July 30, 2020 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Big West Conference is postponing all fall sports through the end of the calendar year. The conference will determine later if conducting fall sports in the spring would be feasible. The decision does not impact basketball, which is scheduled to begin on Nov. 10. The Division I conference has 11 members, with all but one based in California.
July 30, 2020 3:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner says it’s not time to relax just because star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has returned from elbow surgery. Fichtner says his message to an offense that finished 30th in the league last year with Roethlisberger out is that it needs to ramp things up to another level, not just assume that Roethlisberger will solve all the problems that popped up in 2019. While Fichtner says the team will monitor Roethlisberger’s workload early in camp, the two-time Super Bowl winner appears to be fully recovered and ready to regain the form he showed in 2018 when he led the league in passing.
July 29, 2020 3:48 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Adam Frazier hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied for an 8-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. A day after blowing a four-run lead in the ninth in what became an 11-inning loss, Pittsburgh delivered a bit of payback thanks to a shaky performance by the Milwaukee bullpen. Cole Tucker went 2 for 4 for the Pirates.
July 29, 2020 3:50 am
MIAMI (AP) – Major League Baseball has come up with a patchwork schedule for the remainder of the week due to a virus outbreak that has sickened half of the Miami Marlins team. MLB suspended the Marlins’ season through Sunday. The Philadelphia Phillies will remain idled by the pandemic until Friday. The league said that among more than 6,400 tests conducted since Friday, there were no new positives involving on-field personnel from any team other than the Marlins. But that’s not reassuring to players. Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun says he’s found it difficult to focus on baseball at all during the last couple of days. Braun said MLB players are constantly assessing whether they should keep playing. Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said the season could be in jeopardy.
July 29, 2020 3:52 am
UNDATED (AP) – The NCAA is allowing all major college football teams to begin their seasons as early as Aug. 29. The association confirmed that the football oversight committee had requested a blanket waiver to permit any school to push up the start of its season to the so-called Week Zero. The official start of the season had been Labor Day weekend, with a few games scheduled for Aug. 29. That was before the coronavirus pandemic put the season in peril and schedules were remade to deal with potential disruptions of COVID-19. Some schools and conferences are working on delaying the start of their football seasons while others are trying to get a head start. Kansas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 have both recently moved up their opening games against FCS opponents to Aug. 29.
July 28, 2020 3:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Eric Sogard doubled home Brock Holt in the 11th inning and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied for a rain-delayed 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Brewers trailed by four entering the ninth but took advantage of another shaky performance by the Pittsburgh bullpen to force extra innings. Ryan Braun’s two-out, two-run double off Kyle Crick drew Milwaukee even. Sogard led off the 11th with a liner down the left-field line, allowing Holt to score easily from second as the automatic runner. Colin Moran hit two home runs for the Pirates.
July 28, 2020 3:45 am
MIAMI (AP) – Major League Baseball has temporarily suspended the Miami Marlins’ season through Sunday because of their worsening coronavirus outbreak. And the three remaining games in this week’s New York Yankees-Philadelphia Phillies series have been postponed because of virus worries. In a statement Tuesday, MLB said it wanted to allow the Marlins time to focus on providing care for their players and plan for a resumption of play early next week. The Marlins remained stranded in Philadelphia, where they played last weekend. The Phillies-Yankees games through Thursday were postponed “out of an abundance of caution,” MLB said, although no Phillies players have tested positive.
July 28, 2020 3:48 am
NEW YORK (AP) – NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has sent a letter to fans outlining the league’s plans to play during the coronavirus pandemic. As veterans begin reporting to training camps this week, Goodell noted Monday how COVID-19 has “turned the world upside down.” He wrote that “COVID-19 will continue to present a major challenge to nearly every area of American life. Football is no exception,” The league and the players’ union reached agreement on a plan last Friday, after all preseason games were canceled. Team facilities were shut down by Goodell in late March and only began reopening on a cautious basis this summer. Goodell stressed the need for adaptability on all levels, citing how a virtual draft was held in April. All 32 teams held remote offseason training sessions, too. The NFL has opted not to create a bubble environment, something the NHL, NBA, WNBA and MLS have done.
July 28, 2020 3:46 am
UNDATED (AP) – The National Hockey League reported zero players tested positive for the coronavirus last week. The league says it administered a total of 4,256 tests to more than 800 players from July 18-25. Two players tested positive during the first week of training camps July 13-17. Players and staff from the 24 teams participating in the expanded Stanley Cup playoffs traveled to the hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, on Sunday. They’re now in a quarantined bubble and will be tested daily after every other day testing during camp.
July 27, 2020 12:24 pm
MIAMI (AP) -Two major league games scheduled for Monday night have been postponed after more than a dozen Miami Marlins players and staff members tested positive for the coronavirus in an outbreak that stranded the team in Philadelphia. The Marlins’ home opener against Baltimore was called off, as was the New York Yankees’ game at Philadelphia. The Yankees would have been in the same clubhouse the Marlins used last weekend. A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that nine Marlins players and five staff members received positive results in tests conducted Friday. It’s unclear when the Marlins received the results.
