Daily Times (Primos, PA)

Officials: Olympic cancellati­on, no fans still an option

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TOKYO » Two officials in Japan’s ruling LDP party on Thursday said changes could be coming to the Tokyo Olympics. One suggested they still could be canceled, and the other said even if they proceed, it might be without any fans.

Toshihiro Nikai, the No. 2 and secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, mentioned the cancellati­on only a day after Tokyo reached the 100-days-to-go mark on Wednesday.

“If it seems impossible to go on with the games, they must be definitely canceled,” Nikai said. “If there is a surge in infections because of the Olympics, there will be no meaning to having the Olympics.”

Asked if a cancellati­on was still an option, Nikai said: “Of course.”

But he also added: “It is important for Japan to have a successful Olympics. It is a big opportunit­y. I want to make it a success. We will have many issues to resolve and prepare, and it is important to take care of them one by one.”

Djokovic loses

MONACO » Top-ranked Novak Djokovic lost 6-4, 7-5 to Dan Evans in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters for his first defeat of the year.

No. 3 Rafael Nadal had no such problems, breezing past Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-1 to reach the quarterfin­als of a tournament he has won a record 11 times.

It was an unusually sloppy performanc­e from Djokovic, the Australian Open champion who has 82 career titles compared to one for his unseeded British opponent.

Nadal next faces sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev, after the Russian beat ninth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-3.

Browns, Raiders players say they’ll skip offseason workouts

CLEVELAND » Following the guidance and advice of Browns center and NFL Players Associatio­n President JC Tretter, Cleveland’s players joined a growing list of teams vowing to skip voluntary in-person workouts this offseason.

The Browns followed the Bucs, Broncos, Seahawks, Bears, Lions, Patriots and Giants in saying they’ll exercise their collective­ly bargained rights not to take part in the workouts, which were scheduled to begin next week.

The Raiders followed suit with their players releasing a statement through the NFLPA that they also wouldn’t participat­e in the voluntary offseason program.

On Wednesday, the league issued a memo to all 32 teams announcing that the first four weeks of the voluntary program will be virtual before transition­ing to in person at the team’s respective training facilities.

Ko goes low

KAPOLEI, HAWAII » Lydia Ko went low again, shooting a 9-under 63 at Kapolei Golf Club to take a three-stroke lead midway through the second round at the Lotte Championsh­ip.

Ko, a two-time major champion who’s seeking her first win since 2018, is 24 under par her last three rounds. She nearly caught Patty Tavatanaki­t with a final-round 62 last week at the year’s first major, the ANA Inspiratio­n.

Ko had an opening-round 67 at Kapolei and was 14 under at the midpoint. The 23-year-old from New Zealand made nine birdies in her bogey-free second round and needed just 24 putts.

Smith leads RBC Heritage

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. » Cameron Smith birdied the difficult 17th and 18th holes at Harbour Town to shoot a 9-under 62, his career low on the PGA Tour, and take a one-shot lead over Stewart Cink at the RBC Heritage.

Cink finished his 63 around lunchtime and no one appeared likely to beat that score in overcast, breezier afternoon conditions. Yet Smith played his best down the challengin­g stretch.

Collin Morikawa, who will defend his PGA Championsh­ip title up the South Carolina coast next month, shot 65 along with Matt Wallace. Charles Howell III, Billy Horschel and Harold Varner III shot 66.

Chen edges Hanyu

OSAKA, JAPAN » Three-time world champion Nathan Chen beat two-time Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu in the men’s short program at the figure skating World Team Trophy.

Chen, winner of the past five U.S. titles, opened with a quadruple flip and added a triple axel and a quad toe looptriple toe loop combinatio­n for a total of 109.65 points.

Local favorite Hanyu of Japan landed a quadruple salchow, a quad toe looptriple toe loop combinatio­n and a triple axel for 107.12 points.

Jason Brown of the United States landed all his jumps and finished third with 94.86 points.

“It was nice to skate in front of an audience for the first time this season,” Chen said of the limited number of fans allowed into Maruzen Intec Arena.

HARRAH’S RESULTS

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