The hockey club announced late Tuesday night that an Ottawa player had tested positive, was experiencing “mild symptoms” and put in isolation. The announcement went on to say all members of the team would remain isolated, as well, while their health was being monitored.
A subsequent statement on Wednesday added more information:
“The Ottawa Senators medical team is actively monitoring players and staff and following all appropriate and professional guidelines to help ensure the health and safety of our employees and the greater community.
“Players are being assessed and tested under the supervision of public health authorities.”
No news is good news. As the time of this writing on Thursday, no further positive tests have been announced.
All players and Senators staff who were on the club’s trip to California from March 6-12 were instructed to self-quarantine, effective last Saturday. The team has assured the greater Ottawa community that the travelling group does not pose a public health risk.
The Senators have not disclosed the name of the player who tested positive, although it is possible he may step forward at some point, as NBA star Kevin Durant did this week. Durant is one of four Brooklyn Nets players who have tested positive for COVID-19. The other three are unnamed. Only one of the four was symptomatic, according to the Nets.
“Everyone be careful,” Durant said. “Take care of yourself and quarantine. We’re going to get through this.”
Why have so many NBA players tested positive (seven, and counting)? In part because so many are being tested. At latest report, five of the seven were asymptomatic, meaning they showed no symptoms of the virus and only discovered they were positive because they were issued a test.
After Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive (following his bad-karma stunt, touching media microphones), several teams that had recently faced the Jazz were also tested: including the Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder.
It stands to reason that if dozens of NHLers were tested, there would be further positive results. Generally speaking, outside of the Senators’ confirmed case, NHL teams are waiting for players to show symptoms of the virus before administering tests.
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For example, while the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings, who recently faced the Senators (March 10, 11), have not indicated they tested their players, they are leaning on the fact that none has exhibited symptoms.
“Players from the Ducks have been under quarantine at their respective in- or off-season homes since the NHL’s suggested guidelines were announced on March 12,” the Ducks said in a statement. “No player in the organization has reported COVID-19 symptoms at this time.”
The Kings released a similar statement.
How did a Senators player contract the virus?
It’s like playing a game of Clue, except this real-life mystery will likely remain a mystery. There are many clues involved, considering the Senators spent nearly a full week in the state of California, which was generating headlines as a virus hot spot even before the Senators boarded their charter plane on March 6.
There were already 20 confirmed cases in Santa Clara County, and health officials there had advised organizations in the area to avoid large public gatherings.
Nevertheless, the San Jose Sharks went ahead with a scheduled game against the Minnesota Wild on March 5 and the Senators game March 7. The Sharks played host to a third game after that warning, March 8 against the Colorado Avalanche.
Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.
The Senators, of course, used the same dressing room occupied by the Wild a couple of days previously. This is where it gets dicey – players, trainers, coaches and staff share a lot of the same confined spaces, unwittingly playing Russian roulette in their surroundings.
There had been reports that in L.A., at the Staples Center, the Senators used the same visitors room as the now virus-laden Brooklyn Nets, who had played the Lakers on March 10 (the Sens faced the Kings on March 11). But in fact, the NBA and NHL have separate, dedicated visitors dressing rooms at the Staples Center. However, as Helene Elliott reported in The L.A Times, the Kings did use the NBA visitors room to conduct post-game interviews following the game against the Senators.
Clearly, viruses can cross paths as easily as these constantly moving professional athletes. They are walking through a minefield of germs. As are all of us when we travel.
To their credit, all NHL teams are in lockdown mode now, and complying with all the best advice and public health practices.
If the Senators or any other club finds another positive case, it will be announced. Until then, we all wait. And hope. We hydrate and isolate. And try not to hyperventilate.
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
Alabama’s Mark Sears and North Carolina‘s RJ Davis looked into the possibility of leaving for the NBA before deciding to return for another college season.
Their decisions helped their teams earn top-10 rankings in the AP Top 25 and earned both players some preseason honors, too.
Sears was a near-unanimous selection for The Associated Press preseason All-America men’s basketball team released Monday, earning all but one vote from a 55-person national media panel. Davis was right behind him, nabbing 51 votes.
They were joined by Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson, Auburn forward Johni Broome, Arizona guard Caleb Love and Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. Love and Flagg tied for the final spot, creating a six-man team that includes only the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.
Alabama twin bill
Sears was a key cog in the Crimson Tide’s first trip to the Final Four a year ago, orchestrating one of college basketball’s highest-scoring teams.
The 6-foot-1 guard was named a second-team AP All-America after averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He was the first Division I player in 31 years to have 795 points, 150 rebounds, 145 assists and 95 three-pointers in a single season while breaking the Alabama single-season record with 26 games with at least 20 points.
Sears worked out for NBA scouts during the offseason before deciding to return to Alabama, earning the Crimson Tide a No. 2 ranking in the preseason AP Top 25.
“I saw the team that we had and I wanted to be a part of it, and bring home Alabama’s first national championship in basketball,” Sears said.
Across the state at rival Auburn, Broome made a quick decision about his future, announcing in April that he would be back for a fifth season.
The 6-10 forward was a third-team AP All-American last season after averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting nearly 55% from the floor. With an eye on an NBA future, Broome worked hard on his perimeter shooting during the offseason and his return earned Auburn a No. 11 preseason ranking.
“My main goal is a team goal, which is to win the national championship, to make it as far as I can in March Madness,” Broome said. “When a team shines, everyone shines individually.”
Along Tobacco Road
Like Sears, Davis has similar aspirations after opting to return for his fifth season at North Carolina.
The 6-foot guard was an AP All-American last season and the ACC player of the year after averaging 21.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists on a team that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Davis enters this year within reach of former North Carolina big man Tyler Hansbrough’s all-time ACC scoring record.
“I know there’s more work to be done,” Davis said. “I know my jersey’s not going up until I leave. So there’s some more records to break and some more work to be done. I’m satisfied but I’m not satisfied, if that makes sense.”
Up the road at Duke, Flagg was the only underclassman on the preseason All-America team after arriving with tons of hype. The 6-9 swingman was the No. 1-rated high school recruit out of Newport, Maine and has been projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.
Flagg has the skills of a guard, but can also play inside and has worked hard on his perimeter shooting, giving him the potential to be one of college basketball’s most versatile players. He’s part of a stellar recruiting class that has No. 7 Duke eyeing a deep March run.
Big 12 duo
Dickinson was the biggest move in the transfer portal last spring after leaving Michigan for Kansas. The 7-2 center lived up to the billing, averaging 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds while leading the Jayhawks back to the NCAA Tournament.
Love’s decision to return for a second season at No. 10 Arizona has ratcheted up expectations in the desert for the Big 12 rival of Kansas.
The athletic 6-4 guard had a high-scoring career at North Carolina and continued it after transferring to Arizona last season. He was the Pac-12 player of the year and a third-team All-American after averaging 18 points per game and making 92 3-pointers.
Love tested the NBA waters this summer before deciding to return.
“He’s had a very successful college career thus far,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “He’s kind of this last generation of player that’s going to get better with this extra year, and so I just encourage him to take advantage of it.”
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CLEVELAND (AP) — Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of Cleveland‘s season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon on Sunday against Cincinnati, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.
Watson will soon undergo surgery, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the results of imaging tests taken on his leg.
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year.
The 29-year-old Watson went down without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson collapsed to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
As he laid on the ground, there was cheering by some Cleveland fans, leading to some of Watson’s teammates criticizing that behavior during the team’s fifth straight loss.
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s divisive stay with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks to Houston and signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million in 2022. The deal came amid Watson being accused by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions. He settled civil lawsuits in all but one of those cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games with the Browns and then made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
