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How the Olympics will look different this year – CTV News

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TORONTO —
The Olympics begin in Tokyo next week, and the competition will be historic — and strange — for a number of reasons.

The Olympics were set to occur in 2020 before they were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic raging across the globe. Although the situation has been shifting week to week, with spectators being banned earlier this month at most venues and Japan entering a state of emergency due to a rise in COVID-19 cases, the Olympics seem to still be on track to begin next week, with opening ceremonies planned for Friday.

But this year’s Olympics will be very different from usual, from athletes having their movements hemmed in by strict rules to medal ceremonies where medals are on a tray.

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Here are some of the ways that the Olympics will differ this year:

A LACK OF SPECTATORS

A few months ago, the plan was for 10,000 Japanese fans per venue to be permitted to attend the Olympic events in person, with only overseas spectators banned. But as COVID-19 cases rose in Tokyo, where the majority of events are being held, officials made the decision to ban all spectators.

A state of emergency was declared in Tokyo on July 9, and officials announced that no spectators would be permitted into any Tokyo venues or regions close to the city. Hokkaido and Fukushima prefectures announced that no spectators would be allowed at events held in those regions as well.

According to CNN, Japanese Olympic Committee Seiko Hashimoto said last week that Miyagi, Fukushima and Shizuoka prefectures would be permitted to allow spectators at 50 per cent capacity, with a maximum of 10,000 spectators.

The Olympic Committee has also asked for the public to stay away from the official route of marathon and race walk events that are occurring in Sapporo. Spectators will also be barred from Musashinonomori Park, where cycling road events will begin.

NO TOURISM FOR ATHLETES

Although athletes are always focused on performing their best at the Olympics, there is usually a little bit of fun in visiting another country and interacting with other top-level athletes. However, this year, athletes received a detailed playbook full of rules intended to keep athletes safe and ensure the games don’t turn into a COVID-19 superspreader event.

Athletes must wear masks and practice physical distancing at all times, with “hugs, high-fives and handshakes” discouraged. They are not permitted on public transport unless it is the only option to reach certain venues, and athletes must follow an “Action Plan” that shows what activities they will be doing at permitted locations related to the Olympic Games.

Specifically, athletes are not allowed to “walk around the city, and visit tourist areas, shops, restaurants or bars, gyms, etc.” according to the playbook.

The athletes will not be able to hang around after their event is done either. Athletes and “sport-specific team officials” are required to leave Japan no later than 48 hours after their competition has been completed or after they have been eliminated, if they do not make it until the end of the competition.

MEDALS ON A TRAY

This week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that there would be a significant change to the medal ceremonies this year: athletes will be placing medals around their own necks.

Usually, an IOC member or another official would place the medals around the necks of the winning athletes. But this year, the winners of each event will be presented with medals on a tray, and the athletes will pick up their medal and put it on themselves.

This is different than how some sporting events held during the pandemic have handled the issue. At the Euro Cup recently, the Union of European Football Associations president Aleksander Ceferin hung medals around the players’ necks himself.

DROPOUTS

Several high profile athletes — as well as an entire country — will not be competing in the Olympics this year.

North Korea announced in April that it would not be sending athletes to Tokyo to compete. The decision was made out of fear that athletes might contract COVID-19, according to the Associated Press.

Serena Williams said at the end of June that she would not be attending the Olympics this year.

Roger Federer also confirmed that he would not be at the Olympics this summer, citing a knee injury that he tweaked at Wimbledon.

Other tennis stars, such as Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Nick Kyrgios will not be at the Olympics, with Kyrgios referencing the lack of spectators as part of the decision.

Canadian star Bianca Andreescu announced earlier this week that she would be pulling out of the games due to “all the challenges we are facing as it relates to the pandemic.” Fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov withdrew in June, saying it was the “best decision for everyone’s safety.”

Several NBA stars have confirmed that they will not be competing in the Olympics, such as LeBron James and Serbian player Nikola Jokic, who won the most valuable player award recently.

Samoa also decided not to permit its weightlifting team to attend the Olympics out of COVID-19 fears. The weightlifting team is based in Samoa, but other Samoan athletes who are based internationally will be permitted to compete.

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Vasilevskiy stops 23 as surging Lightning beat Bruins – Sportsnet.ca

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Shane Pinto has a goal, three assists as the Senators roll over the Sabres – Sportsnet.ca

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Here’s what we know about the allegations against Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara

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LOS ANGELES –

Only a week has passed since the Los Angeles Dodgers abruptly fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter and constant companion of their new $700 million slugger, Shohei Ohtani.

But the biggest story of baseball’s spring is still murky — and shocking — as the regular season begins in earnest Thursday.

The scandal encompasses gambling, alleged theft, extensive deceit and the breakup of an enduring partnership between the majors’ biggest star and his right-hand man. Investigations are underway by the IRS and Major League Baseball, and Ohtani publicly laid out a version of events Monday that placed the responsibility entirely on Mizuhara.

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Here are the basics as Ohtani and the Dodgers prepare for their home opener against St. Louis on Thursday:

Why was Ippei Mizuhara fired by the Dodgers?

Ohtani claims his close friend repeatedly took money from his accounts to fund his illegal sports gambling habit. Ohtani also says he was completely unaware of the “massive theft,” as his lawyers termed it, until Mizuhara confessed to him and the Dodgers last week in South Korea, where the team opened its regular season against the San Diego Padres.

Mizuhara has given more than one version of his path to this trouble, which was catalyzed by the IRS’ investigation of Mathew Bowyer, an alleged illegal bookmaker. Mizuhara has consistently said he has a gambling addiction, and he abused his close friendship with the Dodgers superstar to feed it.

Did Shohei Ohtani ever bet on sports?

That’s the biggest question to be answered in Major League Baseball’s investigation, and the two-time AL MVP emphatically says he has never gambled on sports or asked anybody to bet on sports for him.

Further, Ohtani said Monday he has never knowingly paid a bookie to cover somebody else’s bets. Mizuhara also said Ohtani does not bet, and Bowyer’s attorney said the same.

Mizuhara told ESPN on March 19 that Ohtani paid his gambling debts at the interpreter’s request, saying the bets were on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football. If that were true, Ohtani could face trouble even if he didn’t make the bets himself — but ESPN said Mizuhara dramatically changed his story the following day, claiming Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookmakers.

MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from wagering — even legally — on baseball. They also ban betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.

What’s next for Ohtani?

Ohtani has played in every Dodgers game since the story broke, and he is expected to be their designated hitter in most regular-season games this season while baseball’s investigation continues.

Ohtani says his legal team has alerted authorities to the theft by Mizuhara, although his team has repeatedly declined to say which authorities have been told, according to ESPN.

Ohtani’s new interpreter is Will Ireton, a longtime Dodgers employee and fluent Japanese speaker who has filled several jobs with the team in everything from game preparation and analytics to recruiting free-agent pitches. But Ireton won’t be Ohtani’s constant companion, and manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday he’s optimistic that Ohtani will become closer to his teammates without the “buffer” provided for years by Mizuhara.

What don’t we know?

MLB’s investigation of Ohtani’s role in the events could last weeks or months, and it’s unlikely to be publicized until it’s complete. No one outside of Ohtani’s inner circle knows what it will find or how serious any repercussions could be, and nobody outside the circle is making informed speculation about the process.

One major question looms: How did Mizuhara have enough access to Ohtani’s bank accounts to get the alleged millions without Ohtani knowing? Is the slugger overly trusting, or is he wildly negligent in managing his vast fortune, which includes years of lavish endorsement deals in addition to his baseball salaries? Why didn’t the team around him, including his agent, do more to prevent the possibility of the theft he claims?

Finally, where is Mizuhara? Anybody who knows isn’t saying. He was fired in South Korea and apparently didn’t travel home with the Dodgers. Japanese media have visited his home in Southern California to look for him. Although he was born in Japan, Mizuhara’s life is in the U.S. — but his life will never be the same.

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