COVID-19 claims more NBA games

The Suns are now the latest NBA team to deal with contact tracing issues related to the coronavirus pandemic, and their game Wednesday against the Hawks was called off by the league after it was learned they wouldn’t have enough players cleared to participate.

The NBA also revealed Wednesday that 16 players — by far the most in a one-week period since training camps started — returned positive COVID-19 tests between Jan. 6 and Tuesday. With 497 players tested, that reflects a positivity rate of 3.2%.

In the previous five weeks combined, only 15 players were positive. But even the current rate is well below what the league dealt with going into training camps, when 48 players tested positive in the week before practices could formally begin leaguewide.

That Suns-Hawks game was the third on Wednesday’s schedule to be called, joining Utah at Washington and Orlando at Boston. It also marked the second consecutive time that a team ran into issues after playing in Washington; the Heat lost eight players to COVID-related issues following its road game against the Wizards on Saturday.

“Not ideal,” Hawks guard tweeted, shortly after the postponement of the game in Phoenix was announced.

Also not playing Wednesday: Zion Williamson, ruled out by the Pelicans for their game at the Clippers because of the league’s health and safety protocols. That doesn’t mean he tested positive and simply could mean he was potentially exposed to someone who has.

MLB SUSPENDS CONTRIBUTIONS

Major League Baseball is suspending all political contributions in the wake of last week’s invasion of the U.S. Capitol by a mob loyal to joining a wave of major corporations rethinking their efforts to lobby Washington.

“In light of the unprecedented events last week at the U.S. Capitol, MLB is suspending contributions from its Political Action Committee pending a review of our political contribution policy going forward,” the league said on Wednesday.

The National Football League said it will reconsider its donations but did not commit to suspending them.

BEARS STAY COURSE

Chairman George McCaskey insisted the Bears have the right culture to become a winning franchise. So the team is sticking with general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy for at least another season.

What helped convince him to stay the course rather than make sweeping changes? A six-game losing streak — and how the team responded to it.