NCAA reveals contingency plans for tournaments

Turns out the top four teams left out of March Madness won’t have their bubbles burst quite yet.

Under a contingency plan released Thursday by the Division I basketball committees, those four at-large teams that don’t make the original field in the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments will be placed in order and serve as the replacement teams should any conference with multiple bids have a school that is unable to participate due to COVID-19 issues.

If the tournament begins without any withdrawals, the four would still be eligible to compete in the NIT.

The contingency plan only applies to the short period between the announcement of the brackets — March 14 for men and March 15 for women — and the start of games later that week. Once a tournament begins, any team whose opponent is forced to withdraw would automatically advance to the next round.

If there are COVID-19 issues with a qualifying school leading up to the NCAA Tournament selection, conferences get to designate a replacement team and it will be seeded in the bracket based upon its own body of work.

Editor’s Note

Due to an earlier deadline of 8 p.m. throughout the pandemic, some games might not make it into the print edition of your Valley Press. Please find the following full stories on our website at www. avpress.com: Men’s College Basketball — USC at Colorado.

‘Black box’ in Woods SUV could yield clues to cause of wreck

DETROIT — Investigators who are looking into the rollover crash that injured golf legend Tiger Woods will rely heavily on data stored in the Genesis SUV he was driving to figure out what happened.

The 2021 GV80, made by the Hyundai luxury brand, is likely to have a newer version of event data recorders nicknamed “black boxes” after more sophisticated recorders in airplanes. They store a treasure trove of data for authorities to review.

There aren’t any U.S. regulations requiring the boxes, but the government does require the recorders to store 15 data points including speed before impact and whether brake and gas pedals were pressed.

The regulations don’t cover new partially automated systems that can control speed, brake, and steer cars on freeways, and they don’t address cameras and radar used in those systems. But some vehicles store some of the new systems’ data.

Woods suffered a serious leg injury when the SUV he was driving went off a Los Angeles County road and rolled over

on a downhill stretch known for crashes. The county sheriff said Woods was not drunk and was driving alone in good weather when the SUV hit a raised median, went across oncoming lanes and rolled several times. The crash injured his right leg, requiring surgery.

It’s not clear how much of the crash Woods recalls, but the black box data should be able to fill in gaps.

MLB’s Reds cleared to welcome about 12,700 fans

The Cincinnati Reds have been cleared to have around 12,700 fans at Great American Ball Park for games this year.

The team made the announcement Thursday after the state of Ohio said sports teams can allow up to 30% of capacity of their venues for games beginning April 1, which happens to be the day of the Reds opener against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Fans will be physically distanced and be required to wear masks. Ticketing will be all digital, and concession and merchandise stands will be cashless.

Simpson, Fitzpatrick lead WGC; Johnson, DeChambeau struggle

BRADENTON, Fla. — Webb Simpson ran off three straight late birdies for a share of the lead Thursday in the Workday Championship. Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau ran up some big numbers.

Simpson matched Matthew Fitzpatrick with a 6-under 66 at The Concession in the World Golf Championships event moved from Mexico to Florida because of COVID-19 circumstances.

Simpson birdied the par-4 15th and 16th and par-5 17th. The 2012 U.S. Open champion won twice last season and has seven PGA Tour victories.

Fitzpatrick had a bogey-free round. The Englishman has six European Tour titles.

The top-ranked Johnson had two double bogeys in a 77. DeChambeau and Bubba Watson also shot 77, with DeChambeau making a triple bogey on the par-4 16th.

Brooks Koepka was a stroke out of the lead at 67 with Billy Horschel, Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner. Koepka won the Phoenix Open this month for his eighth PGA Tour title.

Sorenstam returns with a lot more stress, fewer birdies

ORLANDO, Fla. — Annika Sorenstam doesn’t remember golf being this difficult.

She still managed plenty of smiles Thursday when the most dominant player of her era played her first LPGA Tour event in more than 12 years. With one birdie and one bad hole, Sorenstam had a 3-over 75 in the LPGA Gainbridge on her home course at Lake Nona.

“It seems a little bit more stressful, this kind of golf,” she said.

Sorenstam was 10 shots behind another Lake Nona member, Lydia Ko, who opened with a 7-under 65 for a two-shot lead.

But then, this week isn’t about Sorenstam adding to her 72 career victories or even starting a comeback at age 50. The LPGA Tour came to her home course and she wanted to play.

NCAA hands South Carolina 2-year probation for ex-assistant

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s men’s basketball program was placed on probation for two years by the NCAA on Thursday for former assistant coach Lamont Evans accepting between $3,300 and $5,800 in bribes from a sports agent.

The NCAA’s decision put an end to South Carolina’s role in the college basketball corruption case that began in 2017.

The Gamecocks largely avoided more serious penalties like a postseason ban for what the NCAA deemed a Level I infractions case. South Carolina coach Frank Martin was not named in any NCAA allegations.

NBA suspends Wolves’ Beasley 12 games for felony gun threat

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Malik Beasley has been suspended for 12 games without pay by the NBA for his recent guilty plea to a felony charge of threats of violence.

The league announced Thursday the punishment, which will begin with Minnesota’s game Saturday at Washington. Beasley is eligible to return March 27 against Houston.

Beasley, in his fifth NBA season, is averaging a career-best 20.5 points.

He was sentenced earlier this month to 120 days in jail for the Sept. 26 incident, when he pointed a rifle outside his home in suburban Minneapolis at a family on a house-hunting tour. Police later found weapons and marijuana in the home.

As part of Beasley’s plea deal, prosecutors dropped a felony fifth-degree drug possession charge. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said Beasley can serve his stay in the workhouse after his season is over; COVID-19 precautions could require the county to release him on electronic home monitoring for the duration of the sentence.

Olympics gymnastics coach kills himself after being charged

LANSING, Mich. — A former U.S. Olympics gymnastics coach with ties to disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar killed himself Thursday, hours after being charged with turning his Michigan gym into a hub of human trafficking by coercing girls to train and then abusing them, authorities said.

John Geddert was supposed to appear in an Eaton County court, near Lansing. His body was found at a rest area along Interstate 96, according to state police. No other details were immediately released.

“This is a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.

Nessel earlier announced that Geddert was charged with two dozen crimes, including sexual assault, human trafficking and running a criminal enterprise. The charges were the latest fallout from the sexual abuse scandal involving Nassar, a former Michigan State University sports doctor now in prison.

Geddert, 63, was head coach of the 2012 U.S. women’s Olympic gymnastics team, which won a gold medal. He was long associated with Nassar, who was the Olympic team’s doctor and also treated injured gymnasts at Twistars, Geddert’s Lansing-area gym.

Among the charges, Geddert was accused of lying to investigators in 2016 when he denied ever hearing complaints about Nassar. But the bulk of the case against him involved his gym in Dimondale and how he treated the young athletes whose families paid to have them train under him.

The charges against Geddert had “very little to do” with Nassar, said Assistant Attorney General Danielle Hagaman-Clark.

MLB’s Indians aim for 10,000 fans at April games

The Cleveland Indians plan to have 10,000 fans inside Progressive Field for home games in April.

The team announced Thursday they’re hosting 30% percent of capacity at their downtown ballpark, which was off-limits to fans last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Indians said ticket availability will be determined monthly until the ballpark can be at capacity — roughly 35,000 fans.

The AL team has been working with the Cleveland Clinic on health and safety protocols. Tickets will be sold in pods to ensure social distancing and fans will be required to wear a mask unless they are eating or drinking while in their ticketed seats.

Gates will open an hour before first pitch.

Boston sports arenas to open for fans starting March 22

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics and Bruins will be able to play in front of a limited number of fans starting March 22, and the Red Sox could host more than 4,500 fans at Fenway Park on opening day.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced Thursday that Massachusetts was moving to Phase IV of its coronavirus reopening plan, which will allow large indoor and outdoor arenas and ballparks to admit up to 12% of capacity.

“Opening day is in our near future,” Lt. Gov. Karen Polito said at a news conference in Salem.

The Bruins and Celtics shut down their 2019-20 seasons last March when the pandemic reached the U.S. and finished up on the road in “bubble” environments established by their leagues. Their 2020-21 seasons began this winter in home arenas but without fans.

Official injured after buzzer of Rutgers Michigan State game

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Official Angie Enlund was hurt at the end of the Rutgers-Michigan State women’s basketball game Wednesday and taken to a hospital.

After the final buzzer, Rutgers player Tekia Mack was heading back to the Scarlet Knights bench when she inadvertently ran over Enlund at center court, hitting her hard.

Enlund was on the ground for a few minutes and taken off on a stretcher. She did have mobility and movement of her extremities and went to a hospital to be further evaluated.

A Michigan State spokeswoman said Enlund would be kept overnight at the hospital with a concussion but that she had no fractures.

“I know she was unconscious for a period of time,” Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant said. “They took her in an ambulance, but it’s a very scary and serious thing. She hit very, very hard. She hit her head really hard, so I would just pray for her and her family and hope that she is going to be OK.”