Digest

SOCCER

Neymar's father denies influencing team choices

The father of Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar said on Wednesday that the Brazilian forward will decide his next career move for himself.

Dismissing claims that he heavily influences his son's key decisions, Neymar Santos Sr said his priority was to provide moral support for the 28-year-old.

"He is always the one who chooses which path to take," Neymar Sr said in an Instagram Live video."We only work administratively: to make sure he has the best contract, to put him in the best home and have the best career management."

He described Neymar's 2013 move to Barcelona as the realization of a "childhood dream". But the 55-yearold, who has acted as Neymar's agent since 2011, denied speculation the 28-year-old could return to Camp Nou this summer, insisting he is happy at Parc des Princes.

Liverpool falls silent to remember victims

Liverpool, home of the current English Premier League leader, fell silent on Wednesday as the city remembered the 96 fans killed in Hillsborough disaster.

During an FA Cup semifinal between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on 15 April 1989, 96 Liverpool supporters died in a crush caused by overcrowding.

A memorial service was due to be held at Anfield on the 31st anniversary of the tragedy but had to be canceled because of COVID-19.

But the city still managed to remember the victims. Liverpool FC officials, players and fans, as well as leaders from City Hall, took part in a minute's silence.

Flags were flown at half-mast on civic buildings and at Anfield, and the bells at Liverpool Town Hall chimed 96 times for those killed.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp posted a video on the club's website with a message for fans. A wreath was laid at Anfield's Hillsborough memorial and a commemorative banner placed inside the ground.

WRESTLING

WWE performers laid off despite TV return

WWE started releasing professional wrestlers on Wednesday in budget cuts related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The moves came even with the company allowed to continue to run live TV shows in Florida after Governor Ron DeSantis deemed WWE an essential business.

Pro sports were added to a list of businesses permitted to stay open in an April 9 memorandum to include "employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience... only if the location is closed to the general public".

The amendment allows World Wrestling Entertainment, run by CEO Vince McMahon in the Orlando area, to continue putting on shows－without fans. WWE announced on Wednesday it made various moves to cut costs and improve cash flow, including reducing the salaries of executives and board members.

BASKETBALL

Dream Team's romp plucked from archives

With no live NBA games to watch during the sports shutdown, the Dream Team's historic romp at the 1992 Olympics will be rebroadcast in its entirety.

The Olympic Channel will begin weekly streaming of the US basketball team's victories at the Barcelona Games, where Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and Larry Bird headlined the team.

The squad also featured Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Christian Laettner and Chris Mullin.

The 1992 Games were the first Olympics to feature NBA players, and the Americans stormed to the gold medal. They won by an average of 44 points per game and were credited with jump-starting basketball's global growth. The team was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

Full game replays will stream at Olympicchannel.com and its apps for mobile, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and the Roku platform.

FORMULA ONE

Double-headers the solution, says Rosberg

Formula One needs at least 16 races for a proper championship this year but eight double-header weekends would do if the COVID-19 pandemic limits options, former F1 driver Nico Rosberg said on Wednesday.

The regulations demand a minimum of eight races but the German, who beat Mercedes teammate and six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to the 2016 title, told Reuters more were needed for credibility.

"I would love to see eight doubleheaders at the very least so we get 16 races because statistically of course the fewer races you have the more likely that it is an outsider is going to be world champion," he said.

"If the favorite like Lewis Hamilton has a stroke of bad luck that could really switch things around which is not great because for a championship you want to take away luck as much as possible," he added.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

New NFL game 'appeals to wider audience'

Nifty Games raised an additional $12 million in funding to make mobile sports games like NFL Clash－a new head-to-head game licensed by the National Football League and NFL Players Association.

The additional money pushed the total to $15 million for Nifty Games, which will launch NFL Clash later this year.

"NFL Clash is a game that we're designing to appeal to a wider fan base than Madden has over the years," CEO Jon Middleton told GameDaily."We love Madden NFL Football and many of our team have worked on Madden products at one time or another, but mobile free-to-play clash-style gaming is more accessible and has wider appeal. We want NFL fans to have fun with an authentic and competitive game of NFL Clash football in just minutes."

Nifty Games previously announced a partnership with the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.