The National Hockey League and NHL Players' Association have reached a tentative agreement to return to play this season and extend their collective bargaining agreement by four years. Training camps would open July 13 and games would resume Aug. 1 if approved by the league's board of governors and players' executive committee and full membership.
The NHL is going straight to the playoffs with 24 teams resuming play. Those teams will travel to one of two "hub" cities July 26. A person with direct knowledge of the agreements told The Associated Press that the NHL has selected Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, to be the hub cities in hosting the qualifying round and at least first two playoff rounds.
MLB
The New York Yankees held their first intrasquad game of summer camp Monday as they prepare for a condensed 60-game season that starts in 2 1/2 weeks. Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton and other regulars from the defending AL East champs took hacks under the lights against teammates for six innings. J.A. Happ's first pitch came about an hour after Major League Baseball unveiled the schedule it hopes to run through a pandemic. The Yankees will open July 23 against the World Series champion Nationals in Washington. The Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, and St. Louis Cardinals all called off training camp practices Monday after not receiving COVID-19 test results from Friday.
In other MLB news:
Atlanta Braves veteran outfielder Nick Markakis has become the latest player to opt out of the 2020 season due to increased concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Markakis is the second Atlanta veteran in two days to announce plans to sit out the 60-game season, following right-hander Félix Hernández. The 36-year-old Markakis says he was uneasy about playing the season without fans and then was swayed by his telephone conversation with teammate Freddie Freeman, who has tested positive for COVID-19 and has fever and other symptoms. Dodgers pitcher David Price, Washington infielder Ryan Zimmerman and Colorado outfielder Ian Desmond are among other players who have opted out.
All-Star slugger Joey Gallo has tested positive for the coronavirus and is missing the Texas Rangers' summer camp. The outfielder has yet to show any symptoms. Gallo had been among Rangers players who worked out for several weeks at their new ballpark before his positive test. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels says Gallo has had multiple tests, including one that came back negative. An initial test June 27 was positive, followed by a negative test and then another positive result Sunday. Gallo is isolating at his Dallas apartment and away from teammates.
Phillies ace Aaron Nola reported to camp on Monday after waiting a few extra days because he was in contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus. The Phillies have had seven players and five staff members test positive for the virus. None has been identified. Nola threw a bullpen session upon arriving and would likely start Philadelphia's season opener later this month if he's ready. Nola finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2018 when he was 17-6 with a 2.37 ERA. He was 12-7 with a 3.87 ERA last year.
Mookie Betts wasn't moved by Major League Baseball's response in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody, and the Los Angeles Dodgers' newest star has a goal of getting the Black community to love baseball as much as he does. MLB released a statement nine days after the death of Floyd. MLB was the last of the major pro sports leagues that either responded to Floyd's death or condemned racism. Betts says baseball didn't do a good job with that, but he think voices were heard.
GOLF
The PGA Tour and the Memorial have scrapped state-approved plans to have limited spectators next week in Ohio. The Memorial was scheduled to be the first tournament with spectators since golf return from the COVID-19 pandemic-caused shutdown. Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine approved a plan for there to be 20% capacity at Muirfield Village. The tour said rapidly changing dynamics of the pandemic caused that to change. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan says golf needs to stay focused on health and safety. Muirfield Village is hosting back-to-back events. The Workday Charity Open this week was not planning on having fans.
NFL
The Kansas City Chiefs made sure they'll have Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes around as long as possible. Mahomes agreed to a 10-year extension worth up to $503 million, according to his agency, Steinberg Sports. The deal is worth $477 million in guarantee mechanisms and includes a no-trade clause and opt-out clauses if guarantee mechanisms aren't met. It's the richest contract in professional sports history, surpassing Mike Trout's $426.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels. The Chiefs had the 2018 NFL MVP under contract for the next two seasons but that wasn't nearly enough. The contract extension starts in 2022 when the NFL salary cap is projected to be $227.5 million. However, that number could be lower depending on revenue losses due to the cornonavirus pandemic and the possibility any games played this season won't have fans.
In other NFL news:
The San Francisco 49ers signed cornerback Jamar Taylor to a one-year contract. San Francisco cleared room on the roster by waiving cornerback Teez Tabor with a non-football injury designation. The 29-year-old Taylor appeared in 12 combined games for Atlanta and Seattle last season.
More than a dozen Native American leaders and organizations have sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell calling for the league to force Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder to change the team name immediately. The letter was signed by 15 Native American advocates and obtained by The Associated Press. It demands the team and the NFL cease the use of Native American names, imagery and logos — with specific importance put on Washington, which last week launched what the team called a " thorough review " of its name. The letter was delivered on the same day that President Donald Trump voiced his opposition to any name change by the team. Several team sponsors have come out in favor of change recently and Snyder showed his first indication of willingness to do so amid a nationwide movement to erase racially insensitive symbols.
NASCAR
President Donald Trump is criticizing NASCAR for banning the Confederate flag at its races and is going after its only Black driver. After a weekend spent stoking division, Trump wrongly accused Bubba Wallace of perpetrating "a hoax" after one of his crew members discovered a rope shaped like a noose in a garage stall. Federal authorities ruled last month that the rope had been hanging there since at least last October and was not a hate crime. Trump is asking whether Wallace has "apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid."
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