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.
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.
June 3, 2020 3:52 am
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) – The college football season opener between Notre Dame and Navy has been moved out of Ireland because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Fighting Irish and Midshipmen were scheduled to meet in Dublin on Aug. 29, but instead will seek to play at the Naval Academy during the Labor Day weekend. The decision to move the venue came after discussions between the Irish government, medical authorities and the leadership teams at Navy and Notre Dame. Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk says decision to forego the overseas trip is to ensure the health and safety of the players, coaches and fans.
June 2, 2020 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – Former Auburn football coach Pat Dye has died at the age of 80. Dye took over a downtrodden program in 1981 and turned it into a Southeastern Conference power. The Lee County coroner says Dye died Monday at a hospice care facility in Auburn from complications of kidney and liver failure. His son, Pat Dye Jr., had told ESPN.com recently that the former coach had been hospitalized in Atlanta for kidney-related issues. He also said his father had tested positive for the coronavirus but had been asymptomatic. In 12 years at Auburn, Dye posted a 99-39-4 record. He also coached at Wyoming and East Carolina.
June 1, 2020 3:43 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Major League Baseball wants to ban mascots should the sport resume this season. There is a blueprint MLB could follow that explains why mascots fit in barren ballparks. Mascots remained a staple of baseball games in Taiwan and South Korea. China’s baseball league barred spectators over concerns of spreading the new coronavirus in a crowded space, but the league decided it was safe to let in cheerleaders and costumed mascots. MLB mascots kept busy during quarantine. Mr. Met cleaned windows. Wally the Green Monster recorded virtual messages for charity. Dave Raymond is a former Phillie Phanatic mascot and now a mascot consultant. He says every mascot is “essential because of its “ability to connect and distract with fun.”
May 31, 2020 8:03 am
NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says “there remains an urgent need for action” following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the protests around the country that have followed. From New York to Los Angeles and several cities in between, thousands protested Floyd’s death and repeated police killings of black men. Floyd was a handcuffed black man who died Monday after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes even after he stopped moving and pleading for air. Officer Derek Chauvin, 44, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Floyd’s death and the ensuing protests have prompted many sports figures — including athletes, coaches and league officials — to speak out in recent days. “As current events dramatically underscore, there remains much more to do as a country and as a league,” Goodell said in his statement Saturday. “These tragedies inform the NFL’s commitment and our ongoing efforts. There remains an urgent need for action. We recognize the power of our platform in communities and as part of the fabric of American society. “We embrace that responsibility and are committed to continuing the important work to address these systemic issues together with our players, clubs and partners.” Goodell added that the protesters reactions “reflect the pain, anger and frustration that so many of us feel.” He also sent condolences to Floyd’s family — as well as those of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia. Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was shot eight times by narcotics detectives who knocked down her front door on March 13. Arbery, who was the cousin of Detroit Lions safety Tracy Walker, was a 25-year-old black man who was shot dead after being pursued by two white men while running in their neighborhood.
May 30, 2020 3:53 am
UNDATED (AP) – Roger Federer leads the annual Forbes ranking of highest-paid athletes with what the magazine says is $106.3 million in total earnings. He is the first tennis player top the list since it was first compiled in 1990. Federer made $6.3 million of that haul from tennis prize money, with the other $100 million from endorsements and appearances fees. Soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar are in spots 2, 3 and 4, followed by the NBA’s LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Tiger Woods is at No. 8 and NFL players Kirk Cousins and Carson Wentz complete the top 10.
May 30, 2020 3:50 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Major league teams have released hundreds of young players with the minor league season in doubt due to the coronavirus pandemic. Transactions posted at MLB.com say over 200 players were cut Friday and more than 400 have been released over the past month. The start of the minor league season was postponed in March and players were mostly sent home from spring training. While Major League Baseball and the players’ association are negotiating terms to play big league ball this summer, it’s unlikely there will be minor league games. Minor league players not on 40-man rosters were promised $400 per week through May 31 by a policy drafted by MLB.
May 29, 2020 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – Organizers have canceled the Boston Marathon for the first time in its 124-year history due to social distancing requirements of the coronavirus outbreak. The race had endured through two World Wars, a volcanic eruption and a previous pandemic. The race draws a field of 30,000 and already had been postponed from April 20 to Sept. 14. It will be replaced by a virtual event in which participants who verify that they ran 26.2 miles on their own will receive their finisher’s medal. The Boston Marathon began in 1897 and has been the longest-running annual marathon in the world.
May 28, 2020 3:46 am
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) – Wednesday’s NASCAR Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway has been rained out and rescheduled for Thursday night. The starting order for the second Cup race at Charlotte this week was set based on the finishing order of the Coca-Cola 600 but with an inversion. Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman will start from the pole, while Coca-Cola 600 winner Brad Keselowski will start 20th. The postponement also pushes back the upcoming Xfinity race from Thursday to Monday. The second consecutive Wednesday night race would have been the fourth for the elite Cup Series since May 17.
