SPORTS SHORTS
MLB: Blue Jays may play 2020 in Pittsburgh
The Blue Jays are talking to the Pirates about sharing their major league ballpark this season after Canada’s government barred them from playing in their home stadium amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Blue Jays said they have more than five contingency plans in the works, including their Triple-A affiliate park in Buffalo.
Giants manager Gabe Kapler and several of his players knelt during the national anthem before Monday night’s exhibition game against the Athletics. Right fielder Jaylin Davis and first-base coach Antoan Richardson, both African American, also took a knee as shortstop Brandon Crawford stood between them with a hand on each of their shoulders.
SOCCER: NYCFC earn first win of season
New York City FC made David Beckham’s Inter Miami the first Major League Soccer team to lose its first five games when Ismael Tajouri-Shradi scored midway through the second half in a 1-0 victory in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
NYCFC (1-4) won for the first time in the 2020 season and guaranteed a third-place finish in Group A with three points. But NYCFC will need help from others to advance in the MLS is Back tournament as one of the top four thirdplace finishers.
The prestigious Ballon d’Or, given to the top soccer player in the world, will not be awarded this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
ETC.: Westbrook may be back for weekend
Russell Westbrook, who announced July 13 he had tested positive for the coronavirus, was scheduled to arrive in Orlando on Monday and will quarantine in his hotel room at Walt Disney World until he has negative readings on two COVID-19 tests at least 24 hours apart.
Coach Mike D’Antoni said the former NBA MVP is unlikely to play in the first of Houston’s three scrimmages, but the Rockets are hopeful to have him back this weekend.
The league said 346 players had been tested on the NBA campus since the previous league-wide coronavirus results were announced July 13, with no positives.
Rutgers announced it would not allow fans at its football stadium in compliance with N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy’s order limiting outdoor gatherings to 500 people or fewer.