July 14, 2020 3:55 am
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) – Russell Westbrook of the Houston Rockets says he has tested positive for coronavirus, and that he plans to eventually join his team at the restart of the NBA season.
Westbrook made the revelation Monday on social media. As recently as Sunday, the Rockets believed that Westbrook and James Harden – neither of whom traveled with the team to Walt Disney World near Orlando last week – would be with the team in the next few days. In Westbrook’s case, that now seems most unlikely.
July 14, 2020 3:53 am
ATLANTA (AP) – The Atlanta Braves say they have no plans to follow the lead of the NFL’s Washington Redskins and change their team name. The tomahawk chop chant used by Braves fans is under review, however. The team said in the letter it is seeking input from the Native American community, fans, players and former players as it examines the fan experience, including the chant. The Redskins announced Monday they will change their name and Indian head logo. The Braves say they have established a “cultural working relationship” with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina and formed a Native American Working Group. The name came with the team on its move from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966. The name was adopted in 1912, when the team was based in Boston.
July 13, 2020 3:54 am
NHL teams return to the ice Monday for the first time since March as the 24 that qualified for the expanded playoffs open two-week training camps. Mixed with the excitement is the uncertainty of which and how many players might opt out and how the long layoff could contribute to injuries. It’s a training camp unlike any in history, with players coming back from a four-month absence to compete for the Stanley Cup. It’s a two-week sprint from home cities to Toronto for Eastern teams and Edmonton, Alberta, for their Western counterparts.
July 13, 2020 3:51 am
Protective masks won’t be out of sight when big league baseball resumes. Some players and coaches are planning to wear them on the field. Safety protocols require masks in clubhouses and close proximity indoors, but not on the field. Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier plans to wear one during games, in part to set an example for those watching on television. Atlanta third base coach Ron Washington also plans to wear one for health reasons. At age 68, he’s in a high-risk group.
July 13, 2020 3:48 am
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) – Washington’s NFL team will get rid of the name ‘Redskins’ on Monday, according to multiple reports. USA Today, ESPN, The Washington Post and Sports Business Journal reported owner Dan Snyder and the organization would announce the move two weeks before the start of training camp. It’s unclear when a new name will be revealed for one of the league’s oldest franchises. The team launched a ‘thorough review’ of the name July 3. That came in the aftermath of several prominent sponsors calling for a change.
July 13, 2020 3:50 am
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) – Collin Morikawa never looked like a winner at the Workday Charity Open until he tapped in for par on the third playoff hole, capping off a wild finish Sunday at Muirfield Village.
Morikawa trailed Justin Thomas by three shots with three holes to play and managed to get into a playoff with a 6-under 66. Then, after watching Thomas hole a 50-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole, he had to make a 25-footer just to stay alive. He could only watch as Thomas had a 10-footer to win on the 18th on the second playoff hole. It finally ended on No. 10 when Thomas had to lay up from behind a tree and made bogey, and Morikawa took two putts from just inside 10 feet for his second career victory, and first against a strong PGA Tour field. Viktor Hovland of Norway had a 71 and finished alone in third. He was in the final group of three young stars, all of whom had the lead at some point during the final round.
July 13, 2020 3:49 am
SPARTA, Ky. (AP) – Cole Custer became the first rookie winner in the NASCAR Cup Series in nearly four years, surging to the lead in a four-wide, final-lap scramble Sunday at Kentucky Speedway. Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. were dueling side by side for the lead on the final restart when Custer – with a push from Matt DiBenedetto on the outside in the backstretch – made his move in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. As the leaders bunched in Turn 1, Custer slid ahead and outlasted Truex’s Toyota. The victory was the first by a series rookie since Chris Buescher at Pocono on Aug. 1, 2016. Making his 20th series start, the 22-year-old Custer celebrated with a frontstretch burnout as his crew happily ran to greet him. DiBenedetto was third, and Harvick fourth.
July 12, 2020 7:59 am
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Justin Thomas never looked to be in a hurry. Not when he stepped to the first tee Friday trailing by 13 shots. Not when he was simply trying to keep up with Collin Morikawa on Saturday in the Workday Charity Open. And after turning a three-shot deficit into a two-shot lead with another clean card, he certainly didn’t see any need to sprint to the finish at Muirfield Village as he goes after his third victory this season. There were a few dicey moments, such as a pair of two-putt pars from over 50 feet, and a shot that stuck in the grass high on the lip of a bunker on par-3 12th. Otherwise, it’s been a clinic. Thomas had three straight birdies to stay in range of Morikawa. And when Morikawa fell back with three bogeys over a four-hole stretch around the turn, Thomas made efficient birdies on the par 5s and a smart birdie on the reachable 14th for a 6-under 66 to keep two ahead of Viktor Hovland (66).
July 12, 2020 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – Hockey became the latest sport to finalize a return during a global pandemic after NHL owners and players approved an agreement Friday to resume the season – and with it an assurance of labor peace through September 2026. Games are scheduled to begin Aug. 1 in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, with coronavirus cases in the U.S. pushing the league into Canada for the summer and fall until the Stanley Cup is awarded in late September or early October. Training camps open across North America on Monday, which is also the deadline for players to opt out of participating with no penalty. The return-to-play plan, tentatively approved by the NHL and NHL Players’ Association on Monday, was ratified by the league’s board of governors and with majority approval from players following a three-day voting period, ending Friday. Along with it, the two sides also formally approved a four-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement. The NHL is back with an expanded 24-team playoff format, but things will be much different from the norm: There will be no fans. There will be between five and six games a day at the start – up to three at each site, which will be heavily cordoned off from the public.
July 12, 2020 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Big Ten and Pac-12 became the first leagues to shift to an all-conference fall schedule as the college sports world faces difficult decisions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. More Power Five conferences could follow, causing a ripple effect on small-conference schools across the country. If more big conferences ditch nonconference games, smaller schools who rely on “buy games” to help fund their athletic departments will take huge financial hits at a time when they’re already facing ugly bottom lines. Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford says the league expects to make its decision on fall sports in late July. The league put out Swofford’s statement Friday afternoon, saying the league has prepared “numerous scenarios” for fall competition over the last few months. The decision would come from the league’s board of directors. Earlier this week, the ACC delayed the start of fall competition until at least Sept. 1. That move impacts non-revenue programs like soccer, volleyball, field hockey and cross country, but not football for now. The first football game involving an ACC team is North Carolina State’s trip to Louisville on Sept. 2.
