Update on the latest sports
APVIRUS OUTBREAK-NBA
More Spurs games canceled amid outbreak
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) — The NBA says the San Antonio Spurs are dealing with a coronavirus outbreak among four players and that means the Spurs won’t play until the middle of next week at the earliest.
The NBA has postponed five more games: the next three for the Spurs — at Cleveland on Wednesday, at New York on Saturday and at Indiana on Monday — as well as the next two for the Charlotte Hornets while contact tracing is completed. The Hornets were scheduled to play host to Chicago on Wednesday and Denver on Friday.
In other virus-related developments in the NBA:
— The mayor of Atlanta is raising concerns about the notion of fans coming to the city for the NBA All-Star Game and skills competitions on March 7. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says, “People should not travel to Atlanta to party.”
— The Milwaukee Bucks will start having a limited number of spectators at their home games beginning Tuesday night against the Toronto Raptors. Bucks officials are phasing in the process by having only players’ families and invited guests at their next three games. They’ll have 250 spectators Tuesday, 500 for Thursday’s game with Toronto and 750 for Friday’s game with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Members of the general public will be allowed to attend games starting Sunday when the Bucks face the Sacramento Kings.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Boston College-Georgia Tech game postponed
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston College men’s basketball game at Georgia Tech scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed. No makeup date has been announced.
The Atlantic Coast Conference said the postponement was due to the continued quarantines and contact tracing within the Boston College program.
The postponement delays the debut of Scott Spinelli as the Eagles’ interim coach. The school fired coach Jim Christian on Monday. Athletic director Pat Kraft said Spinelli, who had been an assistant, will coach the remainder of the season. Boston College is 3-13 overall and 1-9 in the ACC.
In other college basketball virus matters:
—No. 2 Baylor is set to resume the season Feb. 23 at home against Iowa State following a six-game hiatus that started because of COVID-19 protocols. The Big 12 says Saturday’s home game against Oklahoma State was postponed. The conference didn’t specify whether the postponement was over COVID-19 issues or winter weather affecting Texas.
WINTER WEATHER-SPORTS
Winter weather in Texas impacts pro, college sports
DALLAS (AP) — Extreme cold in Texas is impacting pro sports in Dallas and several college basketball games.
The NBA game between Dallas and Detroit has been postponed after a second consecutive NHL contest was called off. The state is dealing with icy conditions for travel and widespread power outages. The Mavericks and Pistons were supposed to play Wednesday. The Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators had games called off Monday and Tuesday. The Big 12 has been forced to shuffle several men’s and women’s college basketball games.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Stars postpone second game
DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars have postponed a second consecutive game against the Nashville Predators after further consultation with city officials over widespread power outages attributed to extreme winter weather. The club made the latest decision almost 12 hours before the game scheduled for Tuesday night. The postponement of Monday night’s game wasn’t announced until less than an hour before puck drop. The Stars had been getting criticized on social media about going forward with Monday’s game as tens of thousands of Dallas-area residents went most of the day without power in frigid temperatures.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NHL
More Flyers practice
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Flyers returned to practice in limited quantities after a weeklong shutdown because of the virus. The Flyers had 16 players on the ice for practice. General manager Chuck Fletcher expects eight more to be cleared for practice Wednesday. Philadelphia has seven players on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list.
MLB-PHILLIES-HERRERA
Herrera gets an invite to spring training
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Former All-Star center fielder Odubel Herrera was among 31 non-roster players the Philadelphia Phillies have invited to spring training.
Herrera, who will earn $10 million this season, hasn’t played for the Phillies since 2019 when he was suspended under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. The charges against Herrera were dismissed but he was removed from the team’s 40-man roster last year and wasn’t part of the 60-player pool for the shortened season. He will report to the team’s minor league mini-camp. Catcher Jeff Mathis signed a minor league deal with the Phillies on Tuesday and will join the major league camp.
Elsewhere in the majors:
—A five-person panel of Major League Baseball players, coaches and executives discussed ways to get more Black people involved at all levels of the sport. The conversation was streamed on MLB.com. The group talked about ways to make current Black MLB players more visible in communities. They also talked about ways to make MLB more diverse at the sport’s upper levels. The number of Black players in MLB has been dwindling for years, hovering around 8% of the league in recent seasons.
— The New York Mets have sent right-hander Corey Oswalt to te minors and released reliever Brad Brach. Oswalt cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Syracuse. Brach, a 34-year-old right-hander who was designated for assignment last week, is guaranteed a salary of just over $2 million this year. The 27-year-old Oswalt will attend major league spring training as a non-roster player.
—The Pittsburgh Pirates are closing in on a one-year deal with left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson. The deal, which won’t be complete until Anderson passes a physical, is worth $2.5 million. The 31-year-old Anderson went 4-3 with a 4.37 ERA last season while pitching for San Francisco.
—The Texas Rangers have acquired right-hander Josh Sborz from the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league pitcher Jhan Zambrano. The trade was announced five days after the Dodgers designated Sborz for assignment while signing free agent ace Trevor Bauer. The Rangers designated right-hander Jimmy Herget for assignment. The 27-year-old Sborz made four relief appearances over four stints with the Dodgers in 2020.
— Bullpen coach Matt Wise will serve as the Los Angeles Angels’ interim pitching coach. He replaces Mickey Callaway, who is being investigated by Major League Baseball over allegations of inappropriate behavior toward several women who work in sports media. New Angels executive Dom Chiti will fill in as Manager Joe Maddon’s bullpen coach while the investigation of Callaway is concluded.
—The Indians have signed veteran reliever Blake Parker to a minor league contract. Parker’s deal includes an invitation to training camp in Arizona, where the Indians will try to upgrade their relief corps to complement a solid starting staff. The 35-year-old Parker spent the past two seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. In 14 games last season, the right-hander went 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA. He has pitched for five teams over eight seasons.
— The Atlanta Braves beat Dansby Swanson in salary arbitration, and the shortstop will earn $6 million rather than his request for $6.7 million. The 27-year-old Swanson hit .274 with 10 homers and 35 RBIs last season in an NL-high 237 at-bats.
—The Detroit Tigers are considering using a six-man rotation for at least some of this season as they return to a normal-length schedule. General manager Al Avila spoke with reporters Tuesday, the day before Detroit’s first workout for pitchers and catchers. Last year’s abbreviated schedule lightened the workload for pitchers throughout baseball.
NFL-DOLPHINS-SANDERS
Dolphins kicker signs extension
MIAMI (AP) — Miami Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders has signed a $22 million contract extension through 2026. The deal includes $10 million guaranteed.
Sanders is the Dolphins’ leader in career field goal percentage. He was chosen All-Pro after tying the franchise’s single-season points record with 144 in 2020. His 36 field goals made ranked second in the NFL and second in Dolphins history, and his field goal rate of 92% was a team record. Sanders was a seventh-round pick by Miami in 2018.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
— A person familiar with the situation says the Carolina Panthers are releasing two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kawann Short. He has played in just five games over the last two seasons due to separate shoulder injuries. Short was set to count $20.8 million against this year’s salary cap. But by releasing him before June 1, the Panthers will save about $9 million.
—The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired Grady Brown as their new secondary coach. Brown replaces Tom Bradley, whose contract was not renewed at the end of last season. This is his first NFL job. Brown’s decision to join the Steelers came less than a week after the University of Houston hired Brown to serve as the program’s cornerbacks coach.
NFL-CHIEFS-BRITT REID
Girl hurt in crash involving Chiefs coach Britt Reid awake
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The family of a 5-year-old girl left in a coma following a crash involving Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid says the girl is now awake. The news was delivered Monday in a post on the GoFundMe page for Ariel Young. The girl has been hospitalized since the Feb. 4 crash.
Reid is head coach Andy Reid’s son. Britt Reid was initially placed on administrative leave following the multi-vehicle crash. He’s no longer employed by the team. Police said the crash happened near the team’s training complex next to Arrowhead Stadium when Reid’s truck slammed into two cars on the side of the road. Police say Reid admitted to having “two or three drinks” before the crash.
FBC-FLORIDA-MULLEN
Mullen focuses on Florida amid college football concerns
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida coach Dan Mullen finally acknowledged making some “regrettable” comments last year.
None of those were more head-scratching than Mullen wanting to pack Florida Field during a pandemic. But he offered no apologies about staying quiet after ESPN reported he has interest in moving to the NFL. Mullen says “a lot of people are trying to figure out what the future of college football is going to hold and what that’s going to look like going forward.”
FIFA INVESTIGATION
Swiss prosecutors appeal against verdicts in FIFA trial
GENEVA (AP) — Prosecutors in Switzerland have appealed against federal court verdicts in a FIFA corruption trial.
Swiss judges cleared former FIFA official Jérôme Valcke of bribery and acquitted Qatari soccer and broadcasting executive Nasser al-Khelaïfi on a lesser charge.
The Swiss attorney general’s office says it appealed against verdicts given in October. Paris Saint-Germain president Al-Khelaïfi had denied a single charge of inciting Valcke to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement at FIFA. That involved rent-free use of an Italian vacation home. Valcke was cleared of criminal mismanagement. He was found guilty of forgery in a separate matter of World Cup broadcasting rights not involving Al-Khelaïfi.
