May 5, 2020 3:42 am
The Dallas Cowboys have made room for new backup quarterback Andy Dalton by waiving the player who sat behind Dak Prescott for most of the past three seasons. Cooper Rush saw mop-up duty in five games. Prescott hasn’t missed a game in his four seasons. Dalton, a former Cincinnati starter, is guaranteed at least $3 million in his one-year contract.
May 4, 2020 10:51 am
MIAMI (AP) – Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Don Shula has died at his home in South Florida. He was 90. The Miami Dolphins say Shula died Monday morning. He won the most games of any NFL coach and led the Dolphins to the only perfect season in league history. Shula surpassed George Halas’ league-record 324 victories in 1993. He retired following the 1995 season with 347 wins, 173 losses and six ties, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997. Shula became the only coach to guide an NFL team through a perfect season when the 1972 Dolphins went 17-0.
May 4, 2020 2:41 am
The DICK’S Sporting Goods PONY League World Series has been canceled along with 10 other PONY-sponsored World Series events planned for this summer. The international office announced the decision Friday afternoon citing the “ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.” PONY President Abe Key said in a statement that it would be “reckless and irresponsible to host these events under the current circumstances” and called the decision to cancel the tournaments “difficult and disappointing.”
World Series Tournaments, Incorporated, the local organizing committee, echoed the sentiments, calling the cancellation disappointing but absolutely necessary given the uncertainty of the situation. Tournaments, Inc. President Nathan Voytek said it would not be possible to host the annual fan-based, sponsored-supported event during the current public health and economic crisis.
May 3, 2020 8:03 am
Andy Dalton is coming home to Texas as Dak Prescott’s backup with the Dallas Cowboys. Dalton and the Cowboys agreed Saturday to a one-year deal that guarantees the former Cincinnati starter $3 million and could be worth up to $7 million. The agreement was first reported by ESPN. The Cowboys reached a deal with Dalton two days after he was released by the Bengals. That moved cleared the way for No. 1 overall draft pick Joe Burrow, who led LSU to the national championship. Dalton, born and raised in the Houston area, led TCU to an undefeated season that included a Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin during the 2010 season before the Bengals drafted him in the second round. The Cowboys have relied on the untested Cooper Rush behind Prescott the past two seasons. The 32-year-old Dalton marks their biggest investment in a veteran backup since Prescott replaced the injured Tony Romo as a rookie in 2016 and ended up taking his job for good. Dalton started 133 games for the Bengals and led the franchise’s best stretch of playoff appearances — five straight from 2011-15 — but couldn’t get that elusive win. Cincinnati lost in the first round each time, setting an NFL record. Dalton had a broken thumb and was sidelined for the last of those playoff appearances, which ended in a last-minute meltdown and an 18-16 loss to Pittsburgh during the 2015 season.
May 2, 2020 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – Major League Baseball and its umpires have worked out a salary restructure in a deal that could put instant replay on hold this season. Two people familiar with the agreement tell the Associated Press that the agreement includes a 50% cut in May and nothing more this year if no games are played. The deal covers a pay structure during a coronavirus pandemic that has delayed the start of the season. Umps generally make between $150,000 and $450,000. They already have been paid from January through April. If even one regular-season game is played this season, the umps are guaranteed about one-third of their salaries. As part of the deal, MLB has the right not to use instant replays of umpires’ decisions during the 2020 season. Most calls have been subject to video review since 2014, but MLB is considering playing regular-season games at spring training ballparks that are not wired for replay.
May 1, 2020 3:49 am
UNDATED (AP) – NASCAR has set a date to green flag its Cup season. The circuit has announced it will resume its season without fans present starting May 17 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. The premier Cup Series will then race three more times in a 10-day span, beginning with one more at Darlington before two outside Charlotte, North Carolina. NASCAR’s revised schedule goes only through May and has a pair of Wednesday Cup races, fulfilling fans’ longtime plea for midweek events. The first race is scheduled for Darlington, NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway, followed by a second race at the 70-year-old, egg-shaped oval track three days later. Charlotte Motor Speedway will then host the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24 to mark 60 consecutive years the longest race on the NASCAR schedule will be held on Memorial Day weekend. The track in Concord, outside NASCAR’s home base of Charlotte, will then host a Wednesday race three days later. There will also be lower-tier Xfinity and Trucks series races at the two tracks.
May 1, 2020 2:41 am
Little League Baseball today announced that its seven age-specific World Series tournaments and regional qualifiers have been canceled for 2020. The program, headquartered in Williamsport, PA, made the determination following what it called a thorough assessment of the impact the devastating COVID-19 pandemic has had on 6,500 community-based Little League programs in 84 countries and based upon the direction of governmental and public health authorities, and in consultation with medical professionals and its Board of Directors. Little League called the decision “difficult and disappointing.”
“This is a heartbreaking decision for everyone at Little League International, but more so for those millions of Little Leaguers who have dreamt of one day playing in one of our seven World Series events,” said Stephen D. Keener, Little League President and CEO. “After exhausting all possible options, we came to the conclusion that because of the significant public health uncertainty that will still exist several months from now, and with direction from Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, as well as senior public health officials and government leaders from locations where our other six World Series are held, as well as the their qualifying regional tournaments, it will not be possible to proceed with our tournaments as we’ve hosted them for nearly 75 years.”
April 30, 2020 3:45 am
UNDATED (AP) – NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has reduced his salary to zero, according to a person familiar with the move. The person told The Associated Press that Goodell voluntarily had his salary reduced this month. He makes upward of $30 million a year from salaries and bonuses. Other NFL employees will be taking pay cuts or furloughs due to the coronavirus pandemic. The league is implementing tiered reductions in base salary, beginning with the pay period ending May 22. The reduction will be 5% for workers up to the manager’s level, 7% for directors, 10% for vice presidents, 12% for senior vice presidents, and 15% for executive vice presidents. In a memo sent to league office staffers, Goodell also said no employee earning a base salary of less than $100,000 will be affected by these reductions, and no employee’s salary will be reduced below $100,000 by the reductions.
April 29, 2020 3:45 am
UNDATED (AP) – Jameis Winston has found a landing spot. The unrestricted free agent quarterback has agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the New Orleans Saints. Winston was the first overall pick in the 2015 draft and the starting QB for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’ll serve as backup to Drew Brees in New Orleans. Winston is coming off a season in which he led the NFL with 5,109 yards passing and ranked second with 33 touchdown passes, but he also led the NFL in interceptions with 30. That made Winston the first QB in NFL history to have at least 30 TDs and 30 interceptions.
April 29, 2020 3:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates are suspending retirement benefits for members of the team’s baseball operations staff in an effort to cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. General manager Ben Cherington says the team has been searching for ways to find savings with the 2020 season on hold indefinitely with much of the country locked down in hopes of stemming the spread of the virus. The temporary suspension of retirement benefits is part of an effort to avoid any potential personnel cutbacks.
