Digest

SOCCER
Messi returns to full training with Barca
Lionel Messi was back in full training with Barcelona on Wednesday for the first time since conceding defeat in his battle to leave the club.
Unlike Monday, when the Argentine superstar had to train alone under La Liga's coronavirus protocol, Messi joined up with the rest of the squad in a session overseen by new coach Ronald Koeman.
A club statement reported that others returning to the main group were Philippe Coutinho, Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong and Ansu Fati.
Messi faces another season with the Catalan club after losing his stand-off with Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu over a 700-millioneuro ($827-million) release clause. The 33-year-old hit out at Bartomeu in his bitter announcement last week that he was staying and warned he was expecting to see progress, saying:"There is a new coach and new ideas. That's good, but then we have to see how the team responds and whether or not it will allow us to compete at the top level."
BASEBALL
Braves blast Marlins to romp into record books
Behind Adam Duvall's three homers and nine RBIs, the Atlanta Braves set a modern-era (since 1900)National League record for runs in a single game on Wednesday.
Atlanta led the visiting Miami Marlins 29-9 through eight innings.
The old modern-era NL mark for runs was 28, set by the St. Louis Cardinals against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1929.
The all-time NL record is 36 runs, established by the Chicago Colts (precursor to the Cubs) in 1897, against the Louisville Colonels.
The modern-era major-league record is the 30 runs scored by the Texas Rangers in the opener of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles in 2007.
Duvall hit a two-run homer in the second inning, a three-run shot in the fifth and a grand slam in the seventh. Travis d'Arnaud, Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr. also homered for Atlanta.
BASKETBALL
Clippers close on finals as Kawhi takes control
Kawhi Leonard finished an assist shy of his first playoff triple-double and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets 96-85 in Game 4 on Wednesday night to move a step closer to their first Western Conference finals.
Leonard filled up the stat sheet with 30 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots. He has scored 30 or more points six times during this postseason.
Reserve Montrezl Harrell added 15 points to help the Clippers take a 3-1 lead. They can close out the Nuggets on Friday night.
After building an 18-point lead in the second quarter, Los Angeles saw Denver storm back and tie it at 48 early in the third. The Clippers responded with a 21-5 run to gain some separation.
Nikola Jokic had 26 points and 11 boards for a Nuggets team that finds itself in an all-too-familiar situation. They were down in their first-round series against Utah before becoming the 12th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit.
NBA could postpone draft until November
The 2020 NBA Draft could be moved back a month under a proposal agreed to by the NBA and National Basketball Players Association, according to multiple reports Wednesday.
The draft is scheduled to be held on Oct 16, but Nov 18 is the new possible date, and it will be discussed in meetings with league owners and general managers on Thursday and Friday, ESPN reported.
By delaying the draft, the NBA and the players union would have additional time to amend certain aspects of the collective bargaining agreement and settle upon a 2020-21 salary cap and luxury tax, ESPN reported.
Moving draft day would also shift the opening of free agency, currently set for Oct 18, and push back the start of the 2020-21 season, though ESPN said a memo detailing the draft proposal does not address free agency.
GOLF
Koepka out of US Open with lingering injury
Two-time champion Brooks Koepka withdrew from the US Open on Wednesday because of lingering pain in his left knee that has troubled him for most of the year.
Koepka had played eight times in a 10-week span, including six in a row, to try to catch up from missing so much time from a knee injury suffered last October. It reached a point where he withdrew before the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs, ending his season in the hopes that time off would help.
Based on his post on Twitter, it didn't.
"Unfortunately, I have decided to withdraw from next week's US Open," Koepka said. "I'm looking forward to getting healthy and competing at 100% again very soon."
MOTOR SPORTS
Perez departure opens door for Vettel switch
Formula One driver Sergio Perez announced Wednesday he is leaving the Racing Point team after this season, opening the door for Sebastian Vettel to replace him.
Perez posted a statement on social media saying that "after seven years together, my time with the team will come to an end after the season".
Vettel had already been linked with a move to Racing Point, which will be rebranded as Aston Martin next season, and Perez's departure could pave the way for the four-time F1 champion.
Vettel is leaving Ferrari at the end of this season but has yet to sign with a new team.
Racing Point's other driver is Lance Stroll, the son of co-owner Lawrence Stroll, who is keeping his seat for next season.
Xinhua - Agencies



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