July 8, 2020 2:49 am
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (July 7) — The Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Presidents’ Council has unanimously approved conference-only scheduling format for all varsity sports during the fall 2020 season. All fall sports except football now have a first contest date of Sept. 7, while football will begin its nine-game league schedule on Sept. 19. “The PAC is blessed with a heritage of strong leadership collaboration coupled with a unique geographical configuration that makes athletic competition within the NCAA guidelines possible. We’re grateful for the work in establishing conference protocols that we trust will maximize opportunities to compete for our student-athletes while minimizing the risks we face together in these challenging times,” said Dr. Calvin Troup, president of Geneva College and chair of the PAC Presidents’ Council.
The structure and format of the conference-only schedule model will continue to be refined over the next month, and is subject to change as the situation and conditions evolve. Today’s announcement confirms the conference’s commitment to the responsible return of varsity intercollegiate athletics, but also demonstrates the membership’s faithfulness and trust in one another, a key component of the league’s operational culture since its founding in 1955. The Presidents’ Council also unanimously approved a recommendation to provide PAC schools with the flexibility to determine their own first practice dates this fall. Before this change, permissible start dates were based on a team’s first contest date.
July 8, 2020 3:44 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Mitch Keller is eager to prove his rocky rookie season in the big leagues was just a fluke. The highly touted Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect went 1-5 with a 7.13 ERA in 2019. While Keller was discouraged by the numbers, the analytics indicated Keller was a victim of bad luck at times. Keller spent the break provided by the COVID-19 shutdown diving deeper into analytics hoping to become more efficient. He says he’s trying to find a way to mesh the information available to him with the talent that helped him rise through the minors quickly.
July 8, 2020 3:45 am
The San Francisco Giants say they are “suspending workouts at Oracle Park, pending the results of tests conducted this past weekend.” On Monday, the club announced two people had tested positive for the coronavirus without providing further details on whether the two were players, coaches or staff. Prospect Hunter Bishop and pitcher Luis Madero, in the 60-player pool, already tested positive. Meanwhile, the reigning World Series champion Washington Nationals have resumed training camp after canceling workouts Monday because of COVID-19 testing delays. General manager Mike Rizzo said the team felt confident about getting back to Nationals Park for practices after receiving all player and staff test results from Friday.
July 8, 2020 3:48 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson has apologized after backlash for sharing anti-Semitic posts on social media over the weekend. In a video posted on Instagram, he said his post “was definitely not intended for anybody of any race to feel any type of way, especially the Jewish community,” He added that he “just probably never should have posted anything Hitler did, because Hitler was a bad person.” The team and the NFL both issued statements condemning Jackson’s posts.
July 8, 2020 3:46 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Major League Soccer has postponed Wednesday night’s match between Nashville and Chicago. MLS says five Nashville players have received positive tests for COVID-19 since arriving in Orlando. Two players received positive results during the weekend, while three others got their positive results Monday night. Four other Nashville players need further testing after receiving inconclusive results. The league is continuing to evaluate Nashville’s participation in its tournament. FC Dallas withdrew Monday after 10 players tested positive for coronavirus.
July 7, 2020 4:10 am
PITTSBURGH — The Pirates released their 60-game regular season schedule for the 2020 season, which will feature the Bucs opening the season with a three-game series in St. Louis beginning on Friday, July 24. This will mark the 33rd time in Club history in which the Pirates will play the first game of the regular season against the Cardinals; the first time since 2016. Following the season-opening series in St. Louis, the Pirates are scheduled to play the Milwaukee Brewers in the first game at PNC Park on Monday, July 27, at 7:05 p.m. It will mark the third time ever (first since 2005) in which the Pirates will host the Brewers in their Home Opener. The 7:05 first pitch time for Pittsburgh’s Home Opener will also mark the club’s first Home Opener at night since 2003 against Milwaukee (the originally scheduled game between the two teams that season was postponed due to inclement weather). The Pirates’ 2020 interleague schedule will include home games against each club from the American League Central division with the exception of the Kansas City Royals. The Pirates will travel to Kauffman Stadium for a three-game series against the Royals for the first time since 2015. WJPA 1450AM is your radio home for Pirates baseball.
July 7, 2020 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – The National Hockey League and NHL Players’ Association have reached a tentative agreement to return to play this season and extend their collective bargaining agreement by four years. Training camps would open July 13 and games would resume Aug. 1 if approved by the league’s board of governors and players’ executive committee and full membership. The NHL is going straight to the playoffs with 24 teams resuming play. Those teams will travel to one of two “hub” cities July 26. A person with direct knowledge of the agreements told The Associated Press that the NHL has selected Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, to be the hub cities in hosting the qualifying round and at least first two playoff rounds.
July 7, 2020 2:01 am
PITTSBURGH — Pirates Manager Derek Shelton says the organization has seen a number of coronavirus cases so far as the MLB plans for a restart. Sunday evening, Shelton released the names of two players who contracted COVID-19, including outfielder Socrates Brito and right-handed pitcher Blake Cederlind. Shelton says the players gave him permission to release the names, but he could not confirm if they were symptomatic. Spring Training continues this week after opening up at PNC Park on Friday. The Pirates are schedule to begin the 60-game season on the road starting July 24th for a reported 3-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals.
July 7, 2020 3:52 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Baseball’s two World Series finalists canceled workouts because of coronavirus testing delays. The Washington Nationals and Houston Astros called off training camp practices Monday after not receiving test results from Friday. The St. Louis Cardinals also scrubbed their scheduled workout for similar reasons. General manager Mike Rizzo of the champion Nationals said it’s not safe to continue with camp without accurate and timely testing. Rizzo called on Major League Baseball to work quickly to resolve issues with its lab to keep the season from being at risk.
Astros GM James Click speculated the July 4th holiday weekend contributed to the delay. MLB said it addressed delays caused by the holiday weekend and doesn’t expect them to continue.
July 7, 2020 3:54 am
The Kansas City Chiefs made sure they’ll have Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes around as long as possible. Mahomes agreed to a 10-year extension worth up to $503 million, according to his agency, Steinberg Sports. The deal is worth $477 million in guarantee mechanisms and includes a no-trade clause and opt-out clauses if guarantee mechanisms aren’t met. It’s the richest contract in professional sports history, surpassing Mike Trout’s $426.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.The Chiefs had the 2018 NFL MVP under contract for the next two seasons but that wasn’t nearly enough. The contract extension starts in 2022 when the NFL salary cap is projected to be $227.5 million. However, that number could be lower depending on revenue losses due to the cornonavirus pandemic and the possibility any games played this season won’t have fans.
