Earthquakes postpone March game over coronavirus concerns
The San Jose Earthquakes are the first major American professional sports team to outright postpone a game because of the spread of coronavirus.
The Earthquakes (0-1-1) announced Wednesday that its match with Sporting Kansas City (2-0-0) scheduled for March 21 would be postponed as the virus spreads throughout Santa Clara County and the Bay Area.
No future date has been set for the match to be played.
“We’re very supportive of the mandate by the County’s Public Health Department,” said Earthquakes COO Jared Shawlee in a statement. “We’d like to thank all of our community partners, including the City of San Jose and the County of Santa Clara, for their assistance and we would also like to thank our fans, players and staff for their patience and understanding throughout this unprecedented time. We will continue to work with local agencies and league officials and provide updates as available.”
The Quakes’ announcement came the same afternoon that the White House released new guidelines for Santa Clara County to slow the spread of the illness, including a recommendation that all gatherings of more than 250 people be canceled. Earlier in the week, county officials had banned any gathering of more than 1,000 people, and the Earthquakes said they’d comply.
The Earthquakes’ game at Philadelphia scheduled for this Saturday is still expected to be played, as of Wednesday afternoon.
The team plans to honor all tickets purchased for the March 21 game when that game against Sporting Kansas City is eventually played. JUVENTUS PLAYER RUGANI TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS >> Italian soccer club Juventus says one of its players, defender Daniele Rugani, has tested positive for COVID-19.
Rugani, who also plays for the Italian national team, is the first player in the country’s top soccer division to test positive for the disease, which is caused by the coronavirus.
The club said Rugani and “those who have had contact with him” are being isolated. It also said Rugani is not showing any symptoms of the disease.
PSG BEATS DORTMUND IN EMPTY STADIUM >> With its fans cheering outside an empty stadium, Paris Saint-Germain finally reached the Champions League quarterfinals again by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0.
PSG trailed 2-1 from the first leg in Germany. Neymar headed in from a corner in the 28th minute and left back Juan Bernat made it 2-0 just before the break.
The match at Parc des Princes was played in an empty stadium because of the coronavirus outbreak. Around 3,000 PSG fans gathered to show their support outside the Parc des Princes before the game and carried on singing during it.
Golf
TIGER WOODS ELECTED TO THE WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAME >> Already among the greatest on the golf course, Tiger Woods will join them in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Woods was elected to be part of the 2021 induction class. Woods shares the PGA Tour record with 82 career victories, and his 15 majors are second only to Jack Nicklaus.
“I am both honored and humbled to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame,” Woods said in a statement. “This past year has been such an incredible journey and the support I’ve received from my family, friends and fans has been overwhelming. This achievement is the ultimate recognition to never give up and keep chasing.”
The 20-member selection committee voted Wednesday, with 75% required for election.
The induction class has a maximum of four members, with others to be announced later. Still to be determined is the date and location for induction.
College football
COLLEGE FOOTBALL HOF ANNOUNCES CLASS OF 2020 >> Eric Dickerson, Steve McNair and Eric Crouch headline the College Football Hall of Fame’s 19-member Class of 2020 announced on Wednesday.
The 17 former players and two coaches will be inducted during a ceremony in Atlanta on Dec. 8.
Also being inducted are Florida offensive tackle Lomas Brown, Ohio State running back Keith Byars, LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, Michigan offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott, Washington State kicker Jason Hanson, Maryland linebacker E.J. Henderson, Alabama defensive end E.J. Junior, UCLA quarterback Cade McNown, Oklahoma State defensive tackle Leslie O’Neal, Virginia defensive back Anthony Poindexter, Georgia defensive end David Pollack, Minnesota defensive end Bob Stein, Colorado wide receiver Michael Westbrook and Houston wide receiver Elmo Wright.
Winter sports
SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN MONTREAL CANCELED >> The world figure skating championships, scheduled to be held in Montreal from March 16-22, have been canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak, the Quebec government said.
The decision to cancel the world championships comes a day after the International Skating Union (ISU) announced strict requirements for attending the event, including monitoring temperatures of skaters, coaches and officials.
It also marks the second major sporting event affected in Canada in recent days because of the coronavirus. The women’s world ice hockey championship, which was set to begin on March 31 in eastern Canada, was canceled last Saturday. SHIFFRIN LOSES CHANCE TO CATCH WORLD CUP CHAMPION >> Italy’s Federica Brignone was confirmed as women’s Alpine skiing overall World Cup champion on Wednesday when the final races of the season in Sweden were canceled after a member of the sponsor support staff tested positive for coronavirus.
The cancellation of a parallel slalom, giant slalom and slalom in Are ended the reign of three-times champion Mikaela Shiffrin, who had hoped to return after more than a month out following the death of her father.
The World Cup finals scheduled for the Italian resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo had already been canceled due to the coronavirus.
Shiffrin, whose father Jeff died in an accident at home in Colorado on Feb. 2 aged 65, had been 153 points behind Brignone in the overall standings with 300 points still to be won.
Track and field
FORMER ATHLETES SUING NCAA, COACH OVER ALLEGED ABUSE >> Three former student-athletes who say they were sexually abused by a track coach sued the NCAA, its board of governors and the coach, alleging the governing body doesn’t do enough to protect NCAA athletes.
Erin Aldrich, Londa Bevins and Jessica Johnson are seeking class action status for the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose. The women say they were molested by John Rembao while he worked at the University of Texas and the University of Arizona. Remboa also had stints at Cal and Stanford as an assistant.
The 59-year-old Rembao, who has coached four Olympians, 15 individual NCAA champions and 93 AllAmericans, was most recently Los Gatos High’s track coach until stepping down this past winter for what he told USA Today was for family and personal reasons.