Japan baseball season start in doubt due to outbreak

The opening of the Japanese baseball season is in doubt because of the outbreak of the new coronavirus, officials said Monday, as the nation’s baseball and soccer leagues tapped three medical experts as advisers.

Baseball commissioner Atsushi Saito said protecting fans, players and coaches was critical. Preseason games are being played in empty stadiums, with a hope the regular season can begin as scheduled March 20.

But Saito said assessing whether the regular season can open — with or without fans — is a tough decision, noting the virus outbreak wasn’t expected to subside soon.

“That is the difficult part,” Saito said. “At this point, we still can’t say what action we will take.”

The J-League soccer competition joined Nippon Professional Baseball in forming the panel to assess the virus outbreak. The panel, to be up and running Tuesday, will include representatives from each of the 12 professional baseball clubs, as well as J-League representatives. It will come up with recommendations by the middle of this month, officials said.

The J-League had begun, but has suspended play.

Golf: World No. 5 Dustin Johnson announced that he will skip the Olympics for the second straight time, citing the importance of the FedEx Cup playoffs. The Tokyo Games fall in between the British Open and the playoffs.

NFL: DE Yannick Ngakoue announced that he no longer wants to sign a long-term deal with the Jaguars, forcing the team to likely place the franchise tag on the 24-year-old former Pro Bowler and trade him. Ngakoue had been seeking around $22 million a year to remain with the Jags. He likely will refuse to sign the $19 million tender for 2020, which would lead to a trade.

Soccer: The English Football Association suspended ex-Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge until June 17 for breaking betting rules. An independent commission found Sturridge, who earlier Monday mutually terminated his contract at Turkish side Trabzonspor, gave his brother inside information on a possible move to Sevilla during the January 2018 transfer window. Sturridge initially was given a two-week ban, which the FA appealed. His fine also was doubled to $192,000.