MAC CANCELS FALL FOOTBALL DUE TO CORONAVIRUS

The Mid-american Conference on Saturday became the first league at college football’s highest level to cancel its fall season because of the pandemic.

“I’m heartbroken we are in this place,” MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said.

With the MAC’S 12 schools facing a significant financial burden by trying to maintain costly coronavirus protocols, and the uncertainty that campuses can be opened safely, the conference’s university presidents canceled all fall sports — including soccer and volleyball — and said they would explore making them up in the spring season. A move to the spring, however, could also prove costly without revenue generated by football media rights deals and ticket sales.

Big Ten prohibits full contact practices. The Big Ten is tapping the brakes on football practice, telling its schools that until further notice full contact practices cannot begin. The conference announced all teams will remain in the first two days of what is known as the “acclimatization period,” working in just helmets. The Big Ten said all other fall sports will continue to work with team physicians and trainers to adjust practices to the appropriate level of activity.

Austin Cindric wins again at Road America.

ELKHART LAKE, WIS. » Austin Cindric won a race that drove him to tears, though not in the way you might expect. Cindric waited through a lightning delay at Road America and dealt with numerous caution flags on his way to his fourth victory in his last five Xfinity Series races. But the biggest obstacle of all might have been underneath his right eyelid.

“I’m sorry if I’m blinking a lot, but I got something in my eye halfway through the race, and it hurt so bad,” Cindric said as he kept wiping his eye during a post-race Zoom session. “I’ve been blinking like the entire last hour.”

Bottas on pole for Silverstone GP ahead of teammate Hamilton.

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Valtteri Bottas

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edged out Mercedes teammate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton to claim pole position for Formula One’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

Hamilton appeared on course to take his 92nd career pole but he had a poor first sector on his final run and Bottas clocked 1 minute, 25.154 seconds, 0.063 seconds ahead of the six-time world champion. It gave Bottas his first pole since the opening race of the pandemic-delayed season in Austria, which he went on to win.

NBA MVP finalists: Antetokounmpo, James and Harden.

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This season’s NBA MVP

VISTA, FLA.

has won the award before.

A trio of past winners of the award — reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, fourtime MVP Lebron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and 2017-18 winner James Harden of the Houston Rockets — were announced as the finalists for this season’s top individual honor.

James would join Kareem AbdulJabbar (a six-time winner), Michael Jordan and Bill Russell as the NBA’S only five-time MVPS. Antetokounmpo is bidding to become the 12th back-toback winner, and Harden is vying for his second MVP in three seasons.

Ko surges to 4-shot lead in bid to end drought.

SYLVANIA, OHIO » Not even a sore back could keep Lydia Ko from building a four-shot lead in the Marathon Classic. Now the former No. 1 player in the world is one round away from ending more than two years without a victory. Ko felt back pain on the front nine, received treatment from a trainer and played bogey-free over the last 15 holes at Highland Meadows for a 3-under 68 and a four-shot lead over Danielle Kang.

Giants place Samardjiza on IL due to shoulder impingement.

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» Jeff Samardjiza has been placed

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on the 10-day injured list by the San Francisco Giants due to right shoulder impingement.