Abdominal injury sidelines Raonic at European Open
An abdominal strain forced Canadian Milos Raonic to withdraw ahead of his European Open quarter-final match Friday in Antwerp, Belgium.
The fifth-seeded Raonic was scheduled to face No. 4 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who was awarded a walkover win.
Raonic, 29, is ranked 19th in the world and coming off a run to the semifinals last week in St. Petersburg, Russia.
He reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in 2016, the same year he reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and finished runner-up at Wimbledon to Britain's Andy Murray.
A push to start the 2020-21 NBA season on Christmas Day is gaining momentum, the New York Times reported Friday.
A start date was just one item on the agenda at Friday's meeting of the league's board of governors, along with discussions about fan attendance amid the pandemic and the possibility of playing fewer than 82 games, ESPN reported.
While a Dec. 25 start with a full holiday slate of marquee games would please the league's television partners, sources told ESPN that some teams are targeting a mid-january launch instead.
Last month, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said his “best guess” was that the season wouldn't start until early 2021.
The NBA has made a vow that players would get at least an eightweek notice before the start of the season. Oct. 30 would be exactly eight weeks before Christmas Day.
“The goal for us next season is to play a standard season, 82-game season and playoffs. In home arenas, in front of fans,” Silver said.
The NBA became the first pro league to suspend play amid the COVID-19 pandemic, doing so on March 11. The league finished a shortened season in a bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla.
There have been no new positive COVID-19 cases among players for 54 consecutive days, Major League Baseball and its players association announced Friday.
A total of 3,597 samples were collected and tested from Oct. 16-22, including players and staff.
The total number of tests done to date is 172,740, with 91 positive results (57 players and 34 staff members). Twenty-one different teams have had at least one positive test during the monitoring phase.
The Washington Football Team will allow about 3,000 fans to attend its Nov. 8 game at Fedex Field against the New York Giants.
“Welcome back! It's a small step back toward normalcy in this crazy time,” tweeted Julie Donaldson, the team's senior vice-president of media and content.
The team plays in Landover, Md., and state Gov. Larry Hogan announced last week that both the Washington team and Baltimore Ravens could open their stadiums to fans as long as they occupied fewer than 10 per cent of the seats amid the coronavirus pandemic. Fedex Field seats about 80,000. The team did a trial run with 200 friends and family members on hand Oct. 11 for the game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Tickets will be sold to season-ticket holders, based on tenure. All fans must wear face coverings.
Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon didn't practice for the third straight day Friday and will miss Sunday's game against Cleveland due to a foot injury.
Mixon, 24, has played in 34 straight games dating back to the 2018 season. He sustained the injury in the first half of Cincinnati's 31-27 loss to Indianapolis last Sunday. Mixon has 119 carries for 428 yards and three touchdowns in six games with the Bengals (1-4-1) this season. He also has reeled in 21 receptions for 138 yards and a score.
Giovani Bernard will likely get the start on Sunday against the visiting Browns (4-2). The eighthyear veteran has rushed 12 times for 44 yards and one touchdown and has 16 catches for 115 yards in six games this season.
The Philadelphia Eagles won the game but lost receiver Desean Jackson and right tackle Lane Johnson to injuries in Thursday night's 22-21 comeback against the New York Giants.
Making his first appearance since Week 3, Jackson caught three passes for 34 yards and rushed once for 12 yards before being tackled awkwardly on a punt return with 2:09 left in the game.
An MRI on Friday confirmed a high-ankle sprain.
The Eagles will place the threetime Pro Bowl selection on injured reserve, the NFL Network reported. He'll be eligible to return in late November.
The Carolina Panthers' kicking game received a reprieve when Joey Slye was activated from the reserve/covid-19 list, as was offensive lineman Trenton Scott.
In turn, the Panthers placed cornerback Rasul Douglas on the reserve/covid-19 list. He becomes the team's third player currently on the list, along with offensive linemen Tyler Larsen and Michael Schofield.
Despite Scott's COVID-19 designation, the Panthers didn't alter their plans for a Friday afternoon walk-through in advance of their game Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
That game, at New Orleans, is scheduled to be played.
Slye, 24, has made 16 of 18 fieldgoal attempts this season and 10 of 12 extra-point attempts.