Status of Wisconsin game unclear
No. 9 Wisconsin’s game Saturday at Nebraska is in danger of being canceled, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday.
Starting quarterback Graham Mertz and backup Chase Wolf have tested positive for coronavirus. They’re both out for 21 days.
Adding to the difficulties at the position, the Badgers’ test positivity rate is close to the threshold that would force the team to stop regular practice and competition for a minimum of seven days and then reassess the situation.
If the game isn’t played, it would be considered a no-contest rather than a forfeit.
The revised Big Ten schedule calls for each team to play eight regular-season games in an eight-week span, ending Dec. 12. The league title game and other cross-over games are set to be played Dec. 19, one day before the College Football Playoff field is to be revealed.
That leaves no room for games to be postponed and rescheduled.
■ One day after No. 10 Florida returned to the practice field following a two-week layoff due to a COVID-19 outbreak, the team reported six new positive tests. The data is based on results from Tuesday of last week through Monday, during which the school said 230 tests were performed. Coach Dan Mullen, who had the virus, said Monday that the Gators would have at least the SEC minimum of 53 scholarship players available for Saturday’s home game against Missouri.
NFL: The Lions acquired veteran DE Everson Griffen from the Cowboys for a 2021 conditional draft pick. The Lions (3-3) have just eight sacks this season. The 32-year-old Griffen has 77 career sacks, including 21⁄2 this season as a reserve in seven games . ... Free agent S Eric Reid told The AP that he declined an offer to join Washington’s practice squad. Washington (2-5) lost S Landon Collins to a seasonending Achilles tendon injury in Sunday’s win over the Cowboys. The 28-year-old Reid played two seasons for Washington coach Ron Rivera with the Panthers.
Soccer: Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo will miss the Champions League group-play match with rival Lionel Messi after the Italian champions failed to declare the Portugal international had tested negative in time to face Barcelona on Wednesday. The Serie A champs announced Ronaldo tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 13, and UEFA protocol states a player has until 24 hours before kick off to return a negative test.
Track and field: Men’s 100-meter world champ Christian Coleman was banned for two years because of three violations of doping control rules. Track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit said Coleman will be banned until May 2022, forcing him to miss the Tokyo Olympics next year. The 24-year-old American sprinter had been provisionally suspended from competition since May. Weeks later, details of his three missed appointments with sample collections officials in 2019 were revealed. Coleman can appeal his ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He was favored to win Olympic titles after taking gold in the individual 100 and 400 relay at the 2019 world championships in Doha, Qatar.