NFL’s Hall of Fame game canceled; inductions to ’21
The NFL on Thursday canceled the Hall of Fame game that traditionally opens the preseason and is delaying the 2020 induction ceremonies for a year because of the pandemic.
The Aug. 6 exhibition game in Canton, Ohio, between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers is the first onfield event the league has canceled because of the coronavirus.
It will be played on Aug. 5, 2021, with the same teams. Enshrinements for 20 inductees now will occur on Aug. 7, 2021.
NFL owners are considering reducing the number of exhibitions from four to two per team. The league plans to hold training camps beginning in late July.
Golf: Mackenzie Hughes shot a careerlow 60 to take the firstround lead at the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn.
Hughes led by three shots over Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland. Phil Mickelson, paired with McIlroy in his first competitive round since turning 50, was one of six to shoot 64. Bryson DeChambeau shot 65.
The U.S. Open extended an exemption to Mickelson, a sixtime runnerup in the only major he hasn’t won. The U.S. Open was delayed until Sept. 1720 at Winged Foot. NBA: Miami Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. reportedly has tested positive for the coronavirus. Jones, the NBA slam dunk contest champion, still plans to play when the team gets back on the floor at the Disney complex near Orlando next month.
Dallas Mavericks center Willie CauleyStein reportedly has decided to sit out the resumed NBA season. The former Warriors center and his partner are expecting a child in July. He reportedly was replaced on his team’s roster by freeagent guard Trey Burke.
Atlanta Hawks guard/forward Vince Carter made his retirement official. Carter, 43, had said during the season that this would be his last in the NBA.
His 22 seasons are the most in league history, and he became the first NBA player to appear in four different decades.
Carter appeared in 1,541 NBA games, behind only Robert Parish (1,611) and Kareem AbdulJabbar (1,560) on the league’s alltime list, His 25,728 points rank 19th. He started his career with Toronto in 199899, then played for New Jersey, Orlando, Phoenix, Dallas, Memphis, Sacramento and Atlanta.
Baseball: Authorities in the Dominican Republic are opening an investigation into allegations
Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sano participated in the kidnapping and assault of a man. The Twins, however, said they were told Sano was cleared of the accusations.
Sano, who signed a threeyear, $30 million contract with the Twins in January, denies the allegations and has said he is being blackmailed.
Soccer: Liverpool celebrated its first English title since 1990 after secondplace Manchester City lost 21 to Chelsea to see its twoseason reign as champion end. The result left Liverpool with a 23point lead with seven rounds remaining.
The U.S. women will try and defend their 2019 world title in Australia and New Zealand, which were named cohosts of the 2023 Women’s World Cup.