NCAA takes aim at Confederate flag
The NCAA on Friday expanded its policy banning states with prominent Confederate symbols from hosting its sponsored events, one day after the Southeastern Conference made a similar declaration aimed at the Mississippi state flag.
The current NCAA ban, in place since 2001, applies to what the NCAA calls predetermined sites, such as for men’s basketball tournament games.
Mississippi is the only state currently affected by the policy. The expanded ban — supported by all eight public universities in the state — means that even when sites of NCAA events are determined by performance, as they are in baseball, women’s basketball and softball, Mississippi schools will not be permitted to host.
NHL
FOCUS SHIFTS TO CANADIAN CITIES AS POSSIBLE HUBS » Canada has approved the NHL’s return-to-play proposal that could lead to one or more cities north of the border serving as host sites for the league’s 24team playoff format.
The decision followed
discussions with government health officials, and comes as the league enters the advanced stages of selecting its hub cities — most likely two — from a list of seven in the U.S. and three in Canada, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
MLB
BLUE JAYS, PHILLIES SHUT DOWN FLORIDA CAMPS » The Toronto Blue Jays shut down their spring training complex after a player presented symptoms consistent with COVID-19, the
second big league team to close their Florida camp because of the coronavirus.
The Blue Jays’ announcement came hours after the Philadelphia Phillies shuttered their site after five players and three staff members tested positive for the virus. The Phillies’ camp in Clearwater is about five miles from Toronto’s complex.
The Blue Jays said personnel at their camp have undergone testing. The club said it was following protocols established by its medical team and Major League Baseball.