Riverhounds gear up

Season set to begin July 11 for USL Championship squad.

USL Championship announced its format Wednesday for restarting the season July 11, and Riverhounds SC will face a 16-game schedule compacted into 13 weeks, ending the weekend of Oct. 24.

In order to limit travel, teams will be split into eight regionalized groups, five of which will consist of four teams and three having five teams. The regionalized groups have not yet been announced.

Of the 16-game schedule, 12 matches will be against regionalized group members, and four matches will be played against teams in a similar geographic region.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs, producing a 16team postseason field.

Running

The New York City Marathon, which was set to celebrate its 50th anniversary Nov. 1, was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The New York race is the largest marathon in the world and had 53,640 finishers last year. … The Berlin Marathon, scheduled for Sept. 27, was canceled because of the pandemic. Organizers said “after extensive examination and various discussions” they were not able to find a later date. Authorities in Germany have blocked the hosting of major events through October.

Baseball

Outfielder Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies is the first Major League Baseball player known to have tested positive for the coronavirus. Three Rockies players have tested positive for COVID-19. Blackmon is a four-time All-Star who hit .314 with 32 home runs and 86 RBIs last season.

Pro football

The Washington Redskins are removing former owner George Preston Marshall from their Ring of Fame and striking all references to him on their website. It’s the latest move to cut ties with the legacy of the team’s racist founder, a segregationist who refused to integrate by signing Black players until “forced to do so” in 1962, more than a decade after much of the rest of the NFL.

Pro basketball

Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon and Sacramento Kings forward Jabari Parker revealed that they tested positive for the coronavirus. Both believe they will be able to play when the NBA season resumes next month.

College sports

Suspended West Virginia defensive coordinator Vic Koenning apologized after a player alleged he made a series of insensitive remarks, including against Hispanics. “I never intended anything I said or did to offend or be insensitive,” Koenning said in a statement on Twitter.

Tennis

The U.S. Tennis Association changed its plans and now will include wheelchair competition at the scaleddown U.S. Open after athletes complained about the original decision to drop their event.