Washington pulls out of Pac-12 game

Washington has pulled out of the Pac-12 football championship game due to COVID-19 issues in the Huskies program, and Oregon will now play No. 13 USC for the conference title on Friday instead.

Washington (3-1) announced Monday it is withdrawing from the championship game after determining the Huskies did not have at least 53 scholarship players available and did not meet the minimum number of scholarship athletes at specific positions.

Washington had to cancel its game last weekend against Oregon (3-2) that would have determined the Pac-12 North champion due to COVID-19 cases in the program that caused the Huskies to pause practice in the middle of the week.

Washington team physician Dr. Kim Harmon said the program has continued to see positive cases over the past several days.

“This increase in cases, combined with issues with a key position group, doesn’t allow for a path forward for us this week,” Harmon said in a statement.

Washington was named Pac-12 North champ by virtue of having a better winning percentage than Oregon.

Editor’s Note

Due to an earlier deadline of 8 p.m. throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, some stories might not make it into the print edition of your Valley Press. Please see the following story online at www.avpress.com: National Fotoball League — Ravens at Browns.

Also, due to space constraints, the Numbers Game page could not run in today’s print edition It will return in Wednesday’s edition.

Florida’s Johnson ‘following simple commands’ after collapse

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida forward Keyontae Johnson was “following simple commands” Monday after being transferred from Tallahassee Memorial to UF Health in Gainesville, the school said.

Officials added that Johnson is undergoing further tests and remains in critical but stable condition two days after he collapsed on the court during a game at Florida State. Johnson was moved to Gainesville with his mother by his side via helicopter.

Gators coach Mike White and head athletic trainer Dave Werner, who stayed in Tallahassee for two nights, returned to Gainesville on the school’s jet with other family members Monday.

USA Today quoted Johnson’s grandfather, Larry DeJarnett, as saying the

player had been in a medically induced coma.

The Southeastern Conference’s preseason player of the year crumpled to the floor and received emergency medical attention. He was moved to a stretcher and carried to a waiting ambulance as teammates, coaches, staff, fans and others watched in disbelief Saturday.

ESPN declined to show any footage of the incident. According to witnesses, Johnson was standing and suddenly fell forward and landed on his face. His eyes were open and he had blood on his face and neck, according to photos obtained by The Gainesville Sun.

The Gators announced that Johnson was in critical but stable condition less than an hour after his ordeal. The American Hospital Association defines patients in critical but stable condition as having “vital signs that are unstable and not within normal limits. Patient may be unconscious. Indicators are unfavorable.”

Florida sent one of its jets to Norfolk, Virginia, to get Johnson’s parents Saturday and take them to Tallahassee to be with their son.

NCAA to play women’s NCAA Tournament at 1 site, eyes Texas

The NCAA plans to stage the entire women’s basketball tournament in one geographic area and San Antonio is the likely host site.

The move, announced Monday, was made to help mitigate the risks of COVID-19 and matches that of the men’s tournament, which the NCAA said last month will be played in a single area — most likely Indianapolis.

The women’s Final Four in 2021 was already set for San Antonio and the NCAA has begun preliminary talks with the Texas city to hold the entire 64-team tournament in the area.

Stanford women stay No. 1 in AP Top 25; top 11 unchanged

Stanford remained atop The Associated Press women’s basketball poll released Monday and picked up first-place votes, too.

Coach Tara VanDerveer matched Pat Summitt’s alltime win total of 1,098 with a victory on Sunday night over California that kept Stanford unbeaten. She can move break the record Tuesday when her team faces Pacific.

“I just would like to say to everybody, basketball was invented as, always has been and always will be a great team sport,” she said. “Yes, this might be a record that has Tara VanDerveer’s name next to it but it is about the athletic directors that hired me, gave me a chance, whether it’s been at Ohio State, Idaho or Stanford. It’s been about great, great, great assistant coaches that have worked extremely hard for our program and it’s about having great players. My dad, who passed away over 20 years now, said ‘You don’t win the Kentucky Derby on donkeys.’”

It was the second consecutive week that the Cardinal were the top team in the poll. Stanford received 26 of the 30 first-place votes from a national media panel. Louisville, UConn, N.C. State and South Carolina followed Stanford as the first five remained unchanged in their position.

The Cardinal picked up two first-place votes, including one from Connecticut. The Huskies finally got their season started after being on pause for two weeks because of the virus. UConn routed UMass-Lowell on Saturday.

Arizona remained in sixth place with Oregon moving into a tie with Baylor for seventh. The Ducks routed rival Oregon State, which lost both its games this week to fall six spots to No. 21. Kentucky was ninth and Texas A&M 10th.

Gonzaga, Baylor remain atop AP Top 25; Missouri, Clemson in

Gonzaga and Baylor sit atop an unchanged top tier of The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, while West Virginia and Tennessee have cracked the top 10.

The top five teams remained in place in Monday’s latest Top 25, with Mark Few’s Bulldogs claiming 54 of 62 first-place votes to remain firmly in place at No. 1 for the fourth straight poll to start the season.

The second-ranked Bears claimed seven first-place votes. Third-ranked Iowa received the remaining one to finish ahead of No. 4 Michigan State and No. 5 Kansas. Houston, Villanova, West Virginia, Creighton and Tennessee rounded out the top 10.

Missouri cracked the poll at No. 16 after beating then-No. 6 Illinois on Saturday, securing the program’s AP ranking since midway through the 2013-14 season. No. 24 Clemson and No. 25 Michigan were the week’s other new additions.

Illinois and Duke had the two most notable slides. The No. 13 Illini dropped seven spots, while the No. 21 Blue Devils took the longest tumble by falling 11 spots after losing at home to Illinois.

Magic to allow up to 4,000 fans at home games

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic said Monday that they plan to have 4,000 fans in seats for regular season games, with strict adherence to social distancing and other health protocols.

The team will build up to that 4,000 figure, with no fans other than family members of the Magic organization permitted for the preseason and then smaller crowds for the first five regular season home contests.

“The health and safety of everyone connected to our game will be top priority,” Magic CEO Alex Martins said. “Our goal is to make everyone feel comfortable that extensive safety precautions have been taken for the return to Amway Center.”

For now, the 4,000 attendance maximum is the largest known figure in the NBA to start the season — which opens Dec. 22. Many teams have said they will start the season with no fans; others are capping at figures like 300 in Cleveland and 1,500 in Utah.

Face coverings will be mandatory inside Orlando’s Amway Center, fans will have to complete a pre-arrival symptom and exposure survey, and those in proximity to the court will have to undergo testing.