NFL
NEW YORK (AP) - The NFL Players Association has agreed to the league’s plan to drop all preseason games for the 2020 season, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the offer had not been made public.
The union also agreed to a 80-player roster limit for training camp, instead of the usual 90.
According to reports, union leadership told players about the preseason agreement during a conference call on Tuesday.
- By Pro Football Writer Simmi Buttar.
NEW YORK (AP) - Michael Bennett, who won a Super Bowl as a defensive end with the Seattle Seahawks and made three Pro Bowls, says he is retiring.
The 34-year-old Bennett played for five teams and was an integral part of the Seahawks’ 2013 NFL championship. He said Tuesday on Instagram that the 2019 season, which he split between New England and Dallas, was his last.
Bennett had 69 1/2 career sacks in 11 pro seasons. He entered the NFL in 2009 with Tampa Bay, then made his biggest impact with Seattle, which he joined for that Super Bowl season. His three Pro Bowl years came with the Seahawks,
BASEBALL
TORONTO - The Blue Jays’ front office has told its players that Pittsburgh and Baltimore are possibilities for where team will hold home games this year after Canada’s government barred the club from playing in Toronto amid the coronavirus pandemic, outfielder Randal Grichuk said Tuesday.
Canada denied the Blue Jays’ request to play at Rogers Centre because the regular-season schedule would require frequent travel back and forth from the United States, where COVID-19 cases are surging.
Toronto begins the season at Tampa Bay on Friday and is scheduled to play its first home game on July 29 against the defending champion Washington Nationals.
Grichuk said the players want to play in a major league stadium but have also been told their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, New York, is a possibility.
BASKETBALL
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Kevin Garnett wants to come back to Minnesota - as a Timberwolves owner.
The longtime NBA superstar said Tuesday he is part of a group that is hoping to buy the franchise from Glen Taylor, who has owned it since 1994.
Taylor said in a statement he was recently approached by a third-party group to discuss the future of the franchise. He said he’s always wanted what’s best for the team’s fans and “will entertain opportunities” on the ownership structure of the Timberwolves and Lynx, Minnesota’s WNBA team.
ESPN reported that Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf had emerged as serious candidates to buy the team. The Vikings declined comment.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) - The Memphis Grizzlies will be without forward Justise Winslow for the rest of the NBA’s restarted season because of an injured hip.
The Grizzlies announced Tuesday that Winslow fell a day earlier after absorbing contact during an intrasquad scrimmage. Further evaluation revealed a hip injury that will keep him out the rest of this season. Winslow is expected to make a full recovery, the team said in a statement.
SOCCER
Actress Natalie Portman and venture capitalist Kara Nortman lead a group that will bring an expansion National Women’s Soccer League team to the Los Angeles area in 2022.
The team, tentatively named Angel City, will bring the league to 11 teams. Louisville FC will join the nine current NWSL clubs next season.
Portman and Nortman are joined by gaming entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, the cornsortium’s president in the majority-female group. Others involved include actors Eva Longoria, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner and Uzo Aduba.
Tech entrepreneur and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, the husband of tennis star Serena Williams, is the lead investor through his firm Initialized Capital. Portman, Nortman and Uhrman all have a financial stake in the team.
GOLF
BEIJING (AP) - The PGA Tour Series-China season has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Greg Carlson, executive director of the China-based tour, said attempts to move the qualifying tournaments to other sites in Asia were not practical, and restricted access into mainland China made it too difficult to stage tournaments in 2020.
The tour, which is owned by the PGA Tour and operates in partnership with the Chinese Golf Association, started in 2014.
AUTO RACING
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Attendance will be limited to 25% capacity for the Indianapolis 500 and spectators will be required to wear face coverings at “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
Indianapolis Motor Speedway can hold approximately 350,000 fans in the grandstands, suites and infield, but officials said last month only 50% capacity would be admitted for the rescheduled Aug. 23 race. The number was adjusted Tuesday.
Tickets will not be sold after Friday and IMS has a 95-page plan on guidelines and health protocols it will release later this week.
TENNIS
WASHINGTON (AP) - The hard-court tournament in the nation’s capital that was supposed to mark the official return of men’s professional tennis amid the pandemic was scrapped Tuesday - but the group in charge of the U.S. Open immediately said the tuneup’s cancellation “in no way impacts” its Grand Slam event.
The Citi Open, scheduled to start with Aug. 13 qualifying, was called off because of what tournament manager Mark Ein said are “too many unresolved external issues, including various international travel restrictions as well as troubling health and safety trends.”
CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) - The Edmonton Eskimos will change their name.
The Canadian Football League team announced the decision on Tuesday, following a decision to do the same by Washington’s NFL team.
Teams across sports have been under increasing pressure to drop racist or stereotypical names. Critics say the Edmonton team’s name is a derogatory, colonial-era term for Inuit.
The team said in a release it will begin “a comprehensive engagement process” on a new name. In the meantime, the club will use the names EE Football Team and Edmonton Football Team.
AWARDS
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump is awarding the nation’s highest civilian honor to Jim Ryun, a former Kansas congressman who was the first high school runner to clock a mile in under 4 minutes.
Trump is scheduled to honor the three-time Olympian with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House on Friday.
The Wichita native entered the record books in 1964 at age 17 by becoming the first high school runner to break the 4-minute barrier in the mile with a time of 3 minutes, 59 seconds.
Ryun, now 73, went on to compete in three Olympic Games, winning a silver medal in 1968 in Mexico City. He later served 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Please read our comment policy before commenting.