroslav Radulica led Zhejiang with 30 points and 11 rebounds, with center Hu Jinqiu adding 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Jilin head coach Wang Han praised his players' performance at both ends of the court. "Although we let opponents score many points in the paint, I think generally we did well in defense," he said.

"We made 53.8 percent of our 3-point attempts and shot 55.2 percent from the field. These figures reflect that we played better in the offensive end."

SOCCER

City match falls victim to COVID-19 outbreak

Manchester City's English Premier League visit to Everton on Monday was postponed after multiple new positive tests for coronavirus were detected among Pep Guardiola's squad.

City had already announced on Christmas Day there had been four positive tests at the club for players Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus and two staff members.

"Based on strong medical advice, the Premier League, in consultation with both clubs, have decided to postpone the fixture," City said in a statement.

"After the latest round of COVID-19 testing, the club returned a number of positive cases, in addition to the four already reported on Christmas Day.

"With the security of the bubble compromised, there posed a risk that the virus could spread further among the squad, the staff and potentially beyond."

According to EPL rules, matches will not be postponed unless the affected club has fewer than 14 fit senior players.

Neymar's 500-person party stirs controversy

Brazil star Neymar has been accused of flouting COVID-19 rules after several Brazilian media reported that he's throwing a huge New Year's Eve party at his mansion near Rio de Janeiro.

Acelmo Goes, a columnist for the O Globo newspaper, claimed that the Paris Saint-Germain forward is hosting 500 people for a week-long party at his luxury beachside mansion in Mangaratiba. The bash reportedly started on Saturday and will continue until New Year's Day.

Brazil has suffered the second largest number of coronavirus-related deaths (over 191,000) in the world, while 7.4 million people have contracted the virus in the South American country.

The 28-year-old Neymar, who is renowned for his party lifestyle, allegedly even installed soundproofing equipment to try to avoid bothering neighbors.

BASEBALL

Padres power up with Snell, Kim additions

The San Diego Padres have made deals for Tampa Bay pitcher Blake Snell and South Korean infielder Kim Ha-seong and are in talks for Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish, Major League Baseball's website reported Monday.

The moves and interest in Chicago Cubs hurler Darvish have not been confirmed by the club because physical exams have not been completed, according to the reports, which cite unnamed sources.

San Diego would send two pitchers and two catchers to Tampa Bay in exchange for Snell, a 28-year-old left-hander who won the 2018 American League Cy Young Award as top pitcher.

American Snell led the major leagues in 2018 with 21 wins and topped the AL with a 1.89 earned-run average.

After struggling with a broken toe and left elbow issues in 2019, he helped the Rays reach this year's World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Xinhua - Agencies