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NFL NEWS
Redskins to have ‘thorough review’ of name amid race debate
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Redskins are undergoing what they say is a “thorough review” of their nickname.
The team said in a statement Friday it has been talking to the NFL for weeks about the subject. Owner Dan Snyder says the process will include input from alumni, sponsors, the league, community and members of the organization.
FedEx on Thursday called for the team to change its name, and Nike appeared to remove all Redskins gear from its online store.
The recent national debate on race has renewed calls for Snyder to change the name referred to as a dictionary-defined racial slur by experts and advocates.
In other NFL news:
-The Green Bay Packers are optimistic they will have fans at Lambeau Field this season, but they note that seating capacity would be cut significantly and spectators must wear face coverings. The NFL club also acknowledges the “possibility that Lambeau Field will be unable to host fans for games this season” because of the pandemic. Training camps across the league are to begin in mid-July.
-A person familiar with the request says agent Drew Rosenhaus has asked the Cleveland Browns to trade tight end and former first-round draft pick David Njoku. The person who spoke on condition of anonymity says the Browns have no plans to move Njoku. Rosenhaus told ESPN that “it is in David’s best interest to find a new team at this time.” Njoku has caught 93 passes and scored nine touchdowns in three seasons.
MLB NEWS
MLB cancels All-Star Game for first time since 1945
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dodger Stadium’s 40-year wait to host the All-Star Game is going to last even longer.
The game scheduled for July 14 has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, and Dodger Stadium was awarded the 2022 Midsummer Classic. The 2021 game is set for Atlanta’s Truist Park, home of the Braves since 2017.
The pandemic had already delayed opening day from March 26 to July 23 or 24. This will be the first time since 1945 that no game will be held.
Travel restrictions because of World War II kept the game scheduled for Boston’s Fenway Park from taking place that year. It was pushed back to the next season.
In other MLB news:
—Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell reported for work after all. The 27-year-old Snell made headlines in May when he said he opposed the idea of players taking further pay reductions to start the season during a pandemic. But he says it wasn’t difficult to start playing again after the players’ agreement with Major League Baseball included their full pro-rated salaries. Snell says most of what he said in May was “correct.”
— Atlanta Braves left-hander Cole Hamels is feeling good as a long layoff has helped him recover from a sore left shoulder. Hamels hopes he’ll be ready for the start of the 60-game season i less than three weeks. He says he is interested in logging quality innings, even if he’s not able to pitch deep into games. The Braves opened their summer training at newly renamed Truist Park. A sore left shoulder could have forced Hamels to miss two months if the season started on time. Instead, the coronavirus pandemic ended spring training in mid-March and allowed Hamels to have a more relaxed approach to his rehabilitation.
— The Texas Rangers have opened their summer camp in their new home. Their first official workout in their new stadium with a retractable roof came three weeks before they expect to finally play a game there. It was nearly four months after the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to major league spring training. Left-hander Brett Martin was away from the team after he tested positive for COVID-19 during intake testing this week. Martin was already at higher risk because he has Type 1 diabetes. The pitcher had some mild symptoms with congestion and fatigue.
_The Cincinnati Reds resumed with a familiar scene: hitters slapping batting-practice pitches around Great American Ball Park while a mash-up of disco, rap and Motown reverberated. It looked and sounded like baseball but felt very different in many ways. Manager David Bell hadn’t slept well the last few days, anxious over how to hit a restart button on a shortened season while keeping players safe from COVID-19. Outfielder Nick Senzel is worried about whether major league players will be cautious when they go out in public, so not to catch and spread the coronavirus.
— Carlos Carrasco is making another comeback. The popular Indians pitcher is eager to get back on the mound after missing most of last season while battling leukemia. The 33-year-old is in remission but he’s at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Carrasco has the blessing of the team’s medical staff to play as baseball resumes, and he’s thankful his teammates will look out for him. Carrasco spent the months since baseball was paused by working out at his home in Florida. He even installed a mound near his front yard so he could throw.
— The Seattle Mariners kicked off summer camp trying to figure out how to get pitchers ready in just three weeks. One way the Mariners hope to combat worries about putting strain on pitchers’ arms is by going with a six-man rotation for the full 60-game season. The Mariners most likely already have the six starters set between Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi, Kendall Graveman, Justus Sheffield, Justin Dunn and Taijuan Walker. They may end up averaging just one start per week during the shortened season.
— A top Canadian government health official says the Toronto Blue Jays aren’t guaranteed to get an exemption for the regular season. The Blue Jays got one to hold training camp in Toronto this week. But the regular season will require players to frequently travel back and forth between the United States. Dr. Howard Njoo, Canadian Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, calls that request “a totally different ball game” and noted a lot of American states that have teams are seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases.
— Indians outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. has tested positive for the coronavirus and is being quarantined from his teammates. Chris Antonetti, the team’s president of baseball operations, said DeShields tested positive before coming to Cleveland. Antonetti said DeShields is doing well and has only had “very mild symptoms” at this point. He will have to twice test negative before he’s permitted to re-join the ballclub.
— Reigning American League MVP Mike Trout is participating in the Los Angeles Angels’ first workout of summer camp, but says he hasn’t made a final decision on playing this year. Trout and wife Jessica are expecting the couple’s first child in August. The outfielder said his mindset is to play in the virus-delayed season, but a lot will hinge on how he feels the next couple weeks. The three-time AL MVP continues to have discussions with general manager Billy Eppler and manager Joe Maddon. Trout wore an N-95 mask throughout the two-hour workout at Angel Stadium on Friday. Trout did leave open the possibility of possibly not playing until the baby arrives.
— Baseball’s return to Comerica Park meant Michael Fulmer was back on the mound in Detroit. The right-hander had Tommy John surgery and missed the whole 2019 season. He said this was his first time throwing off the game mound at Comerica Park in about a year and a half. The Tigers held the first workout of their new training camp amid plenty of coronavirus-related precautions. Pitchers used both bullpens, along with the main mound in the infield.
— Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech missed the start of the team’s summer camp due to a personal matter. General manager Rick Hahn said he doesn’t have a timeline for the return of the 24-year-old right-hander. Kopech is coming back from Tommy John surgery in September 2018. He hit triple-digits on the radar gun during his first spring training appearance.
NBA RESTART-TOP SEEDS
Bucks, Lakers look to shed rust or rest for playoffs?
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers have all but guaranteed themselves the top two playoff seeds and face a balancing act when the NBA returns to action.
While other teams will be fighting for a postseason berth or playoff seedings when they play the final eight regular season games in Florida, the Lakers and Bucks will be looking to shake off the rust after a 4 ½-month hiatus and staying as healthy as possible.
Milwaukee owned the NBA’s best record at 53-12 and the Lakers were No. 1 in the West at 49-14 when the pandemic halted play in mid-March.
In other NBA news:
— Plenty of aches and pains around the NBA have healed in the almost-four-month span since the league had to suspend its season because of the pandemic. That means the 22 teams that will be arriving at the Disney campus near Orlando, Florida next week should be coming in with mostly healthy rosters. Keeping players healthy once they get to Disney will be another challenge, as workloads ramp up quickly for the July 30 resumption of games. But at least at the start of camps, rosters will be deeper than they were when the league shut down on March 11.
— A person with knowledge of the situation says that the Miami Heat have closed their training facility after a second player tested positive for coronavirus. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no details weres announced. The Heat will have players at the arena over the coming days to satisfy their NBA-mandated testing requirements but will not reopen the gym for individual workouts before leaving for the Disney complex near Orlando on Wednesday. The second player’s identity was not released by the team. Heat guard Derrick Jones Jr. tested positive for coronavirus last week.
GOLF-ROCKET MORTGAGE CLASSIC
Bryson DeChambeau tied for early 2nd-round lead in Detroit
DETROIT (AP)— Bryson DeChambeau chose to compete in the Rocket Mortgage Classic while many of the PGA Tour’s top players skipped the tournament in Detroit. He’s aiming to take full advantage of the relatively weak field and course. DeChambeau had four birdies on his back nine Friday to close with a 5-under 67, giving him a share of the lead among the early starters in the second round. Matthew Wolff, Seamus Power and Mark Hubbard also were in front at 11-under 133 after the first wave of players finished their second round.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-VIRUS OUTBREAK CANCELATIONS
Navy-Lafayette joins lists of college football cancellations
UNDATED (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic is already impacting the 2020 college football schedule.
The Sept. 12 game between Lafayette College and Navy is the latest game to be canceled. Navy is seeking to fill the date with another opponent.
Several other games have already been wiped from the schedule. Those include the Southern-Tennessee State game in Detroit on Sept. 5 and the annual Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis on Sept. 12, featuring Jackson State versus Tennessee State.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State’s Gundy takes pay cut in wake of T-shirt flap
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy has taken a hit financially as part of an internal review prompted by sharp criticism from his star running back for wearing a T-shirt promoting a far-right news channel.
Athletic director Mike Holder says it was Gundy’s idea to take a $1 million pay cut and shorten his contract by a year. The rollover deal now covers four years instead of five.
Two weeks ago, Chuba Hubbard lashed out at Gundy on social media for wearing a T-shirt promoting One America News Network.
DOPING-KIPSANG
Kenyan runner Wilson Kipsang banned for missing doping tests
MONACO (AP) — Former marathon world record holder Wilson Kipsang has been banned for four years after a series of missed doping tests.
A ruling published by the Athletics Integrity Unit states that the Kenyan runner was found to have missed three tests and failed to provide timely information on his whereabouts on a fourth occasion in 2018 and 2019.
Kipsang was also found to have tampered with the doping control process by making false claims in relation to two of the missed tests.
Kipsang won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2012 London Olympics and broke the world record the following year in Berlin.
F1-HAMILTON
Hamilton picks up where he left off on 1st day of F1 season
SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) — World champion Lewis Hamilton has picked up where he left off on the first day of the Formula One season, by setting the fastest times in the first two practices for the Austrian Grand Prix. The previous time Hamilton drove competitively was on Dec. 1 when he dominanted and won last season’s finale at the Abu Dhabi GP. He had already secured a sixth title to move one behind Michael Schumacher’s F1 record. Seven months later, including a four-month suspension because of the pandemic, Hamilton looks typically assured. The British driver twice finished ahead of his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas while rival Ferrari lacked speed.
Elsewhere in F1 Racing:
— Rival teams still want answers about whether Ferrari’s engine last season was legal or not, after an investigation was closed following a private settlement with governing body FIA. Questions were raised as to whether Ferrari’s fuel-flow exceeded its maximum permitted amount of 100 kilograms per hour. Teams argued that this may have been a key reason for Ferrari’s notably superior speed on long straights and its remarkable run of six straight pole positions. The FIA is now prepared to share its conclusions but needs Ferrari’s permission and the Italian manufacturer is refusing.
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