Daily Sports News, December, 20th.
Welcome to the Daily Sports News :
- Heat end 76ers' flawless home run, Celtics beat Mavs;
- IPL auction: Eoin Morgan signs for Kolkata Knight Riders;
- Russia to appeal against four-year ban from major sporting events for doping offences;
- England in South Africa: Several members of touring party ill with flu-like symptoms;
- Takumi Minamino: Liverpool new signing is 'one of a kind' inspired by Ronaldo;
Heat end 76ers' flawless home run, Celtics beat Mavs
The Miami Heat snapped the Philadelphia 76ers' unbeaten start at home with a 108-104 victory in the NBA.
Philadelphia boasted a 14-0 record on home court until Wednesday's defeat to their Eastern Conference rivals at Wells Fargo Center.
The 76ers eased past the Heat 113-86 in Philadelphia last month, however, they succumbed to Miami (20-8) and Kendrick Nunn's 26 points and Bam Adebayo's 23.
Joel Embiid posted 22 points and 19 rebounds for the 76ers (20-9), who closed within 106-104 25.5 seconds from the end.
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics prevailed 109-103 against the Luka Doncic-less Dallas Mavericks midweek.
Kemba Walker's 32 points were a game high as the Celtics left Dallas with the win.
IPL auction: Eoin Morgan signs for Kolkata Knight Riders
England's Eoin Morgan, Jason Roy, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran have all earned six-figure contracts in the Indian Premier League's player auction.
Morgan, who led England to World Cup success in 2019, was auctioned for £563,000 to Kolkata Knight Riders, who are coached by Brendon McCullum.
Kolkata also made Australia's Pat Cummins (£1.7m) the most expensive overseas player in IPL history.
Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer remain with Rajasthan Royals.
The England trio were not part of the auction after the franchise opted to retain them from last season's squad. Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali were also retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively.
Russia to appeal against four-year ban from major sporting events for doping offences
Russia is set to appeal against the decision to ban it from all major sporting events for four years.
Its anti-doping agency, Rusada, says it does not agree with the punishment from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
The bans means Russia's flag and anthem will not be allowed at events such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics and football's 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Rusada says a letter to Wada will be prepared on behalf of the president "in the next 10-15 days".
"Then the ball will be in Wada's court and the situation will be developing in the legal field," added Alexander Ivlev, head of Rusada's supervisory board.
England in South Africa: Several members of touring party ill with flu-like symptoms
Several members of England's touring party are ill with flu-like symptoms, a week before the start of the Boxing Day first Test in South Africa.
The conditions of Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and Jack Leach, all absent from this week's warm-up match, have worsened, while "two to three" other players have also fallen ill.
England said that two members of their backroom staff have similar symptoms.
They added that they hope to see improvements within the next 72 hours.
As a consequence of the sickness in the camp, Friday's warm-up against South Africa A has been downgraded from its first-class status.
England will play four Tests, three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches during this tour, before moving on to Sri Lanka in March.
Takumi Minamino: Liverpool new signing is 'one of a kind' inspired by Ronaldo
Takumi Minamino is a winner. Or at least he has a desperate desire to win, often stating how he hates losing.
It is a characteristic that will serve the Japan winger well as he joins a Liverpool side unbeaten in 34 Premier League games - their longest such run in the top flight.
All Minamino has ever wanted to do is play football - his unequivocal love for the beautiful game evident since an early age.
As a child, Minamino was substituted while playing for local club Sessel Kumatori, where he played until joining Cerezo Osaka. The youngster, still at elementary school, would ask the manager: "Why did you take me off? Let me play more because I love football."
He was one of a kind. No other player at the club, nor any other Japanese player, would dare question a manager or any authority in such an assertive and confident manner, especially at such a young age.