Update on the latest sports
APMLB-NEWS
Rangers in line to be first team back to full capacity
UNDATED (AP) — The Texas Rangers could have a full house for their home opener next month after opening their new 40,518-seat stadium without fans in the stands for their games last season.
If that happens, the Rangers could be the first team in Major League Baseball or any major U.S.-based sports league to have a full-capacity crowd since the coronavirus pandemic started rapidly shutting down sports a year ago this week.
As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s order took effect Wednesday allowing businesses in the state to operate at 100% capacity, the Rangers president of business operations and CEO, Neil Leibman, said the team hopes to be at that for the April 5 opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Local officials would be able to impose “mitigation strategies,” such as reduced capacity, if virus hospitalizations exceed 15% of all hospital capacity in their region over certain periods.
The Rangers will still require fans to wear masks for games, unless they are actively eating and drinking at their seats, as was the case for postseason MLB games played at their $1.2 billion stadium last October.
In other MLB news:
— The Cincinnati Reds say star first baseman Joey Votto is out for an indefinite period after testing positive for COVID-19 at spring training. The Reds put Votto on the injured list and he gave the team permission to announce he had tested positive. The 36-year-old Votto has played in four spring training games, going 4 for 9 at the plate. Last season he hit .226 in 54 games, with 11 home runs and 22 RBIs.
— Houston Astros top prospect right-hander Forrest Whitley will have Tommy John surgery. Manager Dusty Baker says Whitley was diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on Sunday after experiencing discomfort during a live batting practice session last week. He received a second opinion before opting for the surgery this week.
— Washington Nationals pitcher Jon Lester says he knew something was wrong because he felt too sluggish last season during games and even between games while he was with the Chicago Cubs. It turned out the left-hander needed surgery to remove one of his parathyroid glands. He had the procedure last week and now says he already senses a difference in his energy levels.
— Blake Cullen, an executive for the Chicago Cubs and the National League who went on to own minor league hockey, baseball and soccer teams, has died. Cullen was the Cubs’ traveling secretary from 1965-75 and the National League’s administrator until 1986. He spent a year as owner of the Daytona Beach Admirals of the Class A Florida State League, founded the Hampton Admirals of the East Coast Hockey League and owned the Daytona Beach Speed Kings of the Eastern Indoor Soccer League. Cullen was 85.
NFL-NEWS
NFL sets salary cap at $182.5 million, down 8% from 2020
UNDATED (AP) — The NFL’s salary cap will be $182.5 million per team in the upcoming season, a drop of 8% from 2020.
The league’s loss of revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic caused the first decrease in the cap since 2011, which followed an uncapped season. Free agency begins next Wednesday, though the “legal tampering” period starts Monday. The NFL is close to agreement on extensions of its broadcast contracts, but those deals won’t affect the 2021 season.
Last summer, the players’ union and league agreed to a cap minimum of $175 million, but that number jumped by $5 million in February and was set at $182.5 million on Wednesday. Now the scrambling begins for a number of teams that are significantly over the cap.
In other NFL news:
— The Buffalo Bills have released receiver John Brown and defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson in moves made to free up much-needed space under the newly announced salary cap. Brown had one year remaining on a three-year, $27 million contract he signed in free agency. Jefferson had one year left on the two-year, $13.5 million contract he signed in joining the Bills last offseason.
— The Carolina Panthers have restructured the contracts of running back Christian McCaffrey and linebacker Shaq Thompson, freeing up an additional $11 million in salary-cap space. The moves leave the Panthers about $30 million under the cap, but the team has $17 million of that pegged to sign draft picks and to have on hand for the start of the season in case additional moves need to be made.
— The New York Giants have released starting guard Kevin Zeitler on Wednesday, a day after franchising defensive lineman Leonard Williams in a move that will cost the team at least $19.3 million. Zeitler, who turned 31 Monday, started all 31 games in which he played the past two seasons, including all 16 last year. He had started 85 straight games before missing a start Dec. 15, 2019 with an ankle injury. Zeitler was scheduled to make $12 million and have a cap hit of $14.2 million in 2021.
— The Cincinnati Bengals have signed backup quarterback Brandon Allen to a one-year contract. Allen, who was signed by the team as a free agent in August, ended up starting five games last season after Joe Burrow suffered a knee injury. Allen completed 90 of 142 passes for 925 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions.
— Broncos running back Melvin Gordon will likely avoid NFL discipline after his drunken driving charge was dismissed and he pleaded guilty in Denver County Court to lesser charges of excessive speeding and reckless driving. Gordon was arrested Oct. 13 in downtown Denver when he was clocked going 71 mph in a 35 mph zone. He was cited for speeding and charged with DUI. Gordon is entering the second season of the two-year, $16 million free agent contract he signed a year ago.
COLLEGE BASETBALL-TOURNAMENTS
Boeheim scores 27, hits 6 of Syracuse’s 14 3s in ACC tourney
UNDATED (AP) — Buddy Boeheim scored 27 points with a season-high six of Syracuse’s 14 3-pointers, and the Orange beat North Carolina State 89-68 in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Syracuse will face top-seed, and No. 16 Virginia on Thursday in the quarterfinals. The Cavaliers won their only regular-season meeting, hitting 14 3-pointers en route to a 81-58 victory on Jan. 25.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-LONG FIRED
AP source: Kansas AD Jeff Long fired after Les Miles debacle
UNDATED (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that Kansas has fired athletic director Jeff Long, less than two days after mutually parting with Les Miles amid sexual allegations dating to the football coach’s time at LSU.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school had yet to announce the firing. Kurt Watson will serve as the interim athletic director as the school begins searching for both a new AD and new football coach.
Long’s dismissal came one day after he had vowed to lead the search for Miles’s successor, a move that drew a significant amount of backlash from the Kansas alumni base. It was Long who had hired Miles, his friend of more than 30 years, despite question marks in the coach’s background that ultimately led to his firing Monday night.
