Reuters Sports Schedule at 0001 GMT on Friday
Reuters sports schedule at 0001 GMT on Friday:
SOCCER
Premier League
We look ahead to the weekend's Premier League fixtures including Liverpool v Manchester City. (SOCCER-ENGLAND-TEAM/ expect throughout)
Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen v Bayern Munich (1930) Reigning champions Bayern Munich travel to Bayer Leverkusen in their hunt for a record-extending sixth successive Bundesliga title with the league resuming after the winter break. (SOCCER-GERMANY/, expect by 2200 GMT/5:PM ET, 400 words)
TENNIS
Australian Open (15-28)
Tennis-Men's preview
MELBOURNE - Swiss maestro Roger Federer will be back to try and defend his title while several grand slam champions will be back in the hunt after lengthy injury breaks. We preview the year's first grand slam. (TENNIS-AUSOPEN/MEN, expect by 1000 GMT/5 AM ET, by Ian Ransom, 500 words)
Tennis-Australian Open-Women's preview
MELBOURNE - Picking a women's singles champion at the Australian Open could resemble a lucky dip this year with Serena Williams' continued absence again leaving the door ajar. We look at the likley title contenders for the year's first grand slam TENNIS-AUSOPEN/WOMEN, expect by 1000 GMT/5 AM ET, by Martyn Herman, 500 words)
Penpix of the top men's contenders at Australian Open
MELBOURNE - A look at the top men's contenders at the 2018 Australian Open, which begins on Jan. 15 at Melbourne Park. (TENNIS-AUSOPEN/PENPIX-MEN, expect by 1000 GMT/5 AM ET)
Penpix of the top women's contenders at Australian Open MELBOURNE - A look at the top women's contenders at the 2018 Australian Open, which begins on Jan. 15 at Melbourne Park. (TENNIS-AUSOPEN/PENPIX-WOMEN, expect by 1000 GMT/5 AM ET)
FACT-Tennis-Australian Open men's singles champions
MELBOURNE - List of men's singles winners at the Australian Open. (TENNIS-AUSOPEN/CHAMPIONS-MEN, expect by 1000 GMT/5 AM ET)
FACT-Tennis-Australian Open women's singles champions
MELBOURNE - List of women's singles champions at the Australian Open. (TENNIS-AUSOPEN/CHAMPIONS-WOMEN, expect by 1000 GMT/5 AM ET)
50 years since last amateur grand slam was held in Australia
LONDON - It is 50 years since Bill Bowrey won the Australian Championships in 1968, and therefore became the last amateur grand slam champion. We look at that momentous time for the game as it moved into the professional era. (TENNIS-AUSOPEN/ERA, expect by 1000 GMT/5 AM ET, 400 words)
Sydney International
SYDNEY - Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi meets former number one Angelique Kerber in the last four after an all-Australian affair between Ashleigh Barty and Daria Gavrilova. TENNIS-SYDNEY/ (PIX), expect throughout, 300 words)
Auckland Classic
AUCKLAND - Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut will play Dutchman Robin Haase in the first semi-final before Juan Martin del Potro takes on David Ferrer for a place in the final. TENNIS-AUCKLAND/MEN, expect throughout, 300 words)
Hobart International
HOBART - Defending champion Elise Mertens will take on 2015 winner Heather Watson in the first semi-final before Lesia Tsurenko clashes with Mihaela Buzarnescu for a place in the final. (TENNIS-HOBART/WOMEN)
GOLF
PGA Tour: Sony Open, Honolulu, Hawaii (to 14)
Thomas, Spieth headline field at Waialae
Defending champion Justin Thomas, who opened with a 59 last year en route to capturing his fourth PGA Tour title, and British Open champion Jordan Spieth head the field at Waialae Country Club on the Hawaiian island of Oahu for this week's Sony Open. (GOLF-SONYOPEN/ (PIX), expect by 0430 GMT/11:30 PM ET, 400 words)
South African Open
Grace, Koepka lead
JOHANNESBURG - Home favourite Branden Grace and Chase Koepka from the United States share the lead at seven under-par ahead of the second round. (GOLF-EUROPEAN/, expect by 1700 GMT/12 PM ET, 300 words)
NBA
LeBron's Cavs battle Raptors
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Toronto Raptors in a clash of Eastern Conference contenders while the San Antonio Spurs visit the Los Angeles Lakers in two of the four games on the National Basketball Association's schedule. (BASKETBALL-NBA/HIGHLIGHTS, expect by 0430 GMT/11:30 PM ET, by Field Level Media, 500 words)
NHL
Lightning host Flames, Caps battle Canes
The Tampa Bay Lightning, led by league scoring leader Nikita Kucherov, try to pad their lead atop the overall standings when they host the Calgary Flames while Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals host the Carolina Hurricanes in two of the three games on the National Hockey League schedule. (ICEHOCKEY-NHL/HIGHLIGHTS, expect by 0430 GMT/11:30 PM ET, by Field Level Media, 300 words)
NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS
Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (expect by 0100 GMT/8:PM ET, by Field Level Media, 500 words)
WINTER OLYMPICS
U.S. men's ice hockey team discuss Olympics
Members of the U.S. men's ice hockey team, including head coach Tony Granato and captain Brian Gionta, discuss the Feb. 9-25 Pyeongchang Olympics on a conference call where the final two members of the squad will be revealed. (OLYMPIC-2018-ICEH/USA, moved, by Frank Pingue, 400 words)
We are also moving a series of features and previews ahead of the Feb. 9-25 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Resilient Svindal back on form and gunning for gold
WENGEN, Switzerland - When Aksel Lund Svindal discovered that he would have to undergo knee surgery for the second time in a year, his reaction was simply: "Here we go again". (OLYMPICS-2018-ALPS/SVINDAL, moving at 1300 GMT/8:AM ET, by Brian Homewood, 500 words)
Bolivia's Alpine skier overcomes different mountains
ADELBODEN, Switzerland - For, Bolivian skier Simon Breitfuss Kammerlander,qualifying for his first Olympic Games was as much about overcoming legendary South American bureracracy as about speeding down mountains. (OLYMPICS-2018-ALPS/BOLIVIA, moving at 1300 GMT/8:AM ET, by Brian Homewood, 500 words)
A stone's throw, from Scottish island to Korean ice
MAUCHLINE, Scotland - John Brown has lovingly polished each and every one of the curling stones to be used at the Pyeongchang Olympics, buffing and burnishing the granite in a workshop whose machines look older than him. The 52-year-old will be "chuffed to bits" to see them thrown in South Korea. In a multimedia package, we look at where the stones come from and how they are made. (OLYMPICS-2018-CURL/STONES (PIX, TV), by Alan Baldwin, moving at 1300 GMT/8:AM ET, 700 words)
Rise and fall of notorious judge Le Gougne
French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne, at the heart of one of the biggest scandals in the sport in Salt Lake City in 2002, has left the figure skating world and now runs a massage parlour in her native Strasbourg. A look at the rise and fall of one of figure skating's most notorious judges. (OLYMPICS-2018-FIGS/SCANDAL, moving at 1300 GMT/8:AM ET, by Gabrielle Tetrault- Farber, 400 words)
Skating's infamous scoring system
The end of anonymous judging after Sochi and the Sotnikova/Kim controversy. Are skaters reassured? What issues remain in the scoring system? (OLYMPICS-2018-FIGS/SCORING, moving at 1300 GMT/8:AM ET, by Elaine Lies and Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber, 400 words)
Kenworthy wants gold for the gay community
When American skier Gus Kenworthy came out as gay in 2015, he became the first high-profile freestyle athlete to do so. Since then, he has become a LGBT icon and now wants to win in Pyeongchang for the gay community. (OLYMPICS-2018-FSKI/KENWORTHY, moving at 1300 GMT/8:AM ET, by Jack Tarrant, 400 words)
ALPINE SKIING
World Cup
Men's Combined
WENGEN, Switzerland - Frenchman Alexis Pinturault is favourite for the event which kicks off one of the highest-profile meetings on the Alpine skiing calendar. (ALPNIE SKIING-MEN/, 200 words, expect from 1500 GMT/10:AM ET)
Freestyle Skiing
World Cup - Moguls
DEER VALLEY - Day two of the FIS Freestyle Ski Moguls competition in Deer Valley. (FREESTYLE-WORLDCUP/USA, tv,)
GYMNASTICS
Former team doctor for U.S. Olympians faces sentencing
MASON, Michigan - Larry Nassar, a former team doctor for Olympians at USA Gymnastics, will be sentenced after pleading guilty in November 2017 to sexual assault charges. He pleaded gulity to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual misconduct and faces at least 25 years in prison under a plea deal. He faces sentencing on similar charges in a different Michigan court on Jan. 31. (GYMNASTICS-USA/NASSAR, pix, tv)
(Asia desk editor: Greg Stutchbury)
