Reuters Sports News Summary

Motor racing: IndyCar ready to welcome back spectators The IndyCar Series is ready to welcome spectators back to the track, saying on Thursday that a limited number of tickets will be made available to fans for a doubleheader event on July 17-18 at Iowa Speedway.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. NFL: League to make 'adjustments as necessary' amid COVID-19

The NFL said on Thursday it will make adjustments as necessary to keep players safe following comments from top U.S. health official Anthony Fauci who said football may not happen unless athletes live in a "bubble". Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN it would be hard to see football played this year unless athletes were quarantined in one closed-off community like the NBA plans to do at Disney World in July. USOPC to begin reopening training facilities this month

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) on Thursday said it would begin to gradually reopen two of its training facilities later this month. The Colorado Springs and Lake Placid Training Centers will welcome back a limited number of athletes starting on June 26, three months after they were shuttered due to the COVID-19 crisis, USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said. F1 engine changes could take twice as long under new measures

Formula One mechanics could take twice as long to change an engine under new measures to protect them from COVID-19 and reliability will be key, according to Racing Point technical director Andrew Green. The new protocols come into force when the season starts in Austria on July 5 and Green told reporters on Thursday his team was coming to terms with the new reality of everything taking more time. MLBPA counters with 70-game proposal

The Major League Baseball Players Association offered a counterproposal Thursday to the league that includes a 70-game regular season and expanded playoffs in 2020 and 2021. The schedule would run from July 19 through Sept. 30. According to ESPN, the union's latest offer also calls for $50 million in playoff bonuses, a 50/50 split of new postseason television revenues in 2021, salary-advance forgiveness, use of a universal designated hitter and a mutual waiver of the right to file a grievance. Motor racing: IndyCar ready to welcome back spectators

The IndyCar Series is ready to welcome spectators back to the track, saying on Thursday that a limited number of tickets will be made available to fans for a doubleheader event on July 17-18 at Iowa Speedway. After a near three-month forced delay due to the coronavirus outbreak, IndyCar launched its season on June 6 with a race without fans at Texas Motor Speedway won by New Zealand's Scott Dixon. Golf: Poulter, Hubbard share early lead at RBC Heritage

Britain's Ian Poulter capped an error-free opening round with a birdie-birdie finish to grab a share of the early lead with American Mark Hubbard at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina on Thursday. With the PGA Tour staging just its second event following a three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Poulter showed no signs of rust with a rock-solid seven-under 64 in ideal scoring conditions at the Harbor Town Golf Links. Djokovic says important all players free to travel to U.S. Open

World number one Novak Djokovic says he is excited by the prospect of playing at the U.S. Open but says it would only be fair if every player eligible is able to compete. The Unites States Tennis Association (USTA) announced this week that the U.S. Open would go ahead at the end of August without fans and with strict health protocols in place. Horse racing: Stradivarius takes third successive Ascot Gold Cup

Stradivarius, ridden by Frankie Dettori, blew away the field to land a third successive Gold Cup at Royal Ascot on Thursday in a race run without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 4-5 favourite, trained by John Gosden, hit the front with two furlongs to go and accelerated away to win by 10 lengths from Nayef Road (11-1) and Cross Counter (7-1) in soft conditions. Kaepernick joins Medium, will create content on race and civil rights

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has joined the board of directors of Medium and will work on content focused on race and civil rights, the U.S.-based online publishing platform announced on Thursday. Kaepernick, who sparked a national debate when he protested against racial injustice by kneeling https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nfl-kaepernick-sit/nfls-kaepernick-kneels-during-national-anthem-continuing-protest-idUSKCN11806U as the U.S. national anthem played during a game, will be publishing across Medium's platform and sharing thoughts on anti-Black racism in society, the company said. Mavericks owner Cuban says NBA should allow 'take a knee' protests

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said on Thursday he hopes the National Basketball Association will allow players to take a knee during the national anthem to support protests over the May 25 death of African American George Floyd in police custody. Video footage showed a white police officer in Minneapolis kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes before the unarmed 46-year-old man died, triggering outrage and protests across the United States and in other countries.