April 29, 2020 3:47 am
BALTIMORE (AP) – Orioles outfielder Trey Mancini is undergoing chemotherapy for stage 3 colon cancer and expects to miss the season if major leaguers return this summer. Mancini had a malignant tumor removed shortly before turning 28 on March 18. Writing a first-person article for The Players Tribune, the 28-year-old says has been undergoing chemotherapy since April 13. He says the treatment will take six months and expects to make a full recovery. Mancini hit .291 with 35 homers and 97 RBIs for last-place Baltimore in 2019.
April 28, 2020 3:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – The new Texas Rangers ballpark is among possible venues Major League Baseball could use if it decides to start the season with groups of teams in different areas. Among the different plans looked at by Major League Baseball is to use Texas as a mid-American hub. Having all 30 teams based in Phoenix has been examined. So has having groups of teams in Arizona, Texas and Florida. All of those areas have climate-controlled MLB stadiums, and other nearby ballparks. The Rangers still haven’t played a game in their new stadium with a retractable roof.
April 28, 2020 3:45 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Los Angeles Lakers have repaid a loan of roughly $4.6 million from a coronavirus relief program after learning the program’s funds had been depleted. The Lakers applied for the loan under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, and they received it in the first round of distribution. The team returned its loan after the fund ran out of money in less than two weeks. So did several wealthier business that had applied for the funds, including Shake Shack and AutoNation. The Lakers qualified for the program because they have only about 300 employees. But the team is thought to be the NBA’s second-most valuable franchise, with Forbes estimating a value of $4.4 billion.
April 27, 2020 3:44 am
UNDATED (AP) -Seth Markman was just as nervous as NFL coaches and general managers about the unknown factors involved with a virtual draft. But the ESPN executive producer said he was overwhelmed with how everything came together over the three days. It also ended up being must-see TV as the first significant live sporting event since the coronavirus pandemic ground everything to a halt. The draft averaged a record 8.4 million viewers over all three days, according to the NFL and Nielsen. The previous high was 6.2 million last year.
April 26, 2020 7:25 am
MIAMI (AP) — NBA players will be allowed to return to team training facilities starting Friday, provided that their local governments do not have a stay-at-home order prohibiting such movement still in place as part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Any workouts that take place would be voluntary and be limited to individual sessions only, according to a person familiar with the league’s decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Saturday on condition of anonymity because the directives from the league were not released publicly. Group practices would not be allowed yet, and teams will not yet be permitted to organize in-person workouts.
April 25, 2020 3:37 am
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Carolina selected defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos from Penn State with the sixth pick in the second round of the NFL draft. The Panthers had drafted Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown in round one. After selecting Gross-Matos the Panthers traded up five spots to upgrade the back end of the defense. Carolina took safety Jeremy Chinn from Southern Illinois with the final pick of the second round. The Panthers gave up their a third-round (No. 69) and fifth-round (148th overall) pick to Seattle to move up. Carolina doesn’t have another pick until Saturday’s fourth round.
April 24, 2020 2:00 am
Joe Burrow was the one constant in a most unique NFL draft. For months, the national champion quarterback from LSU was linked with the Bengals. Cincinnati began the draft by sending the name of the Heisman Trophy winner to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in the basement of his home. The draft was conducted remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic that has led to uncertainty about whether there will even be football this season. Burrow says it was “crazy” to jump to the top pick in the draft. The Washington Redskins selected defensive end Chase Young of Ohio State with the second pick.
April 23, 2020 3:45 am
UNDATED (AP) – Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are primed for a made-for-TV rematch, and they’ll be paired with a pair of NFL rival quarterbacks. Turner Sports says quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will join them for a two-on-two match to be aired on TNT sometime in May. Turner didn’t provide specifics concerning the exact date or location, only to say that tournament organizers would work with government and health officials to meet safety and health standards. Turner said all donations and fundraising from the match would benefit relief efforts for the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 23, 2020 3:43 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The Boston Red Sox got off lightly in Major League Baseball’s sign-stealing scandal after Commissioner Rob Manfred concluded their violations were far less flagrant than those of the Houston Astros. Boston was stripped of its second-round pick in this year’s amateur draft for sign stealing in 2018 and former manager Alex Cora was suspended through the 2020 postseason for his previous conduct as the Astros’ bench coach. Manfred issued his decision Wednesday, announcing Red Sox replay system operator J.T. Watkins violated the prohibition on in-game use of video to revise sign sequences provided to players. Watkins was suspended without pay through this year’s postseason. He denied the allegations.
April 22, 2020 3:47 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that the minor leagues are prepared to agree to Major League Baseball’s proposal to cut guaranteed affiliations from 160 to 120 next year. The plan would impact hundreds of prospects and cut player development expenses. An electronic negotiating session is scheduled for Wednesday. MLB last year proposed cutting 42 affiliates. The minors have fought the plan, but the new coronavirus pandemic has changed the dynamic and sapped minor league teams of revenue and willingness to fight.
