Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Bucks’ Antetokounmpo named most valuable player for second straight year

Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second straight year on Friday, becoming the first European player to win the award twice. Antetokounmpo won by a landslide to beat Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James to the prize, receiving 85 of the 101 first-place votes from a global panel of sports writers and broadcasters. James received only 16. Azarenka lends tearful Kasatkina helping hand after injury in Rome

Victoria Azarenka moved into the quarter-finals of the Italian Open in Rome on Friday when her opponent Daria Kasatkina injured her ankle and retired, but not before the Belarusian comforted her and offered words of encouragement. With the match evenly poised at 6-6 in the opening set, Kasatkina rolled her right ankle while chasing a ball in the tiebreak, with Azarenka immediately rushing to her side to offer assistance. DeChambeau grabs clubhouse lead as Winged Foot bares teeth

Bryson DeChambeau ground his way around a much tougher Winged Foot course and enjoyed a closing eagle to grab the second-round U.S. Open clubhouse lead on Friday as windier conditions humbled many of the game’s top golfers. DeChambeau drained a six-foot eagle putt at his final hole, the par-five ninth, for a two-under 68 that brought him to three under for the week before overnight leader Justin Thomas (five under) began his second round. Mickelson disappointed as Grand Slam bid falls short again

Phil Mickelson’s hopes of completing the career Grand Slam of golf’s four majors may have been dashed forever as the six-times runner-up walked away from the U.S. Open on Friday with one of the worst 36-hole scores of his major career. Mickelson shot a four-over-par 74 in tough second-round scoring conditions at a windy Winged Foot that left him at 13 over on the week and well outside the cut line of the only major tournament he has never won. Kragh Andersen takes second Tour stage win with late solo attack

Denmark’s Soren Kragh Andersen claimed his second audacious solo stage win of the Tour de France on Friday with a perfectly timed attack late in the 19th stage, an undulating 166.5-km ride from Bourg en Bresse to Champagnole. The Sunweb rider, who also won the 14th stage in Lyon with an instinctive move in the finale, jumped away from a group of late breakaway riders to give his team their third stage win this year after Marc Hirschi’s victory in the 12th stage. Stars and Lightning play for Stanley Cup but who will be watching

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars will begin play for the Stanley Cup on Saturday, but who will be watching aside from diehard National Hockey League fans when the puck drops, as viewers will have a mouth-watering menu of sports to choose from. With play in a COVID-19 quarantine bubble in Edmonton, which is closer to the North Pole than either Dallas or Tampa, the NHL will not benefit from any of the usual buzz generated around the two host cities or peripheral media attention. Wilson, Hall of Fame S for Cardinals, dies at 82

Pro Football Hall of Fame safety and long-time Arizona Cardinals executive Larry Wilson died on Thursday at the age of 82, the team announced. Wilson was selected to eight Pro Bowls and earned five first-team All-Pro honors during his 13 seasons (1960-72) for the then-St. Louis Cardinals. He later oversaw the franchise relocation from St. Louis to Arizona for the 1988 season when he was both vice president and general manager of the team. Monfils subjected to racist abuse online after early exit in Rome

France’s Gael Monfils revealed on Friday that he had been racially abused on Instagram following his early exit at the Italian Open in Rome. Fifth seed Monfils, who had received a bye into the second round, lost 6-2 6-4 to Dominik Koepfer on Thursday after which he received the abusive comments as personal messages, with one fan calling him a “stupid black monkey” and “slave”. Report: RB Anderson retires after seven NFL seasons

Running back C.J. Anderson is retiring after a seven-year NFL playing career, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Friday. Schefter added that Anderson, 29, is looking into a coaching career in college football, likely with a Power 5 program. DeChambeau’s late night practice pays off at U.S. Open

Bryson DeChambeau sensed a cold front moving into Winged Foot on Thursday so he headed to the course for a late night practice session, a decision that paid off on Friday when he carded his second straight sub-par round at the U.S. Open. DeChambeau had a busy second day that included five birdies, five bogeys and a closing eagle for a two-under-par 68 and a share of first place as he chases a first major title.