NHL
NEW YORK (AP) - Hockey became the latest sport to finalize a return during a global pandemic after NHL owners and players approved an agreement to resume the season - and with it an assurance of labor peace through September 2026.
Games are scheduled to begin Aug. 1 in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, with coronavirus cases in the U.S. pushing the league into Canada for the summer and fall until the Stanley Cup is awarded in late September or early October.
Training camps open across North America on Monday, which is also the deadline for players to opt out of participating with no penalty. Minnesota’s Zach Parise said earlier this week he doesn’t think a lot of players will choose not to play, but the NHL already has one example.
Hours after the agreement was reached, Calgary defenseman Travis Hamonic became the first to publicly opt out, citing family reasons. Hamonic’s daughter was hospitalized last year with a respiratory illness.
NBA
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The 22 teams participating in the NBA restart were all at the Disney campus together for the first time.
None of them, however, made it to the Orlando, Florida, area with their usual travel party.
Leaving families behind for several weeks - or maybe even three months, depending on how deep a team goes in the playoffs - during a pandemic isn’t the only hardship that teams are dealing with during this restart. Space limitations within the quasi-bubble at Disney also meant that teams had to cut their official traveling parties down to 37, including players, so many people who usually travel with a club aren’t on this trip.
It’s expected that as the bubble population shrinks after six teams are eliminated from playoff contention and then eight more are ousted in the first postseason round, teams will be allowed to bring in more staff.
But until then, while teams are playing games on-site at Disney, there will be plenty of work done back in home markets and home arenas as well. Some teams left player development coaches behind, some even left assistant coaches, and all teams traveled with only one media relations staffer and one equipment manager. In normal circumstances, some teams travel with as many as three people to handle media requirements and two for equipment.
GOLF
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) - Collin Morikawa ran off four straight birdies after making the turn, finished with another birdie and shot 6-under 66 in the second round to build a three-shot lead in the storm-delayed Workday Charity Open.
His 13-under 131 was one shot off the course record set by Jason Dufner in 2017 at the Memorial.
He was six shots ahead when he finished. He was four shots ahead over Sam Burns when his side of the field finished. And it was down to three after some remarkable play by Justin Thomas (66) and Kevin Streelman (64) in surprisingly strong gusts that followed the storm.
Thomas hasn’t made a bogey all week and finished his round with an 8-foot birdie putt. Streelman reached 11 under until a bogey on the par-3 eighth near the end of his round. They will be in the final group Saturday, which will be played in threesomes because a pair of 75-minute delays from thunderstorms meant the second round didn’t finish.
COLLEGE SPORTS
The Pac-12 has become the second major conference to shift to a conference-only fall schedule amid growing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
The announcement came after a meeting of the Pac-12 CEO Group on Friday, a day after the Big Ten opted to eliminate nonconference games for all fall sports.
The Atlantic Coast, Big 12 and Southeastern conferences are still weighing options for fall sports. On Wednesday, the Ivy League became the first Division I conference to suspend all fall sports until at least January, leaving open the possibility of moving some sports to the spring if the pandemic is under better control.
The Pac-12′s decision covers football, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. Conference-only schedules will be announced no later than July 31.
The conference is also delaying the start of mandatory athletic activities until a series of health and safety indicators become more positive. Student-athletes who choose not to participate in the next academic year due to COVID-19 concerns will continue to have their scholarships honored and will remain in good standing with their teams.
AUTO RACING
SPARTA, Ky. (AP) - In two nights, Austin Cindric went from the cusp of winning on ovals to showing his ability to dominate those layouts.
As Cindric threw his hands in the air after his most impressive win, Harrison Burton and Noah Gragson threw punches at each other in the only real battle at Kentucky Speedway.
Cindric dominated Friday night to sweep the NASCAR Xfinity Series doubleheader at Kentucky. A night after racing to his first career oval victory in an overtime finish, the Team Penske driver was even stronger in the No. 22 Ford Mustang in the 300-mile capper.
Cindric was third in the first stage, won the second and stretched it out in the final segment. He trailed briefly on the final restart, then sliced through two cars out of Turn 2 and rolled to victory by 2.262 seconds over points leader Chase Briscoe in the No. 98 Ford.
Just after Cindric celebrated his victory with a burnout, Burton and Gragson argued before throwing punches in a fight that lasted several moments before they were separated. Burton had on a mask, while Gragson didn’t.
The two collided in the final laps, with both cars brushing the wall. The frustrations spilled over after the race, first with the drivers arguing nose to nose before they shoved each other and started duking it out.
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