April 15, 2020 3:46 am
UNDATED (AP) – ESPN is asking some of its on-air personalities to take a 15% pay cut over the next three months because of the coronavirus pandemic. The request applies to about 100 ESPN commentators. The voluntary pay cuts would apply to ESPN’s highest-paid broadcasters. They are designed to help deter further immediate furloughs that would affect network employees who might be more financially vulnerable.
April 14, 2020 3:44 am
ESPN and NFL Network will join forces for this year’s NFL draft. They will produce a broadcast that will air on both networks over all three days. The April 23-25 draft was originally scheduled to be in Las Vegas but has been moved due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will now originate from ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.
April 14, 2020 3:43 am
Former NFL quarterback Tarvaris Jackson has died in a one-car crash outside Montgomery, Alabama. He was 36. The 2012 Chevrolet Camaro that Jackson was driving went off the road, struck a tree and overturned at 8:50 p.m. Sunday. Jackson was hired as quarterbacks coach for Tennessee State last season after a 10-year NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills.
April 14, 2020 3:42 am
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – The Carolina Panthers have rewarded Christian McCaffrey for his production and versatility, making him the highest-paid running in the NFL. The team agreed to a four-year, $64 million contract extension with McCaffrey on Monday, a person familiar with the contract negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the Panthers have not announced the extension. Details on how much of the contract is fully guaranteed were unavailable. The $16-million-a-year deal eclipses Ezekiel Elliott’s contract with the Dallas Cowboys that is worth $15 million per season. The extension keeps McCaffrey, 23, tied to the Panthers through the 2025 season. The coming season would be the final year of his rookie contract, and Carolina had the option to pick up a fifth year in 2021.
April 13, 2020 3:46 am
UNDATED (AP) – A Spanish soccer team plans to have its players resume training individually this week. Real Sociedad would become the first Spanish soccer club to resume activities during the coronavirus pandemic. The club says players will have the option to start practicing at the team’s training center after the Spanish government decided to ease some of its lockdown measures. Non-essential workers will be allowed to return to their positions this week while observing social-distancing guidelines and other restrictions.
April 10, 2020 3:47 am
The International Tennis Federation is putting about half of its staff on furlough and cutting other employees’ salaries because of the coronavirus pandemic. The move includes a 30% pay drop in 2020 for ITF President David Haggerty and reductions of 10% or 20% for others.
April 10, 2020 3:45 am
UNDATED (AP) – The NBA says players will receive their full checks when the next payday for most of them arrives on April 15 despite no games having been played for more than a month at that point. The league and the National Basketball Players Association have been in talks for weeks about the status of salaries during the game’s shutdown. The last NBA games were played March 11, the day that Utah center Rudy Gobert became the first player in the league to test positive for the coronavirus. The pandemic will lead to the delay of at least 259 regular-season games through April 15, what would have been the end of the regular season.
April 8, 2020 3:56 am
UNDATED (AP) – NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has raised the possibility of not being able to complete the regular season. During an interview on NBCSN, he stressed that all options remain on the table. Bettman said the league is hoping to have a clearer picture of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the next few weeks, and that “nothing has been ruled in and nothing ruled out.” Bettman said the ideal scenario would be to complete the season to determine playoff seedings in fairness to teams involved in tightly contested races in both conferences. However, he adds: “We understand that may not be possible.” The live interview broadcast Tuesday marked the first time Bettman has mentioned the possibility of the league not being able to complete the regular season. There were 189 games remaining when play was postponed on March 12.
April 7, 2020 3:50 am
Putting all 30 teams in the Phoenix area and playing in empty ballparks was among the ideas discussed Monday by Major League Baseball and the players’ association. The sides held a telephone call to talk about paths forward for a season delayed by the new coronavirus pandemic, people familiar with the discussion told The Associated Press.
April 6, 2020 3:46 am
Bobby Mitchell, the speedy Hall of Famer who became the Washington Redskins’ first black player, has died. He was 84. The Pro Football Hall of Fame said Sunday night that Mitchell’s family said he died in the afternoon but didn’t provide other details. After starring in football and track at Illinois, Mitchell spent 11 seasons in the NFL. He played halfback for the Browns from 1958-61 and was a flanker for Washington from 1962-68. Mitchell was a three-time All-NFL selection and áplayed in four Pro Bowls. He was enshrined into the Hall of Fame in 1983.
