6 Jun 2019

Today's sports news: What you need to know

4:58 pm on 6 June 2019

Latest - Toronto Raptors topple Golden State

The Toronto Raptors have taken advantage of an injury-ravaged Golden State Warriors with a 123-109 in game three of the NBA basketball finals in Oakland.

Toronto Raptors lead the series 2-1.

Toronto Raptors lead the series 2-1. Photo: Supplied: NBA

The win at the Warriors' Oracle Arena gives the Raptors a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven NBA Finals.

The Raptors dominated throughout the game with the Warriors missing All-Star sharpshooter Klay Thompson, who suffered a hamstring injury in game two, former NBA MVP Kevin Durant who is battling a calf strain and back-up centre Kevon Looney, ruled out for the season with a fractured collarbone.

The Raptors were led by All-Star Kawhi Leonard with 30 points, Kyle Lowry's 23 points and Danny Green's 18 points.

Game four is in Oakland on Saturday with speculation Thompson and Durant will play despite their injuries.

The Warriors are seeking their third straight NBA title and fourth in five years.

-Reuters

Wellington rugby player banned for drugs use

New Zealand Rugby have suspended Wellington hooker James O'Reilly for two weeks after he admitted using an illicit substance.

Wellington's James O'Reilly during the Wellington Lions vs Southland Stags match in Wellington, August 2018.

Wellington's James O'Reilly during the Wellington Lions vs Southland Stags match in Wellington, August 2018. Photo: © www.Photosport.nz 2018

New Zealand Rugby have suspended Wellington hooker James O'Reilly for two weeks after he admitted using an illicit substance following a club game celebration.

The Union and Wellington rugby were made aware of the incident after a social media video was shared.

The video appears to show two club players - one a contracted Wellington player - with what he admitted was an illicit substance.

Hutt Old Boy's Marist player O'Reilly, played 11 times for the Hurricanes in 2018 and was called in as injury cover this season.

The matter has also been referred to Police and O'Reilly has apologised in a statement.

Hutt Old Boys Marist chairman Phil Saxton said the players actions were unacceptable and in a clear breach of its code of conduct.

Rain washes out day's play at French Tennis Open.

It means the two remaining womens and mens quarter-finals will be played tonight.

Third seed Simona Halep is to play Amanda Anisimova and Ashleigh Barty to play Madison Keys and in the men's draw top seed Novak Djkokovic is to play Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem is to pay Karen Khachanov.

Both women's semi-finals will be played Friday.

More rain is forecast for tomorrow.

African Champions League game to be replayed.

Esperance have been ordered to return the African Champions League trophy and to replay the second leg of the final.

The Tunisian side led in Sunday's second leg but Moroccan opponents Wydad Casablanca left the pitch after an equaliser they scored was disallowed.

Wydad wanted the video assistant referee to check if the goal should stand but the system was not working.

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) said the second leg will be replayed at a neutral venue.

The 1-1 draw from the first leg stands.

Gayle and Russell expected to play against Australia

The West Indies will wait until before the toss to decide if Chris Gayle and Andre Russell will face Australia in tonight's World Cup clash at Trent Bridge.

Gayle didn't train today as he recovers from ongoing back injuries, but the West Indies expect he'll be fine for the match.

Russell was forced off the field in last week's win over Pakistan with a knee injury. He did train on match-eve with officials also confident he'll recover in time.

Both players are expected to form a key part of the Windies' game plans against Australia.

More Cricket World Cup news

Russell has already spoken about his plans to bounce out the Aussies, however there are questions inside the Australian camp around how many overs he can get through.

The 31-year-old quick sent down just three overs against Pakistan for figures of 2-4, while he also sent down the same amount in his warm-up game against Australia last month.

Meanwhile, Gayle is well known as the West Indies' powerhouse at the top of the order.

Just last week he became the leading six-hitter in World Cup history with 40, while the 39-year-old has cleared the fence one-in-every-10-balls he's faced since early 2014.

-AAP

Infantino stays on as FIFA boss

Gianni Infantino has been re-elected FIFA president unopposed at the congress of world football's governing body in Paris as he claimed to have turned the organisation from being "toxic and almost criminal" back to its core values.

Fifa boss Gianni Infantino.

Gianni Infantino. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Infantino's re-election was marked by a round of applause from the congress after the statutes were changed earlier in the day to no longer require a vote if there was only one candidate for the position.

The 49-year-old Swiss-Italian lawyer now has a four year mandate to try and accomplish his grandiose plans for football which were partly frustrated in his first term.

He has been in charge of FIFA since February 2016, after succeeding Sepp Blatter in the wake of a damaging corruption scandal that Infantino claimed the body had now shaken off.

Infantino said FIFA's previously precarious financial situation was now looking rosy with the organisation's budget increased from $7.5 billion to $9.7bn and reserves up from $1.5bn to $4.2bn.

Infantino claimed 11 areas of progress during his tenure, from financial health, women's development, the fight against racism and a scandal-free 2026 World Cup bidding process. However, he said the implementation of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system had been his major triumph.

-Reuters

New engine for Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton is set to receive a boost in his quest for a sixth Formula One world championship, with Mercedes to unleash an upgraded engine for this week's Canadian Grand Prix.

Hamilton's peerless Mercedes team have dominated this season, finishing first and second at all but one of the opening six rounds.

The Briton, with four victories under his belt, is 17 points clear of teammate Valtteri Bottas and 55 ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in the championship standings.

World champions Mercedes are poised to strike another blow to their rivals with the planned introduction of their first fresh engine of the season at Montreal's high-powered Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Drivers are only permitted to use three engines without penalty throughout the 21-round campaign.

-AAP

Tribulietx leaves Auckland City

Head coach Ramon Tribulietx has departed Auckland City FC after 11 years with the football club.

Auckland City coach Ramon Tribulietx.

Ramon Tribulietx. Photo: Photosport

After a short stint as assistant coach under Paul Posa, Tribulietx took over as head coach alongside Aaron McFarland in September 2010 following Posa's retirement.

In his first season he managed the team to its third OFC Champions League title, the first of seven consecutive title wins that provided an uninterrupted run to the FIFA Club World Cup between 2011 and 2018.

Tribulietx won no less than 26 competitions during his tenure, a haul that included seven OFC Champions League titles, three ISPS Handa Premiership titles and a record seven premierships, five Charity Cup wins and two international tournament victories in the OFC President's Cup and Nike Lunar New Year Cup.

His team twice held the record for longest unbeaten run in the OFC Champions League, the first run covering 27 matches across a six-year period and the second a 29-match undefeated streak covering just under five years.

The Navy Blues also put together an astonishing run of 15-consecutive ISPS Handa Premiership and OFC Champions League clean sheets in unbeaten run that saw goalkeeper Enaut Zubikarai unbeaten for 1,582 minutes, the fourth best by any goalkeeper in history.

Thunder may trade first round pick

The Oklahoma City Thunder could trade their No. 21 overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft to save money, according to a report.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Thunder "have had multiple conversations" with other teams about a trade possibility.

The Thunder trailed only the Golden State Warriors in team payroll in the 2018-19 season at $216 million. That amount will trigger the luxury tax.

While the No. 21 pick is slotted to earn $3.2 million, paying that amount would lead to continued luxury tax.

If they can't work out a trade, the Thunder could draft a player, such as a foreign prospect, who wouldn't join the team for a few years. That would give Oklahoma City financial relief and a building block player for the future.

-Reuters