Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

NBA-Suns’ Paul says plant-based diet fueling push for NBA Finals return

When Suns point guard Chris Paul first heard about plant-based diets upon arriving in Los Angeles a decade ago the native of barbeque-loving North Carolina was anything but tempted. “I was like, nah, I’m cool off this,” a smiling Paul told Reuters in an interview. “I’m from the south, and we eat every piece of the pig you can find.”

WTA roundup: Top three seeds hold serve in Transylvania

Top seed Simona Halep, No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit and No. 3 seed Emma Raducanu all won in straight sets on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Transylvania Open at Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Playing in her homeland of Romania, Halep defeated Russia’s Varvara Gracheva 6-4, 6-2 after overcoming a back injury to win 26 of her 32 first-service points (81.3 percent). Halep will face countrywoman Jaqueline Cristian in the next round.

U.S. senators propose adding boycott of China’s Winter Olympics to defense bill

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Thursday proposed an amendment to an annual defense policy bill that would impose a diplomatic boycott of China’s Winter Olympics – less than 100 days away – amid accusations of rights abuses by Beijing. The amendment, led by Republican Senator Mitt Romney, mirrors language included in sweeping China-related legislation the Senate passed in June, and would prohibit the secretary of state from spending federal funds to “support or facilitate” the attendance of U.S. government employees at the Games.

ATP roundup: Frances Tiafoe upsets No. 1 Stefanos Tsitsipas in Vienna

After falling behind 3-0 in the deciding set, American qualifier Frances Tiafoe battled back to take down No. 1 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Thursday in the second round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria. Tiafoe saved three of four break points in the third set and broke Tsitsipas’ serve twice en route to winning five straight games to make it 5-3. Tsitsipas smashed 11 aces in the match but committed six double faults along the way.

NHL-Panthers coach Quenneville resigns amid Blackhawks sexual assault investigation fallout

Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville resigned on Thursday after an independent report found that his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks, failed to act on allegations of sexual assault made by a former player against a coach in 2010. The report released on Tuesday said Blackhawks President John McDonough was aware of the allegations that former video coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulted a player during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, while Quenneville was coach, but did not want the negative publicity.

Olympics-IOC to make decision on weightlifting and boxing ‘as soon as possible’

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will make a decision as early as possible on whether boxing and weightlifting will be at the Paris 2024 Games, president Thomas Bach said on Thursday. “We are quite concerned because in these two federations there are problems of good governance and that is why we are currently monitoring them very closely,” Bach told French sports daily L’Equipe.

NHL roundup: Panthers roll past Bruins to remain unbeaten

The Florida Panthers — off to the best seven-game start in franchise history — defeated the visiting Boston Bruins 4-1 on Wednesday night in Sunrise, Fla. Florida (7-0-0) got one goal each from Mason Marchment, Eetu Luostarinen, Anthony Duclair and Owen Tippett (empty net). The Panthers also benefited from Sergei Bobrovsky’s 30 saves, three assists from Gustav Forsling and two assists from Sam Reinhart.

Cricket-Unfazed by uncertainty, Afghans chase T20 Cup semis dreams

Afghanistan players are not fretting over what the future may hold for the team and are instead pre-occupied with the task of making the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup, spinner Rashid Khan said on Thursday. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) will meet next month to discuss the game’s future in the south Asian country under the Taliban rule.

NBA roundup: Knicks barely hold off Bulls

Kemba Walker scored 21 points and RJ Barrett added 20 as the visiting New York Knicks withstood a late rally from the previously unbeaten Chicago Bulls in a 104-103 win on Thursday. The Knicks moved ahead 104-91 with 2:59 to play on Randle’s basket before Chicago closed the game on a 12-0 run.

Soccer-Ajax goalkeeper Onana returns to first-team training

Ajax Amsterdam goalkeeper Andre Onana has returned to first-team training after Maarten Stekelenburg was ruled out for the rest of the season with injury, the Dutch club said on Thursday. European soccer’s governing body UEFA handed Onana a year-long ban in February for violating doping rules but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced the suspension to nine months following an appeal.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)