THE HOT CORNER

1 NCAA: The NCAA is stripping Massachusetts of victories in men’s basketball and women’s tennis for over paying 12 athletes about $ 9,100 infinancial aid over three years. The NCAA imposed a two- yearprobation on UMass that will end inOctober2022, in addition to vacating results involving athletes who received inappropriate payments. U Mass plans to appeal thedecision to vacate victories, which include59 basketball wins and an Atlantic 10Conference championship in women’s tennis from2014- 17.

2 COLLEGEFOOTBALL: Kansas coach Les Miles was cleared to return to the Jay hawks aftera positive test forCOVID- 19, but out of caution he is skipping the team’s trip to West Virginia for today’s game. Miles said lastweek that routine testing returned a positive test. He experienced only mild symptoms and was able to work remotely during the team’s byeweek. Also Friday, Southern Mississippi at UTEP became the sixth games cheduled for today to be postponed thisweek, after Southern Miss announced an increase in positiveCOVID- 19 test results in the program; and eight players at the University of New Mexico and one assistant coach tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting state officials to step in and shutdown all team activities.

PRO GOLF: The Australian PGA 3 Championship, Australian Open and Women’ s Australian Open in February were canceled amid concerns over the pandemic.

4 SKIING: No fans are planned at World Cup events in Switzerland this season, the Swiss ski federation said.

5 FIGURESKATING: The Four Continents Championships scheduled for February in Australia was canceled by the International Skating Union because of the pandemic. The 2023Four Continents will be staged in Sydney instead.