Paul Pierce and Chris Bosh are among the notable names to be included on the 2021 list of inductees into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Pierce sits 16th on the all-time list for points in the NBA, finishing with 26,397 at the end of a career that included winning a title with the Boston Celtics.

Selected 10th overall in the 1998 draft by Boston, the former Kansas Jayhawk was a 10-time All-Star who also played for the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers.

Bosh was a two-time champion during his time as part of a Miami Heat roster that also included fellow 'big three' members LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

An 11-time All-Star, Bosh – who was drafted by the Toronto Raptors – helped the United States win gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. His career was cut short due to a blood-clotting condition in 2017.

Former players Chris Webber and Ben Wallace are also to be honoured, along with Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson from the WNBA.

The international committee selection goes to Toni Kukoc, a three-time NBA champion with Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls as they dominated between 1996 and 1998.

Bill Russell, meanwhile, is one of the coaches chosen having already been selected as a player. He is joined by Rick Adelman and Jay Wright.

The delayed ceremony for a 2020 class including Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant was held on Saturday in Connecticut.

Egan Bernal produced a storming finish to win stage nine of the Giro d'Italia – a result good enough to see the Colombian take over as the new race leader.

Bernal claimed a long-overdue maiden Grand Tour stage triumph following a gruelling 157-kilometre ride from Castel di Sangro to Campo Felice that concluded with an uphill finish on a gravel track.

Geoffrey Bouchard and Koen Bouwman were involved in a breakaway group but were unable to remain clear, the duo overtaken within 500 metres of the line.

A determined Bernal pushed hard to claim potentially crucial time in the battle for the maglia rosa, finishing seven seconds clear of Giulio Ciccone and Alexandr Vlasov, who were second and third respectively.

The 2019 Tour de France winner now has a 15-second cushion over nearest rival Remco Evenepoel in the overall standings.

"I cannot believe what just happened, I just won my first stage in a Grand Tour," Bernal said in his post-race interview.

"I made a lot of sacrifices to get where I am now. I was thinking I would do well today but I was not sure whether I could have won the stage.

"My team-mates had a lot of confidence in me, they told me I could do it: this victory is for them, they really believe in me."

Attila Valter had held the pink jersey heading into the stage, yet he found the going tough on the final climb and finished almost a minute behind the stage winner.

Meanwhile, Matej Mohoric was taken to hospital following a dramatic crash during proceedings. Team Bahrain Victorious confirmed the Slovenian would undergo tests and was to be kept under observation, as per the UCI's concussion protocol.

Mohoric somersaulted over his handlebars after coming off during a descent, with his bike splitting apart after making contact with a crash barrier.

STAGE RESULT  

1. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 4:08:23
2. Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) +07secs
3. Alexandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) "
4. Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick Step) +10s
5. Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) "

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 35:19:22
2. Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick Step) +0.15
3. Alexandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) +0.21

Points Classification

1. Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) 83
2. Giacomo Nizzolo (Team Qhubeka Assos) 76
3. Elia Viviani (Cofidis) 69

King of the Mountains
 
1. Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroen Team) 51
2. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 48
3. Gino Mader (Bahrain Victorious) 44

Amanda Anisimova raced into the second round at the Emilia-Romagna Open, where she could now face wildcard Venus Williams.

Venus and Serena Williams have each entered the event in Parma to prepare for the French Open, although Bianca Andreescu has been forced to withdraw.

Both Williams sisters have qualifiers in their openers at the start of next week, but Venus – absent in Rome with a knee injury – already knows tricky teenager Anisimova lies in wait beyond that.

Anisimova was a force in the 2019 clay-court season, then just 17 but winning the Copa Colsanitas – still her sole WTA Tour title – before beating Simona Halep at Roland Garros to reach the French Open semi-finals.

A return to the red dirt in 2020 yielded only three wins, though, two of them at the major before Halep gained revenge, and this season has been similarly testing.

But fifth seed Anisimova eased through her opener on Sunday, beating home hopeful Jasmine Paolini 6-2 6-1 in just shy of an hour.

Daria Kasatkina, the number four seed, could also face a grand slam winner in round two, with Sloane Stephens – the 2017 US Open champion – potentially her prize after seeing off Hsieh Su-wei in straight sets.

Qiang Wang had to come through three sets but ensured there were no upsets on day one as she defeated Misaki Doi 6-2 5-7 6-1.

Iga Swiatek sealed a place in the world's top 10 in style on Sunday, thrashing Karolina Pliskova without dropping a game in a stunning Internazionali BNL d'Italia final.

The reigning French Open champion was in ruthless form in the showpiece match, dismantling the ninth seed 6-0 6-0 in just 46 minutes on the Rome clay.

Pliskova simply had no answer as she suffered the first double-bagel loss in a WTA final since 2016, back when Anastasija Sevastova was on the receiving end against Simona Halep in Bucharest.

Swiatek showed no mercy to her opponent, losing just 13 points during a lopsided contest. She did face two break points in the third game of the second set, but quickly recovered to hold serve.

The victory secures a third career title for the teenager from Poland, who also triumphed in Adelaide earlier this year.

"I'm really really happy. I'm kind of overwhelmed because at the beginning of this tournament I wouldn't even dream of winning," Swiatek said in her on-court interview.

"It was super tough. We had to fight a lot of stuff.

"Obviously Karolina had a great run here and in previous years she's showing she's a really consistent player."

The new champion had needed to play twice on Saturday due to rain delays during the tournament, overcoming both Elina Svitolina and Coco Gauff in straight sets to progress to the final.

Those results came after a last-16 scare against Barbora Krejcikova, Swiatek twice having to save match points before eventually prevailing in a deciding set.

"I'm really happy we've been able to play with fans because you gave me a lot," Swiatek, who is certain to be inside the top 10 when the updated rankings are released on Monday, said.

"Everything happened during this week. I've been playing two matches in a day, saving set points, saving match points, and you [the crowd] helped me a lot because it's tough.

"I want to thank people that are not here, my family and my cat, I am always thinking about her."

Adelaide United boosted their hopes of progressing straight through to the A-League semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Brisbane Roar.

Craig Goodwin's 23rd-minute strike was the difference between the two sides, with victory leaving Adelaide a point behind Central Coast Mariners in the race for second place.

The Roar had a golden chance to level from the penalty spot six minutes before half-time, but Joseph Champness' effort was kept out by a low save from James Delianov after Ryan Kitto handled in the area.

Sydney FC and Macarthur are level with Adelaide on 35 points as the season nears an exciting climax.

Brisbane remain in sixth, the final quarter-final place, despite their defeat as seventh-placed Western Sydney Wanderers were thumped 5-1 by Perth Glory.

The Glory prevailed thanks to a masterclass from Andy Keogh, who scored four goals for Perth to move them three points behind Brisbane. Joel Chianese rounded out the win deep into injury time.

The day's other game saw Wellington Phoenix go within three points of the Roar as they held league leaders Melbourne City to a 2-2 draw.

Jamie Maclaren's free-kick nine minutes from time put City 2-1 ahead to seemingly secure maximum points, only for Tomer Hemed's second in the 88th minute to ensure a share of the spoils.

All Blacks great Kieran Read has retired from rugby.

Read had said he would end his career at the end of the Japan Top League season, and his Toyota Verblitz side suffered a 48-21 semi-final defeat against the Panasonic Wild Knights on Sunday.

In a post on social media, Read said: "I'm looking forward to returning to New Zealand and spending time with my family."

"Thank you to the @toyotaverblitz team for the friendships I will hold onto for my lifetime, it's been a challenging time for everyone involved but proud of the direction we are heading," Read wrote on Instagram. 

"Also, a massive thanks to all the fans of rugby in Japan for your support."

Read was part of two New Zealand World Cup-winning sides, earning 127 caps for the All Blacks to put him third all-time in that regard. Richie McCaw tops the list with 148 Test caps.

He played 52 of his Tests as skipper and was the 66th captain of New Zealand. Only McCaw (110) made more appearances as captain of the All Blacks.

With 107 victories, Read is one of only five players to win 100 Test matches, along with fellow All Blacks McCaw, Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock and Sam Whitelock.

His run of 19 consecutive victories as All Blacks captain from 2012 to 2016 is a record.

Werder Bremen have sacked coach Florian Kohfeldt and appointed Thomas Schaaf as they bid to avoid the Bundesliga relegation play-off for a second straight season.

Kohfeldt was relieved of his duties following Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Augsburg, Werder's eighth in nine league games.

Having taken one point from a possible 27, Werder are in the relegation play-off spot, a point adrift of Arminia Bielefeld and one ahead of Cologne, meaning they can still be automatically relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.

Kohfeldt helped Werder avoid the drop last season as they narrowly came through a play-off with Heidenheim.

But he will not have the chance to secure safety this time around, with Werder installing legendary coach Schaaf for the final game of the season against Borussia Monchengladbach.

Schaaf's first spell as coach lasted from 1999 to 2013 and saw him lead Werder to a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in 2003-04. 

He won six trophies in that stint and also guided Werder to the UEFA Cup final in 2009.

"Unfortunately after the game in Augsburg, we were no longer convinced that we would be able to stay up with Florian Kohfeldt," said sporting director Frank Baumann.

"We are happy that Thomas is taking on this task in such a precarious situation for the club.

"We hope that he can bring his experience to the table and get the players ready for the last game of the season."

New UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira told Conor McGregor "I'm going to put you on your a**", but warned the former two-weight king he needs to focus on a rematch with Dustin Poirier first.

Oliveira made a narrow escape in the first round against Michael Chandler at UFC 262 on Saturday before dropping his opponent with the first punch of the second to claim the title vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Afterwards, McGregor congratulated Oliveira on Twitter, while hinting at a potential fight with the Brazilian.

He wrote: "Congrats to Oliveira on becoming the 11th UFC lightweight champion. Wonder who Twelve is..."

And Oliveira is clearly keen to face the Irishman on home soil but only if McGregor avenges his defeat to Poirier in January.

"Conor, worry about Dustin," Oliveira told reporters.

"Conor, since you're so tough: First of all, you beat Dustin, and then you come over to Brazil and I'm going to put you on your a**.

"First, he's got to get past Dustin. He's one of these guys that just talks a lot. He's got to beat Dustin first."

Giannis Antetokounmpo insists the Milwaukee Bucks are "in a good place" ahead of the NBA playoffs despite being likely to miss out on the second seed.

The Bucks won 122-108 over the Miami Heat on Saturday to stay in contention for the second seeding in the Eastern Conference.

However, the scenario is tough for Milwaukee, who need to beat the Chicago Bulls on Sunday and hope the Brooklyn Nets lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers to move into second.

"We've got to keep getting better," Antetokounmpo said post-game.

"We've got to keep learning from each game. We're in a good place. The guys are having fun, guys are playing great. We're playing with an edge."

Forward Khris Middleton and reserve Bryn Forbes led the scoring for the Bucks against the Heat with 21 points each, while Jrue Holiday had 20 points, five rebounds and 10 assists.

Antetokounmpo scored 15 points and had nine rebounds and he felt another good offensive and defensive display held them in good stead for the playoffs irrespective of seeding.

"It's all about effort and defending," the Greek forward said.

"When the game started we were focused. We know it's going to be a physical game.

"We've been scoring a lot lately. We moved the ball, we found the open man and took the open shot.

"As long as we guard defensively and are able to rebound, we're in a good place."

The Los Angeles Dodgers will have to play without Corey Seager for a while after the World Series MVP suffered a broken right hand on Saturday. 

Seager took a Ross Detwiler pitch off the hand in the fifth inning of a 7-0 Dodgers victory over the Miami Marlins and immediately left the game. 

Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts told reporters afterward that Seager was still in pain, and X-rays soon revealed the fracture. 

Seager, 27, is a two-time All-Star who was named MVP of the National League Championship Series and the World Series last year as the Dodgers won the title. 

He is hitting .265 with a .783 OPS and has four home runs in 37 games this season. 

Los Angeles have been beset by injuries, mostly to their pitchers, but outfielder AJ Pollock went on the 10-day injured list earlier Saturday with a hamstring problem. 

The front office moved quickly to counter that loss by acquiring the versatile Yoshi Tsutsugo from the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Dodgers also reportedly plan to sign Albert Pujols. 

Those additions will not solve the problem of how to compensate for Seager's loss, though. 

Gavin Lux moved over from second base to replace Seager at shortstop Saturday and would appear to be the Dodgers' first choice to start there in the interim. 

Despite their injury woes, the reigning World Series champions are 22-17, the fourth-best record in the National League, as they fight it out with the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres in the NL West. 

Charles Oliveira made a narrow escape from the first round against Michael Chandler at UFC 262 before ending things in a hurry in the second. 

Oliveira (31-8) dropped Chandler with his first punch after the break and won by TKO 19 seconds into the second round to claim the UFC lightweight title in Houston. 

In his 28th UFC fight, the Brazilian earned his first strap, a belt left vacant when the unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov decided to retire. 

Chandler (22-6) had won the first round 10-8 on two judges' scorecards and 10-9 on the other, but he could not put Oliveira away. 

Once the 31-year-old had a chance to compose himself, he showed his class with a single shot. 

It was Oliveira's 17th career finish, moving him past Donald Cerrone for the most in UFC history. 

In the co-headlining bout, Beneil Dariush dominated Tony Ferguson to win unanimous decision.

The defeat was the third in a row for Ferguson (25-5), the former UFC lightweight interim champion, who previously lost by unanimous decision to Oliveira at UFC 256 in December. 

The Iran-born Dariush (21-4-1) said his seventh consecutive win should put him in the conversation in the lightweight ranks, but he plans to take the next several months off as his daughter is due to be born in June. 

Also on the card, Rogerio Bontorin defeated Matt Schnell and Katlyn Chookagian beat Viviane Araujo, both by unanimous decision, while Edson Barboza knocked out Shane Burgos at 1:16 in the third round. 

For the second time in as many UFC events, an undercard fight ended with an apparent broken limb. 

Brazilian veteran Jacare seemed to break his arm in losing by technical submission to Andre Muniz at 3:59 in Round 1. It was the first loss by submission for the 41-year-old Jacare (26-10).

At UFC 261 a fortnight earlier, Chris Weidman broke his leg landing a kick on Uriah Hall. 

The San Diego Padres jumped on the St Louis Cardinals early on Saturday and never let up, hitting home runs in each of the first three innings on the way to a 13-3 rout. 

Despite top slugger Fernando Tatis Jr's absence due to a positive COVID-19 test, the Padres pounded three-time All-Star Adam Wainwright for those six early runs, then piled on the St Louis bullpen. 

Austin Nola drove in a career-high six runs, including a three-run homer off Wainwright in the third inning. Tommy Pham and Kim Ha-seong also homered for San Diego.

Things got so bad for St Louis that veteran infielder Matt Carpenter came on to pitch in the seventh inning, then remained in the game to work the eighth. He surrendered two hits to the six batters he faced but did not allow any more runs. 

The Padres and Cardinals entered Saturday with two of the three best records in the National League, but St Louis will need to bounce back Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep. 

Dodgers' Bauer dominates Marlins

Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer was spectacular for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 7-0 win over the Miami Marlins.

Bauer allowed just two hits in seven shutout innings while striking out 10 Miami batters to lower his ERA to 2.20. All of Bauer's strikeouts came in the first four innings.

There was one concerning note for the Dodgers in victory, though, as Corey Seager left the game in the fifth inning after being hit by a pitch in the right hand. 

The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-2 thanks in part to a two-run homer by Aaron Judge. It was Judge's 23rd career home run against the Orioles, his most against any team.

Ian Anderson limited the Milwaukee Brewers to two hits in his six innings of work as the Atlanta Braves cruised to a 5-1 victory.  

Eduardo Escobar hit a pair of homers and drove in seven runs to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks past the Washington Nationals 11-4. 

Harold Castro's 10th-inning single lifted the Tigers past the Chicago Cubs 9-8 for Detroit's fifth win in six games. 

Phillies' stars fall in loss

The Philadelphia Phillies' two best hitters left a 4-0 defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays with injuries, adding longer-term concern to Saturday's setback. Bryce Harper departed in the fourth inning with what the team called right shoulder soreness, and J.T. Realmuto followed in the eighth with a left wrist problem. Manager Joe Girardi told reporters both players are day-to-day. 

Bogaerts clears the Monster

Xander Bogaerts launched a rocket over the Green Monster in Boston, with his 446-foot home run helping the Red Sox to a 9-0 rout of the Los Angeles Angels.

Saturday's results

Detroit Tigers 9-8 Chicago Cubs
Boston Red Sox 9-0 Los Angeles Angels
Minnesota Twins 5-4 Oakland Athletics
Tampa Bay Rays 12-5 New York Mets
Pittsburgh Pirates 8-6 San Francisco Giants
New York Yankees 8-2 Baltimore Orioles
Houston Astros 6-5 Texas Rangers
Kansas City Royals 5-1 Chicago White Sox
Atlanta Braves 5-1 Milwaukee Brewers
Toronto Blue Jays 4-0 Philadelphia Phillies
Cincinnati Reds 6-5 Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks 11-4 Washington Nationals
San Diego Padres 13-3 St Louis Cardinals
Seattle Mariners 7-3 Cleveland Indians
Los Angeles Dodgers 7-0 Miami Marlins

Mets at Rays

Marcus Stroman (3-3, 2.01 ERA) will try to prevent the Tampa Bay Rays (22-19) from sweeping the New York Mets (18-15) at Tropicana Field. Josh Fleming (2-3, 2.73) gets the start for the Rays. 

Andy Murray will miss the French Open to give himself the best possible chance of being match-ready for Queen's Club and Wimbledon.

The decision was reached on Saturday – Murray's 34th birthday – as the three-time grand slam winner attempts to banish the lingering effects of a recent groin injury.

Murray will work on his fitness and his game in London over the coming weeks, preparing for an emotional return to action in front of a British crowd.

The grass-court season was cancelled in the UK last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Troubled by fitness issues, Murray has not played singles at Wimbledon since 2017, although in 2019 he entered men's doubles and mixed doubles, partnering Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Serena Williams in those events.

Murray travelled to Rome last week, initially with the sole purpose of practising against leading tour players at the Internazionali d'Italia, and he had a session with long-time rival and current world number one Novak Djokovic, playing a set.

The Scot and fellow Briton Liam Broady were then accepted into the doubles, winning a round before bowing out.

It was expected that Murray would play singles either in Geneva or Lyon in the coming week; however, word emerged that he had abandoned that plan as he reportedly turned down a wildcard to the Swiss tournament.

Now it can be confirmed that Murray will not head to Paris for the French Open either, choosing to focus his energy on the grass-court season.

Although Murray achieved success on clay at the height of his career, winning Masters 1000 titles in Madrid and Rome and reaching the 2016 French Open final, he has greater pedigree on grass, as his five Queen's Club titles and two Wimbledon triumphs have demonstrated.

Skipping the remainder of the clay-court season means Murray can focus on getting himself in the best possible shape for those events in London.

Murray underwent hip resurfacing surgery in January 2019 in a bid to give himself more years on tour. He lost in the second round of the US Open last year before being thrashed by Stan Wawrinka in round one of the French Open.

He was disappointed to miss the Australian Open at the beginning of this year after testing positive for COVID-19.