UNDATED (AP) — The National Hockey League reported zero players tested positive for the coronavirus last week.
The league says it administered a total of 4,256 tests to more than 800 players from July 18-25. Two players tested positive during the first week of training camps July 13-17.
Players and staff from the 24 teams participating in the expanded Stanley Cup playoffs traveled to the hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, on Sunday. They’re now in a quarantined bubble and will be tested daily after every other day testing during camp.
NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has sent a letter to fans outlining the league’s plans to play during the coronavirus pandemic.
As veterans begin reporting to training camps this week, Goodell noted Monday how COVID-19 has “turned the world upside down.”
He wrote that “COVID-19 will continue to present a major challenge to nearly every area of American life. Football is no exception,”
The league and the players’ union reached agreement on a plan last Friday, after all preseason games were canceled. Team facilities were shut down by Goodell in late March and only began reopening on a cautious basis this summer. Goodell stressed the need for adaptability on all levels, citing how a virtual draft was held in April. All 32 teams held remote offseason training sessions, too.
The NFL has opted not to create a bubble environment, something the NHL, NBA, WNBA and MLS have done. With Major League Baseball experiencing difficulties on its first weekend of play with a plan similar to the NFL’s, there is added anxiety about what Goodell’s league has planned.
. — Minnesota Vikings vice president of sports medicine Eric Sugarman has tested positive for COVID-19. Sugarman is in charge of the organization’s virus prevention plan as the infection control officer. The team announced that Sugarman and his family tested positive over the weekend. The Vikings said they’ve tested all individuals who’d recently been in close contact with Sugarman.
In other virus-related sports developments:
— The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has decided to cancel fall sports competition due to continuing health and safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor says there are simply too many factors that prohibit the conference from safely delivering a competitive atmosphere. A decision on whether fall sports competition would be feasible in the spring will be determined by the conference presidents at a later date.
— The NASCAR weekend in late August at Dover International Speedway will take place without fans. Delaware state officials denied the track’s request to host a limited number of fans Aug. 21-23 in the interest of public health and safety. The track is to host a NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series on Saturday and Sunday of that weekend.
— The U.S. Tennis Association has canceled two lower-tier tennis tournaments in Orlando, Florida, saying that the coronavirus pandemic makes it too dangerous to hold the events without a bubble setup. The USTA says ATP Challenger 150 tourneys that were supposed to start on Aug. 22 and Aug. 29 at its national campus are being scrapped.
