June 11, 2020 3:58 am
UNDATED (AP) – NASCAR has banned the Confederate flag from all events and properties. NASCAR says the Confederate flag runs contrary to their commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, competitors and the industry. NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from its races and properties on Wednesday, formally distancing itself from what for many is a symbol of slavery and racism that had been a familiar sight at stock car events for more than 70 years. The move comes amid social unrest around the globe following the death in police custody of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis. Protests have roiled the nation for days and Confederate monuments are being taken down across the South – the traditional fan base for NASCAR.
June 11, 2020 3:56 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball’s amateur draft began with the first of a pandemic-shortened five rounds. Arizona State slugger Spencer Torkelson was taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the Detroit Tigers. The Baltimore Orioles selected Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad at No. 2. Minnesota right-hander Max Meyer was third and went to Miami. Texas A&M lefty Asa Lacy was No. 4 to Kansas City. Vanderbilt shortstop Austin Martin went to Toronto to round out the first five picks.
June 10, 2020 3:46 am
CANTON, Ohio (AP) – The Pro Football Hall of Fame will reopen Wednesday after nearly a three-month closure caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The hall closed on March 16, but permission has been granted by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for museums, science centers and zoos to open. There will be several health and safety guidelines in place for visitors and workers at the Canton shrine. All employees must wear face coverings and visitors are encouraged to do so as well. The hall is making both masks and disposable gloves available. It also will hand out a stylus to anyone wanting one for the interactive displays.
June 10, 2020 3:43 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Baseball players have moved toward teams but remained far apart economically in their latest proposal for starting the pandemic-delayed season, adamant they receive full prorated salaries while offering to cut the regular season to 89. The proposal by the players’ association, given to Major League Baseball Tuesday evening without a negotiating session, was detailed to The Associated Press by a pair of people familiar with the negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcements were authorized. MLB did not appear to view the proposal as productive but made no comment. MLB has said that absent an agreement it could go ahead with a shorter schedule of perhaps 50 games. Players made their move one day after management cut its proposed schedule from 82 games to 76.
June 9, 2020 3:40 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball is making another try to start the coronavirus-delayed season in early July. The proposal calls for a 76-game regular season, expanding the playoffs from 10 teams to as many as 16 and allowing players to earn about 75% of their prorated salaries. Players have refused cuts beyond what they agreed to in March shortly after the pandemic began, part of baseball’s again acrimonious labor relations. The arduous negotiations have jeopardized plans to hold opening day around the Fourth of July in ballparks without fans and provide entertainment to a public still emerging from months of quarantine. MLB says it can’t afford to play in ballparks without fans, and in May the owners proposed an 82-game schedule. The union countered with a 114-game schedule at prorated pay that would extend the regular season by a month through October.
June 7, 2020 7:04 am
DENVER (AP) — Seasonal colds and the flu spread through NFL locker rooms just about every year, sending some players home sick while others slog through practices hoping they’ll feel better by game day. Last December, the Patriots flew two airplanes to Houston to keep the healthy players apart from sick ones, which included seven starters. On the final weekend of the 2016 season, the Raiders were ravaged by a bug that swept through their entire roster and waylaid hopes of a deep playoff run. Now, teams have COVID-19 to worry about. Offseason workout programs have been entirely virtual since the league closed team facilities in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. Coaches began returning to their offices Friday but players not seeking treatment for injuries probably won’t be allowed to return until training camps open next month. Many players polled by The Associated Press say they’re scared to return to work without a cure or a vaccine for the coronavirus that has infected millions worldwide and killed more than 100,000 Americans. But they’re putting their trust in the health protocols the NFL’s medical staff is developing for practices to resume and games to return. Safeguards are expected to include daily temperature checks and frequent virus tests, with sick players quarantined for two weeks.
June 6, 2020 4:00 am
UNDATED (AP) – More than half of the 32 NFL teams did not have their coaching staffs back at their facilities Friday even though the league has approved such returns where local governments allow them. NFL teams have been performing all their offseason duties virtually since their facilities were closed by Commissioner Roger Goodell in late March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The league is taking a slow approach to reopening those team buildings, with the latest step allowing coaching staffs to return. Only players currently rehabilitating injuries are allowed at the complexes.
June 6, 2020 3:59 am
NEW YORK (AP) – NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said his league made a mistake. Goodell said the league was wrong for not listening to players fighting for racial equality and encouraged them to peacefully protest. He made his strongest statement on the issues many players passionately support, one day after 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and several of his peers released a video demanding the league condemn racism. When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to take a stand against police brutality and racial injustice in 2016, he was mostly alone. Politicians, owners and fellow players criticized him, fans burned his jersey and he was booed even at home. Four years later, his protest is widely viewed as prescient. Global opinion has shifted so much that more people are vilifying those who attack Kaepernick or misrepresent his stance. George Floyd’s death, which ignited nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality, awakened many people to the root of the issues that led to Kaepernick’s demonstration. Now, Goodell said, “I personally protest with you and want to be part of the much-needed change in this country.”
June 6, 2020 3:58 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Major league players and owners continue to fire salvos instead of fastballs. Players accused teams of “depriving America of baseball games” as part of a money fight created by the coronavirus pandemic. They raised the possibility baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred might push ahead with a shortened season over the union’s objection. Union chief negotiator Bruce Meyer has sent a letter to Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem threatening that an attempt to play without an agreement could lead players to block any attempt to expand the playoffs and deny consent to neutral-site games in the postseason. Major League Baseball made its initial economic proposal on May 26, offering an 82-game regular season schedule and a sliding scale of cuts beyond the prorated shares of salaries the sides agreed to on March 26. Players responded on Sunday with a 114-game regular season schedule running through October and no additional cuts. Each player would get about 70% of his original salary under the union’s plan and roughly 22-47% under MLB’s proposal, including $200 million tied to the postseason being completed. Management quickly rejected the union plan and said it would not offer a counterproposal given the insistence of the players’ desire for a longer season that would spill into November. Among MLB’s objections concerns November baseball that could be canceled by a second wave of COVID-19.
June 5, 2020 3:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has told the 32 clubs in a memo obtained by The Associated Press that coaching staffs may work from team complexes starting Friday. Previously, only up to 75 people per day could be at the facilities, with coaches and players not seeking treatment for injuries barred. The maximum number of club employees in each facility will be increased to 100, subject to governmental regulations and implementation of health protocols developed by the NFL’s medical staff.
