Digest

ICE HOCKEY

Draisaitl makes MVP history for Germany

Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl won the NHL MVP award on Monday after leading the league in scoring.

Draisaitl is the first German player to win the Hart Trophy. The league announced its award winners Tuesday night prior to the Tampa Bay Lightning's 3-2 series-tying win over the Dallas Stars in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton.

The 24-year-old Draisaitl had 110 points in 71 games for the Oilers. He also won the Ted Lindsay Award as most outstanding player decided by members of the NHLPA.

Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender, Nashville's Roman Josi got the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman, and Colorado's Cale Makar won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.

MOTOR RACING

NBA legend Jordan forms NASCAR team

Basketball great Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin have partnered to form a new single-car NASCAR Cup Series team that will feature Bubba Wallace as its driver, the trio said on Monday.

Jordan, a six-time NBA champion, will serve as principal owner of the team, with Hamlin a minority partner while he continues to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Wallace, the only black driver at NASCAR's top level, was thrust into the spotlight this year when his calls for NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag－which many Americans see as a symbol of oppression－at all events was ultimately adopted.

The 26-year-old Wallace was later thought to have been a victim of a racially motivated hate crime when a noose was found in his garage. However, an FBI investigation concluded with no charges being filed.

The name, car number, manufacturer, sponsors and other details for the new team, which will start racing in the 2021 season, will be announced at a future date.

TENNIS

Triumphant Djokovic declares: I've moved on

Fifteen days after he was defaulted from the US Open, Novak Djokovic had plenty to celebrate on Monday.

Djokovic beat Diego Schwartzman 7-5, 6-3 to win his fifth Italian Open title; he passed childhood idol Pete Sampras for the second-most weeks at No 1 with 287－trailing only Roger Federer's 310 weeks in the top spot－and he reasserted his dominance before the French Open which starts on Sunday.

"I did experience mentally some kind of ups and downs in the first four to five days after (the US Open default) happened. I was in shock," Djokovic said. "But I moved on and really I never had an issue in my life to move on from something. Regardless how difficult it is I try to take the next day and hope for the best and move on."

Djokovic improved to 31-1 this year－with his only loss against Pablo Carreno Busta in the fourth round of the US Open. That was when Djokovic unintentionally hit a line judge in the throat with a ball in a fit of anger－resulting in him being thrown out.

SOCCER

'Benjamin Button' Ibra forever young for Milan

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice to help AC Milan beat Bologna 2-0 in Serie A on Monday and keep the Rossoneri's recently renewed optimism alive at the start of the new season.

Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock 10 minutes before halftime with a powerful header from a Theo Hernandez cross.

The veteran Swedish forward doubled his tally from the penalty spot five minutes into the second half after Ismael Bennacer was brought down on the edge of the area by Bologna defender Riccardo Orsolini.

Ibrahimovic, who turns 39 on Oct 3, also had chances for a hat-trick as Milan looks to build on its strong finish to last season.

"If I was 20 years old, I would have scored two more goals, but luckily I'm 39. I'm like Benjamin Button, I was born old and I will die young," said Ibrahimovic, referencing the 2009 Oscar-winning movie.

"But joking apart, we are doing well and we are still not at our best. It was important to start well, the aim is to do better than last year."

Rakitic calls time on international career

Ivan Rakitic has decided to end his international career, Croatia's soccer federation said Monday.

The 32-year-old Rakitic played 106 times for his country in a storied midfield partnership with Luka Modric that lasted for more than a decade.

They were key to Croatia reaching the 2018 World Cup final where it lost 4-2 to France. Rakitic scored the decisive penalty in shootouts to beat Denmark and host Russia in the first two knockout rounds.

"Saying goodbye to the Croatian national team is the most difficult decision in my career," said Rakitic, who left Barcelona for Sevilla this summer.

Born in Switzerland, Rakitic started his career at Basel and represented Swiss national youth teams before opting to switch to his parents' home nation.

CYCLING

Doping probe launched into French Tour team

French judicial authorities have opened a preliminary investigation into suspected doping during the Tour de France targeting the Arkea-Samsic team, the French outfit confirmed on Monday.

Following reports in the French press that two persons close to the squad led by Colombian rider Nairo Quintana－a former Giro d'Italia and Spanish Vuelta champion－were being held for questioning, cycling governing body the UCI later said it had been in touch with a special public-health unit (OCLAESP) as part of the operation.

A day after the end of the Tour in Paris, Arkea-Samsic said that the team itself, the manager and staff have not been accused of wrongdoing after sports newspaper L'Equipe said police from the OCLAESP led a search on Wednesday in Meribel, in the Savoie region, at the team hotel.

DRAGON BOAT

BYD makes a splash with high-tech design

Chinese automobile maker BYD joined in hands with the Chinese Canoe Association to launch a high tech-enhanced dragon boat on Monday in Beijing as part of efforts to earn the sport an Olympic spot.

Dragon boat racing, which was an official sport at the 2018 Asian Games, will be a demonstration event at the postponed 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

BYD's new sleekly designed 10-man dragon boat will be showcased to the world at next year's Tokyo Games, and China hopes it will help attract more nations to get involved and aid the sport's Olympic push.

"Dragon boat racing is a traditional sport in China and has a history of about 2,000 years," said former two-time Olympic canoeing champion Meng Guanliang.

"If it is eventually included in the Olympics, more people will know about China and feel Chinese culture through the sport."

Xinhua - Agencies