Wisconsin coach Chryst stays quiet on QB’s status
Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst isn’t discussing quarterback Graham Mertz’s status following reports that the redshirt freshman has tested positive for COVID-19.
“I will not, cannot and should not therefore comment about anything dealing with our testing and coronavirus,” Chryst said Monday.
Chryst did say he was confident the ninth-ranked Badgers’ game Saturday at Nebraska (0-1) would go on as scheduled.
The Milwaukee Journal- Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal both reported that Mertz had tested positive. The Journal-Sentinel reported Mertz’s positive test came Saturday, one day after the Badgers’ 45-7 seasonopening home victory over Illinois.
Both papers reported that Mertz would be undergoing a second test to determine if the first result was a false positive.
Big Ten protocols say that athletes who test positive through point- ofcontact daily testing must take a polymerase chain reaction test to confirm the first result. If that second test confirms a positive result, the athlete can’t play again for at least 21 days.
Mertz made his first career start Friday and set a school record for completion percentage and matched a school record for touchdown passes in a game with five. He went 20 of 21 for 248 yards.
START TIMES ANNOUNCED FOR CAL, STANFORD SEASON OPENERS >> The Pac-12 Conference announced start times Monday for football season openers on Nov. 7. Stanford’s game at Oregon will kick off at 4:30 p.m. and be shown on ABC. Cal will play host to Washington at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Other games that day are: Arizona State at USC, 9 a.m., Fox; Arizona at Utah, 1 p.m., ESPNU; UCLA at Colorado, 4 p.m., ESPN2; Washington State at Oregon State, 7:30 p.m., FS1.
UNLV FOOTBALL WILL BE FIRST WITH FANS AT RAIDERS’ STADIUM >> Fans of UNLV football will be the first to attend a game at the home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders after the university’s plan to allow a limited number of spectators was approved by the Southern Nevada Health District and Nevada’s department of Business & Industry.
The Rebels are scheduled to host in-state rival Nevada at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday. It will be the first game played before fans at the new stadium since the Raiders have decided to play their inaugural season in Vegas before empty seats amid the pandemic.
UNLV is limited to 3% of the stadium’s capacity, about 2,000 spectators.
Coronavirus
LAKERS, DODGERS FANS HELPING DRIVE UPTICK IN L.A. CASES >> The success of the Los Angeles Lakers and Dodgers are bringing fans together in the L. A. area and that may be helping drive an uptick in coronavirus cases, Los Angeles County’s top health official said.
The Lakers won the NBA championship two weeks ago and the Dodgers are one game away from winning the World Series. Their run through the playoffs has prompted watch parties and celebrations.
Los Angeles County is the nation’s largest, with 10 million residents, and positive cases there increased this month from an average of 940 per day to nearly 1,200 last week, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.
She praised fans’ “incredible spirit,” but “the downside of this is that during a pandemic some of the things we’ve done in the past just don’t make sense.”
Motorsports
NASCAR’S CUP PLAYOFF AT WET TEXAS TRACK PUT ON HOLD >> The NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Texas was pushed back yet another day without drivers completing any more laps Monday. Eight hours after the race was scheduled to resume on a misty day in Fort Worth, NASCAR postponed it and decided to try again today. Only 52 of the 334 laps were completed Sunday before the race was stopped.
NHL
VETERAN DALEY RETIRES, JOINS PENGUINS FRONT OFFICE >> Trevor Daley’s steadying presence on the blue line helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. The team hopes Daley can make the same impact in a different capacity
as a hockey operations adviser.
The 37-year- old Daley announced his retirement after 16 seasons in conjunction with his decision to begin his post-playing career by returning to the Penguins. The team said Daley will assist in player evaluations at both the NHL and minor league levels and help the coaching staff during games.
Men’s college basketball
GONZAGA PICKED TO WIN NINTH STRAIGHT WCC CHAMPIONSHIP >> Gonzaga (31-2, 15-1 WCC in 201920) is once again the preseason favorite to win its ninth straight West Coast Conference regular season title in the annual poll of the WCC’s 10 head coaches. The Bulldogs received the maximum nine first place votes and 81 points.
Saint Mary’s (26- 8, 11- 5) is predicted to finish third, behind BYU (24-8, 13-3).
USF (22-12, 9-7) was picked fifth, while Santa Clara (20-13, 6-10)was picked sixth.
Golf
WOODS: CHAMPIONS DINNER AT MASTERS TO BE SERVED >> Tiger Woods said the traditional Masters dinner will go on during tournament week, despite the upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It’s the defending Masters winner’s pleasure to choose the menu for the Champions Dinner, and Woods won in April 2019.
The tournament was postponed to November because of the virus.
Woods said the dinner will be held Nov. 10, two days before the first round of the tournament at Augusta National. He said the dinner will be served in a different area of the clubhouse, however, where social distancing will be easier.