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VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPORTS
No rite of spring for golf: Masters postponed due to virus
UNDATED (AP) — The sports landscape continues to shrink following decisions from the golf and auto racing world.
Masters officials have postponed the first major championship of the year until a later date. The decision came 12 hours after PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan canceled four tournaments leading up to the Masters, starting with the final three rounds of The Players Championship and its $15 million purse.
Masters chairman Fred Ridley said he hoped the decision puts Augusta National in the best position to host the event and two other amateur tourneys but did not indicate when the Masters could be played.
The decision to delay the Masters is the latest big hit to the spring sports calendar caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, which has already caused the cancellation of March Madness and disrupted schedules across the NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball, tennis and soccer.
NASCAR and IndyCar have decided to put their seasons on hold out of concern for the COVID-19 pandemic.
NASCAR called off Sunday's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and next weekend's events at Homestead-Miami Speedway, both of which were scheduled to run without spectators.
IndyCar was supposed to open Sunday in St. Petersburg until circuit officials elected to suspend its season through the end of April.
Among other virus-related developments in sports:
— Major League Baseball is encouraging players to go home a day after canceling spring training and postponing opening day by at least two weeks. Ballparks in Florida and Arizona were locked down as the sport considered how to proceed amid a virus outbreak that has brought the U.S. sports schedule to a standstill. Teams speculated the season might not start until sometime in May, necessitating a reduced schedule.
— NHL Players’ Association chief Don Fehr (feer) tells The Associated Press that he expects teams will be cleared to open their training facilities to allow player workouts as early as next week. Commissioner Gary Bettman says players and staff have been told to stay away from the rink and self-isolate while the league is on a hiatus of uncertain length. The additional time off over the weekend would also provide teams to cleanse their facilities.
— Bettman said Friday he was not aware of any player or NHL employee testing positive for the new coronavirus, but he can't say for certain that no one is feeling ill or awaiting test results.
— The NCAA will extend the eligibility of athletes on spring sports teams one year to make up for the season lost to the new coronavirus. The decision comes after the NCAA announced Thursday that its winter and spring championships would be canceled as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus. The details of how the extra eligibility will work are still being ironed out.
— NCAA basketball tournament organizers scrambled to devise a plan for a 16-team event to salvage the postseason before deciding to cancel the events. NCAA vice president of men's basketball Dan Gavitt told AP on Friday that he started to consider ways of condensing the tournament Wednesday night after the NBA announced the suspension of its season. The idea was to have the selection committee choose the top 16 teams in the country and hold a tournament between March 26-30.
— The Toronto Raptors say all members of their travel party have tested negative for the coronavirus, with one result still pending. The Raptors were tested in Toronto on Wednesday, two nights after they played the Utah Jazz. Jazz players Rudy Gobert (goh-BEHR’) and Donovan Mitchell have tested positive for COVID-19. Gobert and Mitchell both played in that game against Toronto.
— The NFL is ending in-person visits between teams and draft prospects because of concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. The league sent a memo to all 32 clubs on Friday afternoon saying the ban would go into effect until further notice at the end of the business day. The NFL draft is currently scheduled to begin on April 23 in Las Vegas.
— The Big 12 Conference has canceled all athletic competitions for the rest of the academic year. All team activities, including team and individual practices, meetings, and other gatherings, have been suspended until March 29 and will be re-evaluated at that time.
— Boston Marathon organizers are postponing the prestigious race until Sept. 14 because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The April 20 race was expected to draw 31,000 runners and about 1 million spectators. Similarly, the London Marathon scheduled for April 26 has been postponed to Oct. 4.
— The Swiss hockey league has decided to cancel the season, leaving the circuit without a champion for the first time since 1940. Games were suspended two weeks ago when the Swiss federal government prohibited large public events.
— The English Premier League and the Champions League are both suspended. Matches in England will be stopped until at least April 3 after five Premier League clubs said some players or staff were in self-isolation. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has tested positive for the virus, as has Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi.
— The German soccer league has suspended its season, dropping a plan to play this weekend in empty stadiums. The league board says there is an increasing number of suspected coronavirus cases affecting German clubs. Three second-division players have tested positive for the virus.
— FIFA (FEE’-fah) wants a total shutdown of this month’s window for national team games which is in turmoil due to the coronavirus pandemic. FIFA says a panel of its vice presidents agreed “rules which normally oblige clubs to release players for national team matches will not apply” for the March 23-31 window mandated in its international fixture calendar. Close to 200 national teams were due to be in action in 2022 World Cup qualifying games in Asia and South America, qualifiers for continental championships in Africa and Europe, plus friendlies.
— The Greek Olympic committee has suspended the rest of its torch relay because of the “unexpectedly large crowd” that gathered to watch despite repeated requests for the public to stay away to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The committee said a large crowd had gathered to watch the flame for the Tokyo Olympics pass through the southern Greek town of Sparta. The flame was lit yesterday at the birthplace of the games in Ancient Olympia in a pared-down ceremony.
— A Rhode Island police chief says a young resident being treated for the coronavirus might have contracted it from an NBA player. According to the Providence Journal, Westerly Police Chief Shawn Lacey says the child attended a Boston Celtics game last week and got an autograph from an infected player. Lacey did not provide the name of the child or the player.
NFL-NEWS
Roster moves in NFL as free agency nears
UNDATED (AP) — It was business as usual for the NFL as teams pare down rosters and designate franchise tags before the free-agent signing period begins Wednesday:
— The Vikings have terminated the contracts of nose tackle Linval Joseph and cornerback Xavier Rhodes, clearing more than $18.5 million off the team's salary cap. Both players were longtime Vikings.
— The Titans have waived three-time Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker and kicker Ryan Succop (SUK’-uhp). Injuries ended each of Walker's last two seasons and Succop made only one field goal last season.
— The Lions have released tackle Rick Wagner, who started 40 games over three seasons with the team.
— The Bengals have cut Cordy Glenn, severing ties with the left tackle who missed most of last season because of concussion and suspension.
— The Bears have re-signed veteran inside linebacker Danny Trevathan (treh-VAY’-thahn) to a three-year contract extension through the 2022 season. Trevathan has 327 tackles in four seasons with Bears and 602 overall in eight years with Chicago and Denver.
— The Jaguars have placed the franchise tag on disgruntled defensive end Yannick Ngakoue (yah-NEEK' en-GAH'-kway), guaranteeing him more than $19 million next season unless he refused to sign the tender and tries to force a trade. Ngakoue can negotiate with other teams, but Jacksonville has the right to match any offer or receive two first-round draft picks as compensation.
— The Broncos have placed the franchise tag on safety Justin Simmons. The tag is worth over $11.5 million, although chances are good the fifth-year pro will sign a long-term deal averaging more than $14 million a season before the July 15 deadline. Denver also picked up the 2020 contract options on star pass rusher Von Miller, linebacker Todd Davis and kicker Brandon McManus.
— The Chargers have announced they have put the non-exclusive franchise tag on tight end Hunter Henry. General manager Tom Telesco said during the NFL scouting combine that the team was considering tagging Henry but is still hoping to sign him to a long-term extension. The team also released linebacker Thomas Davis Sr. and defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, who were team captains.
NBA-MAVERICKS-BRUNSON
Brunson has surgery with season on hold
DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson has gone ahead with surgery for a right shoulder injury that had sidelined him for three weeks. The surgery was performed with the NBA season on hold due to the pandemic.
Brunson was injured in the first quarter of a 111-107 loss at Atlanta on Feb. 22. He was averaging 8.2 points and 3.3 assists, starting 16 of his 57 games.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-MINNESOTA-PITINO
Pitino staying
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota basketball coach Richard Pitino will return for his eighth season with the program.
That’s according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, without authorization to speak publicly on the matter.
The 37-year-old Pitino has a 127-108 record with the Gophers, including a 48-82 mark in Big Ten regular-season play. They went 15-16 this season and finished 12th in the conference with an 8-12 record.
Pitino won the 2014 NIT title in his first year with the Gophers and later took them to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. He became the 17th head coach in program history, replacing Tubby Smith.
Before that, he spent one year at Florida International after taking over for Isiah Thomas.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-ILLINOIS-CHICAGO
Illinois-Chicago drops McClain
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois-Chicago has fired men’s basketball coach Steve McClain after five seasons.
McClain went 76-93 with the Flames, including a 42-48 record in the Horizon League.
UIC was 18-17 this season and reached the Horizon League Tournament final before losing, 71-62 to Northern Kentucky.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-UNC WILMINGTON
UNC Wilmington gets a hoop coach
WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — UNC Wilmington has hired North Carolina State assistant coach Takayo Siddle as basketball coach.
Siddle replaces C.B. McGrath, who was fired in January after compiling a 26-58 record midway through his third season.
Siddle returns to a program where he spent three years as an assistant to Kevin Keatts, including serving as interim coach for the program when Keatts left to take over at N.C. State in March 2017.
Siddle was part of Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship teams that went on to the NCAA Tournament.
TRACK-SEMENYA-OLYMPICS
Semenya says she’s eyeing 200m competition in Tokyo
UNDATED (AP) — Track star Caster Semenya is continuing her attempt to compete in the Tokyo Olympics by trying another event.
Semenya has announced on her Instagram account that she plans to compete in the 200 meters.
The Olympic 800-meter champion is barred from defending her title due to the world track and field body's highly criticized testosterone regulations. Semenya and other female athletes with high natural testosterone are barred from races from 400 meters to one mile at top-level meets like the Olympics and world championships unless they undergo treatment to reduce their hormone levels for six months prior to running.
Semenya has refused to do so, calling the rules and the medical intervention required unfair and unethical.
MLB-OBIT-COX
Ted Cox dies
MIDWEST CITY, Okla. (AP) — Former major league infielder Ted Cox has died at 65.
His son, Billy says Cox was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in November and died Wednesday at Hospice Quality Care in Midwest City, Oklahoma.
Cox surged up the Red Sox farm system and became the first player to collect hits in his first six at-bats upon his recall in 1977. He hit .362 in 13 games that September to become a key piece in a multi-player trade that allowed Boston to acquire pitcher Dennis Eckersley from Cleveland.
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