Sports

San Francisco NBA Game To Be Played Without Fans

NBC Sports reports: San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced Wednesday that mass gatherings of over 1,000 have been canceled for at least the next two weeks. In response to the news, the Warriors will play their upcoming home game Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets at Chase Center without any fans in attendance. The Santa Cruz Warriors’ game Saturday, originally scheduled …

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Officials Mull 2020 Tokyo Olympics Without Spectators

The New York Times reports: It remains unclear how any decision about the Olympics would unfold if officials in Tokyo conclude they have to alter plans for the Games. Seiko Hashimoto, Japan’s Olympic minister, said this week that Japan’s position was that as long as Tokyo held the Games in 2020, the I.O.C. could not cancel them. The 80-page contract …

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IOC Officials: Tokyo Olympics Still On For Now [VIDEO]

Time Magazine reports: A spokesman for the Japanese government on Wednesday said the International Olympic Committee and local organizers are going ahead as planned with the Tokyo Olympics despite the threat of the spreading coronavirus. The comments from spokesman Yoshihide Suga follow the assertion by former IOC vice-president Dick Pound that organizers face a three-month window to decide the fate …

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Kobe Bryant’s Widow Sues Helicopter Company

The Express reports: Vanessa Bryant has sued Island Express after the company’s helicopter crashed in Calabasas last month, leading to the death of her husband Kobe, daughter Gigi and seven others on board. That is according to TMZ, who originally broke the news of Kobe’s death. Vanessa alleges that Island Express was only permitted to fly under visual flight rules, …

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Chaka Khan Roasted For Anthem Performance [VIDEO]

Variety reports: It takes a lot to make a performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” before the NBA All-Star Game trend higher on social media than the game itself, but Chaka Khan has managed what Fergie was able to two years ago, with a unique rendering of the National Anthem that threatened to render anything that followed an afterthought. In …

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Drag Queens To Appear In Super Bowl Ad For First Time

NBC News reports: First, it was an unexpected appearance at President Donald Trump’s impeachment hearings, and now it’s a barrier-breaking debut during one of the year’s most watched sporting events. Drag queens, for the first time, will appear in a Super Bowl advertisement. “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alumni Kim Chi and Miz Cracker will make history in a commercial for hummus …

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Heavy Fog Blamed In Crash Of Kobe Bryant’s Helicopter

The Associated Press reports: The helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant and eight others that crashed into a rugged hillside outside Los Angeles was flying in foggy conditions considered dangerous enough that local police agencies grounded their choppers. The helicopter plunged into a steep hillside at about 9:45 a.m. Sunday with an impact that scattered debris over an area the size of …

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NEW ORLEANS: NFL Team Accused of Helping Catholic Archdiocese Do Damage Control On Pedophilia Suits

The Associated Press reports: The New Orleans Saints are going to court to keep the public from seeing hundreds of emails that allegedly show team executives doing public relations damage control for the area’s Roman Catholic archdiocese to help it contain the fallout from a burgeoning sexual abuse crisis. Attorneys for about two dozen men suing the church say in …

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Los Angeles City Council Demands World Series Titles
In Wake Of Cheating Ruling Against Houston Astros

Courthouse News reports: The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to demand awarding two World Series titles to the LA Dodgers in the wake of a sign-stealing scandal currently rocking Major League Baseball. The resolution by the City Council comes a week after Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the results of an investigation into the sign stealing …

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Trump Met With Cheers At College Title Match [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump turned sports fan for an evening as he watched No. 1 Louisiana State University and No. 3 Clemson battle it out in the College Football Playoff championship. Trump flew to Louisiana for Monday’s night’s game at the Superdome in New Orleans, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump. “It’ll be a great game. It’ll …

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Astros Fire Managers After MLB Ruling On Cheating

The Associated Press reports: Astros manager AJ Hinch [photo] and general manager Jeff Luhnow were fired Monday after the pair were suspended by Major League Baseball for the team’s sign-stealing during Houston’s run to the 2017 World Series title and during the 2018 season. In the sport’s largest scandal since the Biogenesis drug suspensions in 2013, Commissioner Rob Manfred announced …

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Big Penalties For Houston Astros In Cheating Scandal

CBS Sports reports: Major League Baseball issued harsh penalties against the Houston Astros on Monday after a lengthy investigation into the team’s use of technology to steal signs. The sanctions include one-year suspensions for Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow [photo] as well as a $5 million fine and the loss of future draft picks. In a …

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Olympic Committee Sets Rules On Protests In Tokyo

Axios report: The International Olympic Committee issued a set of guidelines on Thursday to strengthen a rule that bars athletes from certain forms of political protest at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. The Committee warns: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” Activism such as kneeling, …

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Trump To Seek Adulation At College Football Title Match

ESPN reports: President Donald Trump is planning to attend the Jan. 13 College Football Playoff National Championship in New Orleans. The game features No. 1 Louisiana State University versus No. 3 Clemson, which is looking for its third national title in the last four seasons. Both teams are undefeated. Trump has attended a handful of sports events in recent months, …

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Russia To Appeal Olympics Ban Over Doping

The Associated Press reports: Russia has confirmed that it will appeal its four-year Olympic ban for manipulating doping data. The Russian anti-doping agency, known as RUSADA, sent a formal letter Friday disagreeing with the sanctions imposed earlier this month by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The case is now heading to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Next year’s Olympics in …

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Military Clears Cadets In “White Power” Controversy

ESPN reports: Hand gestures flashed by West Point cadets and Naval Academy midshipmen during the televised Army-Navy football game were not racist signals, military investigations have concluded. A Navy probe of the event found that the students were “participating in a sophomoric game” on Saturday and had no racist intent. Clips of the hand gestures by the students went viral …

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Major League Baseball Drops Ban On Marijuana

ESPN reports: Marijuana will be removed from the list of drugs of abuse and will be treated the same as alcohol as part of changes announced Thursday to the joint drug agreement between MLB and the players’ association. In addition, suspensions for marijuana use will be dropped from the minor league drug program. Until now, big league players who were …

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10 Ex-NFL Players Charged With Healthcare Fraud

ABC News reports: The Department of Justice announced charges Thursday against 10 former NFL players over an alleged scheme to defraud millions of dollars from the league’s health care benefits program. Prosecutors allege that the players submitted false and fraudulent claims for high-cost medical equipment to the league’s Gene Upshaw Health Reimbursement Account Plan for retired players between June of …

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Megan Rapinoe Named Sportsperson Of The Year

Sports Illustrated reports: On July 7, in the 61st minute of the 2019 World Cup final against the Netherlands, Megan Rapinoe scored to put the U.S. up 1–0. To her, though, this was more than the goal that would win the Americans a record fourth title. It was the equivalent of flashing double-barrel middle fingers. She’d have loved to have …

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Russia Banned From Global Sports For Four Years

The New York Times reports: Global antidoping leaders agreed unanimously on Monday to banish Russia from international sports — including next summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo — for four years, the latest and severest punishment yet connected to a yearslong cheating scheme that has devastated global sport. The World Anti-Doping Agency’s punishment includes specific bans on Russian sports and government …

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