May 26, 2020 3:49 am
TOKYO (AP) – Japan’s professional baseball season will open on June 19 under a plan that excludes fans. League commissioner Atsushi Saito made the announcement Monday after an online meeting with representatives of the league’s 12 teams. He said, “I hope we can provide some guidance for sports other than professional baseball. The announcement came as the state of emergency was lifted in Tokyo and on the northern island of Hokkaido by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The state of emergency was lifted earlier this month for other parts of the country. Teams can being practice games on June 2. The season was to have begun on March 20 but the start was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Japan has reported about 850 deaths from COVID-19.
May 26, 2020 3:47 am
TORONTO (AP) – The NHL is hoping to move to Phase 2 of its return-to-play protocol early next month. That includes opening practice facilities and allowing small group workouts. Six players will be allowed in team facilities at one time for the voluntary workouts. No on-ice coaching or instruction is permitted. A 22-page memo detailing the plan stresses there’s no exact date for the start of Phase 2 or a timetable for how long it will last. The NHL season was paused March 12 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
May 25, 2020 3:25 am
NHL players are debating the merits of quarantining away from family members as part of a potential resumption of the season. Toronto’s Kyle Clifford says guaranteeing family time is a ‘hot topic’ among players these days. Hockey returning this summer or fall would likely require players to relocate to a handful of cities to get through the playoffs and crown a Stanley Cup champion in a 24-team playoff format. Family time is one of several hurdles that would need to be cleared before the puck can drop again.
May 25, 2020 3:23 am
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) – Brad Keselowski extended Jimmie Johnson’s losing streak to 102 races, holding off the seven-time NASCAR champion in overtime early Monday in the Coca-Cola 600. Keselowski started in the back of the field, worked his way to the front at Charlotte Motor Speedway and gambled in not pitting when caution stopped Chase Elliott from winning with two laps remaining.
May 24, 2020 6:04 am
UNDATED (AP) – The NBA could become a Mickey Mouse operation, although the idea isn’t Goofy. The league is in talks with The Walt Disney Company on a single-site scenario for a resumption of play in Central Florida in late July. It’s the clearest sign yet that the NBA believes the season can continue amid the coronavirus pandemic. The National Basketball Players Association is also part of the talks with Disney. Games would be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, a massive campus on the Disney property near Orlando. NBA spokesman Mike Bass said the conversations were still “exploratory,” and that the site would be used for practices and housing as well. ESPN is primarily owned by Disney, one of the NBA’s broadcast partners. Space won’t be an issue, even if Major League Soccer – which is also in talks to resume its season at Disney – is there at the same time as the NBA. The entire Disney complex is roughly 40 square miles, with nearly 24,000 hotel rooms owned or operated by Disney.
May 23, 2020 4:29 am
UNDATED (AP) – The New York Jets are giving Joe Flacco a chance to continue his NFL career. Flacco has signed a one-year deal to serve as Sam Darnold’s backup, giving the Jets a veteran presence under center. Flacco led Baltimore to a Super Bowl victory following the 2012 season and spent 11 years with the Ravens before playing for Denver in 2019. He started eight games for the Broncos, completing 65.3 percent of his passes for 1,822 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions before a neck injury caused him to miss the last two months of the season. Flacco has completed 61.9% of his passes for 40,067 yards, 218 touchdowns and 141 interceptions. He was waived by Denver in March with a failed physical designation but is expected to be fully recovered in time for training camp in the summer.
May 22, 2020 3:53 am
CHICAGO (AP) – The Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates are trimming payroll while they await word on the fate of the Major League Baseball season. The Cubs are instituting pay cuts because of the coronavirus crisis, but there will be no furloughs through the end of June. The Pirates announced Thursday they are instituting furloughs for several employees in business operations beginning on June 1. A person with direct knowledge of the situation says the Cubs’ pay cuts were based on compensation. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein and president of business operations Crane Kenney took the highest reductions.
May 22, 2020 3:50 am
Little League has released a set of “best practice” guidelines it believes would allow baseball and softball to be played safely after local authorities give the groups the all-clear to return to play. The recommendations include eliminating all non-essential contact and banning the postgame handshake line in favor of lining up along the respective baselines and tipping your cap to the opponent. All players should wear masks while in the dugout and coaches and volunteers should wear masks and protective medical gloves at all times.
May 21, 2020 3:51 am
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – The Oakland Athletics say they can’t pay their landlord. The head of the agency that oversees the Oakland Coliseum says the A’s have informed him they had “no ability to pay” the annual $1.2 million rent on the facility. Henry Gardner tells the Bay Area News Group that the A’s say they’ve been unable to generate revenue because they haven’t used the Coliseum this season. MLB has been in shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gardner says the Coliseum is willing to negotiate and waive some items in the Athletics lease, but, “we can’t just say no rent.”
Gardner is the interim executive director of the Coliseum authority. The A’s have made the payment annually for use of the city- and county-owned baseball stadium. The team could face penalties for failure to pay.
May 20, 2020 3:45 am
UNDATED (AP) – The NHL is still more than a week away from determining a return-to-play format. That word comes from a person familiar with discussions. And what that plan resembles could be complicated further should the U.S. and Canada extend border restrictions to non-essential travel into July. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced border restrictions will stay in effect through June 21. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly tells The Associated Press he’s hopeful the decision to close the border to non-essential travel for another month won’t “have a material impact” on the league’s discussions to restart its season.
