No Wall for Wizards
Not enough room in Washington bubble
John Wall will not join the Washington Wizards for the resumption of the NBA season this summer, ending the chances of the five-time AllStar guard playing his first game since 2018.
General manager Tommy Sheppard effectively ruled out Wall returning this season when he said Monday the 29year-old wouldn’t be part of the Wizards’ traveling party to Central Florida. Among the factors in the decision was a cap of 35 people per team in the quarantined bubble at Walt Disney World. The COVID-19 pandemic also hindered Wall’s progress in his rehab from multiple surgeries.
“He definitely lost all the basketball gains that he had made,” Sheppard said on a video call with reporters. “He’s got to focus on what he’s got to do, but having somebody go into that bubble that’s not going to play, that’s just more people going into the bubble.”
Wall hasn’t played an NBA game since December 2018. Surgery for bone spurs in his left heel ended that season; while he was working his way back from that, he tore his left Achilles tendon and needed another operation in 2019.
REFUND FOR JET FANS
The Jets are offering fans refunds or payment deferrals on season tickets this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The team began emailing season-ticket holders Monday to alert them about their options. The Jets also are deferring season-ticket payments for July, as they have done each of the last three months.
Jets season-ticket holders will have the option to get a full refund on 2020 tickets or defer all payments toward the 2021 season. Season-ticket holders who choose one of those options can also opt to keep their same seats in 2021.
Also, season-ticket holders with personal seat licenses who opt for the deferred payment or refund on tickets will be able to defer their PSL payment, which is due in November, to November 2021.
KRAFT CASE UPDATE
Prosecutors charging Patriots owner Robert Kraft with twice buying sex from massage parlor prostitutes will attempt to save their case this week by arguing to an appeals court that his rights weren’t violated when police secretly video-recorded him.
Prosecutors will tell the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal during an online hearing today that a county judge erred when he invalidated the January 2019 search warrant allowing police to install secret cameras at Orchids of Asia spa as part of an alleged sex trafficking investigation.
The judge said the warrant didn’t sufficiently protect the privacy of innocent customers who received legal massages, and he barred the videos’ use at trial as well as testimony about what they showed. If the ruling stands, it will deal a fatal blow to the prosecution’s case.
26 NHL PLAYERS TEST POSITIVE
The NHL says a total of 26 players have reported testing positive for the new coronavirus since voluntary workouts began June 8.
Monday’s update includes four additional cases among those tested at team facilities, to go along with the 11 announced June 19. The league says it’s aware of 11 other players testing positive outside the voluntary workout protocol.
The NHL said more than 250 players who worked out at team facilities were administered more than 1,450 COVID-19 tests.
The league and players are in the final stages of agreeing to resume the season. Training camps can open as early as July 10 if an agreement on testing, health and safety protocols and “hub” cities to host the games can be reached.