The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
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Buffalo Sabres interim coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis have been placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
The development leaves general manager Kevyn Adams taking over behind the bench for Buffalo’s game at Pittsburgh on Thursday night.
The team made the announcement two hours before the opening faceoff.
This marks the second time the Sabres have been hit by COVID-19 in two months. Buffalo’s season was paused for two weeks in early February after nine players and then-coach Ralph Krueger were placed in the protocol.
Krueger was fired last week.
Buffalo is coming off a 5-2 loss at Pittsburgh on Wednesday, which extended the team’s winless skid to a franchise-worst 0-13-2. It matches the NHL’s longest skid since the Phoenix Coyotoes went 0-8-4 with three ties from Feb. 21 to March 21, 2004.
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Notre Dame is out of the NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament due to multiple positive COVID-19 test results and contact tracing within its Tier I testing group.
The decision announced Thursday was made after consulting with local health department officials at one of the regional sites in Albany, New York, and the NCAA Medical Advisory Group.
After losing in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament, the school said the team remained in conference testing protocols through last Saturday and began additional PCR testing on campus. The university said the team went through seven rounds of testing in the seven days leading up to its departure for Albany on Wednesday.
The Fighting Irish were the fourth seed in the Albany Regional and were slated to take on top-seeded Boston College on Saturday at the Times Union Center.
BC now advances to the next round.
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South Carolina plans to have about 9,000 fans at Williams-Brice Stadium for its spring football game on April 24.
The school said that because of continuing COVID-19 concerns, seats in the lower and club levels of the stadium will be general admission on a first-come, first-serve basis in socially distanced pods of five according to CDC guidelines.
Available seats will be designated with a green “please sit here” sticker. Face coverings over the nose and mouth will be required to attend and will have to be worn except when eating or drinking.
South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner said information the school’s received from health officials are “promising trends” regarding the pandemic, and the guidelines for the game are part of that.
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