NFL: Bryant protocolsOK

TheNFL’s medical director says all procedures followedbefore theRavens’ game Tuesday night when receiver Dez Bryant tested positive forCOVID-19were done properly and in the same manner as for every case.

Bryant had an inconclusive test result after he was active for the game. He was removed from the field during warmups and tested again. Theleagueand the Ravens then conducted contact tracing, but found noclose contacts thatwould have caused an interruption in playing the game against the Cowboys, nor the removal of other players or team personnel.

“I made the final determination that there were no high-risk close contacts to the case, so there was no need to remove anyone else,” Dr. Allen Sills said Wednesday.

“Iwould say itwas a very straightforward review becausetherewerevery few contacts identified by the data. I think that’s a reflectionof thefact that this club has been under our intensive protocol and certainly has done a tremendous job with compliance around their facility leading up to the game.”

TheRavens, whowonthe game34-17, couldn’t replace Bryant on the roster.

A diversity report in the NFL assigned high grades for the league office but lagging scores at team levels for racial and gender hiring. Thereport fromThe Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at CentralFlorida assigned an overall B-minus grade for the league, with a B-plus for racial hiring and a C for gender hiring. The report examined a range of positions at the league headquarters and within franchises using data for the2020season. Theleague headquarters received an A-plus in racial hiring and aBin gender hiring.

College basketball: NC Statepausedactivitiesamid positiveCOVID-19testsand contact tracing. Its game against FloridaAtlantic this weekendwon’t be played.

College football: Indiana andPurdueagreedto cancel their football game SaturdayinBloomingtonbecause of an increase in COVID19 cases at the schools. ... The ACC announced it will allow limited fans to attend its championship game between No. 2 Notre DameandNo. 3Clemsonon Dec. 19 at Bank of America Stadiumin Charlotte, North Carolina. Thestate ofNorth Carolina allows outdoor venues to fill 7% of their capacity for fans. Following that guidance, the capacity will be 5,240 for the highly-anticipated title game. Fans and staff must wear masksandfollowsocial-distancing markers displayed throughout the stadium.

Soccer: Real Madrid beat visiting BorussiaMönchengladbach2-0 but both clubs advanced to the knockout stage of the Champions League. It was Mönchengladbach’s first last-16berth in the Champions League era. TheGermanclubmade it after Shakhtar Donetsk and Inter Milan played to a scoreless drawin another GroupBfinale. ... Mohamed Salah eclipsed Steven Gerrard as Liverpool’s top scorer in the Champions League by netting after 55 seconds — another club record — in a 1-1 draw against host FC Midtjylland. Salah now has 22nd career goals in the competition. Liverpool alredy had advanced to the last 16 as the GroupDwinner.