May 16, 2020 3:50 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Former NFL linebacker James Harrison says Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin did not offer a bounty for an illegal hit on a member of the Cleveland Browns. Harrison told former teammate Willie Colon on a podcast that Tomlin handed him an envelope shortly after Harrison was fined in 2010 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massqoui. Harrison declined to specify what was in the envelope, but posted on Instagram that Tomlin never offered a bounty on opposing players. Steelers President Art Rooney II said he’s “certain” the exchange between Harrison and Tomlin never happened.
May 15, 2020 4:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball players want to look at the owners’ books. A person familiar with the request told The Associated Press that lawyers for the baseball players’ union asked MLB to submit a slew of financial documents that detail the industry’s finances. Baseball owners on Monday approved a proposal that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting around the Fourth of July with a regular-season schedule of about 82 games. Owners also gave the go-ahead to propose basing players’ salaries on a 50-50 revenue split, which the union says is a salary cap and a framework that players will never accept. The type of financial disclosure the union asked for is more common during overall collective bargaining talks.
May 14, 2020 3:51 am
UNDATED (AP) – The NFL has updated its Organized Team Activities schedule as the league hopes to begin the upcoming season on time. A person familiar with the decision tells The Associated Press that the NFL has extended its virtual offseason workouts through the end of May. NFL teams normally would be holding OTAs during May, followed by June minicamps. Those activities are being done remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Coaching and training staffs have worked with the players by conducting classroom instruction and on-field activities through digital applications. All 32 teams must submit plans for reopening their facilities to the league by Friday, though no dates for such re-openings are set. Offseason workouts must end by June 26, a week or so later than usual.
May 12, 2020 2:29 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball owners gave the go-ahead Monday to making a proposal to the players’ union that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting around the Fourth of July weekend in ballparks without fans, a plan that envisioned expanding the designated hitter to the National League for 2020. A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. Spring training would start in early to mid-June. MLB officials are slated to make a presentation to the union on Tuesday. An agreement with the players’ association is needed, and talks are expected to be difficult – especially over a proposal for a revenue split that would be unprecedented for baseball. Each team would play about 82 regular-season games: against opponents in its own division plus interleague matchups limited to AL East vs. NL East, AL Central vs. NL Central and AL West vs. NL West. Postseason play would be expanded from 10 clubs to 14 by doubling wild cards in each league to four. Teams would prefer to play at their regular-season ballparks but would switch to spring training stadiums or neutral sites if medical and government approvals can’t be obtained for games at home. Toronto might have to play home games in Dunedin, Florida. The All-Star Game, scheduled for Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 14, likely would be called off.
May 11, 2020 3:43 am
UNDATED (AP) – Major League Baseball appears to have successfully handled the first wave of the new coronavirus. Just 0.7% of MLB employees tested positive for antibodies to COVID-19. Results were based on about 5,600 completed records from employees of 26 clubs. Samples were obtained on April 14 and 15. The start of the baseball season has been delayed because of the virus outbreak. There’s no timetable for when the season might begin. Sixty people tested positive in the raw data, and adjustments were made for false positives and false negatives. One of the study’s leaders says the survey had a 0.5% false positive rate and demonstrates MLB employees have been less affected than their surrounding communities have been.
May 10, 2020 7:50 am
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Kicks, punches and grunts echoed through the empty arena. Coaches, commentators and camera clicks resonated like never before. Blood, sweat, swollen eyelids and face masks signaled the return of UFC, the first major sporting event to resume since the coronavirus shuttered much of the country for nearly two months. UFC 249 ushered in a new look for sports, too. One without fans and amid several safety precautions. It was definitely different — two fighters adjusted their approaches because of what they heard announcers say — and a welcome reprieve for a sports-craved country that went nearly eight weeks with few live events. Five hours after President Trump congratulated UFC for restarting the sports world, Justin Gaethje stunned heavily favored Ferguson (26-4) in the finale. Gaethje earned a TKO in the fifth and final round of the headliner that was deemed an interim lightweight title bout. It essentially gives Gaethje (22-2) the right to fight titleholder Khabib Nurmagomedov next. Nurmagomedov was unable to fight this weekend because of travel restrictions.
May 9, 2020 3:48 am
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio State University will pay about $41 million to settle a dozen lawsuits by 162 men alleging decades-old sexual abuse and mistreatment by a team doctor. About 350 former athletes and other men had sued the school for failing to stop the late Richard Strauss despite concerns raised during his tenure. The university first announced a settlement with some of them in March, but the cost wasn’t made public until today.
May 8, 2020 4:00 am
UNDATAED (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs will open defense of their Super Bowl championship by hosting Houston on Sept. 10 in the NFL’s annual kickoff game – pending developments in the coronavirus pandemic, of course. The Texans won a regular-season game at Arrowhead Stadium in 2019, then blew a 24-0 lead in the divisional round of the playoffs. Another highlight of the opening weekend will have Tom Brady’s regular-season debut with Tampa Bay against Drew Brees at New Orleans on Sept. 13 – the first matchup of 40-plus quarterbacks in NFL history.
May 6, 2020 3:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – While planning to play a full regular-season schedule, the NFL has formulated a ticket refund plan for canceled games or those held without fans. In a memo sent to the 32 teams by Commissioner Roger Goodell and obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, a uniform baseline for full refunds on any tickets purchased directly from the clubs was prepared. As for the secondary market, the league received pledges from Ticketmaster and SeatGeek to make full refunds available for all ticket sales within no more than 30 days of cancellation. StubHub, however, will do so only where required by state law. Each team will communicate directly with its fans over the next few days with specific details on potential refunds. The NFL will reveal its 2020 regular-season schedule on Thursday night. The 2020 season is set to kick off on Sept. 10, with the first full weekend of games on Sept. 13-14.
May 5, 2020 3:45 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Mike Trout and Gerrit Cole aren’t the only major leaguers with a big financial incentive to get back on the field. While they head a starry quartet that would take in more than $200,000 per game, 65 players would earn at least $100,000 each time their team wins or loses. That’s according to an Associated Press analysis of their contracts. Most rookies and those making the minimum would get nearly $3,500 each from a major league payroll of about $24 million per game. Clubs would benefit, too, with huge revenue streams flowing from regional sports networks and national broadcast contracts.
