Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Teams to set new ticketing guidelines amid coronavirus season delay

As ballparks across North America sit empty, Major League Baseball teams are set to release new ticket policies that could see some fans getting refunds, a little over a month after the season was supposed to start. Like other major professional sports leagues, MLB's calendar has been put on hold amid the coronavirus outbreak that has kept millions across the globe indoors and away from large public gatherings to stem the spread of the virus. New research says players at risk of coronavirus spread to lungs

Research from Germany and Italy suggests that footballers and other athletes face a particular risk of the coronavirus infecting their lungs, raising major questions over attempts to restart professional soccer. The research, produced by Italian immunologists and lung specialists based at institutes in Berlin, Rome and Verona, suggests that due to strenuous exercise, elite athletes are more likely to inhale virus particles and direct them to the lower areas of the lung. Matches should not be played until September says FIFA medical chief

FIFA's medical committee chairman Michel D'Hooghe has said football should not be played until at least the start of September to limit the spread of the new coronavirus and when it does resume that yellow cards be handed out for spitting. “If there is one moment where absolute priority should be given to medical matters, then it is this one. This is not a matter of money but of life and death,” D'Hooghe told Sky Sports News in an interview on Tuesday. NASCAR aims for May 17 return at Darlington, midweek races

NASCAR sent teams a schedule for the next two months that starts with a return to racing on May 17 at Darlington, S.C., Autoweek reported on Tuesday. The race would be one of five in May and among four held near most of the NASCAR team's home bases to restart the 2020 schedule. Brady's 'All in Challenge' auction listing hits $775,000

A fan plans to shell out over $750,000 on Tuesday for the chance to have dinner with six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and claim a pack of Tampa Bay opening game tickets and memorabilia as an auction touting the newly-signed Buccaneer nears its end. The auction, ending at 9 p.m. ET (0100 GMT), reached a bid of $775,000 on Tuesday, as part of a series of celebrity and athlete offerings in the 'All In Challenge' fundraiser to help feed those in need during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Maradona asks for Hand of God to end pandemic

A decision to restructure Argentine football that will save Diego Maradona's club from relegation was dubbed another Hand of God moment on Tuesday, but the former striker said the divine intervention he wished for was to beat the coronavirus pandemic. The Argentine Football Association voted to suspend relegation for two seasons on Tuesday, saving the Maradona-coached Gimnasia club, who are currently bottom of the league, from going down. Henry cooks and waits for MLS to make decision on season

All Montreal Impact manager Thierry Henry says he can do is train, cook and wait to see when or if the Major League Soccer season will resume as countries ease novel coronavirus lockdown measures that have brought global sport to a standstill. "I'm trying to train in the morning, train in the afternoon and cooking that takes a lot of time already," said Henry, summing up his day during a Zoom conference call on Tuesday. "I know it sounds kind of boring but the situation makes it like that. NFL sets 2021 draft date in Cleveland

Cleveland received its official save the date card from the NFL for the 2021 draft. The draft, conducted virtually last weekend, will be held April 29-May 1, the NFL confirmed Tuesday. Report: MLB could resume by July 4

Major League Baseball could hold a rescheduled Opening Day between mid-June and July 4 and play at least 80 games this season, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported Tuesday. The regular season could consist of as many as 100 games and run well into November. The postseason could be played at neutral sites, with the World Series ending in late November or early December, Rosenthal said. Japan must keep state of emergency, 2021 Olympics 'difficult,' top doctor says

It is too early to consider lifting Japan's state of emergency over the coronavirus, the head of a powerful physicians' lobby said on Tuesday, adding that Tokyo would find it tough to host next year's Olympics without an effective vaccine. The comments of the Japan Medical Association (JMA) chief highlight the nation's concerns about a pandemic that prompted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to call the nationwide emergency until the final day of Golden Week holidays on May 6.