Rockets’ Westbrook says he tested positive for COVID-19
Russell Westbrook of the Houston Rockets said Monday that he has tested positive for coronavirus, and that he plans to eventually join his team at the restart of the NBA season.
Westbrook made the revelation on social media. As recently as Sunday, the Rockets believed that Westbrook and James Harden — neither of whom traveled with the team to Walt Disney World near Orlando last week — would be with the team in the next few days.
In Westbrook’s case, that now seems most unlikely.
“I tested positive for covid-19 prior to my teams departure to Orlando,” Westbrook wrote on his Instagram page. “I’m currently feeling well, quarantined, and looking forward to rejoining my teammates when I am cleared.”
Westbrook is averaging 27.5 points, eight rebounds and seven assists per game for the Rockets this season. Houston has clinched a playoff spot and resumes its season with the first of eight seeding games on July 31 against Dallas.
Westbrook also offered a word of caution in his post.
“Thank you for all the well wishes and continued support,” he wrote. “Please take this virus seriously. Be safe. Mask up!”
Golf
PGA TOUR EVENTS CONTINUE WITHOUT FANS REST OF SEASON » The PGA Tour’s three playoff events will be played without spectators, closing the door on opportunities for fans to attend Tour events the rest of the season. The Northern Trust, BMW Championship and season-ending Tour Championship, where the FedEx Cup will be awarded, announced Monday that no fans will be allowed as the nation continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.
The Wyndham Championship, which concludes the regular season, also will not have fans on site when it is played Aug. 13-16 in Greensboro, North Carolina. The remaining five events on the season calendar also will not have fans.
Motor sports
STEWART AND EVERNHAM TEAM TO RECREATE IROC SERIES » Remember the old IROC Series, where the best drivers from various disciplines raced each other in equally prepared cars? It ran for 30 seasons before Tony Stewart won its final championship in 2006 and the series quietly went away.
Now Stewart, along with fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham, has teamed with a group of heavyweights to bring an all-star circuit back in 2021. The Superstar Racing Experience plans a sixrace, short-track series to air in prime time on CBS in a Saturday night summer spectacular.
SRX envisions fields of 12 drivers competing on famed short tracks across the country in cars prepared by Evernham, the architect of Jeff Gordon’s early career and a noted car designer.