FEARS MOUNT REGARDING MLB SEASON
With six teams idled Friday by the coronavirus pandemic, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to union leader Tony Clark about the importance of players following the sport’s safety protocols.
Manfred and Clark reportedly talked about what needs to be done to finish the season. The conversation between Manfred and Clark comes amid growing evidence that the spread of infection threatens to overtake efforts to play ball. Manfred reportedly warned the players that the season could be shut down Monday.
Concerns have been expressed about lax behavior by players on the field — such as spitting or high-fives — and off.
The latest game to be postponed was the Brewers’ home opener against the Cardinals, which was called off hours before the first pitch after two Cardinals players tested positive for COVID-19.
DOSUNMU RETURNING TO ILLINOIS
Star guard Ayo Dosunmu announced in a 90-second video on Twitter that he will return to Illinois and withdraw from the NBA
Draft. Dosunmu averaged 16.6 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 48.4 percent as a sophomore last season, when he earned first-team all-Big Ten honors.
Illini center Kofi Cockburn, another early entrant for the NBA Draft, told CBS Sports that he’ll announce his plans Saturday. He might return, too, considering his name hasn’t appeared in any mock drafts. The NCAA deadline to withdraw from the draft is Monday.
The Pac-12 set Sept. 26 as the start date for its 10-game, conference-only football schedule, joining the SEC in pushing back its season three weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic. The plan adds a crossdivisional game to each team’s slate, creates two open dates and moves the conference championship game back two weeks from Dec. 4 to Dec. 18 or 19.
TODD GOES UP BY 2 IN ST. JUDE
Brendon Todd shot a 5-under 65 and grabbed a two-stroke lead through 36 holes of the FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis, Tennessee. Todd trailed defending champion Brooks Koepka after the first round by two strokes. He quickly erased that deficit and took the lead with a bogeyfree, five-birdie round for a 129 total at the World Golf Championships event. Rickie Fowler closed with birdies on his final two holes for a 67 and 131 total.
Danielle Kang played bogey-free for a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead in the LPGA Drive On Championship in Toledo, Ohio. In the tour’s return from the COVID-19 pandemic, Jodi Ewart Shadoff also played bogey-free for a 67.
GIANNIS LIFTS BUCKS OVER CELTICS
Giannis Antetokounmpo converted a tiebreaking three-point play with 1:28 left on an overturned call that kept him in the game and helped the Bucks beat the Celtics 119-112 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Drag racing great John Force and his four-car NHRA team will be parked for the rest of the 2020 season. The team won’t compete in any of the final 12 events this year, citing sponsorship issues. ✶