Billy Evans, 88, member of 1956 gold medal U.S. team, dies
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Billy Evans, a member of the 1956 gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team and Kentucky Hall of Famer who helped the Wildcats go 25-0 in 1953-54, has died. He was 88.
The school announced Evans’ death on Sunday upon confirmation from his family. He had 716 points and 549 rebounds in 83 career games over three seasons from 1952-55 playing under legendary coach Adolph Rupp.
Evans was selected by the Rochester Royals in the fifth round of the 1955 NBA draft, a year before he won gold with the U.S. at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, with Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame teammates Bill Russell and
K.C. Jones.
A forward known for being a team player who did a little bit of everything for the Wildcats, Evans played with teammates and fellow Hall of Famers Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey and Lou Tsioropoulos that unbeaten season. Kentucky received its second Helms Foundation national championship in 1954 but declined an NCAA Tournament bid a year after suspension. The Wildcats won SEC championships in all three of Evans’ seasons.
The Berea, Kentucky, native averaged 13.9 points and 8.5 rebounds his final year and was an Associated Press All-Southeastern Conference third team selection. He was later a charter member of Kentucky’s Athletics Hall of Fame class, and his jersey hangs from the Rupp Arena rafters.
White Sox to host Yankees in Field of Dreams game on Aug. 12
NEW YORK — The Chicago White Sox will host the New York Yankees in the rescheduled Field of Dreams game at Dyersville, Iowa, on Aug. 12.
MLB said Monday the plan is tentative, contingent on the status of public health next summer.
The teams had been scheduled to play at the 8,000-capacity temporary ballpark next to the Field of Dreams movie site last Aug. 13. When the schedule was revamped because of the delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Yankees were replaced as the opponent by the St. Louis Cardinals, but the game was called off on Aug. 4 because of the pandemic.
The rescheduled game will be MLB’s first in Iowa. The original schedule for 2021 had the Yankees playing a threegame series at the White Sox from Aug. 13-15.
SEC shuffles games, pushing back ArkansasMissouri, UT-Vandy
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Southeastern Conference has shuffled its schedule, including pushing back the Arkansas-Missouri and Tennessee-Vanderbilt games which had been set for Saturday.
The league announced Monday that it has postponed the Arkansas-Missouri game because of combination of positive tests, contact tracing and the resulting quarantining within the Arkansas program.
Vanderbilt and Missouri will now meet Saturday to make up a game that was postponed on Oct. 17.
The SEC is still trying to get in 10 games for all 14 teams, and last week reserved the right to revise the schedule up until 8 p.m. CT on Mondays.
No date has been set for Arkansas-Missouri or Tennessee-Vanderbilt but Dec. 19 is a possibility for teams not playing in the league championship game.
“As we continue to adapt to the current realities, it important to remain flexible as we move forward in the final weeks of the season,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. “Contact tracing continues to be the biggest contributing factor to game interruptions.
“We will continue to manage the remaining weeks of the football schedule to allow for as many games to be played as possible.”
Arkansas at Missouri is the sixth game scheduled for this weekend that has been postponed because of COVID-19 issues with one of the team, including the Apple Cup between Washington and Washington State.
In Conference USA on Monday, Louisiana Tech at FIU was canceled and Western Kentucky at Charlotte was pushed back from Saturday to Dec. 1. That game will have the unusual 10:30 a.m. ET kickoff time on a Tuesday.
In the previous two weeks, 33 games involving FBS teams have been postponed or canceled, about 27 percent of the schedule.
Opener for No. 20 Oregon postponed due to virus
The season opener for the No. 20 Oregon men’s basketball team against Eastern Washington scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed because of two positive COVID-19 cases within the Eagles’ program.
The Eagles called for the postponement due to concerns of having enough scholarship players available due to the positive tests and contact tracing protocols.
No makeup date has been announced.
Eastern Washington says it believes it will be able to play its scheduled game on Saturday at Washington State, provided players currently under quarantine are cleared to play.
Seahawks still without fans
The Seattle Seahawks will continue to be without fans for their next two home games on Dec. 6 and Dec. 13.
The Seahawks have not had fans in attendance all season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the latest decision was made in consultation with local public health and government officials.
The team said it will reach out to season ticket holders if conditions improve to the point of considering having fans for the regular-season finale on Dec. 27 against the Los Angeles Rams.