College Sports
The Big East Conference is leaning toward not allowing sports to be played at schools this season unless their campuses are open. While no deadlines have been set, Commissioner Val Ackerman said yesterday the presidents of member institutions indicated a late June/early July deadline for fall sports, and possibly a September 1st deadline for winter sports, when basketball is played. The league would consider playing with some members not participating, but Ackerman said there are hybrid scenarios that could change things, such as a campus opening late.
NFL
Philip Rivers has lined up a job for his post-playing career, though it won’t be in broadcasting or related to the NFL. The 38-year-old quarterback announced he will become the head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama after he retires. Rivers signed a one-year, $25 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts in March after spending his first 16 NFL seasons with the San Diego and Los Angeles Chargers, but has yet to say whether he plans to play beyond 2020.
Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre is disputing a Mississippi auditor’s report that he was paid $1.1 million in welfare money for speaking engagements that he never showed up for. Favre claims that he was paid for public service announcements and radio ads that ran for three years, but he has agreed to return the money regardless, saying he was unaware the money he was receiving came from welfare funds. Auditor Shad White said his office received $500,000 from Favre on Wednesday, plus a commitment that Favre will repay the other $600,000 in installments over the next few months. He praised the QB for his “good-faith effort to make this right.”
NBA
A small number of teams reopened practice facilities yesterday and at least one team has received permission to begin testing its players for the coronavirus. Cleveland and Portland opened their practice facilities, as Cavs forward Cedi Osman was among the first to be back on an official NBA practice court since the league ordered the facilities to close seven weeks ago. Denver, Sacramento, and Toronto are expected to open their facilities next week, and will have to obey the league’s rule of no more than four players in the facility at a time. Toronto will be stricter than that, allowing only one player to use the court at a time, with all other parts of the facility remaining closed.
The Orlando Magic have received permission from local health officials to begin testing their players. The league has yet to implement a full-scale testing program, but has informed teams that they may begin testing, with league approval, if local health officials say ”robust” testing already exists for at-risk healthcare workers in that community, which is the case in Orange County, where Orlando is located. The Lakers and Clippers are expected to follow suit soon, as Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti has said free testing is available for all residents of Los Angeles County.
NHL
The NHL and NHL Players’ Association have put their plans to play outside of North America on ice for the rest of the year. The league and union announced Friday the postponement of its 2020 international games, adding they look forward to taking teams overseas again next year. The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers were previously scheduled to open this season in Prague as part of the NHL’s Global Series. The Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning had also been slated to play two games in Stockholm.
NASCAR
NASCAR yesterday canceled races at Richmond, VA, Chicagoland Speedway and Sonoma Raceway in CA as it revises its schedule to restart the season. Since those races weren’t originally scheduled, NASCAR forfeited events at its Richmond and Chicago tracks. Richmond was originally scheduled for April 19 and Chicagoland was scheduled for June 21 Speedway Motorsports traded its road course race in Sonoma scheduled for June 14 for a Cup race at Charlotte on May 27. NASCAR plans to race at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina on May 17 and May 20.