The NFL is expanding the sideline area to give teams more space to distance and mask usage is now mandatory before and after games and at halftime. The updates to the COVID-19 protocols were sent to clubs in a memo on Tuesday, a day after the league learned two players who played in games Sunday tested positive.
The league also is strongly encouraging players to wear masks whenever they come off the field. Teams in intensive protocol are prohibited from holding in-person coaching and personnel meetings.
In other NFL news:
The Denver Broncos say general manager John Elway and team president Joe Ellis have tested positive for COVID-19. The team says both Elway and Ellis are experiencing mild symptoms and will work from home in self-isolation. The team said no players or coaches came into close contact with either Elway or Ellis recently. The Broncos have had three assistant coaches go under the league's COVID-19 protocols — Curtis Modkins, Mike Munchak and Ed Donatell — in addition to right guard Graham Glasgow. There were also others in the building who have been infected by the coronavirus.
The Dallas Cowboys have placed quarterback Andy Dalton on the reserve COVID-19 list on Tuesday, keeping him out a second straight game after he was sidelined by a concussion. Dalton will be the first Dallas player to go on the COVID-19 list since before the season.
The Green Bay Packers have placed running back Jamaal Williams and rookie linebacker Kamal Martin on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The move comes one day after Packers rookie running back A.J. Dillon went on the same list. The reserve/COVID-19 list is for a player who either tests positive for COVID-19 or who has been in close contact with an infected person.
Antonio Brown has been activated from the reserve/suspended list and is set to practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the first time on Wednesday. The Bucs signed the former Pittsburgh, Oakland and New England receiver last week and expect him to make his debut with his team when the Bucs host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday night. Brown was suspended for the first eight games of the season for multiple violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy. Coach Bruce Arians said Tuesday he's not sure how much Brown will play this week, but that he'll definitely have a role in the game plan. To make room on the roster for Brown, the Bucs waived wide receiver Cyril Grayson.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
No. 10 Wisconsin has canceled Saturday's football game with Purdue as COVID-19 cases within the team continue to rise. School officials announced Tuesday that three more players and two additional staffers have tested positive since Saturday. That brings the program's total number of active cases to 27. The total includes 15 players and 12 staffers. This marks the second straight week that Wisconsin has canceled a football game due to the outbreak. The Badgers had been scheduled to visit Nebraska on Oct. 31. Neither game will be rescheduled.
In other college football news:
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence will travel with the top-ranked Tigers to Notre Dame this week, although he will not play due to the coronavirus. Coach Dabo Swinney says Lawrence is doing well, participating in team meetings in preparation to play the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish on Saturday night. Swinney says Lawrence will be through with his 10-day quarantine, but must still sit out due to the cardiac testing protocol the ACC has for those athletes who contract COVID-19. Lawrence tested positive last week and missed his team's 34-28 comeback victory over Boston College last week.
No. 8 Florida reported no new COVID-19 positives in the past week, the first time since September the team's coronavirus numbers have remained steady. The Gators administered 50 tests over the last seven days and found no positives. It could be huge news for the team's upcoming game against fifth-ranked Georgia in Jacksonville. Florida played without 15 players last week against Missouri, with some of those missing being ruled out because of COVID-19 results and contact tracing.
MLB
Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado won his eighth consecutive Gold Glove and right fielder Mookie Betts snared his fifth in a row on Tuesday, his first with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers after four with Boston. Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon also won his eighth Gold Glove — and fourth straight — in his final major league season. Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo earned the honor for the third straight year in the pandemic-shortened season and fourth time overall. He was joined for the first time by Cubs shortstop Javier Báez. Cincinnati catcher Tucker Barnhart won for the second time and first since 2017. St. Louis second baseman Kolten Wong won for the second year in a row, six days after the Cardinals allowed him to become a free agent rather than exercise his $12.5 million option for 2021. St. Louis left fielder Tyler O'Neill, Atlanta pitcher Max Fried and San Diego center fielder Trent Grisham were first-time winners in the National League.
Gordon and Cleveland catcher Roberto Pérez were the only players to repeat in the AL. They were joined by seven first-time winners, including Indians second baseman César Hernández. The others were Seattle first baseman Evan White and shortstop J.P. Crawford, Texas third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa and right fielder Joey Gallo, Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert and Los Angeles Angels pitcher Griffin Canning. The 36-year-old Gordon announced his retirement in September. He joined Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente and first baseman Wes Parker (both in 1972) as the only position players to win a Gold Glove in their last big league season, according to Sportradar. Gold Gloves are presented annually by Rawlings. Because of the shortened season, the awards were based on the Society for American Baseball Research's Defensive Index.
NBA
Eddie Johnson, the two-time All-Star for the Atlanta Hawks whose career was shortened by arrests which led to a ban from the NBA and life sentence in prison, has died. He was 65. Johnson passed away on Oct. 26. His death was confirmed Tuesday by Rocker-Cusack Mortuary in Leesburg, Florida. Johnson was a third-round pick from Auburn by the Hawks in the 1977 NBA draft. He became an immediate contributor and then starter for the Hawks. Due to his explosive first step, Johnson earned the nickname "Fast Eddie" and averaged 15.1 points in 10 NBA seasons. He set a career high by averaging 19.1 points for the Hawks in the 1980-81 season. He started in the 1980 and 1981 All-Star Games. The Hawks traded Johnson to Cleveland for Johnny Davis on Feb. 10, 1986. Johnson signed with Seattle in 1987. He received a lifetime suspension from the NBA in 1987 for his cocaine use. Johnson was 53 when, according to the Florida Department of Corrections website, he received a mandatory life sentence in 2008 after he was found guilty of sexual assault on an 8-year-old girl. Johnson was serving the life sentence at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in Milton, Florida when an undisclosed illness led to his death. The mortuary said Johnson will be buried at Weirsdale (Florida) Community Cemetery on Saturday.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
South Carolina men's and women's basketball have received approval from the state to have about 3,500 spectators at games this season. The school said no one will be able to sit in the first five rows around the court to help keep spectators and teams safe amid the continuing novel coronavirus pandemic. Teams will sit on opposite sides of the court as well.
Former Ohio State and WNBA coach Nancy Darsch has died at age 68. She had Parkinson's disease and died Monday. Darsch started her college coaching career as an assistant at Tennessee under Pat Summitt. Darsch led the Buckeyes from 1985 to 1997. Her teams made seven appearances in the NCAA Tournament. In 1993, Ohio State went 28-4 and went to the national title game, where it lost to Texas Tech. Darsch went on to the WNBA and was the inaugural coach of the New York Liberty in 1997. The Liberty called her a "a pioneer of this game."
NHL
The Detroit Red Wings have signed forward Anthony Mantha to a four-year contract. The 26-year-old Mantha has played five seasons in the NHL — all with Detroit. He scored 16 goals with 22 assists last season, ranking third on the team with 38 points. That was despite playing only 43 games because of injury problems. Mantha scored a career-high 25 goals in 2018-19.
© The Associated Press 2020. All Rights Reserved.