March 17, 2020 3:41 am
UNDATED (AP) – NHL players have been told they can return home and self-isolate there until the end of March while hockey is on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic. The league cautioned that it will not be able to even provide guidance on the potential reopening of team practices for another 45 days, which could make May the earliest possible restart date. Players had previously been told to remain in their team’s city and await further direction. The new directive comes in the aftermath of the CDC’s recommendation the U.S. not hold gatherings of 50 or more people for the next eight weeks.
March 17, 2020 3:41 am
NEW YORK (AP) – This was supposed to be the earliest start to the major league season. Instead, it will be the latest. MLB has pushed back opening day until mid-May at the earliest because of the new coronavirus. The decision follows the federal government recommendation restricting events of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement following a conference call with executives of the 30 teams. His office issued a statement saying teams remain committed to playing as many games as possible when the season begins. The season was slated to begin March 26.
March 15, 2020 2:46 am
The PIAA Board of Directors has suspended its basketball playoffs and the Class 2A swimming/diving championships for at least a two-week period. Dr. Bob Lombardi, PIAA Executive Director, says the League will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and remain in contact with the CDC and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The organization’s Sports Medicine Committee will be meeting over the weekend. Click to read the full statement: PIAA Winter Championships Suspended
March 14, 2020 3:37 am
The annual rite of spring for golf won’t happen this year. The Masters has been postponed until a later date. Augusta National did not indicate when the Masters would be played. That means there will be no golf at least for the next month. The Masters began in 1934 and only World War II has kept it from being played. This was the biggest shoe to drop for golf. The PGA Tour already canceled the next three events leading up to the Masters. Tiger Woods was to be going after his sixth green jacket.
March 12, 2020 1:57 pm
(AP) – The NHL is following the NBA’s lead and suspending its season amid the coronavirus outbreak. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says the league is “pausing” its season. The move comes a day after the NBA suspended play following a player’s positive COVID-19 test. The NHL has not said any player has tested positive for the virus. The NHL is halting play with 189 games left in the regular season and sparking uncertainty about how many more if any could go on before the playoffs. A handful of European hockey leagues have already called off the remainder of their seasons.
March 12, 2020 3:47 am
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Already among the greatest on the golf course, Tiger Woods will join them in the World Golf Hall of Fame. Woods was elected Wednesday by a Hall of Fame selection committee. He will be part of the 2021 class that will be inducted next year at the home of the PGA Tour. The Hall of Fame criteria was changed recently to lower the minimum age to 45 when players are inducted. The selection was hardly a surprise. No one has more than his 82 PGA Tour victories, and his 15 majors are second only to Jack Nicklaus.
March 11, 2020 3:43 am
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – Evgeni Malkin scored two goals and set up another to lead the slumping Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Evan Rodrigues and defensemen Justin Schultz and Kris Letang also scored as the Penguins won for only the third time in 11 games. Matt Murray made 20 saves to help Pittsburgh reach 40 wins for the seventh straight season and 13th time since 2006-07. The only exception was the 48-game lockout-shortened season in 2012-13. Nikita Gusev and Miles Wood scored for New Jersey, which won its previous two games. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 28 shots but the last-place Devils dropped to 6-3-2 in their last 11.
March 10, 2020 3:50 am
MIAMI (AP) – The NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer are closing access to locker rooms and clubhouses to all non-essential personnel in response to the coronavirus crisis.
The leagues made the announcement in a joint statement Monday night. The leagues said they made the decision “after consultation with infectious disease and public health experts.” They say the changes will be temporary and that media will still have access to players.
March 9, 2020 3:49 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Tyrell Hatton overcame high winds and jittery nerves to capture his first PGA title and fifth worldwide. Hatton kept it together down the stretch Sunday by playing bogey-free over the last seven holes for a 2-over 74 to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He had a three-shot lead when he drove into the water on the par-4 11th into the wind. Hatton went well over the green with his third shot, chipped short of the putting surface and had to make a 6-footer for a double bogey. But his challengers also faltered. Marc Leishman avoided major disaster and still closed with a 73 to end up one shot behind Hatton. Rory McIlroy began the day one shot back before carding a 76, his highest closing round in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event since a 76 in the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion. McIlroy still tied for fifth, his eighth consecutive finish in the top 5 worldwide dating to September.
March 9, 2020 3:48 am
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Joey Logano is enjoying a strong start to the NASCAR Cup season. Logano won for the second time in three weeks by holding off Kevin Harvick over the final two laps after an overtime restart at Phoenix Raceway. Logano overcame several tough moments, including a pit-road penalty for an uncontrolled tire and a broken jack during another stop. Kyle Busch was third, followed by Kyle Larson and Clint Bowyer. The race was the first under NASCAR’s new rules package for short tracks, which included a significantly smaller rear spoiler.
