Ohio State-Penn State men’s hoops postponed

The Penn State-Ohio State men’s basketball game scheduled for Jan. 6 has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues with the Nittany Lions.

Any individual who has tested positive has been put into isolation and contact tracing procedures have been implemented, which include quarantine and testing for those individuals who might have been exposed, even if asymptomatic.

An Ohio State spokesman said the team is continuing to prepare for its road game Jan. 9 at Rutgers.

College football

WADDLE PRACTICING » Alabama star receiver Jaylen Waddle has returned to practice. Now the question is will he be able to play in the title game against Ohio State? Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian says Waddle practiced on Jan. 5, but he deferred questions on his status to coach Nick Saban, who did not address the media Jan. 6. “We’ll see where it goes from here,” Sarkisian said. “Clearly we’ve got about a week or so until the game.”

WOMEN, MINORITIES MAKE SMALL GAINS IN LEADERSHIP» A diversity study finds increasing numbers of women and people of color in leadership positions at the Football Bowl Subdivision level of college athletics for 2020, though not enough to overcome a significant “underrepresentation.”

The report card from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) issued slightly improved grades of a Bfor racial hiring and a Dplus overall compared to the 2019 edition, which had issued a C for racial hiring and a D overall.

The gender-hiring grade in both reports was an F.

NBA

BEAL SCORES 60 IN LOSS» Joel Embiid scored 38 points and the NBA-leading 76ers overcame a Washington recordtying 60-point performance by Bradley Beal in a 141-136 win over the Wizards. Beal was stuffed on a layup and missed a 3-pointer inside the final minute, nearly coming up short of joining Golden State’s Steph Curry as 60-point scorers this season.

NFL

JETS I NTERVIEW BIENIEMY » The New York Jets kicked off their coaching search by interviewing Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on Jan. 6. With six vacancies around the league, the 51-year-old Bieniemy is one of the most popular candidates after helping the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes win the Super Bowl last year and directing the NFL’s No. 1 offense this season.