Tokyo Olympics Approving Venues

June 13, 2020 4:27 am

(AP) – The head of the Tokyo Olympics says 80% of the facilities needed for next year’s games have “basic approval” to be used. But organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori says “there are also venues that already have reservations from other users for next year.” Organizers say that two of the largest venues needed for the Olympics have not yet been secured. They are the 5,000-apartment Athletes Village and the Tokyo Big Sight. That is the venue for the main press center. Organizers are also still unable to say what the delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic will cost and who will pay.

MLB Offers Players 80% Of Prorated Salaries, 72-Game Season

June 13, 2020 4:25 am

UNDATED (AP) – Major League Baseball has offered players 80% of their prorated salaries and a 72-game schedule starting July 14 in an effort to start the pandemic-delayed season. That’s according to details of the proposal obtained Friday by The Associated Press. Players would get 70% of their prorated salaries during the regular season and the rest for completion of the postseason. The players’ last offer was for an 89-game regular season at full prorated pay. MLB proposed that players be guaranteed about $1.25 billion in salaries, earn an additional $200 million if the postseason is completed plus a $50 million postseason players’ pool even if no tickets are sold. The union’s proposal would guarantee players $2.2 billion. Before the new coronavirus caused opening day to be pushed back from March 26, salaries had been set to total $4 billion. Players have insisted they receive 100% of their prorated salaries, the terms the sides agreed to in March. But MLB told the union that playing in empty ballparks without gate revenue would cause a loss of $640,000 for each additional game played and that teams can’t afford 100% prorated pay. The union has said it doubts MLB’s figures but has not received sufficient financial disclosure to make a full evaluation.

PGA Tour Back To Business In Texas

June 12, 2020 3:49 am

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – Golf is the second major sport in the U.S., behind motor sports, to resume a schedule shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The start was even more quiet than usual on the PGA Tour, only the silence never left over the next 12 hours as golf was back to business at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. Justin Rose and Harold Varner shared the lead at 7-under 63, with Justin Thomas among those a stroke back. Tom Lehman, a 61-year-old former champion at Colonial, got in on the act with a 65.  Sung Kang made a hole-in-one on the 13th hole and didn’t realize it until he was 50 yards from the green.  Ryan Palmer, a Colonial member who raised money for COVID-19 relief efforts during the shutdown, was chosen to hit the first official shot on the PGA Tour in three months. Colonial came to a standstill at 8:46 a.m. when everyone on the course honored a moment of silence for the death of George Floyd and the outrage it has sparked worldwide on racial injustice.

NASCAR Could Ban Confederate Flag

June 10, 2020 3:44 am

UNDATED (AP) – The familiar scene of Confederate flags waved by fans at NASCAR tracks could soon be a relic of racing’s good ol’ boy roots.  Bubba Wallace — the lone black driver in the sport – this week declared it is time for the stock car series with deep ties to the South to ban the flag at its properties and formally distance itself from what for millions is a unwelcome symbol of slavery and racism.  The signs are everywhere that NASCAR could do so. As the nation grapples with social unrest largely tied to the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, the predominantly white field of drivers united for a video promoting social change. A black NASCAR official took a knee before Sunday’s race near Atlanta in what may have been a first and the governing body vowed to do a better job of addressing racial injustice.

NFL Sends Plan To Teams For Return To Facilities

June 9, 2020 3:40 am

UNDATED (AP) – The NFL and the players’ union have sent a planner to the 32 teams outlining procedures for the full reopening of their practice facilities.  A memo written by Commissioner Roger Goodell and approved by the NFL Players Association describes protocols focusing on screening, testing, and infection prevention and treatment for COVID-19, including response for new infections.
Also included are instructions on proper facility access, cleaning and disinfecting; physical distancing; hygiene, health education and medical services. There are instructions on food preparation; supplies; and team travel.  No timetable has been set for the return of most players to team complexes. Only players rehabilitating injuries have been allowed to enter the buildings.

Harvick Wins At Atlanta

June 8, 2020 4:14 am

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) – Kevin Harvick turned in another dominating run at Atlanta Motor Speedway, cruising to victory over Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. Harvick won for the second time since NASCAR returned from the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, adding to his emotional victory at Darlington in the first race back. He now has 51 wins, breaking a tie with Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for the 12th spot on the career list.

MLB Plan Saves Big Money For Some Teams

June 7, 2020 7:02 am

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers would each save more than $100 million on player salaries as part of management’s proposal to start the coronavirus-delayed season than they would under the union’s plan, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. Top stars accustomed to eye-popping salaries that set them apart from mere All-Stars would experience by far the steepest cuts. Set to earn $36 million each, Mike Trout and Gerrit Cole would get $25.3 million under the union’s plan and a base of $5.6 million under the teams’ proposal, with the chance to get back to about $8 million if the postseason is played. A rookie at the minimum would get $396,537 from the union plan and $256,706 from the MLB proposal — not much more than the $222,222 per game Trout and Cole originally were slated to earn. The Yankees project to pay $155 million to players under the union’s plan, according to the AP analysis based on frozen March 28 rosters, and spend $48 million on salary under management’s proposal. The Astros drop from $149 million to $46 million and the Dodgers from $147 million to $46 million. Lower-spending teams save, too, but not nearly as much because their starting points are lower. Miami is at $33 million under the union’s plan and $16 million under MLB’s. Pittsburgh’s salaries would drop from $36 million to $17 million and Baltimore’s from $43 million to $18 million. Players agreed on March 26 to accept prorated shares of their salaries during a shortened season, part of a deal that guaranteed $170 million in advances and service time even if the season is scrapped. More than 100 players gathered for a digital meeting Thursday and reaffirmed their stance against additional cuts.

NHL Players To Return; Penguins’ Player Tests Positive

June 5, 2020 3:44 am

UNDATED (AP) – The NHL cleared the way for players to return to practice rinks next week and firmed up its playoff format even as a ninth player tested positive for the coronavirus. Teams can reopen facilities and players can take part in voluntary workouts starting Monday. It’s another step toward hockey returning this summer. Earlier in the day, the league announced every playoff series will be a best-of-seven after the qualifying round and teams will be re-seeded along the way instead of bracketing. That news came on the heels of the Pittsburgh Penguins revealing one of their players tested positive for the coronavirus and has recovered from COVID-19. That brings the total of NHL players testing positive to nine.

Report: MLB Rejects Union Plan

June 4, 2020 3:53 am

NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball is no closer to starting the 2020 that it was when the union made its latest proposal on Sunday.  A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that MLB has rejected the players’ offer for a 114-game regular season with no additional salary cuts. The person added that management did not plan to make a counterproposal.  MLB proposed an 82-game schedule last week and further reductions in player salaries as the sport tries to salvage a season delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Management has told the union it has no interest in extending the season into November, when it fears a second wave of the coronavirus could disrupt the postseason and jeopardize $787 million in broadcast revenue.

NFL; Brees Criticized For Kneeling Comments

June 4, 2020 3:51 am

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Drew Brees is being sharply criticized by fellow high-profile athletes, including some of his own teammates, after the Saints quarterback reiterated his opposition to kneeling during the national anthem. Brees made his comments during a Yahoo interview in which he was asked to revisit former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 protest of police brutality against minorities. Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem before games. Brees says he’ll “never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States.” Brees has said he supports people protesting police brutality but that the national anthem is not proper forum for that.