Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Halfback Blake Green has been released by the Warriors with immediate affect.

The 33 year old Australian approached the NRL club through his manager Isaac Moses seeking a release from the last three months of his contract to enable him to join another NRL club.

He'll now head to the Newcastle Knights.

"We were committed to Blake staying with us for the rest of the season but he and his management have indicated they want an immediate release," said Vodafone Warriors CEO Cameron George.

"Given the circumstances we have granted his request.

The Warriors became Green's sixth NRL club when he was signed after spending the 2017 season with Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

His 55th and final appearance for the club was last Friday night's 26-20 win over the Wests Tigers at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The Bus has something to prove

Former All Blacks winger Julian Savea has reported for his first day of training with the Hurricanes, keenly aware the next few weeks will decide the direction of his professional career.

Savea, nicknamed 'The Bus', left the Hurricanes in 2018 to join Toulon on a two-year contract but cut his stay in France short earlier this year when the French Top 14 league was cancelled due to the novel coronavirus.

The 29-year-old joined the Hurricanes for their final two games in Super Rugby Aotearoa, and he said he knew he needed to impress in training and then in the domestic provincial championship to secure a longer-term contract.

"My mentality is just put my best foot forward and just show the coaches what I've still got and see what happens," Savea told reporters at the team's training base. "I'm pretty keen to stay here but I'm open to anything, so we'll see what happens."

Savea has not played any rugby since March.

"If I don't get to play for the Hurricanes I'll definitely be able to play some club footy," he said. "I'm pretty keen to get stuck into things."

Still, Savea is in negotiations with Wellington to play in provincial championship, which starts next month.

-Reuters

NZ Government concerned by gymnastics allegations

Sports Minister Grant Robertson has called allegations of psychological and physical abuse in gymnastics in the country "deeply concerning" and urged any athletes affected and their parents to come forward.

RNZ has reported that some club and elite gymnasts had complained of being verbally abused going back many years.

A series of new allegations from former gymnasts and parents emerged yesterday about elite gymnasts being sidelined after they complained about an overseas coach's methods, while allegations of abusive behaviour were not investigated properly.

Gymnastics New Zealand Chief Executive Tony Compier told Radio New Zealand that he had been unaware of any such impact on gymnasts who had spoken out, and he defended his organisation's investigation processes.

Sports Minister Robertson said that he was concerned about the rising number of allegations.

"I would like to acknowledge the courage of those who have stepped forward," he said in a statement.

"It is imperative that sport is safe for athletes and that their wellbeing is paramount at all times.

"Sport NZ is working with Gymnastics NZ on the next steps that should be taken. I would encourage people to come forward if they have allegations to raise."

McIlroy driven to win another major

Rory McIlroy says the coronavirus shutdown has made him more focused on adding to his tally of four major titles, the last of which came in 2014.

The 31-year-old will compete in the PGA Championship In San Francisco this week, before the U.S. Open and the Masters in September and November. The British Open, the fourth men's major, was cancelled earlier this year.

"Those were the three, even in quarantine, I was looking towards. Once the schedule was set it was those three events I was trying to get ready for," McIlroy told The Guardian.

"Everything was normal then we had this massive gap where I had time to think: 'OK, what are you looking forward to after this break?' It's a funny year... but I've three opportunities from now until November to add to my major tally.

"Because of all that's happened this year, it's made me focus a little more on just these weeks that are coming up."

The U.S. Open and PGA Championship will be held without fans present due to the virus outbreak but McIlroy is hopeful that might change for the Masters.

-Reuters

Record win for Ronnie

Five-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan completed his first-round demolition of Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10-1 in a World Snooker Championship record 108 minutes.

O'Sullivan was at his destructive best in the first session with two centuries and five further breaks of 60 or more to open an 8-1 lead.

And the Englishman took less than half an hour on day two to win the two frames needed to end the match.

O'Sullivan will face China's Ding Junhui in the second round.

The victory, in which O'Sullivan averaged 14 seconds per shot, smashed the previous record for the quickest match by 41 minutes, set last year by Shaun Murphy in his 10-0 whitewash of Luo Honghao.

-BBC

Cricketers miss out on pay

A third of international male cricketers have not been paid or suffered breaches of contract from events regulated by the global governing body or its member nations, the international players' federation said.

The Federation of International Cricketers' Associations said after the release of its 'Men's Global Employment Report 2020' that the International Cricket Council had a duty to protect those working within its regulatory framework.

An ICC spokesman told Reuters that the body was looking at the contents of the report.

The report cited examples such as Bangladesh players not receiving their share of prize money from an ICC event, and their counterparts in Zimbabwe, another ICC full member, still waiting for their board to pay their contracts.

It also listed unresolved payment issues in Twenty20 and 10-overs leagues in several minor cricket-playing nations including Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

-Reuters

The Rock buys XFL

Former wrestler and Hollywood actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson teamed up with investment company RedBird Capital Partners to buy the XFL for $25 million, hours before the bankrupt American football league was set to be auctioned.

Dany Garcia, Johnson's ex-wife, will also be a stakeholder. They were selected as the winning bidder for "substantially all of the assets of Alpha Entertainment LLC" - parent company of the XFL.

The XFL, a reboot of the 2001 league of the same name, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, a month after it had to cancel the remainder of its inaugural season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The brainchild of Vince McMahon, the XFL 2.0 was the second attempt by the World Wrestling Entertainment CEO to provide an NFL alternative to American football fans.

Johnson, famous for his roles in popular movie franchises such as the 'Fast & Furious' and 'Jumanji', was a college football player at the University of Miami who went undrafted in the 1995 NFL Draft before he eventually switched to wrestling.

-Reuters

Diamond League meeting brought forward

This year's Diamond League athletics meeting in Doha, initially scheduled for Oct. 9, has been brought forward by a fortnight and will take place on Sept. 25.

The event in Doha, which serves as the traditional season opener, had previously been pushed back from its April 17 slot due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Due to the ongoing global health situation and ever-changing COVID-19 regulations, the 2020 Wanda Diamond League calendar remains provisional and subject to further changes," organisers said in a statement.

The competitive season is set to begin in Monaco on Aug. 14 followed by meetings in Stockholm, Lausanne, Brussels, Rome/Naples, Doha and a yet to be determined location in China.

Diamond League meetings in Eugene, London, Paris, Rabat, Gateshead and Shanghai have been cancelled.

-Reuters