OSU’S voluntary workouts resume after round of testing

Ohio State will permit workouts in football and six other varsity sports to restart today after they had been briefly suspended following multiple positive COVID-19 tests among athletes.

The school said its decision to restart workouts followed a round of testing conducted the previous day among all athletes in seven sports — football, men’s and women’s basketball, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball.

Aggregate testing numbers have not been disclosed by OSU, which has cited privacy reasons. Without figures, it is not known if any more athletes tested positive this week.

In a statement, athletic director Gene Smith said the athletes would be further tested on a routine basis and the safety of the workouts would continue to be re-evaluated.

The football team will transition to workouts that will be under the direction of coaches, who are not allowed to supervise voluntary workouts.

Wild secures interim coach Evason to full-time position

The Minnesota Wild began training camp with a bang on Monday, formalizing Dean Evason’s status as its fulltime coach.

Evason, 55, signed a two-year contract extension through the 2021-22 season. He was made interim coach on Feb. 14, when Bruce Boudreau was fired.

The Wild went 8-4 under Evason, which ultimately secured the team a spot in the 24-team tournament and will play Vancouver in the qualifying round, a best-of-five series that begins Aug. 2.

Former Jacket Panarin among finalists for player of year award

NHL leading scorer Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche center Nathan Mackinnon and New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin were named finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award on Tuesday.

The trophy goes to the league’s most outstanding player as voted by fellow players. None of them has won the award before.

Draisaitl finished first in points with 110 in 71 games before the season was halted because of the pandemic.

Mackinnon helped injury-ravaged Colorado clinch a top-four seed in the Western Conference. He had 43 more points than his next-closest teammate.

Panarin, who left the Blue Jackets last offseason as a free agent, had 95 points, helping the Rangers speed up their rebuild. They qualified for the expanded playoffs as the 11th seed in the East.

Japan hopes Tokyo Games can aid Sapporo bid for 2030

The president of the Japanese Olympic Committee said Tuesday that if Tokyo can pull off next year’s Summer Games, then the city of Sapporo could be in good standing to hold the 2030 Winter Olympics.

Yasuhiro Yamashita acknowledged that it will be difficult holding the Olympics next year. And he pointed out that nobody can know the state of the

Elena Delle Donne, WNBA’S reigning MVP, whose request to be medically excused from the upcoming season was denied by the league. The ruling means if Delle Donne, who suffers from Lyme disease, does not play, she will not get paid.

coronavirus pandemic in a few months or next year.

But if the Tokyo Olympics “are held successfully, then we can have a clear prospect for the possibility of hosting 2030,” he said..

Japan has already acknowledged its interest in 2030 but could get competition from Salt Lake City or a Spanish bid linked to Barcelona and the Pyrenees.

Sapporo held the 1972 Winter Olympics, and Salt Lake was the host in 2002. Barcelona held the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Beijing will hold the 2022 Winter Olympics, followed in 2026 by the Italian cities Milan and Cortina d’ampezzo.

Braves will keep name, but chop chant under review

The Atlanta Braves say they have no plans to follow the lead of the NFL’S Washington Redskins and change their team name.

“We will always be the Atlanta Braves,” the team said in a letter to season ticket holders on Friday.

The tomahawk chop chant used by Braves fans is under review, however.

The team said it is seeking input from the Native American community, fans, players and former players as it examines the fan experience, including the chant.

The Braves say they have established a “cultural working relationship” with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina and formed a Native American Working Group.

“Through our conversations, changing the name of the Braves is not under consideration or deemed necessary,” the team said in the letter.

Rookie’s goal lifts Fire; Timbers win; LAFC, Houston earn tie

Rookie Mauricio Pineda scored in the 84th minute to give the Chicago Fire a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Sounders in the MLS is Back tournament in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Pineda caught Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei off guard after Seattle’s Handwalla Bwana scored in the 77th minute for Seattle to knot the score at 1-all.

Tuesday morning’s match was the tournament opener for the Fire (1-1-1), which was shifted to a new group after FC Dallas and Nashville SC had to withdraw because of positive COVID-19 tests. It was the second game for the Sounders (1-1-2).

On Monday, Jeremy Ebobisse and Sebastian Blanco scored seven minutes apart midway through the second half, and the Portland Timbers opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Portland (2-1-0) took early command of Group F thanks to its victory and a 3-3 draw earlier Monday between Los Angeles FC and Houston.

Mexican star Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez scored his first goal for the Galaxy (0-2-1) in the 88th minute.

In the Group F opening game, Diego Rossi and Brian Rodriguez scored six minutes apart midway through the second half as LAFC (1-0-2) rallied for the draw.

LAFC trailed 3-1 at halftime. Memo Rodriguez scored twice in the first half for Houston (0-1-2).

Patriots aiming to have games at 20% capacity

The New England Patriots have joined a growing list of NFL teams who hope to play home games this season in front of a significantly reduced number of fans to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The team announced Tuesday that it plans to play in front of about 20% of Gillette Stadium’s capacity of 66,000, if approved by state and local officials.

The Patriots also informed season ticket holders that if fans are allowed at the stadium, they will be asked to adhere to physical distancing of at least six feet. Face coverings will also be required at all times.

From staff and wire reports