Update on the latest sports
APMLB-SCHEDULE
Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson
UNDATED (AP) — All major league players, managers, coaches and umpires will wear No. 42 Thursday to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day, marking the date the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famer made his Major League Baseball debut and broke the sport’s color barrier in 1947.
A video produced by MLB Network titled “Thank You, Jackie” narrated by former star Curtis Granderson will present Robinson’s impact as a champion on and off the field and be shown at ballparks. Teams that are off today will honor Robinson when they play tomorrow.
Granderson is president of The Players Alliance, an organization of current and former MLB players advocating for Black representation in the sport. More than 100 players plan to donate all or part of their game-day salaries on Jackie Robinson Day to support The Players Alliance.
In other highlights of Thursday’s schedule:
— J.D. Martinez and the Red Sox try for their 10th straight win and a four-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Boston has its longest winning streak since a 10-game run in 2018, a season that ended with a World Series title. Alex Verdugo got five hits in a doubleheader sweep yesterday, sending the Twins to their fifth straight loss. Garrett Richards starts the wrapup for Boston against Michael Pineda.
— Jacob deGrom makes his third start of the season for the Mets, again hoping for a win — and some run support. The Mets ace is 0-1 this year despite allowing just one run in 14 innings, striking out 21 with two walks. This has become familiar territory for the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner. Despite deGrom’s 2.06 ERA in 78 starts since the beginning of the 2018 season, New York is only 36-42 in those games. Rain is in the forecast, but weather permitting deGrom starts against Zach Eflin and the Phillies at Citi Field — with the Mets looking for a four-game sweep of their NL East rivals.
— The Blue Jays open a series at Kansas City with Bo Bichette on an 11-game hitting streak, tying his career best. He homered twice, including a game-ending drive, to lead Toronto over the Yankees on Wednesday.
NHL-ISLANDERS-TICKET SALES
Islanders close to selling out inaugural season at UBS Arena
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (AP) — Nearly six months before the opening of their new arena, the New York Islanders are reporting they have nearly sold out of season tickets for the first season in their new home.
The Islanders say UBS Arena, being built next to the racetrack at Belmont Park with an expected capacity of around 17,000 for hockey, has sold more than 90% of its season tickets. The upper level and terrace is sold out, as well as eight sections in the lower bowl. About 1,000 seats remain available, and after those are sold the Islanders will start a waiting list.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic no fans were allowed at Nassau Coliseum this season until early last month. Since then, capacity has been limited to 10% — about 1,400 — to allow for social distancing.
The Islanders began the day Thursday two points behind first-place Washington in the East Division. They have 14 games remaining with a game in hand on the Capitals. New York reached the Eastern Conference finals last year, losing to eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay in six games.
NFL DRAFT-PANDEMIC FUNDRAISER
NFL reprises Draft-a-Thon to raise money for pandemic relief
NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL is bringing back the Draft-a-Thon that raised money last year for charities dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
The league says this year’s three-day fundraiser coinciding with the NFL draft April 29-May 1 will raise money and awareness for pandemic recovery efforts, especially in communities that have lacked significant resources. The fundraiser will focus on four national nonprofit charities dealing with health disparities, the digital divide in education, mental health and food insecurity.
TOKYO OLYMPICS-VIRUS WORRIES
Officials say Olympic cancellation or barring fans are still options
TOKYO (AP) — Two officials in Japan’s ruling party have suggested separately that the Tokyo Olympics could be in for some radical changes. One says they could be canceled. The other says they could proceed without any fans.
The speculation comes a day after Tokyo reached the 100-days-to-go mark.
Liberal Democratic Party secretary general Toshihiro Nikai says cancellation is still an option with coronavirus cases rising. Taro Kono is the minister in charge of the vaccine rollout in Japan. He says that even if the games go on it may be without any fans. Organizers have already banned fans from other countries.
COVID-19 cases have been rising across Japan. On Thursday, Japan’s second-largest metropolitan area of Osaka recorded 1,208 new cases. It was the third straight day that new cases surpassed 1,000. Tokyo hit 729, its highest total in more than two months. Japan has attributed 9,500 death to COVID-19, good by world standards but poor by results in Asia.
Tokyo and Osaka have been under an alert status since earlier this month, but officials are concerned there is little sense of urgency.
