NFL could cancel entire preseason
The NFL plans to consider the NFL Players Association’s recommendation to cancel the preseason though it prefers to cut the schedule in half, a person familiar with the discussions told AP late Friday night.
The league decided Wednesday to cut its preseason from four games to two and push back the start of exhibition play so teams have more time to train because the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of offseason practices, a person with knowledge of the decision told the AP.
But the union’s board of player representatives voted Thursday to ask the league to cancel the entire preseason schedule, according to two people who were part of that conversation.
According to the collective bargaining agreement, the NFL can impose up to four preseason games per team this season and up to three when the regular season goes to 17 games in 2021. The teams that play in the annual Hall of Fame game may play an extra game.
Auto racing: Twelve years after winning his only Indianapolis 500 on the Brickyard’s historic 2.5-mile oval, fivetime series champion Scott Dixon added a second title Saturday — this one by a dominant 19.9469 seconds over Graham Rahal in the IndyCar Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway . ... Chase Briscoe put on four new tires during a late pit-stop, then held off AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric over the final five laps to win the first Xfinity Series race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course. The Indiana native beat Justin Haley by 1.717 seconds.
Baseball: Yankees RHP Masahiro Tanaka was hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of slugger Giancarlo Stanton during live batting practice, a frightening scene during the team’s first official summer camp workout. Tanaka’s hat flew off and he immediately collapsed to the ground, cradling his head at Yankee Stadium. Trainers quickly ran to Tanaka, who stayed down for a few minutes before sitting up . ... Dodgers LHP David Price will not play this season because of concerns over the pandemic, delaying his Los Angeles debut until next year . ... Giants C Buster Posey says he’s still not sure if he will play this season. “I want to see kind of how things progress here over the next couple of weeks,” he said . ... Four unidentified Marlins have tested positive for the coronavirus, including one during this week’s screening before camp.
Golf: Seeking his second PGA Tour victory, Matthew Wolff shot his second straight 8-under 64 to give himself a three-shot lead after three rounds in the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He was at 19-under 197 at Detroit Golf Club. Ryan Armour and Bryson DeChambeau were tied for second after 67s.
NBA: The NBA announced the schedule for scrimmages at the Disney complex, with 33 games set for between July 22 and July 28. Each of the 22 teams that will be part of the season restart has been scheduled for three games. All three arenas at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex that will be used for the restart will also play host to the scrimmages.
Soccer: The MLS Is Back tournament match between FC Dallas and the Vancouver Whitecaps has been postponed after a spike of positive COVID-19 tests between the teams. The group stage match was scheduled to take place Thursday.