MLB and its players are reportedly focusing on a plan, supported by high-ranking United States federal public health officials, that could allow the season to begin as early as May, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.
The plan, according to Passan, involves all 30 teams playing games — without fans in attendance — in the greater Phoenix area. Potential sites include Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, 10 spring training facilities and other fields that are nearby.
All players, coaching staff and other personnel would be living in relative isolation away from the general population at local hotels, travelling only to games and back, Passan reported.
The plan has several potential concerns that would need to be addressed before it came to fruition, though.
Chief among those concerns is an increase in available tests for the novel coronavirus that have a quick turnaround time.
Such tests are not widely available now but, according to Passan, there are those who are familiar with MLB’s plan who believe testing at that scope and scale will be available by early May — and would allow MLB’s testing to not interfere with access to tests for the general public.
Earlier on Monday, Baxter Holmes of ESPN reported that the NBA and NBPA were also collaborating on assessing rapid-response testing devices that could, theoretically, provide quick, efficient and accurate COVID-19 test results without detracting from the public’s testing capacity.
Logistically, executing a plan like this would also be challenging. As Passan notes, the league would require buy-in from players who would be forced to separate from their families for an indefinite period of time if the COVID-19 outbreak continues in the U.S. preventing teams from playing in their home stadiums.
Ensuring that players and staff members do not contract the novel coronavirus, even while in a secured setting, and that no MLB-affiliated personnel bring the virus into an Arizona community would be another barrier. As of Tuesday evening, 2,456 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Arizona, according to a database maintained by the New York Times, and 65 people have died.
Officials do not believe that a positive test would necessarily justify quarantining an entire team or shutting down the season once more, though, according to Passan, who notes that teams may carry significantly expanded rosters to account for the possibility of players testing positive.
This version of MLB’s plan carries financial implications as well — positive and negative. Increased roster sizes could mean that more players receive major league salaries. But not having fans in attendance means teams would forgo ticket sales that account for the largest proportion of their annual revenue.
Given these myriad concerns, a June Opening Day could be more realistic, Passan reported, but both sides remain focused on finding resolutions in time to salvage a condensed or shortened MLB season.
Baseball’s season had been set to start March 26 but spring training was halted on March 12. After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended restricting events of more than 50 people for eight weeks, MLB said it would not open until mid-May at the earliest.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
