REUTERS SPORTS SCHEDULE AT 7.30 p.m. GMT/2.30 p.m. ET

Here are the top sports stories and upcoming coverage plans for Reuters text service as of 2.30 p.m. ET/7.30 p.m. GMT. For a full schedule of news and events, go to our editorial calendar on Reuters Connect https://www.reutersconnect.com/planning or on Media Express http://mediaexpress.reuters.com/planning-tools/calendar.

TOP STORIES

SPORTS

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-NBA NBA postpones five games due to COVID-19 outbreak The NBA on Sunday announced it had postponed the next two Brooklyn Nets games and games for three other teams due to the high number of players and staff that have entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

TENNIS-MEN-THIEM Tennis – Thiem to miss start of season, says Australian Open still the goal Austria’s Dominic Thiem will decide by the end of December whether to play at the Australian Open after withdrawing from the upcoming ATP Cup and Sydney ATP 250 events on Sunday due to a long-standing wrist injury.

TENNIS-AUSOPEN Tennis – American Brady pulls out of Australian Open due to injury Jennifer Brady, the 2021 Australian Open runner-up, has withdrawn from next month’s Melbourne Park Grand Slam due to a foot injury, tournament organisers said on Sunday.

UPCOMING:

SPORTS

ALPINE-SKIING/MEN (PIX)

FIS Alpine ski World Cup men’s Giant Slalom

FIS Alpine ski World Cup season for Men’s in Alta Badia, Italy

20 Dec

BASKETBALL-NBA-ATL-CLE/ (PIX)

POSTPONED – Basketball – NBA – Atlanta Hawks v Cleveland Cavaliers

2021-22 NBA Season (Regular Season) – State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia

20 Dec 19:30 ET / 00:30 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-BKN-DEN/ (PIX)

POSTPONED – Basketball – NBA – Brooklyn Nets v Denver Nuggets

2021-22 NBA Season (Regular Season) – Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York

20 Dec 19:30 ET / 00:30 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-CHI-LAL/ (PIX)

Basketball – NBA – Chicago Bulls v Los Angeles Lakers

2021-22 NBA Season (Regular Season) – United Center, Chicago, Illinois

20 Dec 20:00 ET / 01:00 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-DET-MIA/ (PIX)

Basketball – NBA – Detroit Pistons v Miami Heat

2021-22 NBA Season (Regular Season) – Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan

19 Dec 18:00 ET / 23:00 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-MEM-POR/ (PIX)

Basketball – NBA – Memphis Grizzlies v Portland Trail Blazers

2021-22 NBA Season (Regular Season) – FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee

19 Dec 18:00 ET / 23:00 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-MIN-DAL/ (PIX)

Basketball – NBA – Minnesota Timberwolves v Dallas Mavericks

2021-22 NBA Season (Regular Season) – Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

20 Dec 20:00 ET / 01:00 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-PHI-NOP/ (PIX)

POSTPONED – Basketball – NBA – Philadelphia 76ers v New Orleans Pelicans

2021-22 NBA Season (Regular Season) – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

20 Dec 19:00 ET / 00:00 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-PHX-CHA/ (PIX)

Basketball – NBA – Phoenix Suns v Charlotte Hornets

2021-22 NBA Season (Regular Season) – Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona

20 Dec 20:00 ET / 01:00 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-SAC-SAS/ (PIX)

Basketball – NBA – Sacramento Kings v San Antonio Spurs

2021-22 NBA Season (Regular Season) – Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California

19 Dec 18:00 ET / 23:00 GMT

CRICKET-TEST-AUS-ENG/ (PIX)

Cricket – Ashes – Australia v England, second test

Australia take on England at Adelaide Oval in a day-night test, the second match in the Ashes series.

20 Dec 23:00 ET / 04:00 GMT

FOOTBALL-NFL-BAL-GB/ (PIX)

Football – NFL – Baltimore Ravens v Green Bay Packers

2021-2022 NFL Season (Regular Season) – M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

19 Dec 16:25 ET / 21:25 GMT

FOOTBALL-NFL-DEN-CIN/ (PIX)

Football – NFL – Denver Broncos v Cincinnati Bengals

2021-2022 NFL Season (Regular Season) – Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

19 Dec 16:05 ET / 21:05 GMT

FOOTBALL-NFL-SF-ATL/ (PIX)

Football – NFL – San Francisco 49ers v Atlanta Falcons

2021-2022 NFL Season (Regular Season) – Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California

19 Dec 16:05 ET / 21:05 GMT

FOOTBALL-NFL-TB-NO/ (PIX)

Football – NFL – Tampa Bay Buccaneers v New Orleans Saints

2021-2022 NFL Season (Regular Season) – Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

20 Dec 20:20 ET / 01:20 GMT

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/SOCCER-ENGLAND (TV)

Soccer – England – Premier League holds meeting with club owners

The Premier League holds a virtual meeting with the club owners to discuss the COVID-19 situation which has seen nine games postponed in the last 10 days.

20 Dec

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-CAR-NSH/ (PIX)

POSTPONED – Hockey – NHL – Carolina Hurricanes v Nashville Predators

2021-22 NHL Season (Regular Season) – PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina

19 Dec 17:00 ET / 22:00 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-NJD-PIT/ (PIX)

Hockey – NHL – New Jersey Devils v Pittsburgh Penguins

2021-22 NHL Season (Regular Season) – Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey

20 Dec 19:00 ET / 00:00 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-OTT-BOS/ (PIX)

POSTPONED – Hockey – NHL – Ottawa Senators v Boston Bruins

2021-22 NHL Season (Regular Season) – Canadian Tire Centre, Kanata, Ontario

19 Dec 17:00 ET / 22:00 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-SEA-TOR/ (PIX)

POSTPONED – Hockey – NHL – Seattle Kraken v Toronto Maple Leafs

2021-22 NHL Season (Regular Season) – Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington

20 Dec 21:00 ET / 02:00 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-VAN-ARI/ (PIX)

POSTPONED – Hockey – NHL – Vancouver Canucks v Arizona Coyotes

2021-22 NHL Season (Regular Season) – Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia

20 Dec 22:00 ET / 03:00 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-WPG-STL/ (PIX)

Hockey – NHL – Winnipeg Jets v St. Louis Blues

2021-22 NHL Season (Regular Season) – Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba

19 Dec 15:00 ET / 20:00 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-WSH-LAK/ (PIX)

Hockey – NHL – Washington Capitals v Los Angeles Kings

2021-22 NHL Season (Regular Season) – Capital One Arena, Washington, District of Columbia

20 Dec 19:00 ET / 00:00 GMT

SOCCER-ENGLAND/

Soccer – Premier League talking points

Talking points from the weekend’s Premier League games

20 Dec

SOCCER-FIFA/ (PIX) (TV)

Soccer – FIFA summit on biennial World Cup

FIFA hold an online summit to discuss holding the soccer World Cup every two years. Following the meeting, FIFA will hold a news conference.

20 Dec

SOCCER-FRANCE-EFA-PSG/REPORT (PIX)

Soccer – France – Coupe de la France – Entente Feignies Aulnoye v Paris St Germain

Entente Feignies Aulnoye, from the fifth tier of French soccer, play Paris St Germain in the Coupe de la France.

19 Dec 16:10 ET / 21:10 GMT

SOCCER-ITALY-MIL-NAP/REPORT (PIX)

Soccer – Italy – Serie A – AC Milan v Napoli

AC Milan face Napoli in Serie A. Will wrapup other Serie A games in this.

19 Dec 14:45 ET / 19:45 GMT

SOCCER-ITALY/

Soccer – Italy – Serie A talking points

Talking points from the weekend in Serie A.

20 Dec 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

SOCCER-SPAIN-MAD-CCF/REPORT (PIX) (TV)

Soccer – Spain – LaLiga – Real Madrid v Cadiz

Real Madrid face Cadiz in LaLiga.

19 Dec 15:00 ET / 20:00 GMT

SOCCER-SPAIN-SEV-FCB/PREVIEW

Soccer – Spain – LaLiga – Barcelona training & news conference

Barcelona prepare to face Sevilla in LaLiga with Xavi Hernandez’s team currently struggling with bad results. They are eight in standings, 18 points from league leaders Real Madrid.

20 Dec 10:30 ET / 15:30 GMT

SOCCER-SPAIN/

Soccer – Spain – LaLiga talking points

Talking points from the weekend in LaLiga.

20 Dec 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

SOCCER-WORLDCUP/QATAR (TV)

Soccer-Arab Cup stress tests Qatar’s World Cup readiness

This month’s Arab soccer tournament was the first major stress test of Qatar’s infrastructure as the tiny Gulf state prepares to welcome 1.2 million fans next year for the World Cup.

20 Dec 04:00 ET / 09:00 GMT

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