Love commits $100k to arena workers

 

The Latest on the coronavirus outbreak’s affect on sports around the globe (all times EDT):
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7 p.m.
Cavaliers star forward Kevin Love is committing $100,000 toward helping arena workers in Cleveland who were impacted by the shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Love announced his intentions to make the donation through the Kevin Love Fund on Instagram.
Love, who has been very open about his struggles with anxiety, said he appreciates how the outbreak can be ”extremely overwhelming” to people and that the suspension of the NBA season has caused a ”sudden life shift” for workers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – home of the Cavs.
The team announced plans to financially help staff during the interruption.
Earlier, arena CEO Len Komorwski said despite the cancellation of the Mid-American Conference tournament that employees will be paid as if the event was held.
6:27 p.m.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing the club to close its training complex and put the entire first-team in self isolation.
Arsenal was due to play at Brighton on Saturday, with the Premier League pushing ahead with a full fixture list and stadiums with fans — unlike most other major sports.
However, Arsenal said ”it is clear we will not be able to play some fixtures on their currently scheduled dates.”
The club issued a statement quoting Arteta as saying: ”This is really disappointing but I took the test after feeling poorly. I will be at work as soon as I’m allowed.”
Arsenal’s game at Manchester City was called off on Wednesday after players came into contact with a rival team owner who announced Tuesday that he had contracted COVID-19. They met Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis after the Greek team won at Arsenal in the Europa League on Feb. 27.
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6:17 p.m.
NASCAR has put strict regulations in place for this weekend’s race at Atlanta, which will be held without spectators.
Photographers will not be permitted at the event beyond a pool photographer, and media will not have access to the garage area or pit road. All driver availability will take place via teleconference, fed into the media center.
The NASCAR Cup Series race winning team and second- and third-place finishers will be available via teleconference.
In short, there will be no in-person competitor availability this weekend outside of live broadcast partners and NASCAR Productions.
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6:09 p.m.
The Colonial Athletic Association says an official who worked a game during its men’s basketball tournament has tested positive for the coronavirus.
The league says the official did not exhibit symptoms of the virus until 72 hours after the game he worked. The conference says it has made the institution involved and tournament personnel aware of the situation so they can take proper precautionary measures.
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5:55 p.m.
The LPGA Tour has postponed golf’s first major championship of the season and two other events because of the coronavirus.
The tour called off the Volvik Founders Cup in Phoenix on March 19-22, the Kia Classic in Carlsbad, California, on March 26-29 and the major ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, California, on April 2-5.
LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan said in a statement he’s ”fully committed to rescheduling these important events on our 2020 schedule,” especially the ANA Inspiration.
Earlier, the tour called off events in Thailand, Singapore and China.
Two California events on the developmental Symetra Tour also were postponed, the IOA Championship in Beaumont from March 27-29 and the Windsor Golf Classic in Windsor from April 2-4.
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5:40 p.m.
Horse racing is continuing to operate in North America and abroad without fans in the stands.
Races at Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields in California, Aqueduct in New York, Gulfstream Park in Florida, Laurel Park in Maryland and Turfway Park in Kentucky will go on without spectators. The upcoming Dubai World Cup will be held at an empty Meydan Racecourse on March 28. Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, says when it opens for racing again in April there will not be fans allowed in.
Churchill Downs said preparations to hold the Kentucky Derby on May 2 are up in the air. According to a statement from track officials: ”With the event still seven weeks away, a decision will be made closer to that date with respect to postponing the event until later in the year, using the most recent information while working with and seeking guidance from public health experts and authorities.”
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5:30 p.m.
USA Gymnastics has canceled all sanctioned events through the end of March, which includes local meets scheduled at hundreds of USA Gymnastics-sanctioned clubs throughout the United States.
The cancellations also extend to USA Gymnastics-sponsored workshops and clinics as well as any national team camps. The organization had already limited travel for USA Gymnastics staff and national team athletes.
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5:15 p.m.
The Colonial Athletic Association says it has been informed that a game official who worked at the conference men’s basketball tournament has tested positive for the coronavirus.
The CAA said the official did not exhibit symptoms of the virus until 72 hours after the game he worked. The conference said it was using an ”abundance of caution” to make the involved institutions and tournament personnel ”aware of the situation so they can take proper precautionary measures.”
Hofstra beat Northeastern in the conference championship game on Tuesday in Washington.
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4:30 p.m.
The NCAA has canceled the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments because of the spread of coronavirus. The decision came one day after the NCAA announced games that were scheduled to start next week would be played in mostly empty arenas.
That plan was scrapped as every major American sports league, beginning with the NBA, put the brakes on their seasons due to concerns about the pandemic.
The NCAA also canceled all of its championships in every winter and spring sport, including hockey, baseball, lacrosse and several others.
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3:30 p.m.
The Atlantic Coast Conference has suspended all athletic-related activities. That includes all games, practices, recruiting – and participation in NCAA championships until further notice.
The NCAA has not – at this point – postponed the men’s basketball tournament that’s scheduled for next week, but several individual schools have announced they’re taking a break from sports due to the coronavirus pandemic.
ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in a statement that ”this is uncharted territory and the health and safety of our student-athletes and institutions remains our top priority.”
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3:15 p.m.
IndyCar will open its season on the streets of downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, without spectators.
The three-day event typically draws more than 130,000 fans. Local officials said earlier Thursday that no general admission would be permitted. Only essential personnel will be permitted inside the fencing that surrounds the course.
The event will also be shortened to two days, with Friday used for driver health screenings and determining who is considered essential.
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3 p.m.
The NFL has canceled its main owners meeting scheduled for later this month in Palm Beach, Florida.
Commissioner Roger Goodell notified the 32 teams ”after careful consideration and consultation with medical experts,” according to a league statement. Goodell said the decision was made out of ”concern to protect the health of club and league employees and the public while enabling the league to continue with its essential business operations.”
Further changes could be coming for the draft, scheduled to be held in Las Vegas from April 23-25.
Major football issues, including playing rules, bylaws and resolutions, as well as other business matters on the agenda for the March meetings will instead be handled at the May 19-20 spring meeting in Marina del Rey, California.
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2:30 p.m.
Football season is months away, but spring practice for college teams was in full swing around the country. That is being put on hold in many places, too.
USC and Notre Dame both announced they would suspended practice as their campuses shut down. The SEC’s suspension of sport through March will also take football teams off the practice fields.
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1:45 p.m.
The NHL is following the NBA’s lead and suspending its season.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the pause of the season amid concerns about the new coronavirus. The NBA announced Wednesday night it was suspending play, after a player tested positive for COVID-19.
Several NBA and NHL teams share arenas.
The NHL has not said any player has tested positive for COVID-19. The league is halting play with 189 games left in the regular season, sparking uncertainty about how many more, if any, could be played before the playoffs.
Bettman said the NHL has tried to follow mandates of health experts and local authorities without taking premature or unnecessary measures.” Bettman’s statement said the NBA’s news made it ”no longer appropriate to try to continue to play games at this time.”
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1:05 p.m.
The Big East Conference basketball tournament has been canceled at halftime of Thursday’s first game because of the coronavirus outbreak.
As several other big conferences around the country canceled their postseason tournaments, the Big East resumed on schedule at New York’s Madison Square Garden. It started its second-round game between top-seeded Creighton and St. John’s at Madison Square Garden and not until halftime was the tournament called off with St. John’s leading 38-35.
As the Bluejays and Red Storm were playing, a few subway stops away at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the Atlantic 10 Conference was holding a news conference to called off its tournament.
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12:40 p.m.
The Big 12 is canceling all of its championships through April 15, including upcoming gymnastics and equestrian meets, and will reassess the rest of its spring sports schedule April 15.
Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said he anticipated a conference-wide policy for spring football, though athletic directors have not yet discussed a plan.
The league anticipates a heavy financial hit from refunded ticket sales to its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and having to adjust the rights fees it receives from its TV partners.
Bowlsby also said that nobody from the conference, including staff members, coaches and players, had fallen ill or been tested for coronavirus.
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12:35 p.m.
The Pac-12 and Southeastern conferences have gone beyond canceling just their men’s basketball tournaments.
The SEC announced within an hour of canceling the tournament that the league was suspending regular-season competition for teams in all sports on SEC campuses as well as league championships until March 30.
The Pac-12 said it was scrapping all league championship events and all competitions effective immediately and until further notice.
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12:20 p.m.
All five Power Five conferences have canceled their basketball tournaments, putting the NCAA Tournament in doubt.
The Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, ACC and Pac-12 conferences were all preparing to play games in large arenas across the country, but with few people in the buildings.
The NCAA had announced Wednesday that it planned to play its men’s and women’s tournament games that start next week with restricted access for the general public. The NCAA said only essential staff and limited family members would be allowed to attend the games.
The ACC announced the cancellation about 10 minutes before the scheduled start of Thursday’s first quarterfinal game featuring No. 4 Florida State and Clemson. With the tournament scrapped, the Seminoles will earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the regular-season title.
ACC Commissioner John Swofford presented the Seminoles with the tournament trophy on the court, while the Tigers joined them on the court instead of tipping off their game.
The men’s NCAA Tournament is one of the most popular events on the American sports calendar. March Madness draws hundreds of thousands of fans to arenas from coast to coast.
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12:15 p.m.
The International Tennis Federation has postponed all of its sanctioned tournaments for six weeks because of the COVID-19 pandemic, joining the men’s professional tour in suspending action.
The ITF oversees various junior, wheelchair and lower-tier events.
The group says no tournaments on the men’s and women’s ITF World Tennis Tour, the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors, the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, ITF Beach Tennis World Tour or ITF Seniors Tour will take place until at least the week of April 20.
The men’s tour announced earlier Thursday it was calling off ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour events for six weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The WTA women’s tour has not made any comment so far related to its schedule.
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12:10 p.m.
The Champions League match between Manchester City and Real Madrid has been postponed after the Spanish team puts its players in quarantine amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Madrid has ordered its soccer and basketball teams to remain in isolation after one of the basketball players tested positive for the virus.
No new date for the second-leg match in the last 16 was announced. City leads 2-1 from the first leg in Madrid.
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12:05 p.m.
The 12 Hours of Sebring scheduled to run in Florida next weekend has been rescheduled because of the ban on travel from Europe. Many teams that compete in IMSA’s sports car events use European drivers and team members.
The race was rescheduled as the IMSA season finale to be held Nov. 11-14 at Sebring International Raceway.
IndyCar and NASCAR are still mulling options. IndyCar has been told by the Mayor of St. Petersburg that fans cannot attend Sunday’s season-opening race. NASCAR received the same message for next week’s racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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11:40 a.m.
Major League Soccer is shutting down because of the coronavirus, according to Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas.
Mas says the target period for the hiatus is 30 days.
He told players and coaches, then held a news conference and says, ”We’ve made a decision as a league this morning, as owners, that play will be suspended temporarily.”
The expansion team owned by Mas and former England captain David Beckham had been scheduled to play its home opener Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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