Sports events in England cleared to resume
MANCHESTER, England — Horse racing will be the first main sport to resume in England on Monday after the government approved the end of the 11-week shutdown of events if there are no spectators and coronavirus protocols are followed.
Jockeys will wear masks and medical checks will be required on arrival and before leaving the course.
The guidance that allows elite sports competitions to restart from Monday was published by the government on Saturday as COVID-19 lockdown restrictions that were imposed in March are eased further. Snooker and greyhound racing events have also been lined up for Monday.
“The wait is over,” Culture
Secretary Oliver Dowden said. “Live British sport will shortly be back on in safe and carefully controlled environments.”
It paves the way for the planned June 17 return of the Premier League, the world’s richest soccer competition. It also allows English cricket authorities to plan for international series. Formula One is also exploring two races at Silverstone in July.
TENNIS
U.S. Open hoping to play in August
A high-ranking official for the U.S. Open tells the AP that if the Grand Slam tennis tournament is held in 2020, she expects it to be at its usual site in New York and in its usual dates starting in August.
Charter flights to ferry players are possible, along with negative COVID-19 tests before traveling, centralized housing, daily temperature checks and no spectators.
“All of this is still fluid,” said Stacey Allaster of the U.S. Tennis Association.
PRO FOOTBALL
Hall of Famer battling cancer
Pro Football Hall of Famer Floyd Little, who starred for the Denver Broncos, has been diagnosed with cancer, according to a former Syracuse teammate who has set up a
GoFundMe page to help pay for treatment.
Pat Killorin, a center for Syracuse in the mid-1960s, created the fundraiser.
Little, a three-time AllAmerican at Syracuse from 1964-66, was selected sixth overall in the 1967 combined AFL-NFL draft by the Broncos. He rushed for 6,323 yards and 43 touchdowns in nine years.
The 77-year-old Little led the NFL in rushing yards (1,133) and yards from scrimmage (1,388) in 1971. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010. In other news:
• Roosevelt Taylor ,a star safety on the Chicago Bears’ 1963 NFL championship team, has died. He was 82.
The team said he died Friday but did not provide details. An All-Pro in 1963 when the Bears won the title, Taylor played his first nine NFL seasons with Chicago, 1961-69, appearing in every game. He led the league in interceptions in 1963 with nine, also making the Pro Bowl.
TRACK AND FIELD
Olympic champ Morrow dies
Bobby Joe Morrow, who won three gold medals in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics while a student at Abilene Christian, died Saturday. He was 84.
Morrow’s family said he died of natural causes at home in San Benito.
Morrow won the 100 and 200 meters in Melbourne and anchored the United States’ champion 400-relay team, matching the world record of 20.6 seconds in the 200 and helping the squad set a world record.