The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
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Detroit Tigers left-hander Matthew Boyd was kept away from Comerica Park on Tuesday, a day after coming in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
Boyd told reporters on a Zoom call on Wednesday night, after pitching in an intrasquad scrimmage at Comerica Park, that a high school senior was hurt while mowing his lawn Monday night.
“Reacted and went out to help him,” Boyd recalled, adding he wasn’t wearing a mask when he assisted the young man.
Boyd said when the family friend was treated for his injury, he was tested for COVID-19 and tested positive.
“We played it safe, went and got a rapid test,” Boyd said, adding everyone in his household also tested negative and he will be tested daily.
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The Big 12 Conference is delaying its virtual football media days until early August but hasn’t made any decisions on changes to the season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
After meeting with Big 12 athletic directors this week, Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said it was still too early to make decisions about changing the football season or other fall sports. He said the league would move forward slowly and constantly re-evaluate the ever-evolving situation.
Big Ten and Pac-12 officials announced last week that they would play conference-only football schedules this fall.
The Big 12 did Wednesday night postpone its virtual football media days until Aug. 3. That event was scheduled for next Monday and Tuesday.
The league still plans to release its preseason All-Big 12 football team Thursday, and the preseason media poll Friday.
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A limited number of owners will be allowed at Saratoga on the day that their horse is entered to race.
The New York Racing Association says the size of an ownership group will be limited to eight people who possess a license per horse. The application to attend must be received 24 hours in advance in order to reduce density and adhere to social distancing guidelines.
Owners will have their temperatures checked and be required to wear a face covering.
A limited number of owners will also be allowed in the track’s stable area if they provide a negative COVID-19 test result within seven days of a request.
Any owners planning to travel to Saratoga from states listed on the New York travel advisory must quarantine for 14 days.
Saratoga opens its summer meet on Thursday.
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Notre Dame isn’t selling single-game football tickets through its usual lottery this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
School officials sent an email to alumni saying that they couldn’t offer single-game tickets or parking for 2020 home games “given the uncertainties surrounding the upcoming season and our commitment to maintaining physical distancing in all of our venues.”
Notre Dame officials said they were working on a seating plan that “will greatly reduce our capacity” as they try to incorporate distancing measures to keep spectators as safe as possible.
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Del Mar has canceled racing for the upcoming weekend after 15 jockeys tested positive for COVID-19.
All the track’s riders and personnel who work in the jockeys’ room were tested a day earlier by San Diego County public health officials at the request of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Of the 15 positive tests, all were believed to be asymptomatic.
Contact tracing procedures are underway. All but one of the riders who tested positive rode at the recently concluded Los Alamitos meet in Orange County.
The mass testing was ordered by the track after jockeys Flavien Prat and Victor Espinoza tested positive. They are both quarantining at home.
The track isn’t identifying any of the other riders. However, some have confirmed their own cases.
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City of Philadelphia officials have clarified their ban on public events, opening up the possibility the Eagles would be allowed to have fans in the stadium if the city changes its rules before or during the season, assuming the NFL plays games this season.
The city on Tuesday banned all large public events that require public permits through February 2021. Teams will be permitted to play without fans in Philadelphia.
The Phillies will host the Miami Marlins next weekend when the major league baseball season begins.
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The Baltimore Ravens won’t have fans at their training camp this summer because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The team announced Wednesday that it will adhere to NFL/NFLPA protocols that prohibit fans from attending practices, even if state and local government regulations would eventually permit them to do so.
Since 2011, up to 2,000 fans a day have attended camp at the team facility in Owings Mills, Maryland.
Ravens president Dick Cass said the team believes the decision is in the best interest of the public and the organization.
The defending AFC North champions have not announced the starting date for training camp, which usually begins in late July.
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The Ohio Valley Conference announced Wednesday that it has postponed the league’s Virtual Football Media Day scheduled for Monday.
The OVC says it plans to reschedule for a date closer to the start of the season, which is slated for Sept. 3, a Thursday night.
The conference’s meetings were held virtually in June for the first time in league history.
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The Denver Broncos are telling season ticket holders that Empower Field at Mile High won’t be at full capacity this season because of the coronavirus outbreak and face masks will be required if local officials allow a limited number of fans to attend games to maintain social distancing.
The Broncos told season ticket holders in a memo that they’ll get priority for any single-game tickets that are sold this season whether or not they opt for a full refund for 2020 or a credit for 2021.
The team’s ticket office will contact season ticket holders about game and seat availability after local capacity guidelines are established, according to the memo sent Wednesday.
The memo also outlined enhanced safety precautions at the stadium in addition to face masks and social distancing requirements, including cashless concession options, touchless bathroom fixtures, sanitation stations, and “the latest air purification technology.”
—Arnie Stapleton reporting from Denver.
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The Head of the Charles Regatta is going virtual because of the new coronavirus, only the second time since 1965 that the two-day rowing event has been canceled.
The competition scheduled for October will instead go virtual, allowing rowers to take part by racing a 2.9-mile (4.7 km) course on their own bodies of water using a GPS device, or on an ergometer.
The Head of the Charles is the world’s largest two-day rowing race, with 11,000 competitors from around the world.
The race was also canceled in 1996 during a rain and wind storm.
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USA Hockey has called off holding its world junior summer showcase, set to be held in Michigan in two weeks.
With 44 players invited, the event was part of USA Hockey’s selection process in determining its team to compete at the world junior championships in Alberta in late December.
Without citing the coronavirus pandemic, USA Hockey executive John Vanbiesbrouck said it was in everyone’s best interest to cancel the event.
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The Green Bay Packers say they won’t admit fans to any training camp practices or preseason home games due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This also applies to the annual Packers Family Night, an annual event that features a practice and other activities. The Family Night event will still take place at Lambeau Field and will be televised statewide, though the date and time haven’t been announced yet.
Plans regarding attendance for regular-season games haven’t been announced yet. Season ticket holders have the of opting out of the chance to buy tickets this year without losing control of their tickets for next season.
The Packers have already conceded their regular-season home games will have a “significantly reduced” capacity, if there are any spectators at all.
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The Philadelphia Eagles won’t be allowed to have fans in the stadium if the NFL plays games this season.
The city banned all large public events that require public permits through February 2021. Teams will be permitted to play without fans in Philadelphia.
The Phillies will host the Miami Marlins next weekend when the major league baseball season begins.
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The University of Michigan says fewer fans, if any, will attend games at “The Big House” if the Wolverines play college football games this year.
The athletic department says a final decision will be made after conferring with medical experts, the school’s leadership and the Big Ten Conference, along with government officials and agencies.
Michigan’s policies include the elimination of season tickets for the 2020 season. Paperless tickets will be available for individual games to only season ticket holders, not the general public, if there is a season and spectators are given access to the 107,601-seat Michigan Stadium.
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The Tennessee Volunteers report multiple positive results for COVID-19 after the university ran a batch of tests last week.
The tests were conducted after the Fourth of July holiday weekend. A spokesman confirmed Wednesday that the positive tests spanned “multiple sports.”
Tennessee previously had two basketball players test positive, with both clearing quarantine. A graduate assistant for the football team tested positive and was quarantined for 14 days.
Tennessee is bringing athletes back to campus in phases, with football the first to return on June 8.
Josiah-Jordan James, a sophomore guard on the basketball team, spoke to reporters last week about how tough it was seeing two teammates test positive for COVID-19. He said that drove home the seriousness of the pandemic and the need to follow all the safety precautions even when he doesn’t feel like wearing a mask.
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