MONDAY – April 6
nothing scheduled locally or nationally due to the coronavirus outbreak
Sports Minute
UNDATED (AP) – Speedy halfback and receiver Bobby Mitchell has died at 84, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He played halfback for the Cleveland Browns from 1958-61 and was a flanker for Washington from 1962-68, becoming the first African American to sign with the Redskins. Mitchell was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983 after earning three All-NFL and four Pro Bowls selections. He immediately became one of the NFL’s most dangerous receivers upon arrival in Washington, leading the league with 72 receptions and 1,384 receiving yards in 1962.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Former NFL kicker Tom Dempsey has died at 73 from what his family described as complications from the new coronavirus. He managed to play 11 NFL seasons for five different teams despite being born without toes on his kicking foot. Dempsey drilled a game-winning, 63-yard field goal for New Orleans against Detroit in 1970, a league record that stood for 43 years.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – Ashton Hagans is entering the NBA draft after two seasons at the University of Kentucky, saying the time is now to pursue his dream of playing professionally. Hagans emerged as one of the nation’s best point guards last season after earning SEC Defender of the Year honors as a freshman. He started 29 of his 30 games last season, averaging 11.5 points, 6.4 assists and 1.9 steals for the Wildcats.
UNDATED (AP) – Major League Soccer’s 25th season is on hold indefinitely because of the coronavirus outbreak, but league officials and coaches still hope the league will be able to get in a full season with fans in attendance. The league had set a target date for re-starting on May 10, although that now seems unlikely. The anniversary of the first MLS match is tomorrow. On April 6, 1996, the San Jose Clash hosted D.C. United before 31,000 fans at Spartan Stadium. Eric Wynalda scored in the 87th minute, giving the Clash a 1-0 victory.
UNDATED (AP) – A Serbian soccer player has been sentenced to three months of home detention for flouting a curfew imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus. Police had arrested Aleksandar Prijovic and 19 others for gathering at a hotel lobby bar in Belgrade on Friday and violating the country’s 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. lockdown orders. He is the second Serbian soccer player to be caught violating the stay-at-home orders. Those who violate the restrictive measures could face up to three years in jail.
TUESDAY – April 7
nothing scheduled locally or nationally due to the coronavirus outbreak
The Iowa Girls Athletic Union and the Iowa Boys Athletic Association released a revised schedule for the potential of an abbreviated spring sports season in the Hawkeye state. If schools re-open on May 1, practices will begin on that date with the first competition beginning on May 4th. State competition will be June.
SportsMinute
DETROIT (AP) – One of baseball’s best outfielders ever has died. A friend says Hall of Famer Al Kaline died Monday. Kaline, who was 86, spent his entire 22-season with the Detroit Tigers. The right fielder was a 15-time All-Star, won 10 Gold Gloves and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1980.
UNDATED (AP) – The NFL draft won’t be the usual flashy spectacle. It was to have been held in Las Vegas, but the league now says it will be conducted in a virtual format, with team personnel working from their homes. The NFL canceled all public events last month as a safeguard against the coronavirus. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s procedures for the April 23-25 draft include no group gatherings.
UNDATED (AP) – Like other pro sports leagues, the National Hockey League is considering various options to salvage its season. Play is on hold for now because of the coronavirus pandemic. Ideas under discussion include neutral site playoff games and awarding the Stanley Cup in September.
LONDON (AP) – Golf’s oldest tournament has joined the list of sporting events disrupted by the pandemic. For the first time since 1945, July’s British Open has been canceled. It will be held next year at Royal St. George. The 150th tournament will be held in 2022 at St. Andrews. U.S. tournaments are also being reshuffled. The Masters will be held two weeks before Thanksgiving.
NEW YORK (AP) – Another soccer scandal. A pair of former sports marketing executives have been indicted on charges they paid bribes to soccer officials to obtain confidential bidding information during FIFA’s sale of U.S. television rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Charges have been unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn against former 21st Century Fox Inc. executives Hernan Lopez and Carlos Martinez.
WEDNESDAY – April 8
nothing scheduled locally or nationally due to the coronavirus outbreak
Sports Minute
UNDATED (AP) — An eighth NHL player has tested positive for COVID-19. The league announced Tuesday that a third player from the Colorado Avalanche is in self-isolation and has not had close contact with teammates or Colorado staff members. The five other NHL players who tested positive all play for the Ottawa Senators. Meanwhile, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has raised the possibility of not being able to complete the regular season.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s success in battling the coronavirus means a green light for the country’s baseball league. It is targeting an early May restart with teams ready to play preseason exhibition games as early as April 21. The country recorded 53 new infections, the third consecutive day that has seen new cases around the 50-mark. The league was scheduled to start play on March 28.
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — A productive member of Duke basketball squad is heading to the NBA. Freshman Cassius Stanley is entering the draft. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 12.6 points and 4.9 rebounds for the Blue Devils. In a statement, Stanley says he believed the Blue Devils could have attained his goal of reaching the Final Four and contending for a national championship. But he noted that “the NBA values youth” in his decision to enter the draft.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards are among the new nominees for NASCAR’s next Hall of Fame class. Janet Guthrie returns as a nominee in the Landmark category after a one-year absence. There are three ballots: one for Modern candidates, one for Pioneer candidates and one for Landmark candidates. Two entries from the 10 Modern candidates will be elected, along with one entry apiece from the five-candidate Pioneer and Landmark categories.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are all in for a new look in 2020. Building on momentum created by the signing of six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady in free agency, the Bucs have unveiled new uniforms for next season. The new garb will be more traditional red, white and pewter – similar to the uniforms the team wore from 1997-2013, it’s most successful stretch.
THURSDAY – April 9
nothing scheduled locally or nationally due to the coronavirus outbreak
Sports Minute
UNDATED (AP) — An eighth NHL player has tested positive for COVID-19. The league announced Tuesday that a third player from the Colorado Avalanche is in self-isolation and has not had close contact with teammates or Colorado staff members. The five other NHL players who tested positive all play for the Ottawa Senators. Meanwhile, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has raised the possibility of not being able to complete the regular season.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s success in battling the coronavirus means a green light for the country’s baseball league. It is targeting an early May restart with teams ready to play preseason exhibition games as early as April 21. The country recorded 53 new infections, the third consecutive day that has seen new cases around the 50-mark. The league was scheduled to start play on March 28.
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — A productive member of Duke basketball squad is heading to the NBA. Freshman Cassius Stanley is entering the draft. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 12.6 points and 4.9 rebounds for the Blue Devils. In a statement, Stanley says he believed the Blue Devils could have attained his goal of reaching the Final Four and contending for a national championship. But he noted that “the NBA values youth” in his decision to enter the draft.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards are among the new nominees for NASCAR’s next Hall of Fame class. Janet Guthrie returns as a nominee in the Landmark category after a one-year absence. There are three ballots: one for Modern candidates, one for Pioneer candidates and one for Landmark candidates. Two entries from the 10 Modern candidates will be elected, along with one entry apiece from the five-candidate Pioneer and Landmark categories.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are all in for a new look in 2020. Building on momentum created by the signing of six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady in free agency, the Bucs have unveiled new uniforms for next season. The new garb will be more traditional red, white and pewter – similar to the uniforms the team wore from 1997-2013, it’s most successful stretch.
FRIDAY – April 10
nothing scheduled nationally due to the coronavirus outbreak
Sports Minute
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra says head coaches and senior department staffers will take 10% salary cuts. The reductions are expected to save about $15 million to offset anticipated revenue shortfalls because of event cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic. Approximately $10 million of that estimated savings comes from salary reductions for men’s basketball coach Chris Mack, football coach Scott Satterfield, women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz and baseball coach Dan McDonnell.
UNDATED (AP) — Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano is back in New York after completing his quarantine period following a positive test for the coronavirus. Castellano tested positive for COVID-19 last month as part of a physical mandated by Gulfstream Park to determine if he could be cleared to ride in the Florida Derby on March 28. He quarantined in Florida and said he was largely asymptomatic throughout his time with the virus.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have retained the services of cornerback Bashaud Breeland after the two sides hammered out a one-year deal that could be worth up to $4.5 million. The contract helps to alleviate one of the Super Bowl champions’ biggest concerns ahead of the NFL draft after Breeland, Kendall Fuller and Morris Claiborne all became free agents. Fuller has since signed a $40 million, four-year deal with Washington.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A person familiar with the deal says the Houston Texans have acquired Brandin Cooks from the Los Angeles Rams. The NFL Network reports the Rams will get a second-round pick while sending a future fourth-rounder to Houston. Cooks is a fast, steady deep threat who has five 50-reception seasons for three franchises. He had 42 receptions for 583 yards and two touchdowns for Los Angeles last season.
NEW YORK (AP) — Forbes estimates the New York Yankees are baseball’s most valuable franchise at $5 billion, up 9% over last year and 47% more than the No. 2 Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees are second among all sports in Forbes’ evaluations to the Dallas Cowboys, listed at $5.5 billion in the last NFL ranking. The Boston Red Sox are third on Forbes’ list of MLB teams, followed by the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals.
SATURDAY – April 11
nothing scheduled locally or nationally due to the coronavirus outbreak
Sports Minute
UNDATED (AP) — Iowa All-America center Luka Garza has announced he’ll enter the NBA draft process without an agent so he can maintain his college eligibility. Garza was runner-up to Dayton’s Obi Toppin for Associated Press national player of the year. Duke freshman Vernon Carey Jr. has also announced that he is entering the NBA draft. Carey was named the A-C-C’s player of the year and newcomer of the year by The Associated Press.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The cancellation of this year’s College World Series because of the coronavirus pandemic isn’t hurting Omaha just economically. The eight-team tournament that decides the Division I baseball championship each June has long been a point of pride for the city of just under a half-million. Total attendance for the 15 games in 2019 was more than 330,000. Thousands more gather outside the stadium. The move to TD Ameritrade Park 10 years ago sparked development near the stadium. The event packs a $75 million economic impact each year.
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Post is reporting that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will join NBC after he retires. The 41-year old Brees will be going into his 20th NFL season this year and is signed through 2021. He is expected to begin as an analyst on Notre Dame games and in the studio for “Football Night in America” before eventually moving into the “Sunday Night Football” booth.
UNDATED (AP) — The Arizona Coyotes will furlough half of the organization’s employees with the NHL season on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak. The furloughs began yesterday and will last through June 30. The Coyotes say all furloughed employees will continue to receive 100% of health benefits.
UNDATED (AP) — The Orlando Magic’s home arena will become a distribution center for medical equipment and supplies as part of the ongoing response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Amway Center will be a hub for equipment and supplies that will go to 50 hospitals in Central Florida as well as facilities in seven other states.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — The American Hockey League’s Syracuse Crunch has loaned two sanitation machines to a local hospital to see if they could help clean personal protective equipment worn by hospital staff. The Crunch uses one of the machines in its locker room and the other to clean equipment but doesn’t need them right now with sports on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic. Turns out they’re a good fit at Upstate University Hospital.
SUNDAY – April 12 – Happy Easter (He is Risen!! He has Risen Indeed!!)
nothing scheduled locally or nationally due to the coronavirus outbreak
TORONTO (AP) — Edmonton Oilers forward Colby Cave has died at 25 less than a week after being diagnosed with a brain bleed. Cave was placed in a medically induced coma Tuesday at a Toronto hospital, where he was taken after being admitted to a medical facility in Barrie, Ontario, the previous day. Cave underwent emergency surgery Tuesday to remove a colloid cyst that was causing pressure on his brain. The NHL club confirmed Cave’s death with a statement from his family.
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Portland State basketball transfer Holland “Boo Boo” Woods is headed home, announcing on Twitter that he’s going to play for Arizona State. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 17.7 points 5.2 assists and 2.5 as a junior last season. He earned first-team all-Big Sky honors and finished second in the conference in assists. Woods played at Glendale Apollo High School before spending the past three seasons at Portland State.
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy has apologized for his comments this week about the COVID-19 pandemic. Gundy said during a teleconference call Tuesday that he hoped to have the team return to its facilities May 1. His proposed timetable would have defied federal social-distancing guidelines and was quickly disputed by the university. Gundy said Saturday it was never his intention to offend anyone, adding that his first priority is and will always be the student-athletes and doing what is best for the program and the university.
UNDATED (AP) — Simon Pagenaud has won IndyCar’s first virtual race on an oval, conquering a simulated Michigan International Speedway. Sage Karam dominated the race, but a spectacular crash at the start jumbled strategies and Karam pitted from the lead with 14 laps remaining. It allowed Pagenaud and Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin to cycle into a 1-2 finish. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third in his IndyCar iRacing debut and said he’d race again the next time IndyCar goes to a virtual oval.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi State has hired Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Nikki McCray-Penson to replace Vic Schafer as the Bulldogs’ head coach. McCray-Penson was 53-40 the past three years at Old Dominion. The Lady Monarchs posted consecutive 20-win campaigns under McCray, including a 24-6 mark this season. She was named the Conference USA coach of the year this year after going 14-4 versus league opponents.
