NHL training camps to open July 10

The NHL and NHL Players’ Association gave the go-ahead Thursday for teams to open training camp on July 10 in the next step forward toward completing the pandemic-delayed season.

The league and union have already approved a 24-team playoff format but still need to decide on testing and health and safety protocols along with potential host cities for the games.

“I think safety’s first and foremost,” Penguins forward Jake Guentzel said earlier this week. “I still think there’s a lot to go into it.”

Camps are expected to last two weeks, if not slightly longer. Under this timeline, exhibition games could begin as soon as July 24 with playoff games starting roughly a week later.

Setting a July 10 start for camps allows players to make arrangements to return to their home cities in light of quarantine regulations in the U.S. and Canada. Commissioner Gary Bettman said recently 17% of the league’s players were overseas.

Players were allowed to resume small-group, voluntary workouts and teams could open their training facilities Monday. Groups of players began skating this week, while others were waiting for a firm timeline to ramp up for games.

Under the format devised by the Return to Play committee, the top four teams in each conference advance to the round of 16 and play separate roundrobin tournaments to determine seeding. The other 16 teams play best-of-five series.

Auto racing: Martin Truex Jr. used a trip to NASCAR’s shortest track to end a lengthy losing streak on the day the stock car series at long last banned the Confederate flag. Truex cruised down the stretch and won his first NASCAR Cup race of the season late Wednesday night in the first race under the lights at Martinsville Speedway. Truex, the 2017 Cup champion, has been one of NASCAR’s biggest winners over the last three years, but failed to find victory lane for Joe Gibbs Racing over the first 10 races of this season. He won 19 times from 2017-2019. “I knew we were going to get one soon,” Truex said. “Hopefully we can get on a roll.” Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, who has two wins this season, and Joey Logano made it a 2-3-4 finish for Team Penske.

NFL: The league has extended virtual offseason programs for teams through June 26. Although team facilities have opened for key personnel, coaches and players rehabilitating injuries, healthy players have been barred from those complexes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The remote programs have taken the place of on-site work.