HOCKEY
Gabe Perreault scored twice and five other players had a goal as the U.S. routed Latvia 7-2 Tuesday to advance to the semifinals of the IIHF world junior championship at Gothenburg, Sweden.
Perreault, the New York Rangers’ 2023 first-round pick, also had an assist as part of a dominant game by his line. Fellow 18-year-olds Will Smith, the No. 4 pick by San Jose, and Ryan Leonard, No. 8 to Washington, combined for three points.
The U.S. will next face Finland on Thursday with a spot in the gold medal game at stake.
The Americans’ victory came after tournament favorite Canada was knocked out in stunning fashion with a 3-2 quarterfinal loss to Czechia. St. Louis Blues prospect Jakub Stancl scored the go-ahead goal with 11.7 seconds left.
BASKETBALL
NBA: Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine could return to the lineup as early as Friday’s game against Charlotte if there are no setbacks in his recovery from a sore right foot.
LaVine has not played since Nov. 28 and is testing out his foot this week in a rehab stint with the G League’s Windy City Bulls. A two-time All-Star, LaVine averaged 21 points in 18 games this season. The Bulls entered Tuesday’s game in Philadelphia with a 10-5 record this season without LaVine — they were just 15-19 overall.
Bulls Coach Billy Donovan said he was encouraged by LaVine’s health reports following two days of practice with Windy City. LaVine was scheduled to practice at least one more time this week with the G League team.
SOCCER
BIRMINGHAM: England great Wayne Rooney was fired as the manager of second-tier club Birmingham after 15 games.
Rooney earned only two wins since his controversial appointment in October. Birmingham was sixth in the Championship when he started, and has fallen to 20th.
The club was taken over last summer by a company owned by American businessman Tom Wagner, and it got rid of popular coach John Eustace, who had been in charge for 15 months and steered the club away from relegation.
JURISPRUDENCE: The Spanish player kissed on the lips by the soccer president at the Women’s World Cup final appeared in court in Madrid to testify in the sexual assault case against the former official.
Jenni Hermoso was at the Madrid court to give her version of the kiss by Luis Rubiales following Spain’s victory over England in the final in Sydney in August.
“Everything went well,” Hermoso told reporters afterward. “The judicial process will continue its course, and thanks for the support that many of you had given to me.”
The incident sparked outrage across the soccer world and ignited one of the worst crises in the history of the sport in Spain. It also led to a boycott of the national team by the World Cup-winning players, and to the eventual resignation of Rubiales despite his denial of wrongdoing and his allegation that the kiss was consensual.
Hermoso was expected to reiterate in court her allegations that the kiss was unwanted and Rubiales and his staff tried to pressure her and her family to downplay the incident that tarnished Spain’s first Women’s World Cup title.
The testimony was behind close doors and the court did not release any details about her statements.
TENNIS
UNITED CUP: Novak Djokovic endured a wrist injury to lead Serbia into a United Cup mixed teams quarterfinal showdown against host Australia at Perth.
The world No. 1 was troubled by his right wrist during practice and he received intense treatment from his physio.
Djokovic was cleared to play his singles match against Jiri Lehecka later in the day, and it was just as well given that Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova defeated Olga Danilovic 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to give the Czech Republic a 1-0 lead.
Djokovic looked on track for an easy victory against Lehecka while leading by a set and 3-1. But with his wrist troubles growing, Djokovic started making unforced errors. He took a medical timeout after losing the second-set tiebreak and came out strongly with a double break in the third set to win 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-1.
BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL: Rafael Nadal showed no signs of rust from his year off the tour, winning his return match over former No. 3-ranked Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-1 at Brisbane, Australia.
The 22-time major winner hadn’t played a singles match at the elite level since a second-round exit at the Australian Open last January.
Nadal, 37, made just six unforced errors and dropped only three points on his serve in the first set. He won eight of the last nine games to clinch victory in 89 minutes.
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