Both Ohio LPGA events to be played without fans

The LPGA Tour will not have spectators for the opening two events in Ohio when it resumes in two weeks.

Commissioner Mike Whan had said the Marathon Classic was contemplating capping attendance at 2,000 fans at Highland Meadows in Sylvania for the Aug. 6-9 event.

The tournament said it met with county and state health officials and decided Thursday to play without spectators.

The LPGA Tour is scheduled to resume July 30 with the Drive On LPGA Championship, a one-time event hosted by Inverness Club in Toledo, site of next year’s Solheim Cup.

Basketball coaches move to eliminate standardized testing

Men’s and women’s college basketball coaches are proposing the NCAA eliminate standardized testing requirements from initial-eligibility standards, calling exams such as the SAT and ACT “longstanding forces of institutional racism.”

The proposal Thursday came out of the new committee on racial reconciliation formed by the National Association of Basketball Coaches in response to the Black Lives Matter movement and other social justice initiatives. The committee is chaired by South Carolina coach Frank Martin and Harvard coach Tommy Amaker.

NCAA OKS bowl eligibility adjustment for FCS victories

Major college football teams will be permitted to count two victories against second-tier Division I teams toward bowl eligibility this season.

The NCAA Division I Council’s blanket waiver loosens current rules that allow Football Bowl Subdivision teams to count only one victory against Football Championship Subdivision schools toward bowl eligibility.

With the Big Ten and Pac-12 announcing they will play only conference games this season to deal with the threat of COVID-19 disruptions, it has left holes in many FBS teams’ schedules.

The NCAA’S waiver provides teams the flexibility to schedule second-tier Division I opponents without risking bowl eligibility.

American sprinter Stevens banned 18 months for missed drug tests

Olympic finalist sprinter Deajah Stevens was banned for 18 months Thursday for missing doping tests and will miss the Tokyo Games.

The Athletics Integrity Unit, which prosecutes cases in track and field, said Stevens was unavailable for three doping controls in 2019 in Oregon and West Hollywood. Three whereabouts violations within one year can lead to a ban.

Stevens cited issues with her telephone for sample collections officials being unable to contact her for two of the missed visits, according to the published ruling from her disciplinary hearing.

On one occasion her phone ran out of battery power overnight, and another time she changed her number to avoid harassment from an unknown individual, the ruling stated.

Stevens can appeal against the ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

A 200-meter specialist, Stevens placed seventh in the final at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and fifth at the 2017 world championships in London.

Browns sign Garrett to 5-year, $125 million extension

The Cleveland Browns signed Garrett to a five-year, $125 million contract extension on Wednesday, making the edge rusher the NFL’S highest-paid defensive player. The deal includes $100 million guaranteed, according to the NFL Network.

Garrett was under contract through 2021 after the Browns exercised the fifth-year option on his rookie deal in April. He’ll make $4.6 million in 2020 and $15.18 million next season before the extension kicks in.

The Browns also signed LSU safety Grant Delpit to his rookie deal, meaning all of Cleveland’s 2020 draft class is under contract. Delpit’s deal is worth about $7.5 million, including a $3 million signing bonus.

NASCAR hosts largest crowd since pandemic

Chase Elliott won NASCAR’ AllStar race Wednesday night in Bristol, Tennessee.

Up to 30,000 fans were allowed to attend, and although attendance figures were not released, it appeared at least 20,000 spectators were socially distanced throughout the grandstands — making it the largest sporting event in the United States since winter.

The All-star race was moved from Charlotte Motor Speedway for just the second time since its 1985 inception because Tennessee officials allowed Speedway Motorsports to sell a percentage of its seats. North Carolina would not authorize spectators.

Masks were only required upon entrance, and fans were told they could remove them once in their seats.

Williamson leaves Pelicans for ‘family medical matter’

The New Orleans Pelicans said Zion Williamson left the club on Thursday to attend to an urgent family medical matter.

The Pelicans say Williamson intends to rejoin the team for the resumption of the season, but the club did not specify when he would be able to return or whether he’ll miss any games.

Williamson will have to quarantine again when he returns to central Florida, a period that will last at least four days and could be significantly longer if he is not tested daily during his absence from the team.

San Jose rallies with three late goals to stun Vancouver

Shea Salinas scored in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time to cap San Jose’s late rally, and the Earthquakes overcame a pair of defensive blunders for a wild 4-3 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday night.

Trailing 3-1 late in the second half, San Jose got goals from Chris Wondolowski and Oswaldo Alanis to pull even, and Salinas scored the winner deep into stoppage time to stun the Whitecaps.

On Thursday morning, Frankie Amaya scored his first career goal in the 76th minute to give FC Cincinnati a 1-0 victory over Atlanta United.

United played a man down after Jake Mulraney was sent off in the 26th minute with his second yellow card.

Arizona State, NCAA sued over death of linebacker

The father of a former Arizona State linebacker filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the university and NCAA, alleging his son’s suicide came during a mental breakdown caused by four concussions he suffered a few years earlier while playing college football.

Jason Franklin’s father, Gregg Franklin, alleged flawed concussion management protocols contributed to his son developing the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which was discovered after his 2018 death, according to the lawsuit filed Monday in federal court.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status to cover all now-deceased ASU football players from 1952 to 2015 who were diagnosed in life or death with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy and other neurodegenerative disorders.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of damages.

ASSOCIATED PRESS