Grizzlies-Blazers called off; NBA stresses new protocols

Contact tracing issues for the Memphis Grizzlies meant they would not have enough players eligible to play in Portland on Wednesday night, leading to the 16th game postponement for coronavirus-related reasons by the NBA this season.

Also Wednesday: The NBA said 11 new players in the past week have tested positive for COVID-19, down from 16 the previous week but still higher than what the norm has been since training camps opened in early December.

Of the 16 postponements, 15 have come since Jan. 10 and the number could rise again soon — since Memphis is also scheduled to play in Portland on Friday. The league has not made any announcement about whether that game will happen as planned.

By NBA rule, teams must have eight eligible players for games; the Grizzlies would not meet that threshold because of “ongoing contact tracing,” the league

said.

The decision about the Portland-Memphis game came on the same day that the league, in a memo sent to teams and obtained by The Associated Press, reiterated some of the new stiffer protocols that were agreed to last week.

Starting with Wednesday’s games, the NBA told teams to have their security officials “stationed near the half-court line during pre-game warmups and post-game to provide reminders to players and staff and encourage compliance” with the rules regarding interaction.

MacKinnon reaches 500 points as Avalanche top Kings 3-2

LOS ANGELES — Nathan MacKinnon became the first member of the 2013 NHL draft class to reach 500 points, Devon Toews and Mikko Rantanen scored power-play goals and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Tuesday night.

MacKinnon, selected by the Avalanche with the first overall pick in 2013, had a pair of assists to become the fourth player in Colorado history to reach 500 points. He picked up the milestone point late in the second period when he fed Rantanen on a cross-ice pass for a power-play goal to give the Avs a 3-0 lead.

Brandon Saad scored 3:07 into the game before Toews and Rantanen scored less than two minutes apart in the second. Toews scored for the second straight game when he took advantage of a screen down low and put in a slap shot just inside the post at 14:11. That was followed by Rantanen’s goal at 16:06.

Philipp Grubauer stopped 23 shots for Colorado.

Andreas Athanasiou and Adrian Kempe scored third-period goals for Los Angeles. Anze Kopitar had two assists and Cal Petersen made 21 saves.

Athanasiou put the Kings on the board at 7:50 of the third with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle for his third goal in three games. Kempe brought the Kings within one at 14:22 with a power-play goal.

AP source: Springer agrees to $150M, 6-year deal with Jays

TORONTO — All-Star outfielder George Springer became the most prominent among baseball’s free agents to reach an agreement this offseason, a $150 million, six-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday night because the deal was subject to a successful physical.

It would be the largest contract in team history.

Springer, who turned 31 in September, is a three-time All-Star who has spent his entire seven-season career with Houston and was the World Series MVP when the Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games for their first title in 2017. The championship was later tainted when it was discovered Houston illicitly stole signs that season.

Springer hit .265 with 14 homers and 32 RBIs during the shortened 2020 season, earning a prorated $7,777,778 from a $21 million salary.

Lions agree to terms with Saints’ Dan Campbell to be coach

The Detroit Lions have landed the coach they coveted from the start of their search, agreeing to terms with Dan Campbell.

The Lions announced the agreement with the New Orleans Saints tight ends coach on Wednesday, one day after formally introducing Brad Holmes as their general manager. Campbell will sign a six-year contract, according to a person familiar with the situation, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because terms of the deal were not released.

While Detroit did make Holmes one of four Black general managers in the NFL and team president Rod Wood thanked Rod Graves of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which champions diversity in the NFL, for his assistance on Tuesday, the franchise followed a league-wide trend of hiring white head coaches.

The 44-year-old Campbell, who also had the title of assistant head coach with the Saints, has 11 years of experience in the NFL as a coach and 11 as a player.

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott stepping down at end of June

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott is stepping down at the end of June, ending an 11-year tenure in which the conference landed a transformational billion dollar television deal but struggled to keep up with some of its Power Five peers when it came to revenue and exposure.

Sports Business Journal first reported the news Wednesday night and a person with knowledge of what was being called a mutual decision between the 56-year-old Scott and university presidents who make up the league’s executive committee confirmed it to AP.