Virus halts Heat- Celtics
The NBA is continuing its season as planned even after concerns about COVID- 19 exposure forced the postponement of Miami’s game at Boston on Sunday, a day in which no fewer than 15 players in the league were officially declared unable to play because of virusrelated reasons.
The Celtics had seven of those players and the Heat had another. But after Miami guard Avery Bradley was ruled out for Sunday — his test result was not announced, just his status — the rest of the Heat players needed their contact- tracing data analyzed to determine whether they had been potentially exposed.
That process would not have been completed in time for the 7 p.m. game, so the league called it off.
“We anticipated that there would be game postponements this season and planned the schedule accordingly,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.
Ex- Connecticut basketball coach Donald “Dee” Rowe died at age 91. ... Georgia Tech called off its third straight basketball game because of COVID- 19. The Yellow Jackets were set to host Pittsburgh on Wednesday. ... South Carolina’s new football coach, Shane Beamer, hired Carolina Panthers assistant Marcus Satterfield as offensive coordinator and Western Kentucky’s Clayton White as defensive coordinator.
Manny Ramirez, 48, was released by the Sydney Blue Sox because of uncertainty over the Australian Baseball League season during the COVID- 19 pandemic and a medical issue that is preventing him from playing or training with the club. ... Longtime advisor, major league coach and former player Joe Amalfitano is calling it a career after 67 years in pro baseball. The San Francisco Giants announced Amalfitano is retiring just shy of his 87th birthday after 30 years and six stints with the club. He most recently was special assistant of player development.
Frances Tiafoe reached the quarterfinals in his bid for another Delray Beach ( Fla.) Open title by defeating fellow American Bjorn Fratangelo 6- 4, 3- 6, 6- 1. Tiafoe won the event in 2018. ... Top- seeded Sofia Kenin rallied to beat 13th- seeded Yulia Putintseva 3- 6, 7- 6 ( 5), 6- 4 and reach the quarterf inals of the Abu Dhabi Open.
The Vancouver Canucks canceled their training camp practices because of potential exposure to COVID- 19. ... The New Jersey Devils re- signed forward Jesper Bratt to a two- year, $ 5.5- million contract ... In Italy, Jessie Diggins won a first title for the U.S. in crosscountry skiing’ s Tour de Ski 10- day event .... Hubert Aurio lo fF ran ce, the first competitor to win the Dakar Rally on a motorbike and in a car, died at 68.