Top Stories

  • The MLB players’ union is likely to reject the league’s proposal to further slash players’ pay in order to begin the 2020 season, according to people familiar with its deliberations, and will instead counter with a plan that calls for more regular-season games to be played this year. It is unclear when the union will respond to MLB’s plan, which had called for a sliding scale of additional cuts to player salaries that would primarily affect the highest earners during a shortened, 82-game season to be played without fans in attendance. (The Associated Press
  • NFL owners reportedly ditched a plan to vote today on two instant replay  changes proposed by the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers that called for the installation of a sky judge or technology adviser to the referee for the upcoming season. Instead the owners are expected to consider a plan calling for preseason testing of a modified instant replay system that would allow the replay assistant to communicate with the referee regarding on-field issues, a person familiar with the deliberations said. (The Washington Post)
  • The NWSL announced plans to kick off its 2020 season on June 27 in the form of a one-month tournament sans fans in Utah. Final rosters for the so-called NWSL Challenge Cup are due June 21 as questions over how many of the league’s stars will participate abound. (The Wall Street Journal)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

05/28/2020
espnW Summit NYC – Virtual
Sports & Fitness Industry Association – Contain the Counterfeit Outbreak: Intellectual Property Protection During Covid-19 – Virtual
The Esports Observer – Esports 301: Ask an Esports Expert – Virtual
06/02/2020
Variety – Rebooting the Entertainment Industry: The Future of Sports & Live Events – Virtual
Sports & Fitness Industry Association – Monitoring the Impact of COVID-19 and the Road to Recovery – Virtual
View full calendar

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Media

An update on Marquee Sports Network and Comcast/Xfinity
Al Yellon, SB Nation

With no live Major League Baseball this year, the Marquee Sports Network has busied itself with classic game re-broadcasts and Cubs-related talk shows. The issue that dogged Marquee before the season started, then, still confronts the network if and when baseball begins this summer: Will Comcast/Xfinity subscribers be able to see Cubs games on TV?

NFL

Rams announce August 14 opening of SoFi Stadium
Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk

The new NFL stadium in Inglewood was supposed to open in July, with a Taylor Swift concert. That event has been postponed. The first football game to be played there has not.

NBA

Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony pushed to 2021, Jerry Colangelo says
Jackie MacMullan, ESPN

Count the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as the latest institution to have its best-laid plans felled by the coronavirus. Jerry Colangelo, the chairman of the board of the governors for the Hall, told ESPN Wednesday that enshrinement ceremonies for the Class of 2020, one of the most star-studded lineups ever which includes Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant, will be moved to spring of 2021.

The N.B.A. May Return Too Soon
Marc Stein, The New York Times

This is a critical week for the N.B.A. Building up to Friday’s virtual meeting between ownership representatives from the league’s 30 teams and Commissioner Adam Silver, league officials are lasering in on a scheduling format to present to the players’ union to finish out a rebooted 2019-20 season.

For WNBA, return is more about ‘data’ than ‘dates’ — but a plan is starting to take shape
Kareem Copeland, The Washington Post

Cathy Engelbert is keeping a wary eye on the leagues around her. The WNBA commissioner sees the NBA entering discussions with Disney to possibly restart its season near Orlando. She has taken note of the NHL’s plan to return with a 24-team tournament.

MLB

Is MLB’s proposal the first step to playing ball in 2020 — or the beginning of the end?
Jeff Passan, ESPN

Even after a quarter century of labor peace, baseball remains the sport most like the story about the scorpion and the frog. All the years of distrust, of relations frayed and aspersions cast and motives questioned, of the very things that make the relationship between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association so brittle, simply can’t help but reveal themselves.

Current MLB, MLBPA negotiations could be a prelude to labor strife in 2021
Dayn Perry, CBS Sports

Major League Baseball and the players’ union, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), are presently negotiating the parameters of what a 2020 season will look like, should such a thing be realized. A number of essential issues must be agreed upon before baseball moves forward — roster rules, safety protocols in response to COVID-19, and the schedule and postseason format among them.

Trevor Bauer jab at agent Scott Boras reveals union rift
Ken Davidoff, New York Post

Trevor Bauer went there. The Reds’ starting pitcher/provocateur often uses his Twitter account to voice sentiments that had been expressed only by others under the cloak of anonymity.

Minor league baseball players look for financial life line as MLB teams halt payments
Steve Gardner, USA Today

The new federal law designed to help unemployed workers make ends meet during the coronavirus pandemic could end up being a financial lifeline for minor league baseball players. The minor leaguers, many of whom receive compensation that’s below the federal minimum wage, could soon find their only source of income cut off – while they remain under contract to their parent club.

NHL

NHL monitoring situation before choosing where to play games
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press

Concerns about Canadian coronavirus restrictions could push hockey south of the 49th parallel into the U.S. this summer. Seven of the 10 locations the NHL has zeroed in on to hold playoff games if it resumes are American cities not restricted by Canada’s 14-day mandatory quarantine upon arrival.

The N.H.L. Is Coming Back, Pending a Few (Dozen) Questions
David Waldstein, The New York Times

Now that the National Hockey League has announced this week its detailed road map for returning to action with a playoff tentatively set for mid-July, it can start focusing on all the steps needed to make its plan actually happen. There are many issues, some complicated, that need to be settled over the next several weeks to yield a 24-team, two-city hockey extravaganza that in its early stages would see up to three games played per day in a single arena, much like in the Olympics or the N.C.A.A. tournament.

College Sports

NCAA extends recruiting dead period through July as coronavirus pandemic continues
Kyle Boone, CBS Sports

The NCAA extended the recruiting dead period an additional month through July 31 on Wednesday, marking the third extension in the past two months in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The initial dead period was set to expire on April 15 before the NCAA extended it six weeks on April 1. It was then extended an additional month on May 13 and was set to expire June 30 prior to Wednesday’s announcement.

With or Without the Say of Players, College Football Moves Toward a Return
Billy Witz, The New York Times

As colleges and universities debate whether to reopen for the fall, athletic administrators face one of the thorniest decisions in sports, with millions of dollars and the health of thousands of young people at stake: Should there be a football season?

UCLA student council adopts resolution to protect student-athletes from COVID-19
Paul Myerberg, Los Angeles Times

As campuses prepare for the possibility of a traditional calendar of fall sports, the UCLA student council has adopted a resolution asking California Gov. Gavin Newsom and several university officials to guarantee a series of coronavirus-related protections that include allowing student-athletes to decide whether or not to participate in team activities without fear of “cancellation of their scholarships, threats, or retaliation.”

Docs: Bobby Hurley accuses ASU AD of ‘disturbing’ behavior in booster controversy
Pete Thamel, Yahoo Sports

In an email sent from Arizona State basketball coach Bobby Hurley to ASU athletic director Ray Anderson in December, Hurley alleges that Anderson minimized the harassment allegations that three wives of ASU staff members brought forth against a prominent booster. In an email on Dec. 8 from his Arizona State account, Hurley accuses Anderson of having “disregarded the safety and shown no sensitivity towards the women that have experienced sexual assault.”

Soccer

Sources: MLS plans shorter time frame for return-to-play tournament in Orlando
Jeff Carlisle, ESPN

Major League Soccer is in the process of altering its plans for its proposed return-to-play tournament in Orlando so that the event will fit within a shorter time frame, multiple sources with knowledge of the league’s thinking told ESPN. MLS has been shut down since March 12, and earlier this month had its teams begin voluntary individual workouts as long as they didn’t conflict with local stay-at-home restrictions.

Clubs will ask for no relegation because of ‘imbalance’ in fixture list
Laurie Whitwell and David Ornstein, The Athletic

Some Premier League clubs will today ask that relegation is not enforced if coronavirus stops the season again because of concerns over imbalances in the fixture list. The 20 teams yesterday agreed to full contact training as Project Restart continues to progress well, with many now planning pre-season friendlies against other Premier League sides ahead of matches resuming.

Premier League clubs approve return of contact training
Paul MacInnes, The Guardian

Premier League players are to return to contact training this week, but will not be made to self-isolate unless they have spent more than 15 minutes in direct company with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. Clubs voted unanimously to pass “stage two” medical protocols on Wednesday, seen as a crucial step in the attempt to resume the 2019-20 top-flight season.

Racing

NASCAR Cup race in Charlotte pushed back day because of rain
Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press

Rain washed out the Cup Series race Wednesday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway — a slight break for NASCAR teams taxed by a grueling return to racing. The race was rescheduled for Thursday night at 7 p.m., which in turn forced NASCAR to move the Xfinity Series race scheduled for Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. 

Carolina Speedway Packs Its Stands, Drawing Governor’s Rebuke
Jerry Garrett, The New York Times

Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina has rebuked the operator of Ace Speedway in Elon, N.C., which last weekend conducted races at which fans packed the stands without face masks or social distancing, but he stopped short of blocking a race planned for Friday. Videos taken by spectators and news crews showing a boisterous, largely unprotected crowd at the reopening of the speedway on Saturday went viral on social media.

Formula 1’s cost-cutting changes, including budget cap, approved
James Galloway and Matt Morlidge, Sky Sports

F1’s big and wide-ranging package of cost-cutting measures – headlined by a tighter budget cap – have been approved to make the sport more sustainable and competitive into the future. Rubber stamped by the World Motor Sport council on Wednesday, F1 will introduce a $145m budget cap from next season and – for the first time – an aero development handicap system for the more successful teams.

Golf and Tennis

Phil Mickelson is ready to make ‘The Match’ an annual event
Arash Markazi, Los Angeles Times

After the success Sunday of “The Match: Champions for Charity” golf exhibition in which Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning defeated Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady to help raise $20 million for COVID-19 relief, there are talks to make “The Match” an annual event featuring Woods and Mickelson. Woods and Mickelson faced off in the first exhibition, “The Match: Tiger vs. Phil,” on Nov. 23, 2018.

Esports

Ninja to host ‘Ninja Battles’ Fortnite tournament series on Mixer
Arda Orcal, ESPN

Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is getting his own Fortnite tournament series. Ninja has announced “Ninja Battles,” a weekly invitational series with six events spanning from this Thursday through July 2.

General

USA Hockey president Jim Smith under investigation for handling of abuse allegations
Katie Strang, The Athletic

USA Hockey president Jim Smith is under investigation by the U.S. Center for SafeSport concerning his handling of allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse by a youth coach, The Athletic has learned. USA Hockey has also hired an independent investigator to probe Smith’s business dealings with an Illinois youth hockey affiliate.

Sporting goods industry hit or miss during pandemic
John Marshall, The Associated Press

Brian Morris faced a difficult scenario when the coronavirus pandemic started leading to shutdowns across the nation. If Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey opted to include bike shops among the businesses deemed nonessential, Freeride Bike Company, which he owns with his wife Ashleigh, would have to shutter its doors for who knows how long.

Scrums, mauls impacted as rugby approves law amendments
Steve Douglas, The Associated Press

Optional law amendments limiting contact in scrums, the number of players in a maul, and the duration of rucks have been approved by World Rugby in the hope of reducing the risk of possible transmission of COVID-19 during the pandemic. Rugby’s governing body made the announcement on Thursday, leaving national unions to decide whether to adopt the amendments at elite or community level depending on the prevalence of the virus in their territory and the advice from government and public health authorities.

The Basketball Tournament to be played in scaled-down format, with coronavirus protocols
Dan Wolken, USA Today

The Basketball Tournament, a $2 million, winner-take-all event that has become a staple of the summer sports calendar, will be played this summer in a scaled-down format with strict safety protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19, founder and CEO Jon Mugar told USA TODAY Sports. Instead of a 64-team field spread out over eight regional sites, The Tournament will instead host 24 teams at a single site with games being played in a 10- or 11-day window.

Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research

How can college campuses be safe for athletes but not students? Put money on football
Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times

The band room is silent. The biology labs are shuttered. The library is locked. But hey, football players, come on in!

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