Sports News Roundup: Soccer-Brazil's bid to host the Women's World Cup tops European rival; Blues remove interim tag from coach Drew Bannister and more

He received 72 first-place votes and 433 points from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Sparks move Fever game; Indy writer suspended after Caitlin Clark interaction The Los Angeles Sparks have moved their May 24 game against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever to the 19,000-seat Crypto.com Arena, the team announced Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Motor racing-Miami GP sets F1 record for a live U.S. television audience

Sunday's Miami Grand Prix drew Formula One's biggest live U.S. television audience with an average 3.1 million viewers watching the race on ABC and a peak of 3.6 million, according to broadcaster ESPN. The sixth round of the season gave McLaren's Lando Norris an emotional first win in Formula One with Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen finishing second and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc third.

Rudy Gobert named Defensive Player of Year for 4th time

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time on Tuesday. Gobert tied Hall of Fame big men Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace for the most times winning the award in league history. He received 72 first-place votes and 433 points from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Sparks move Fever game; Indy writer suspended after Caitlin Clark interaction

The Los Angeles Sparks have moved their May 24 game against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever to the 19,000-seat Crypto.com Arena, the team announced Tuesday. The Sparks were set to host Clark's Los Angeles-area WNBA debut at the Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State, which seats about 4,000. But with the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers and Kings out of the postseason, availability opened at the downtown Los Angeles Crypto.com Arena.

NHL: Ratings spike for Bruins-Leafs, first-round playoff games

The Boston Bruins' overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 on Saturday was the most-watched first-round playoff game across North America on record, the NHL said Tuesday. Shown on multiple platforms -- ABC, CBC, Sportsnet and TVA Sports -- the Bruins' 2-1 clincher in the Eastern Conference series drew 8.82 million viewers.

NHL-Sphere in Las Vegas to host 2024 NHL Draft

The 2024 National Hockey League Draft will be held in Las Vegas at Sphere in what will be the first televised event from the futuristic venue, the league announced on Tuesday. The NHL Draft, which has never been held in Las Vegas before, will take place June 28-29 when the San Jose Sharks are widely expected to select Canadian forward Macklin Celebrini with the first overall pick.

Soccer-Brazil's bid to host the Women's World Cup tops European rival

Brazil's bid to host the 2027 Women's World Cup scored higher than its rival, a joint bid from Belgium, Netherlands and Germany, in a FIFA's evaluation report released on Tuesday. The world soccer governing body bid report came ahead of the vote at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok on May 17, which will decide where the next Women's World Cup will be held.

Blues remove interim tag from coach Drew Bannister

The St. Louis Blues removed the interim tag from coach Drew Bannister and signed him to a two-year contract on Tuesday. Bannister, 50, took over behind the bench on Dec. 14 after Craig Berube was fired following a 13-14-1 start. The Blues went 30-19-5 under Bannister's leadership but missed the playoffs for a second straight season.

Connor McDavid chasing fourth Hart Trophy

Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov were named the finalists for the 2023-24 Hart Memorial Trophy on Tuesday. The award is presented "to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team" and voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

NBA-Nuggets' Murray fined $100,000 for throwing objects onto court

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been fined $100,000 for throwing a towel and a heating pad in the direction of an official during a playoff game this week, the NBA said on Tuesday. Murray was not suspended over the incident, which occurred while the Nuggets game against the Minnesota Timberwolves was in progress on Monday. Reigning champions Denver lost the game.

MLB roundup: Bryce Harper carries Phillies to 6th straight win

Bryce Harper homered, singled and drove in three runs, Zack Wheeler tossed seven strong innings and the host Philadelphia Phillies defeated the San Francisco Giants 6-1 to complete a four-game series sweep on Monday. Kyle Schwarber ripped a solo home run among his two hits and Nick Castellanos added two hits, two walks and an RBI for the Phillies, who have won six straight overall and 10 in a row at home. Whit Merrifield contributed an RBI single and J.T. Realmuto had two hits.

(With inputs from agencies.)