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.
July 11, 2020 3:53 am
UNDATED (AP) – San Francisco Giants star catcher Buster Posey is the latest big-name player to skip this season because of concerns over the coronavirus. Posey says his family finalized the adoption of identical twin girls this week. The babies were born prematurely and Posey said after consultations with his wife and doctor he decided to opt out of the season. The babies born last Friday were about eight weeks premature. They are healthy but will need to spend time in neonatal intensive care and will have weakened immune systems for the next few months. Posey joins other top players such as Dodgers pitcher David Price, Washington first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and Colorado’s Ian Desmond in opting out this season.
July 11, 2020 3:55 am
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) -Collin Morikawa takes a three-shot lead into the weekend at the Workday Charity Open. He made nine birdies Friday for a 66 and leads over Justin Thomas and Kevin Streelman. Storms twice halted play at Muirfield Village, so the second round wasn’t completed. That means Brooks Koepka has to wait to see if his big finish allowed him to make the cut. Koepka birdied five of his last seven holes for a 69 and was one-shot outside the cut. Nearly three dozen players were to return Saturday morning to complete their rounds.
July 10, 2020 3:45 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Big Ten Conference won’t play nonconference games in football and a handful of other sports this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic. The league also warned that it was “prepared not to play” at all to keep its athletes safe. The decision affects more than 40 games, including some marquee matchups like Notre Dame against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. The announcement came a day after the Ivy League called off all fall sports. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith says he is “very concerned” about the season.
July 10, 2020 3:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco is ready to stop tantalizing and start delivering. The 28-year-old has flirted with being one of the better hitters in the major leagues but has been hampered injuries. Polanco has missed most of the last 20 months while recovering from a left-shoulder injury suffered in September 2018. He says he’s healthy now and ready to become the player the Pirates envisioned when they signed him to a contract extension in 2016. Pittsburgh will need him to produce to help an offense that finished near the bottom of the majors in home runs in 2019.
July 10, 2020 3:48 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball will open the 2021 season on April 1 and hopes to have every team play its first game on the same day for the first time since 1968. The league released the full schedule Thursday with this year’s 60-game regular season schedule scheduled to begin July 23 as clubs set to play only division foes and regional interleague opponents – AL East vs. NL East, AL Central vs. NL Central, AL West vs. NL West – to limit travel. Clubs will resume full intraleague schedules in 2021, and interleague play will again align regionally. The New York Mets will host the cross-town Yankees at Citi Field on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the first time the Subway Series will take place on Sept. 11. The Yankees will host the Mets during Fourth of July weekend. Atlanta will host the 91st All-Star Game on July 13 at Truist Park. It’s Atlanta’s first All-Star Game since hosting in 2000 at Turner Field.
July 10, 2020 3:46 am
Full-scale practices inside the NBA bubble at the Disney complex have started. The Orlando Magic became the first team to formally return to the floor. By the close of business, all 22 teams participating in the restart were to be checked into their hotel and beginning their isolation from the rest of the world for what will be several weeks at least. And by Saturday, all teams should have practiced at least once.
July 10, 2020 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – The New Jersey Devils have hired veteran coach Lindy Ruff to take over one of the NHL’s youngest teams. Ruff replaces interim coach Alain Nasreddine (ah-LAYN’ NAZ’-reh-deen), who guided the Devils to a 19-16-8 record after replacing John Hynes. The 60-year-old Ruff had been an assistant coach with the New York Rangers. He previously coached the Dallas Stars and the Buffalo Sabres, leading the Sabres to the Stanley Cup Final in 1999. New Jersey also removed the interim tag from Tom Fitzgerald’s title as general manager. Fitzgerald had served as interim general manager since January.
