NHL, players agree on protocols to resume season
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Sunday that the league and NHL Players’ Association have agreed on protocols to resume the season.
Daly said the sides are still negotiating an extension of the collective bargaining agreement. A CBA extension is crucial to the process, and the league’s board of governors and players’ executive committee and full membership must still approve that and the return to play protocols to bring hockey back this summer.
If everything is ratified, it will end a pandemic-forced shutdown for 31 teams across North America that began in mid-March. Games would resume in late July or early August with 24 teams taking part in an expanded playoffs, finishing with the Stanley Cup being awarded in October.
Assuming approval from owners and players, teams are expected to open training camps July 13 before traveling to two “hub” cities — reportedly Toronto and Edmonton — for games. Players have been able to skate and train off-ice in voluntary, small-group workouts since June 8 — nearly three months after hockey was shut down March 12 with 189 regular-season games remaining.
Motorsports
HARVICK WINS NASCAR RACE AT BRICKYARD >> Kevin Harvick turned up the heat on Denny Hamlin late in the Brickyard 400.
And on a cooling track, Hamlin’s worn tires simply gave out.
With the sun setting Sunday over Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hamlin seven laps from victory, he went careening into the first turn wall, and Harvick beat Matt Kenseth off the final restart to pull away.
“We knew he was really close on tires so (crew chief) Rodney (Childers) said on the radio to keep the pressure on him,” Harvick said. “It’s the Brickyard, this is what I grew up wanting to do so to come here and win for the third time is something I couldn’t have dreamed up.”
Harvick won for the 53rd time to move within one of tying Lee Petty for 11th on NASCAR’s career list, and it gave Stewart-Haas Racing a sweep of the weekend following Chase Briscoe’s win Saturday in the Xfinity Series race.
For the third straight race, Harvick and Hamlin were in a league of their own.
Until the stunning twist as the sun was setting over the historic 2.5-mile oval, it looked is if Harvick and Hamlin would sweep the top two spots for the third consecutive race.
How good have they been? Each has won four times, tied for the most in the series.
BOTTAS TAKES F1 OPENER >> Valtteri Bottas won a chaotic season-opening Austrian Grand Prix while Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton finished fourth after getting a late time penalty in Spielberg, Austria.
Bottas took a knee as he received the winner’s trophy and the podium trio held up a black T-shirt with “End Racism” written on it.
The race was interrupted three times by a safety car and nine of 20 drivers abandoned, including both Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon — who tried to overtake Hamilton on the outside with 10 laps left, touched wheels and flew off track.
“I dodged a few bullets today,” Bottas said after his eighth career F1 win.
Hamilton was given a five-second time penalty for causing the collision — dropping from second to fourth — having earlier been hit with a three-place grid penalty after an incident in Saturday’s qualifying was reviewed by stewards.
Golf
CHANGE BRINGS VICTORY FOR DE
CHAMBEAU >> Bryson DeChambeau pounded protein shakes and lifted iron to transform his body, adding 40 pounds of mass, and changed his game to put a premium on power. The plan is working.
With jaw-dropping drives and some clutch putts, DeChambeau won the Rocket Mortgage Classic by three strokes for his first victory of the season and sixth overall. He became the first PGA Tour player since 2004 to lead a tournament in driving distance, along with shots gained off the tee and putting.
“This is a little emotional for me because I did do something a little different,” the 26-year-old DeChambeau said. “I changed my body, changed my mindset in the game and I was able to accomplish a win while playing a completely different style of golf. And, it’s pretty amazing to see that. I hope it’s an inspiration to a lot of people.”
DeChambeau shot a 7-under 65 at Detroit Golf Club, birdieing four of the first seven holes and closing with three straight. He finished at a career-best 23-under 265.
Matthew Wolff (71) was second. He started the day with a three-shot lead and hurt his chances with five bogeys over his first 10 holes. Kevin Kisner (66) finished another stroke back as part of a relatively weak field that continued to trend of exceptional play since the PGA Tour restarted.
“The level of play on tour in these first four weeks has been incredible, cuts at 4 and 5 under every week,” Kisner said.
With a strong finish, DeChambeau removed all doubt that he would win the second Rocket Mortgage Classic.
He made a 30-foot birdie putt at No. 16, which he said was his shot of the day. He also had a short putt for birdie on the next hole. And finally, he uncorked a 367-yard drive to set up another short putt at 18.
UFC
MASVIDAL JUMPS IN TO FACE CHAMP USMAN >> Kamaru Usman will meet Jorge Masvidal for the UFC welterweight title next weekend in Abu Dhabi, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported.
At UFC 251 on Saturday, Masvidal will replace Gilbert Burns, who withdrew Friday after reportedly testing positive for COVID-19.
Masvidal and Usman are longtime rivals whose feud boiled over in a clash on radio row before the Super Bowl in February.
Masvidal (35-13) has won three straight fights, most recently against Nate Diaz at UFC 244 in November.
UFC 251 has two other title fights on the docket — Alexander Volkanovski facing Max Holloway for the featherweight title and Petr Yan battling Jose Aldo for the bantamweight belt.
Soccer
RAPIDS TRIP TO MLS TOURNAMENT DELAYED >> The Colorado Rapids delayed their trip to Florida after the club was notified of a pair of presumptive positive tests for the coronavirus.
The Rapids announced that they tentatively plan to fly Tuesday, pending lab results as well as consultation with MLS medical officials.
Colorado is slated to begin play in the MLS is Back Tournament on Sunday against Real Salt Lake.
NEW MEASURE ALLOWS FOR CHAMPI
ONS LEAGUE GAME >> Manchester City can host Real Madrid in the second leg of their last-16 match in the Champions League next month after the British government announced selected sports stars would be exempt from quarantine requirements when competing in the country.
New measures announced by Britain’s culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, allow events like Formula One, international soccer, golf and snooker events to take place in Britain.