Sports

NCAA Warns Mississippi It Must Change The State Flag

NBC News reports: The NCAA’s Southeastern Conference on Thursday told the state of Mississippi it could miss out on SEC championship games if it doesn’t change its state flag, which includes a Confederate symbol. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement, “It is past time for change to be made to the flag of the State of Mississippi.” “Our …

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Nassau Coliseum Shutters Indefinitely Due To Pandemic

Long Island’s Newsday reports: NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum will shut its doors indefinitely as billionaire operator Mikhail Prokhorov seeks investors to take over the lease of the 13,000-seat venue and assume the remaining $100 million in debt, a Prokhorov spokeswoman said Tuesday. The stunning development by Prokhorov’s Onexim Sports and Entertainment, which runs the Coliseum through a lease from the …

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Trump Won’t Watch Any Sport That Allows Kneeling

USA Today reports: President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to once again criticize the idea of kneeling during the national anthem. In a series of tweets and retweets, Trump implied he would not be watching United States national soccer team games or NFL games if there’s kneeling during the anthem. Quote tweeting a story reporting Rep. Matt Gaetz’s …

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NFL To Recognize Juneteenth As Company Holiday

ESPN reports: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced Friday that the league will recognize June 19 as a company holiday, with NFL offices closed on that day. Called Juneteenth, June 19 is celebrated as the effective end of slavery in the United States. Although the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect Jan. 1, 1863, it wasn’t until June 19, 1865, after the …

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DC Pro Soccer Team Paints “I Can’t Breathe” On Field

The Hill reports: Washington D.C.’s Major League Soccer (MLS) team D.C. United on Sunday unveiled a statement in support of the protests over George Floyd’s death: giant letters reading “I can’t breathe” on the team’s Audi Field turf. A tweet from the team Sunday afternoon showed members of the organization posing on the field around the massive statement, which dwarfed …

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Trump Attacks NFL Head For Apologizing To Players

ESPN reports: In response to commissioner Roger Goodell’s video last week in which he said the NFL erred in how it dealt with player protests of police brutality and systemic racism, President Donald Trump tweeted late Sunday night, reopening the national anthem debate with the league. “We are listening. I am listening,” Goodell said. “And I will be reaching out …

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NFL: We Were Wrong For Opposing Player Protests

The Washington Post reports: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday he and the league strongly support players expressing their opposition to inequality and police misconduct, saying the league’s leadership was “wrong” for ignoring players earlier and that it now endorses their peaceful protests. “We, the National Football League condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people,” Goodell said in …

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NBA Votes To Finish Season At Walt Disney World

ESPN reports: The NBA is going to Disney World. The NBA board of governors voted Thursday to approve a 22-team format to restart the 2019-20 season in Orlando, Florida, the league announced. Sources told ESPN that the vote was 29-1, with the Portland Trail Blazers voting against the proposal. Under the plan, 13 Western Conference teams and nine Eastern Conference …

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Boston Marathon Canceled For First Time In Its History

ESPN reports: Organizers canceled the Boston Marathon on Thursday for the first time in its history, bowing to the social distancing requirements of the coronavirus outbreak and ending a 124-year run that had persisted through two World Wars, a volcanic eruption and even another pandemic. The race, which draws a field of 30,000 and already had been postponed from April …

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MLB Officials To Propose Starting Season In Early July

ESPN reports: Major League Baseball expects to offer a return-to-play proposal to the MLB Players Association within a week, as teams have begun to encourage players to prepare for a “spring” training that could begin in mid-June and a season that could start in early July, sources familiar with the discussions told ESPN. Although a significant number of hurdles remain …

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NFL Planning Full Season But Ready For Contingencies

The Associated Press reports: The NFL is planning to play a full season though it’s uncertain what that will look like. League spokesman Brian McCarthy said Thursday that since January the 2020 schedule was intended for release after the draft. It is planned for release by the end of next week, with the date for the kickoff game Thursday, Sept. …

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Saints QB Pledges $5M To New Orleans Virus Relief

ESPN reports: Drew Brees and his wife, Brittany, announced a $5 million commitment to the state of Louisiana in 2020 to help “our communities get through this tough time.” The New Orleans Saints quarterback said via Twitter last week that assessing the need in New Orleans is “a daunting task” in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak because of how …

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Gay Ex-NBA Player Jason Collins Reports Positive Test

Metro Weekly reports: Former NBA star Jason Collins, the first openly gay professional basketball player in the United States, has tested positive for COVID-19. The 41-year-old former center believes he contracted the virus earlier this month during a trip to New York City for the Brooklyn Nets’ pride night game on March 4. Seven days later, Collins developed a “terrible …

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Japan Seeks One-Year Postponement Of Olympics

Sports Illustrated reports: Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike have proposed a one-year postponement of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in a conference call with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach. Abe said Bach agreed “100%” with this proposal, which would have to be approved by the IOC’s Executive Board. The Olympics have never been postponed …

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IOC Decides To Postpone 2020 Tokyo Olympics

USA Today reports: Veteran International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound told USA TODAY Sports Monday afternoon that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are going to be postponed, likely to 2021, with the details to be worked out in the next four weeks. “On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound said in a phone …

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Japanese PM Concedes Olympics May Be Postponed After Canada, Australia Say They Won’t Send Athletes

ABC News reports: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe acknowledged for the first time on Monday that the Summer Olympic Games could be delayed due to the coronavirus as countries began threatening to keep their athletes at home. “If it’s difficult to proceed in its complete form, then we must think about the athletes first and consider postponing,” Abe told Parliament. …

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Major League Baseball Postpones 2020 Season

ABC News reports: There is still no joy in Mudville, at least for a while. Major league baseball has been struck out, thanks to the spread of COVID-19. Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. announced Monday that the start of the 2020 major league season has been postponed, a move that matches the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and …

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MLB And NHL Suspend Operations Over Virus Threat

ESPN reports: As sports leagues all around the U.S. and the world began to cancel and postpone events this week, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before MLB took necessary precautions to avoid the spread of the growing coronavirus concerns. On Thursday MLB announced that effective Friday, March 13 it would be suspending all spring training …

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Major League Soccer Suspends Season For 30 Days

Just in via press release: Major League Soccer has suspended match play for 30 days, effective immediately, as the league continues to assess the impact of COVID-19 with its medical task force and public health officials. At the appropriate time, the league and clubs will communicate plans for the continuation of the 2020 season and update the status of league …

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NCAA March Madness To Be Held Without Fans

Sports Illustrated reports: March Madness without fans is now a reality. The NCAA announced Wednesday that it will follow the lead of other sporting events and restrict fan access to its signature event, the men’s basketball tournament, due to the coronavirus outbreak. All other winter sports championships, including the women’s basketball tournament, will be under the same restriction. The news …

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