NASCAR rained out
The Cup series race scheduled for Wednesday moved to Thursday.
With the new $55 million retractable roof shut atop a barren Court Philippe Chatrier — where the red clay has dimmed to an orange-brown, the court’s white lines have all but faded and there’s no net — the French Open’s main stadium was transformed into a far more imposing and modern-looking facility. But without any fans yelling and clapping on Wednesday, it felt a bit like standing inside a silent and empty space ship.
When — or if — the French Open is held later in 2020, though, it is possible there could be zero — or a limited number — of people allowed to attend the event, which broke its attendance record last year with 520,000.
Capping the number of fans allowed each day of the 15-day tournament might improve social distancing.
“Of course, we can have less people, so that the flow of people is made easier,” the French tennis federation’s general director, Jean-François Vilotte said. “The options range from a very small reduction to the number of fans to various levels of reduction.”
Or no fans at all. That, Vilotte said, would be a last resort.
Auto racing
NASCAR postponed the Alsco Uniforms 500 to 7 p.m. Thursday (FS1) at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., because of heavy rain Wednesday night. The race will be the first at 500 kilometers (208 laps) at the track.
Colleges
Georgetown guard Mac McClung, arguably the top available transfer on the market, announced his commitment to Texas Tech basketball.
• Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang can play basketball for UCLA this winter. The NCAA approved a transfer waiver of the year in residence requirement, which typically forces a transfer to sit out one season.
Pro football
NFL owners are set to consider a rules proposal for an alternative to an onside kick. The Philadelphia Eagles proposed allowing one fourthand-15 scrimmage play from 25-yard line of the team kicking off. It can only be done in regulation time, and be used twice. Team owners will discuss and possibly vote on the Eagles’ suggestion Thursday during a league-wide conference call.
Pro basketball
Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo told ESPN that the Aug. 29 enshrinement ceremony for Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and five others will be delayed until 2021 because of the pandemic.
• The New York Knicks hired three executives for the front office of team president Leon Rose. Brock Aller was hired as vice president of basketball and strategic planning, Walt Perrin is the assistant general manager for college scouting and Frank Zanin the assistant general manager for pro scouting. The Knicks also announced a one-year extension for general manager Scott Perry.
Baseball
Former Atlanta catcher Biff Pocoroba, who played in the 1978 All-Star Game and was a backup on the Braves team that won an improbable NL West title in 1982, has died at age 66.
Soccer
The Premier League is on course to restart next month after clubs approved plans to resume contact training. The vote by the 20 clubs came after gaining clearance from the government for players to work together as a squad.