
NHL players had until 5 p.m. Monday to opt out of the NHL’s return to play schedule, and just a small number chose to do so.

Dan Snyder and Washington have officially acquiesced and confirmed Monday a new name for the franchise is coming. Over the weekend, the NFL asked teams to begin scrubbing "Redskins" from their platforms.

Westbrook tested positive before the Rockets left for Orlando and did not travel with the team.

NEW YORK — The NHL says 30 players tested positive for COVID-19 in testing during Phase 2 of the league's return-to-play plan, with another 13 testing positive outside of the league's protocol.The league said in a statement Monday that over 600 players reported to their club's training facilities for Phase 2 — which began June 8 and allowed players to train in small groups at their teams' facilities — and 4,934 COVID-19 tests were administered to that group.Phase 3 of the plan, the opening of training camps, started Monday.The NHL said players who tested positive were or are currently self-isolated and following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Health Canada protocols.Information on the identity of the players or their teams is not being provided by the league.The league suspended its season March 12 due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.The NHL is scheduled to resume play Aug. 1 in Edmonton and Toronto.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2020.The Canadian Press

It didn't seem possible the MLS is Back Tournament could start any worse for Toronto FC after its first match was postponed twice due to COVID-19 concerns.But a late collapse, with 10-man D.C. United scoring the tying goal in stoppage time, proved different as Toronto had to settle for an unsatisfying 2-2 tie when the teams finally took the field Monday morning at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex."We're angry with ourselves, we're frustrated," sad Toronto captain Michael Bradley. "For a team that wants to be as good as we do and for a team that holds ourselves to the standards that we do, there's no way that you should let a team like that back in the game today.""We were in position to win the game, we should have won the game and we collapsed," echoed Toronto coach Greg Vanney.Ayo Akinola, in a rare start, scored twice in the first half to give Toronto a 2-0 lead.D.C. United played the second half down a man after midfielder Junior Moreno received a second yellow for going through the back of Marky Delgado in first-half stoppage time.Toronto used its man advantage in the second half, stroking the ball around the field, and seemed cruising to a commanding win until the bottom fell out.It started in the 84th minute when D.C. United scored against the run of play.Substitute Federico Higuain, in his D.C. United debut after knee surgery and a decorated career in Columbus, cooly chipped the ball over Quentin Westberg after the heart of a reshuffled Toronto defence was sliced open by a pass from Brazil's Felipe.Defender Frederic Brillant completed the comeback in the 91st minute, heading in the tying goal from a Felipe free kick.Akinola came close to restoring the Toronto lead in the 96th minute but Bill Hamid got a hand to his header."Overall, just in general, a gutsy performance from what I think is a mentally tough group," said D.C. coach Ben Olsen. "It has not been an easy 10, 11 days since we got here. A lot of moving parts, a lot of cancellations and games being moved. So to get something out of that game, I think, says a lot about our group."Yes we can get better. But this is a marathon and the trick at these tournaments is to keep pushing and getting better throughout the tournament."Vanney shuffled three-quarters of his backline in the second half, changes he said were due to physical issues he did not want to exacerbate in the Florida heat and humidity.Fullback Justin Morrow came off at halftime after experiencing some Achilles tendinitis. Centre backs Omar Gonzalez and Chris Mavinga were replaced in the 64th minute after both started cramping.Replacement centre backs Eriq Zavalata and Laurent Ciman were victimized on both goals.On the first, D.C. could have driven a fleet of Mack trucks down the centre of the pitch without hitting anything after a Ciman giveaway at midfield triggered the counter-attack.Substitute Richie Laryea then gave away an unnecessary free kick just inside the Toronto half that led to the tying goal. Steven Birnbaum rose high to beat Zavaleta, who protested he had been fouled, and sent the ball to Brillant, who got between Bradley and Ciman to head the ball home.Toronto outshot D.C. United 18-8 (7-5 in shots on target) and had 66.4 per cent possession — helped by its second-half numerical advantage.There was some bad blood after the final whistle of a game that saw some ugly tackles. Bradley said some of it seemed to come from D.C. players blaming them for the match postponements.The two teams were originally scheduled to meet Friday night but that was pushed back to Sunday due to Toronto's late arrival (July 6), caused by the need for additional COVID-19 testing after a member of the travelling part reported symptoms.Sunday's game was called off minutes before the 9 a.m. ET kickoff in the wake of a positive test for a D.C. United player and an inconclusive test for a Toronto player.All other players tested negative in a round of new testing. The two players in question, neither of which were identified by their clubs, were isolated pending receipt of a second negative test. The tournament, which marks the league's first action since it shut down March 12 due to the global pandemic, has already lost FC Dallas and Nashville SC due to a rash of positive COVID-19 tests.The game finally kicked off at 9:08 a.m. in 28 C heat. Both teams arrived wearing masks and Black Lives Matter T-shirts, taking a knee before kickoff.There was no evidence of rust as Toronto pressed D.C. and attacked on multiple fronts despite the absence of star striker Jozy Altidore.Akinola scored in the 12th minute, beating one defender and then splitting two more before hammering in a right-footed shot from the edge of the box. The goal came after Hamid's goal kick went straight to Bradley in the D.C. end, with an Alejandro Pozuelo pass eventually finding Akinola.The 20-year-old scored again in the 44th minute after Pozuelo beat Brillant to the ball following an 11-pass Toronto sequence. Pozuelo floated the ball to the far post where an unmarked Akinola tapped it in.Akinola came into the match with one goal in 12 career MLS appearances (including two starts) spread over three seasons. It was his first MLS game action since June 29, 2019 — and first start since May 8, 2019.Westberg made a remarkable one-handed save to stop Ola Kamara's header from point-blank range in first-half stoppage time.On the plus side, Argentine newcomer Pablo Piatti looked sharp in his Toronto debut, showing a good rapport with Pozuelo and Brazil's Auro on the right flank. Akinola also made the most of his opportunity.And Bradley, in his first outing since injuring his ankle in the Nov. 10 MLS Cup final, was a force in midfield."I thought he was fantastic," said Vanney.Toronto has not lost a regular-season game since Aug. 3, 2019, when it was beaten 2-0 by the New York Red Bulls. Vanney's team has gone 5-0-8 since.Toronto's next Group C game is Thursday against the Montreal Impact, who lost their opener 1-0 to the New England Revolution last Thursday.The three group games count in the regular-season standings with Toronto now at 1-0-2 and D.C. United at 1-1-1.Altidore did not make the matchday 23. He was late joining the team after spending the lockdown at his Florida home and had to train on his own while fulfilling quarantine.Canadian midfielder Jonathan Osorio didn't dress due to a quad strain.Vanney said Altidore could get some minutes against Montreal with the third game targeted for Osorio.Toronto knocked D.C. United out of the playoffs the last time they met, scoring four goals in extra time in a 5-1 first-round win in October. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2020.The Canadian Press

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays will honour Tony Fernandez by wearing a uniform patch with the former infielder's longtime No. 1 this season.The club's career leader in games played, hits and triples, Fernandez died on Feb. 16 at age 57.The 1993 World Series winner and five-time all-star had battled kidney problems for several years. He was first hospitalized with polycystic kidney disease in 2017.Signed by the Blue Jays in 1979, the Dominican native played 12 seasons over four stints with the club. Fernandez hit .333 with nine runs batted in during the Blue Jays' 1993 six-game World Series win over the Philadelphia Phillies.Fernandez's name was placed on the Blue Jays' Level of Excellence at Rogers Centre in 2001."There are few players in the game who can impact a team and a fan base the way Tony did in Toronto," Blue Jays president/CEO Mark Shapiro said in a statement."Beyond his impressive career numbers, achievements, and accolades, Tony resonated with baseball fans because of how he played the game and conducted himself as a teammate. To wear a patch in his memory is to honour his exceptional life on behalf of Blue Jays fans across the country."This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2020.The Canadian Press

Manchester City are clear to play in the Champions League next season, after the two-year ban handed down by UEFA was lifted by an independent panel.

Bruno Caboclo needs to restart the quarantine process, and will miss eight days.

The two sides reportedly differ on the length of the contract as the deadline to sign a multi-year deal quickly approaches.

Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in "Madden," which shouldn't come as a surprise.

Washington Mystics star Elena Delle Donne’s request to opt out of the season over coronavirus concerns related to her Lyme disease was denied on Monday.

Well-travelled Milwaukee Brewers first baseman-outfielder Logan Morrison figures it will be easy for him to adjust to games without spectators this season.“I played for the Rays and the Marlins, so I’m used to it,” Morrison said.The Brewers and other major league teams worked out again Monday in mostly empty ballparks, mindful the long-awaited start to the season is barely a week away and fans won't be coming. So teams are trying as best they can to ramp up the competitiveness of summer camps conducted in isolation.Several teams announced upcoming exhibition games, including Houston at Kansas City, Kansas City at St. Louis, and Cleveland against Pittsburgh.The Brewers will play intrasquad games for several nights starting Tuesday and are dubbing them the Blue and Gold World Series, a nod to manager Craig Counsell's alma mater, Notre Dame. Catcher Omar Narvaez and outfielder Avisail Garcia will draft teams for matchups designed to approximate the intensity of regular-season games.“It’s important for the players to understand the dial can’t go from one to 10, from camp to opening day," Counsell said. “That’s an important part of how we’re trying to prepare them.”Minnesota Twins centre fielder Byron Buxton was going all-out in an intrasquad game at Target Field when he suffered an injury. The oft-injured Buxton was tracking a long fly by Nelson Cruz when he hurt his left leg, and he had to be carted off the field.Meanwhile, the virus continued to complicate preparations. St. Louis Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks opted out of playing this season, citing underlying health concerns. He was diagnosed in high school with Type 1 diabetes.Manager David Ross and five other undisclosed tier one individuals sat out a Chicago Cubs workout as a precaution while awaiting virus test results. Tier one includes players, coaches, physicians and others.Cubs catcher Willson Contreras complimented the protective measures being taken by the team and MLB.“I don’t think that I’m at risk inside the ballpark," Contreras said. "Walking the streets, that’s the one place that I don’t feel safe.”Los Angeles Angels left-hander Patrick Sandoval rejoined the team after contracting the virus last month. The Twins said first baseman Miguel Sanó and backup catcher Willians Astudillo, who tested positive when they arrived at camp, have been eager to return.“Those guys are itching to get back,” Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. “They make the phone call every day after they get a new test, and they want to know, ‘Is it negative yet? Can I come back?’ And that’s been a little challenging and frustrating for them.”In Miami, perhaps the pandemic’s epicenter, the Marlins hope their players can minimize the risk away from the ballpark by wearing masks and avoiding crowds.“We’ve made it really clear to our guys how important it is, not only for themselves but the organization, their teammates, their teammates’ families,” manager Don Mattingly said. “For me, every individual in the South Florida area should have the same mindset. It’s a serious situation. We’re taking it seriously.”The virus is a wild card in trying to plan the roster, Mattingly said.“This situation is different from anything we’ve gone through,” he said. “Two days from now, you don’t know what happens to your club. You have to continue to be flexible in your thinking and your options. We’re trying to get everybody ready, so everybody who is here is an option.”The Washington Nationals placed pitchers Wander Suero and Roenis Elias on the injured list. No reasons were given.Nationals ace Max Scherzer struck out nine in four innings in an intrasquad game.SIDELINEDBaltimore Orioles left-hander Ty Blach will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery, and shortstop Richie Martin will have an operation on his right wrist that will sideline him for two to three months.Each procedure is scheduled for Wednesday.“It’s awful for both of them,” manager Brandon Hyde said.SIGH OF RELIEFBraves rookie outfielder Cristian Pache left the team’s first intrasquad game after he appeared to hurt his right foot or ankle while trying to steal second base. After the game, manager Brian Snitker said Pache avoided a serious injury.Atlanta right-hander Mike Soroka gave up one run in four innings.POSTPONEDThe St. Louis Cardinals' Hall of Fame induction ceremony has been postponed because of the virus. This year's class of Bill White, John Tudor and Tommy Herr will be enshrined along with next year's class on August 21, 2021.REMEMBEREDThe Toronto Blue Jays will honour the late Tony Fernandez by wearing a patch with his No. 1 on the left sleeve of their jerseys.Fernandez is the Blue Jays’ career leader in games (1,450), hits (1,583) and triples (72). He spent 12 seasons with Toronto in four stints and had a .288 batting average and 2,276 hits over 17 big league seasons. Fernandez also played for San Diego, the Mets and Yankees, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Milwaukee.Fernandez had nine RBIs in Toronto’s six-game win over Philadelphia in the 1993 World Series. He had kidney problems and died Feb. 16 at age 57.___AP Sports Writers Greg Beacham, Dave Campbell, Jay Cohen, David Ginsburg, Steve Megargee and Kristie Rieken contributed to this report.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports___Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Steve_WineSteven Wine, The Associated Press

Yahoo Sports' Scott Pianowski and Fred Zinkie discuss if it's worth drafting injured players for the upcoming 60-game season. Subscribe to the Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Mike Golic has been holding down the ESPN Radio morning slot since 2000, when "Mike & Mike in the Morning" debuted.

Victor Oladipo appears to be reconsidering his priorities with NBA basketball looming.

Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano's words carry tremendous weight with his colleagues in the clean and sanitized locker-room at the Scotiabank Saddledome.In fact, the 36-year-old Norris Trophy winner's advice is salient to players of all 24 clubs competing in this year's expanded playoff competition.During training camp, players are free to do what they want when they leave the rink. There is no bubble, as there will be come July 26 when the teams report to their respective hub cities in Edmonton and Toronto.As such, Giordano figures it best to proceed with the highest level of caution in the midst of a global pandemic."If you do something or go somewhere you're not supposed to be and put yourself at risk, you could be risking your whole team or the start of all this," Giordano said Monday. "Right now, you have to be smart."I know there are certain things guys have to do and obligations. But for the most part, the message – for me and all the other guys, we all get it – is to stay home and stay safe as much as possible. Let's make sure we get to the hub city with our entire team healthy."WATCH | How safe are hub city bubbles?NHL training camps officially opened on Monday, four months and one day after the league shut down due to the spread of the coronavirus.In Pittsburgh, the Penguins held out nine players who might have had secondary exposure to a person who tested positive for COVID-19. In Toronto, star forward Auston Matthews confirmed he tested positive last month.On the first day of training camp, most media questions normally centre around improving the power play or penalty kill.This time around, the majority of queries focused on the emotions and logistical challenges of playing professional hockey during a pandemic.Maurice ready for summer hockey"It's a good idea because I'm a hockey fan and I'm going nuts," Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice said of summer hockey. "It's the middle of July, I didn't get to see playoffs. I want to see it."The NHL is banking on the fact he isn't the only one."We have a responsibility, first to our health, I get that, but also we're entertainers, right?" Maurice asked. "People want to watch hockey, they want to see it, so that's our job, and we have a responsibility to do our job. So we're ready to play."Not everyone is ready to play. As of Monday afternoon, six players had exercised their right to sit out: Karl Alzner (Montreal), Mike Green (Edmonton), Travis Hamonic (Calgary), Sven Baertschi (Vancouver), Roman Polak (Dallas) and Steven Kampfer (Boston).WATCH | NHL officially announces hub city choices:As a father of four, Edmonton goalie Mike Smith said the decision to play was agonizing."I had some pretty upset kids when I told them I was going to Edmonton and they were staying back." Smith said. "The uncertainty of not knowing when you're going to see them is probably the hardest thing."But like so many others, Smith, 38, landed on the potential benefits outweighing the risks."Obviously, a hard decision but one that ultimately came down to whether I wanted to keep my career going. I want to play the game that I love for as long as I can."The Oilers open the Stanley Cup Qualifiers Aug. 1 against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Jets and Flames meet that same day in Edmonton."If you can go in with a positive frame of mind – if you can go in and look at this as a challenge that's exciting, have a little fun with this, get a little wired up for it – it could be a great thing," Maurice said. "I don't even know what those hardships are yet, to be honest with you. I know they're coming, but I haven't seen it yet."All of the difficulties that you're going to have to win the Stanley Cup this year will be the best part of the memories."

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Houston's Russell Westbrook hasn't made it to the NBA restart yet.The coronavirus did — but health protocols seemed to work as the league and its players hoped they would.On a day of troubling news for the league — Westbrook revealing that he has tested positive for the virus and two other players facing 10-day quarantines for leaving the league campus perimeter at Walt Disney World — it was also announced that two players tested positive for the virus after arriving in Central Florida last week.But neither of those positive players ever made it out of quarantine, so neither entered the so-called bubble and could mingle freely with other players, coaches and staff. The NBA said both players, neither of whom were identified, “have since left the Campus to isolate at home or in isolation housing.” They could rejoin their teams later.“Our protocols are unbelievable,” said Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, one of the players who helped craft the restart rules. “I think our protocols and our health and safety measures have been top-notch. I think this thing will work perfectly. ... We’re doing everything that we can possibly do to make sure that we’re healthy, we’re safe and we’re in an environment where we can be successful and do our jobs at a high level.”It’s unclear when Westbrook will arrive. As recently as Sunday, the Rockets believed that Westbrook, NBA scoring leader James Harden and newly re-acquired Luc Mbah a Moute — none of the three travelled 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 social media channels. “I’m currently feeling well, quarantined, and looking forward to rejoining my teammates when I am cleared.”The arrival dates for Harden and Mbah a Moute are murky as well. Neither player has revealed why they aren't at Disney, and Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni would only say that “these are things that people are dealing with.”D'Antoni said Westbrook had taken part in individual workouts when they were permitted back in Houston, but declined to elaborate further on the guard's condition. He also isn't sure when the missing Rockets will arrive.“I did have one year of pre-med," D'Antoni said. “But I don't know when it's going to happen. As soon as protocols get out of the way ... they're all anxious to get here and they're doing what they need to do to stay in shape.“This is not going to set us back. We’re not going to let it set us back, and we’re going to be ready to roll here in the next two, three weeks.”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.“I’m praying for his safety and the same for his family,” Phoenix guard Devin Booker said. “Hopefully he can get healthy and get down here as soon as possible.”The league also said Monday that 19 players newly tested positive since July 1 during in-market testing, meaning tests done before teams began arriving at Disney on July 7. Upon arrival at Disney, 322 players were tested with the two positives.“All we can do is try to stay optimistic about it and positive, and hopefully we can finish this season," said Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, the reigning NBA Finals MVP.Inside the NBA bubble, however, there was optimism that the rules established by the league and the players will work — even though some Disney parks reopened to visitors over the weekend and the MLS restart, also at the campus, has seen two teams leave after a spate of positive tests.“It’s a condition, a virus, that does not discriminate,” Phoenix coach Monty Williams said. “And we’re trying to do everything we can to keep our guys safe.”Those protocols that Lowry spoke of were designed to be taken seriously, and at least two players inside the NBA bubble have already paid a steep price for violating quarantine upon their teams’ respective arrivals last week.Sacramento’s Richaun Holmes revealed Monday that he “briefly and accidentally” crossed the NBA campus line to pick up a food delivery. Under the NBA’s rules of the restart, he now has to spend 10 days in quarantine.Holmes said he had eight days left in quarantine.“I apologize for my actions and look forward to rejoining my teammates for our playoff push,” Holmes wrote.Also Monday, a person with knowledge of the situation said that Houston’s Bruno Caboclo was also serving a 10-day quarantine for crossing the campus line. Like Holmes, Caboclo also had eight days remaining Monday, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Rockets have not announced the sanction.Monday’s developments came on a day where more than 12,000 new cases were confirmed in Florida, now perhaps the hottest of virus hotspots in the U.S. And officials in Houston also called for that city to lock back down as area hospitals strain to accommodate patients sick with COVID-19.Westbrook also offered a word of caution.“Please take this virus seriously,” Westbrook wrote. “Be safe. Mask up!”___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsTim Reynolds, The Associated Press

"We want to be smart about this."

Of course not everyone's on board with Washington's name change, with one of Green's champion teammates included.

MILAN — Two quick second-half goals lifted Inter Milan to a confidence-boosting 3-1 comeback win over Torino in Serie A on Monday.Inter moved into second place in the standings, although its title hopes are slim. League leader Juventus has an eight-point advantage with six matches remaining.“Victories are important to raise morale and create a sense of certainty, especially for the players,” Inter coach Antonio Conte said. “The work that we’re doing at the minute is important and it’s inevitable that every win acts as a reward for our efforts."When we don’t get the win, it’s really frustrating, especially because recently we’ve faced punishments that’s out of proportion with the mistakes that we make. But we’re on the right path.”Torino remained five points above the relegation zone. It has a crucial match against direct rival Genoa on Thursday.“We conceded two goals which I think were entirely avoidable and that made us lose a match that could have turned out differently,” Torino coach Moreno Longo said.“The team has to fight on every field and in every match to win the points we need for survival, nothing changes after this match.”Ashley Young and Diego Godín scored shortly after the break after a howler from Nerazzurri goalkeeper Samir Handanovic gifted Andrea Belotti the opener. Lautaro Martínez all but sealed the match.Inter needed a win after two disappointing results. But it was Torino which took the lead in the 17th minute when Handanovic uncharacteristically spilled a corner, allowing Belotti the simplest of tap-ins.“Unfortunately at the moment we're paying dearly for every little mistake,” Conte said. "It’s a shame that today it was our captain, Handanovic, who rarely makes an error. But this is typical of how things have been going.”Inter turned it around after the break as Martínez knocked down a ball for Young to fire in from close range, and three minutes later Godin headed in off the bar.Inter extended its advantage in the 61st when Martínez’s shot took a deflection to loop over Torino goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.Belotti hit the bar moments later.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsDaniella Matar, The Associated Press

With MLB's Home Run Derby canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, we look back on the most memorable home runs of our lifetimes.

The governing bodies running college and university sports in Canada decided back in June to cancel fall sports for this school year, and the move made sense.Without a vaccine for COVID-19, and with schools hesitant to even host in-person classes this September, it's tough to justify varsity sports. Asking students to share living spaces, weight rooms and water bottles during a pandemic is daring them to spread the deadly virus.Last week the Ivy League — which includes Harvard, Princeton and Yale — became the latest U.S.-based circuit to shut down fall sports, a decision that looks more logical as the case count climbs. By Monday afternoon the U.S. had registered more than 3.3 million cases and 135,000 deaths. It doesn't take a Princeton grad to figure out that the virus doesn't care about a football schedule.But the Power-5 conferences and the brand-name programs that compose them are proceeding as if the pandemic will subside in time for kickoff. The Big Ten and Pac 12 have eliminated competitions against non-conference opponents, but the Southeastern and Atlantic Coast Conferences haven't announced plans to adjust fall sports programming.That scenario makes its own kind of sense, given the billions of dollars at stake and the racial disparities at play each college football season. The players are technically amateurs, but college football head coaches all get paid. A lot. Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers made $9.3 million US last season. That salary, like much of major college football's appeal, depends heavily on Black talent. According to the NCAA's diversity database, Black people composed 49 per cent of Division 1 football rosters last season, but just 14 per cent of head coaches.So if you're confused about why a mainly white group of coaches and administrators would encourage a largely Black group of athletes to resume practice even as COVID-19 cases surge in states like Florida and South Carolina, remember that rich decision-makers assume little of the risk. Money motivates the push to salvage college football season this fall, but race underpins all of it.When the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association announced its fall sports shutdown in June, president Nathan McFadden made the priorities plain."This is a difficult, but necessary decision to protect the health and well-being of all our student-athletes," he said in a news release. Contrast McFadden's reaction with Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy's response when asked in April about playing this autumn."They're 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 years old, and they are healthy and they have the ability to fight the virus off," Gundy told Sports Illustrated. "We sequester them and we continue, because we need to run some money through the state of Oklahoma."Gundy, who made $5.13 million last season, is one of a long list of people whose income likely depends on playing college football on a schedule resembling normal. The players don't receive cash, but everyone from the TV networks to stadium concessions workers has a financial stake in proceeding.But Gundy made that statement before the COVID-19 cases piled up at major college football programs. Last month, 23 Clemson players tested positive, as did 37 members of North Carolina's athletic department last week. In late June, more than 30 Louisiana State players were quarantined after a COVID-19 outbreak.Gundy also gave that interview before the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. The 46-year-old died gasping for breath as Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd's death was a seismic societal event, setting off protests worldwide and prompting industries from pro sports to the news media to examine how racism shapes the way they do business.The aftershocks even rattled big-time college football.In mid-June Gundy was photographed wearing a t-shirt bearing the logo One America News, the far-right broadcast network best-known for pro-Donald Trump programming, and for promoting baseless conspiracy theories — like one claiming the novel coronavirus was created in a laboratory — as truth.Pre-George Floyd, Gundy might have gone unchallenged for promoting a network a news expert might charitably describe as dabbling in Trumpist propaganda. But post-George Floyd, with even Washington's NFL team posting on social media in support of Black Lives Matter, the OAN t-shirt couldn't elude scrutiny, and Gundy couldn't dodge consequences."I will not stand for this," tweeted star running back and Sherwood Park, Alta. native Chuba Hubbard. "This is completely insensitive to everything going on in society. I will not be doing anything with Oklahoma State until things CHANGE."That tweet prompted a series of social media posts by former Oklahoma State players alleging Gundy habitually made racist comments, and a videotaped pledge by Gundy to do better by his Black players, even as a school investigation cleared him of racist behaviour.Hubbard challenged his coach in public because, at this point in history, he sensed he could prevail. His stats — he led NCAA's Division 1 with 2,094 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns in 2019 — marked him as Oklahoma State's top player, and the one best equipped to win a public power struggle with Gundy. And a groundswell of activism among Black NCAA athletes this spring lent him momentum. At Florida State, players threatened to boycott after head coach Mike Norvell falsely claimed to have talked one-on-one with all his team's players about the racial reckoning that followed Floyd's death. Football players at the University of Texas pledged to stop helping with recruiting unless the school stopped playing "Eyes of Texas," a 19th century song with racist lyrics, at UT sports events. And at Clemson, current and former football players joined a movement to remove the name of slave owner John C. Calhoun from the university's honours college.We haven't seen a boycott over COVID-19, but we couldn't blame players for looking to opt out given the pandemic's disproportionate effect on communities of colour. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African-Americans are hospitalized with COVID-19 at four times the rate of white people.If football programs offered no-strings-attached COVID-19 testing and health care for students from a high-risk group, we could feel better about summoning Black student-athletes back to campus. But Gundy laid out the game plan back in April. It's about money — Black athletes from working-class backgrounds generate cash to subsidize non-revenue sports, to invest in building a bigger football program, and to fund seven-figure head coach salaries.It's callous enough in neutral times to expect the unpaid labour of Black athletes to power the entire college sports economy. But during a pandemic, it's cruel to expect them to risk their lives.

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom has an idea what life is going to be like living inside the bubble once the NHL begins play again."It's going to suck, but it's worth it," he said.The NHL will stage its Stanley Cup tournament with 24 teams split between hub cities in Edmonton and Toronto. The league has established strict health protocols and guidelines, but players and management understand there are no guarantees when it comes to dealing with COVID-19."There is no question the virus isn't going to go away soon," Vancouver forward Brandon Sutter said. "There is always going to be a risk of people getting it."WATCH | How safe are hub city bubbles?The NBA and Major League Soccer plan to hold tournaments in a single bubble city, but both leagues have experienced issues with players testing positive. MLS has been forced to reschedule games and two teams have withdrawn from the tournament."I think from day one nobody could really predict the future of these things and how they are going to work out," Sutter said. "For us, it's just worry about one day at a time."Things keep changing every day with this [virus] and there are always things that are unpredictable. Right now, we are just preparing to go play and not worry about the worst-case scenario."Canucks general manager Jim Benning said everyone involved will have to be diligent in following the guidelines."I'm hoping we don't have problems once we get into the bubble, that we will be able to play the games and finish this year off," he said.WATCH | NHL officially announces hub city choices:Teams will travel to the hub cities July 26 and the first round of the tournament begins with best-of-five play-in series Aug. 1. The Stanley Cup will be awarded in October.Vancouver was one of 24 NHL teams that opened their training camp on Monday. Concerns about COVID-19 forced the league to pause its season March 12 with 189 games remaining.The Canucks play the Minnesota Wild in one of the opening round series beginning Aug. 2.Team supportive of opt-out(s)Several NBA, MLS and Major League Baseball players have decided not to play this season.In the NHL, 35 players have tested positive for COVID-19 since June 8. At least half a dozen players, including Vancouver's Sven Baertschi, have decided not to play in the tournament.Markstrom understands why those players made their decision."In most cases there is a good reason of family health or your own health," he said. "It's not worth jeopardizing your family or your own health to come and play."Benning said the Canucks support Baertschi's decision."Each player has their own concerns and worries and makes decisions based on their particular circumstance," he said.Canucks captain Bo Horvat returned to Vancouver just one week after his wife gave birth to the couple's first child."You look at things a lot differently, having a kid," Horvat said. "You want the best health and safety for your family. The way they have the bubble set up it is going to be the safest place for all of us."Everybody is going to be tested. That makes me feel a lot better. When it is time to leave, I'll be going back home safe and hopefully COVID free."Benning said the return of sports is important for many people."Sports gives people a diversion," he said. "It's been a tough four months. I think it'll be an opportunity for people to get their minds off everyday life."

A look at what’s happening around European soccer on Tuesday:ENGLANDChelsea can consolidate third place in the Premier League with a victory over already-relegated Norwich. With tough fixtures to come against Liverpool and Wolverhampton, Chelsea might need the victory if it wants to secure a top-four finish and qualify for next season's Champions League. Chelsea is a point ahead of both fourth-placed Leicester and Manchester United, which conceded a stoppage-time goal to draw against Southampton on Monday and stay fifth on goal difference. Manchester City's success in overturning a two-year ban from European competition means teams have to finish in the top four, rather than the top five, to get into the Champions League.PORTUGALPorto can clinch the Portuguese league title if Benfica fails to beat seventh-place Vitória Guimarães at home. Porto, which hosts third-placed Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday, has an eight-point lead over Benfica with three rounds to go. Porto last won the league in 2018. Benfica is the defending Portuguese champion.ITALYAtalanta will be looking to move into second spot in Serie A when it hosts relegation-threatened Brescia in a particularly poignant derby match. The teams are fierce rivals but have been united by tragedy. It was in northern Lombardy’s provinces of Bergamo and Brescia where the coronavirus outbreak erupted in late February. The provinces account for around a quarter of Italy’s 35,000 official COVID-19 deaths. Atalanta is fourth, a point behind Inter Milan and Lazio. Brescia is second to last and nine points from safety.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsThe Associated Press

The SEC plans to wait until late July to make a decision about fall sports, including football.