SPORTS BRIEFS
CAL-USC game postponed over positive COVID-19 tests
California’s game against Southern California was postponed on Tuesday after a series of positive coronavirus tests in the Golden Bears program, the first major college football game to be rescheduled this season because of COVID-19.
Cal played last week at Arizona without starting quarterback Chase Garbers and six other starters because of positive tests that knocked out 24 players and assistant coaches. The Bears lost 10-3 to Arizona.
Cal announced Tuesday that additional players tested positive this week and are unavailable to practice or play, leading to the postponement. Athletic director Jim Knowlton called it a “difficult decision.”
“We know how important every one of our games is to our student-athletes, especially our seniors who have been incredible representatives of the program, but it was the right thing to do,” Knowlton said. “Due to additional impact on specific position groups, we have decided to postpone Saturday’s game. We have had multiple COVID-19 positives within our program, and we are taking every step we can to mitigate the spread and protect the greater community.”
The schools have agreed to rescheduled the game for Dec. 4, the day after the Pac-12 title game.
Coach Justin Wilcox said he was upset for the fans and the players but added there was no choice.“postponing this game was a last resort and not an action any of us wanted to take; however, it was not possible for us to field a team on Saturday,” Wilcox said.
Ducks place GM Murray on leave amid conduct probe
The Anaheim Ducks placed executive vice president and general manager
Bob Murray on leave Tuesday amid an ongoing investigation into his conduct.
The Ducks said in a statement they recently became aware of accusations of improper professional conduct against Murray, who is the third-longesttenured general manager in the NHL.
The team did not specify the behavior Murray is accused of.
“After internal review, we enlisted (law firm) Sheppard Mullin to perform an independent investigation. Upon recommendation from their initial findings, we have decided to place Bob on administrative leave pending final results,” the statement said.
Assistant general manager Jeff Solomon will assume Murray’s duties on an interim basis.
Murray played 15 NHL seasons from 1975-90, all for the Chicago Blackhawks. He was a senior vice president with the Ducks when the team won the Stanley Cup in 2007. He was named the NHL’S General Manager of the Year in 2014 after Anaheim tied Boston for most wins in the league with 54.
The Ducks reached the playoffs in nine of Murray’s first 11 seasons as GM, but they have missed the postseason the past three years, tying for the longest streak in franchise history. He was the interim coach for the final two months of the 2018-19 season after Randy Carlyle was fired with 26 games remaining.
Professional conduct has come under more scrutiny in the league since last month, when the Blackhawks were fined $2 million for their handling of sexual assault allegations in 2010.
CBS to stream U.S. World Cup qualifier at Jamaica
CBS, which has the U.s.-english language rights to the Americans’ World Cup qualifier at Jamaica next week, said Tuesday it will make the Nov. 16 match available only on its Paramount+ subscription streaming service.
CBS announced in March it had reached an agreement with IMG and Mediapro to acquire rights to qualifiers in North and Central America and the Caribbean that included all of the U.S. road matches except for the game at Mexico on March 24, 2022. CBS separately acquired that game, too.
Fox and ESPN share rights to U.S. home games, and ESPN2 will televise Friday’s qualifier against Mexico in Cincinnati.
Telemundo and Universo, part of Nbcuniversal, have U.S. Spanishlanguage rights to six of the seven U.S. road qualifiers. The March match at Mexico will be televised by Univision.