Grand Prix of Long Beach moved to September

IndyCar made the first pandemic-related change to its 2021 schedule Thursday and moved the prestigious Grand Prix of Long Beach from April to September because of California restrictions.

Long Beach, second only to the Indianapolis 500 in prestige and popularity on the IndyCar calendar, was

shifted to Sept. 26 and will now be the season finale.

The race was originally scheduled for April 18 but California has tight COVID-19 regulations and construction on the temporary 1.968-mile circuit through the downtown streets of Long Beach begins months ahead of time.

Long Beach was canceled outright in 2020 after 46 consecutive runnings. Long Beach is considered a crown jewel among global street races for its longevity, competitive racing and street festival atmosphere. A three-day race weekend can draw close to 200,000 fans.

With Long Beach as the season finale, IndyCar will close its schedule with a threerace, three-weekend West Coast swing. IndyCar will race at Portland International Raceway, Laguna Seca in California and then Long Beach. All three events were canceled in 2020.

Booker, Democratic lawmakers introducing NCAA reform bill

A bill being introduced Thursday by four Democratic lawmakers would grant college athletes sweeping rights to compensation, including a share of the revenue generated by their sports, and create a federal commission to oversee college athletics.

The College Athletes Bill of Rights is sponsored by Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). If passed, it could wreak havoc on the NCAA’s ability to govern intercollegiate athletics and the association’s model for amateurism.

The announcement of the bill comes a day after the Supreme Court agreed to review a court ruling the NCAA says blurs the “line between student-athletes and professionals” by removing caps on certain compensation that major college football and basketball players can receive.

The NCAA has turned to Congress for help as it works toward permitting athletes to earn money from endorsements and sponsorship deals, while also trying to fend off myriad state-level bills that would undercut any attempt to create uniform rules for competing schools.

Last week, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, introduced a bill that would allow college athletes to be paid for their names, images and likenesses, with oversight from the Federal Trade Commission. The bill also protects the NCAA from future antitrust challenges to its compensation rules.

Coaches’ challenge stays in NBA, game-night rosters go to 15

The NBA coach’s challenge is back, and here to stay.

Following the recommendation from the league’s competition committee, the NBA’s board of governors voted Thursday to keep the challenge as an option for coaches going forward. It was introduced last year on a one-year trial.

Coaches challenged 700 calls last season, including the playoffs. Calls were overturned 308 times, or a rate of 44%.

“Our coaches were receptive to the pilot version of the coach’s challenge, increasing usage and becoming more comfortable with the concept and strategic aspects as the season progressed,” said Byron Spruell, the NBA’s President for League Operations.

Also approved by the board of governors Thursday: a plan to give teams the ability to expand their active roster on game nights from 13 to 15 for this season — a move being made largely in response to the coronavirus pandemic and in anticipation of the likelihood that teams will be missing players from time to time.

Lexi Thomson shoots 65, leads LPGA Tour’s season finale

NAPLES, Fla. — With brother Curtis back at her side at Tiburon Golf Club, Lexi Thompson shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s CME Group Tour Championship.

Curtis, a Korn Ferry Tour player, also caddied for his sister in 2018 when she won the season-ending event.

“If we’re both home we are always playing golf together and joking around,” Thompson said. “It’s great to have him out here. I really appreciate him helping me out and keeping me loose out there. Whether I play good or bad, he always keeps a smile on my face.”

On Thursday after early morning rain, Thompson birdied five of the first seven holes. She played the next nine holes in even par with a birdie and a bogey, then birdied the final two holes. The 11-time LPGA Tour had her lowest score of the year a week after missing the cut in Houston in the U.S. Women’s Open.

Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Denmark was a stroke back after a bogey-free round.

Russia can’t use its name and flag at the next 2 Olympics

GENEVA — Russia will not be able to use its name, flag and anthem at the next two Olympics or at any world championships for the next two years after a ruling Thursday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Lausanne-based court halved the four-year ban proposed last year by the World Anti-Doping Agency in a landmark case that accused Russia of state-ordered tampering of a testing laboratory database in Moscow. The ruling also blocked Russia from bidding to host major sporting events for two years.

Russian athletes and teams will still be allowed to compete at next year’s Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, as well as world championships including the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, if they are not banned for or suspected of doping.

One win for Russia is the proposed team name at major events. The name “Russia” can be retained on uniforms if the words “Neutral Athlete” or equivalents like “Neutral Team” have equal prominence, the court said.

The burden of proof was also shifted away from Russian athletes and more toward WADA when their doping history is vetted for selection to the Olympics or other sporting events.

Russian athletes and teams can also retain the national flag colors of red, white and blue in their uniforms at major events. That was not possible for Russians at the past two track world championships.

Caps goalie Lundqvist to miss season with heart condition

WASHINGTON — Star goalie Henrik Lundqvist will sit out the upcoming NHL season because of a heart condition, he said Thursday, about two months after he joined the Washington Capitals following 15 years with the New York Rangers.

Calling it “a pretty tough and emotional day” in a video posted on social media by the Capitals, Lundqvist said he has been taking various tests on his heart “for several weeks.”

“And after lots of discussions with doctors around the country, and finally receiving the last results earlier this week, I unfortunately won’t be able to join the team this year,” Lundqvist said.

“It’s still very hard for me to process all of this,” Lundqvist said. “And kind of shocking, to be honest.”