May 11, 2020 10:26 am
UNDATED (AP) – The American Hockey League has canceled the rest of its season because of the coronavirus pandemic. The league’s board of governors made that determination in a conference call Friday. The AHL suspended its season on March 12 after the NHL did. The league hopes to be back next season but that is in jeopardy if sports must be played in empty arenas.
May 9, 2020 3:46 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball will cut its amateur draft from 40 rounds to five this year, a move that figures to save teams about $30 million. A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that clubs gained the ability to reduce the draft as part of their March 26 agreement with the players’ association and MLB plans to finalize a decision next week to go with the minimum. The 160 players drafted would be by far the fewest since the annual selection started in 1965. The amount of signing bonus pool money eliminated is over $29 million.
May 9, 2020 3:44 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons says he will take a 10% salary reduction for the next fiscal year in an effort to save the athletic department $3 million in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Lyons says football coach Neal Brown, men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins, women’s basketball coach Mike Carey and baseball coach Randy Mazey also will voluntarily take the 10% reduction starting on July 1. In addition, coaches and athletic staff earning more than $100,000 will take a 5% salary reduction, and staff making less than $100,000 will take a 2.5% reduction. Lyons also says 65 employees will be furloughed for 60 days starting May 24.
May 7, 2020 3:50 am
Fans will be allowed to enter baseball stadiums Friday for games in Taiwan for the first time this season. It’s part of a gradual easing of restrictions amid the pandemic. The China Professional Baseball League said up to 1,000 people would be permitted to enter ballparks after an agreement between the league and Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center.
May 5, 2020 3:42 am
The Dallas Cowboys have made room for new backup quarterback Andy Dalton by waiving the player who sat behind Dak Prescott for most of the past three seasons. Cooper Rush saw mop-up duty in five games. Prescott hasn’t missed a game in his four seasons. Dalton, a former Cincinnati starter, is guaranteed at least $3 million in his one-year contract.
May 4, 2020 10:51 am
MIAMI (AP) – Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Don Shula has died at his home in South Florida. He was 90. The Miami Dolphins say Shula died Monday morning. He won the most games of any NFL coach and led the Dolphins to the only perfect season in league history. Shula surpassed George Halas’ league-record 324 victories in 1993. He retired following the 1995 season with 347 wins, 173 losses and six ties, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997. Shula became the only coach to guide an NFL team through a perfect season when the 1972 Dolphins went 17-0.
May 4, 2020 2:41 am
The DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series has been canceled along with 10 other PONY-sponsored World Series events planned for this summer. The international office announced the decision Friday afternoon citing the “ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.” PONY President Abe Key said in a statement that it would be “reckless and irresponsible to host these events under the current circumstances” and called the decision to cancel the tournaments “difficult and disappointing.”
World Series Tournaments, Incorporated, the local organizing committee, echoed the sentiments, calling the cancellation disappointing but absolutely necessary given the uncertainty of the situation. Tournaments, Inc. President Nathan Voytek said it would not be possible to host the annual fan-based, sponsored-supported event during the current public health and economic crisis.
May 3, 2020 8:03 am
Andy Dalton is coming home to Texas as Dak Prescott’s backup with the Dallas Cowboys. Dalton and the Cowboys agreed Saturday to a one-year deal that guarantees the former Cincinnati starter $3 million and could be worth up to $7 million. The agreement was first reported by ESPN. The Cowboys reached a deal with Dalton two days after he was released by the Bengals. That moved cleared the way for No. 1 overall draft pick Joe Burrow, who led LSU to the national championship. Dalton, born and raised in the Houston area, led TCU to an undefeated season that included a Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin during the 2010 season before the Bengals drafted him in the second round. The Cowboys have relied on the untested Cooper Rush behind Prescott the past two seasons. The 32-year-old Dalton marks their biggest investment in a veteran backup since Prescott replaced the injured Tony Romo as a rookie in 2016 and ended up taking his job for good. Dalton started 133 games for the Bengals and led the franchise’s best stretch of playoff appearances — five straight from 2011-15 — but couldn’t get that elusive win. Cincinnati lost in the first round each time, setting an NFL record. Dalton had a broken thumb and was sidelined for the last of those playoff appearances, which ended in a last-minute meltdown and an 18-16 loss to Pittsburgh during the 2015 season.
May 2, 2020 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – Major League Baseball and its umpires have worked out a salary restructure in a deal that could put instant replay on hold this season. Two people familiar with the agreement tell the Associated Press that the agreement includes a 50% cut in May and nothing more this year if no games are played. The deal covers a pay structure during a coronavirus pandemic that has delayed the start of the season. Umps generally make between $150,000 and $450,000. They already have been paid from January through April. If even one regular-season game is played this season, the umps are guaranteed about one-third of their salaries. As part of the deal, MLB has the right not to use instant replays of umpires’ decisions during the 2020 season. Most calls have been subject to video review since 2014, but MLB is considering playing regular-season games at spring training ballparks that are not wired for replay.
May 1, 2020 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – NASCAR has set a date to green flag its Cup season. The circuit has announced it will resume its season without fans present starting May 17 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. The premier Cup Series will then race three more times in a 10-day span, beginning with one more at Darlington before two outside Charlotte, North Carolina. NASCAR’s revised schedule goes only through May and has a pair of Wednesday Cup races, fulfilling fans’ longtime plea for midweek events. The first race is scheduled for Darlington, NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway, followed by a second race at the 70-year-old, egg-shaped oval track three days later. Charlotte Motor Speedway will then host the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24 to mark 60 consecutive years the longest race on the NASCAR schedule will be held on Memorial Day weekend. The track in Concord, outside NASCAR’s home base of Charlotte, will then host a Wednesday race three days later. There will also be lower-tier Xfinity and Trucks series races at the two tracks.
