NHLPA OKs playoff plan

The NHL Players’ Association’s executive committee authorized moving forward in talks with the league on returning to play from the coronavirus suspension, approving 24 teams making the playoffs with other aspects still to be negotiated.

The NHLPA did not provide a breakdown of the vote of its 31 player representatives in making the announcement Friday night, a day after the proposal was presented to the union’s executive board. In giving the format the green light, the NHLPA stressed several details still need to be negotiated before games can begin.

The proposal will now go to the NHL board of governors, which is expected to approve the plan in the next few days. Once approved, the proposal effectively ends the season of the league’s bottom seven teams.

BASEBALL

The Washington Nationals have changed their plans for their virtual World Series ring ceremony after players decided they would rather wait until they could reunite in person to receive their new jewelry.

The Nationals had announced they were going to give out the rings during a show broadcast on television and online – an unprecedented approach brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

SKIING

Olympic champion Anna Veith, the 2014 super-G gold medalist from Austria, is leaving the sport.

Veith announced her retirement live on Austrian TV, ending a career marred by injuries since she won her second overall World Cup title in 2015.

Veith won 15 World Cup races from 2011-17. From Journal Sentinel wire reports