April 24, 2020 2:00 am
Joe Burrow was the one constant in a most unique NFL draft. For months, the national champion quarterback from LSU was linked with the Bengals. Cincinnati began the draft by sending the name of the Heisman Trophy winner to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in the basement of his home. The draft was conducted remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic that has led to uncertainty about whether there will even be football this season. Burrow says it was “crazy” to jump to the top pick in the draft. The Washington Redskins selected defensive end Chase Young of Ohio State with the second pick.
April 23, 2020 3:45 am
UNDATED (AP) – Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are primed for a made-for-TV rematch, and they’ll be paired with a pair of NFL rival quarterbacks. Turner Sports says quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will join them for a two-on-two match to be aired on TNT sometime in May. Turner didn’t provide specifics concerning the exact date or location, only to say that tournament organizers would work with government and health officials to meet safety and health standards. Turner said all donations and fundraising from the match would benefit relief efforts for the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 23, 2020 3:43 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The Boston Red Sox got off lightly in Major League Baseball’s sign-stealing scandal after Commissioner Rob Manfred concluded their violations were far less flagrant than those of the Houston Astros. Boston was stripped of its second-round pick in this year’s amateur draft for sign stealing in 2018 and former manager Alex Cora was suspended through the 2020 postseason for his previous conduct as the Astros’ bench coach. Manfred issued his decision Wednesday, announcing Red Sox replay system operator J.T. Watkins violated the prohibition on in-game use of video to revise sign sequences provided to players. Watkins was suspended without pay through this year’s postseason. He denied the allegations.
April 22, 2020 3:47 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that the minor leagues are prepared to agree to Major League Baseball’s proposal to cut guaranteed affiliations from 160 to 120 next year. The plan would impact hundreds of prospects and cut player development expenses. An electronic negotiating session is scheduled for Wednesday. MLB last year proposed cutting 42 affiliates. The minors have fought the plan, but the new coronavirus pandemic has changed the dynamic and sapped minor league teams of revenue and willingness to fight.
April 20, 2020 3:39 am
UNDATED (AP) – Sports fans hoping for a fast return to the games they love might need to temper their expectations. Although sports leagues talk publicly about their desire to return to competition before summer, those are best-case scenarios. Behind closed doors, they are hatching different potential plans: all 30 baseball teams playing in Arizona; home run contests to decide tie games; the Stanley Cup being hoisted in an empty arena that neither team calls home; end-of-season soccer standings decided by vote; college football games in spring. Over the past week, The Associated Press interviewed more than 20 policymakers, coaches and players across the globe for their assessments of the situation. They all conceded that sports may not restart for months, if at all this year. Most agree that what’s needed is a drastic ramp-up in testing, a vaccine or some type of improved treatment to make players feel safe to compete. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert, has suggested that sports could conceivably return with no fans in arenas and constant testing for the players, who would likely need to be quarantined in hotels for weeks or months. Not all players are on board.
April 19, 2020 8:00 am
Socially distanced crews in New York and California are keeping horse racing on television in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic. Horse racing is one of the few sports ongoing, albeit in a limited capacity at a handful of empty tracks. But its TV presence has expanded because of the dearth of other options. The New York Racing Association helps produce “America’s Day at the Races” on Fox Sports, TVG has partnered with NBC Sports for a dozen hours of coverage each week and the hope is that the fledgling industry can stay afloat and gain more exposure.
April 18, 2020 4:15 am
(AP) – The NFL will hold a practice remote draft on Monday, three days before the real thing is done in the same way. Commissioner Roger Goodell ordered all team facilities closed in March, and later required club personnel to conduct the draft from their homes. Because of the reliance on free-flowing communication, the league decided to stage a mock draft to ensure that the proceedings next week would go smoothly.
April 18, 2020 4:11 am
UNDATED (AP) – The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a bite out of NBA salaries.NBA players will see 25% of their paychecks taken out starting May 15 in an agreement with the league. The decision was finalized today in a board of governors meeting and was done in concert with the National Basketball Players Association. The cutback in salary has been expected for some time in response to the NBA’s shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The NBA playoffs would have started Saturday. If none of the 259 outstanding regular season games are played, the players would lose about $800 million in gross salary.Commissioner Adam Silver said it remains impossible for the NBA to make any decisions about whether to resume this season and that it is unclear when that will change.
April 16, 2020 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred wants his leagues to be in position to take the field whenever government and health officials give the go-ahead. Manfred says he thinks it’s incumbent upon MLB to turn over every stone to try to play the game in 2020 if there’s any way it can in the environment. Among the plans being investigating is basing all 30 teams in the Phoenix area and using the 10 spring training ballparks there, along with the Diamondbacks’ Chase Field and possibly college facilities. Arizona’s governor says his state is willing to host all 30 major league teams when public health concerns allow, which eventually could lead to the start of the baseball season primarily in empty spring training ballparks. Having all teams based in the Phoenix area is among the contingency plans being examined.
April 16, 2020 3:47 am
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – A federal report says Baseball Hall of Famer Roy Halladay had drugs in his system and was doing extreme acrobatics in his small plane when it crashed into the Gulf of Mexico in 2017, killing him. The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that the former Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies star had amphetamine levels about 10 times therapeutic levels in his system along with other drugs that can impair judgement. He was doing a series of maneuvers when the plane suddenly nosedived into the water on Nov. 7, 2017. The report said Halladay had sometimes come within five feet of the water before the crash.
