TALKING POINTS

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: Major League Baseball: Rockies at Dodgers. National Hockey League: Ducks at Sharks; Golden Knights at Kings.

AP sources: NCAA dumps requirement that transfers sit a year

Starting next season, major college football and basketball players will be permitted to transfer one time before graduating without being required to sit out a year of competition.

The NCAA Division I Council voted Wednesday to changed the long-standing rule that has often deterred players in high-profile sports from switching schools, two people with knowledge of the council’s decision told The Associated Press.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because two-day meeting was still in session and the council’s decisions would not become official until it ends Thursday. The Athletic first reported the council’s vote.

The so-called onetime exception has been available to athletes in other NCAA sports for years, allowing them to transfer and play immediately. Athletes in football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s ice hockey and baseball have not had that available to them without asking the NCAA for a special waiver and claiming a hardship caused the need for a transfer.

Athletes who have graduated have also been permitted to transfer without sitting out, but not undergraduates.

Starting this fall semester, all athletes will be operating under the same rules: Transfers will be allowed to play right away.

Those in fall and winter sports must notify their schools they intend to transfer by May 1; in spring sports, the notification date will be July 1. The notification dates begin in 2022.

For this year, athletes in all sports will be required to notify their schools about their intent to transfer by July 1.

The council also voted to let the current dead period in recruiting in all sports expire June 1. A ban in in-person recruiting has been in place for more than a year because of the pandemic. Coaches will again be permitted to visit recruits off campus, hold camps on campus and welcome prospective student-athletes on official recruiting visits.

5 Astros land on injured list because of COVID-19 protocols

HOUSTON — The Houston Astros

have placed second baseman Jose Altuve, third baseman Alex Bregman, designated hitter Yordan Álvarez, catcher Martín Maldonado and infielder Robel Garcia on the injured list because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

General manager James Click made the announcement on Wednesday, hours before the Astros were to wrap up a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers.

Click said he couldn’t say if a player had tested positive for COVID-19 or been exposed to someone who had and that the length of each player’s absence would be determined by contract testing that is being performed.

US women soccer players appeal decision against equal pay

SAN FRANCISCO — Players on the women’s national soccer team have asked a federal appeals court to overturn a lower court decision throwing out their lawsuit seeking equal pay to the men’s team.

Players led by Alex Morgan asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday to reinstate the part of their suit that U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner threw out last May when he granted a partial summary judgment to the U.S. Soccer Federation.

“For each win, loss and tie that women players secure, they are paid less than men who play the same sport and who do the same work; that is gender discrimination,” players’ spokeswoman Molly Levinson said in a statement. “A pervasive atmosphere of sexism drove this pay discrimination.”

Appeals are assigned to three-judge panels. The 9th Circuit estimates that oral arguments in civil appeals will be scheduled 12-20 months from the notice of appeal and 9-12 months after written briefs have been completed.

The U.S. has won the last two Women’s World Cups and is the favorite in this summer’s Olympic women’s soccer tournament.

North Dakota, Youngstown State football game canceled

ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Valley Football Conference said Wednesday it has canceled the North Dakota at Youngstown State game scheduled Saturday.

The league said in a release that the Penguins played a league-high seven games in eight weeks this spring and determined they could not play the game. The school said its players need to focus on academics.

North Dakota (4-1) will share the league title with Missouri State and the winner of Saturday’s game between South Dakota State and North Dakota State.

The 16-team FCS playoff bracket is set to be announced Sunday morning. The winner of the SDSU-NDSU game earns the league’s automatic berth into the postseason.

The FCS title is scheduled May 16 in Frisco, Texas.

Saso, Altomare share early lead in LPGA’s Lotte Championship

KAPOLEI, Hawaii — Yuka Saso and Brittany Altomare got hot late to shoot 8-under 64s and share the early lead in Wednesday’s first round of the Lotte Championship.

So Yeon Ryu and Ally Ewing were a shot back among the early starters.

Saso, a 19-year-old from the Philippines, birdied five of her last six holes. She won the 2019 Girls Junior PGA Championship and turned pro that November after earning her card on the Japan LPGA Tour, where she is currently third on the money list.

Altomare, who like Saso finished on the front nine, played that side in 29, birdieing the first seven holes in her bogey-free round.

Sei Young Kim, who won this event in 2015 and is ranked No. 3 in the world, shot 67 along with Wei-Ling Hsu and Mi Hyang Lee.

Two-time defending champion Brooke Henderson was playing in the afternoon.

NFL’s revised offseason program includes mandatory minicamp

The NFL’s revised offseason program still includes a post-draft rookie minicamp, voluntary workouts and a mandatory minicamp next month despite the union’s objection to in-person activities due to COVID-19 concerns.

A memo obtained by The Associated Press that was sent to teams on Wednesday outlined several changes to the offseason schedule that was agreed upon under the collective bargaining agreement last year.

The first phase of the offseason program was extended from two weeks to four from April 19 to May 14. Teams can hold up two hours of activity at their facility, but on-field drills will not be permitted and all meetings must be held virtually. Capacity limits for the facility and weight room remain in place.

During this first phase, the league plans to focus on educating players about the COVID-19 vaccine and making it available without jumping ahead of the general public. Players, coaches and staff will be encouraged to take the vaccine but it won’t be mandatory.

The second phase has been shortened from three weeks to one from May 17 to May 24. On-field drills will be permitted without contact but meetings will remain virtual.