Sports News Roundup: Baseball: You're out, minor league season canceled by coronavirus; Doping: China anti-doping official urges WADA and U.S. to end feud and more

Players from 22 teams will live, train and play in a so-called "bubble" at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, with tip-off for the fan-free games set for July 30, months after the league abruptly suspended its season in March due to COVID-19.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 01-07-2020 11:29 IST | Created: 01-07-2020 10:28 IST
Sports News Roundup: Baseball: You're out, minor league season canceled by coronavirus; Doping: China anti-doping official urges WADA and U.S. to end feud and more
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Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

NBA: Commissioner touts safety of Disney World campus for games to resume

With no entirely risk-free path to play, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he hopes the league can be a model for other industries to safely reopen when it resumes its season. Players from 22 teams will live, train and play in a so-called "bubble" at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, with tip-off for the fan-free games set for July 30, months after the league abruptly suspended its season in March due to COVID-19.

Baseball: You're out, minor league season canceled by coronavirus

Minor League Baseball (MiLB) canceled its 2020 season on Tuesday, as Major League Baseball continued to push ahead with plans to begin play next month even as cases of the novel coronavirus continue to spike in regions across the United States. "These are unprecedented times for our country and our organization as this is the first time in our history that we’ve had a summer without Minor League Baseball played,” MiLB president and CEO Pat O’Connor said in a statement.

Doping: China anti-doping official urges WADA and U.S. to end feud

A leading anti-doping official from China urged the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and U.S. anti-doping authorities to end their escalating feud on Tuesday, saying collaboration was the best way to achieve drug-free sport. Tensions rose last week when WADA fired back at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) over a report is sent to the U.S. Congress that threatened to cut funding to the global anti-doping body if sweeping reforms were not immediately undertaken.

Djokovic event lacked bit of common sense, says Amritraj

Novak Djokovic's intentions in organizing the ill-fated Adria Tour were good but the world number one could have applied a bit more common sense to how the exhibition event was run, former ATP players' council head Vijay Amritraj has told Reuters. The Serbian has faced fierce criticism after he, Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric, and Viktor Troicki contracted COVID-19 following the charity event in Serbia and Croatia.

America has never been 'great' for Black people: Pacers coach McMillan

Indiana Pacers coach Nate McMillan has said U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign slogan 'Make America Great Again' rings hollow because the country has never been 'great' for its Black citizens. McMillan's comments come in the wake of weeks of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, under the knee of a white police officer in Minneapolis.

Golf: American Chad Campbell tests positive for COVID-19

American Chad Campbell has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the sixth PGA Tour golfer to do so, the Tour said on Tuesday. Campbell withdrew from this week's Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Michigan, where he was slated to be the first alternate, and said he would quarantine himself until he has made a full recovery.

NWSL's return attracts record-breaking viewership

The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) Challenge Cup kickoff brought in record-breaking viewership as the league became the first in North America to return from the COVID-19 shutdown. The first match of the month-long tournament between the reigning champion North Carolina Courage and Portland Thorns on Saturday brought in 572,000 viewers on CBS, the network said, smashing the record for an NWSL game by more than 200%.

The billionaire, Bollywood and the future of Indian soccer

A storm could be brewing in India's top-flight soccer, a glamorous and acrimonious world that encompasses Asia's richest man, the cream of Bollywood, and a self-styled former gangster. Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire tycoon who commands the Reliance Industries corporate empire that owns the Indian Super League, is facing pushback to his family's dominance from some executives in the country's soccer association and clubs.

D.C. launches bid to be 2026 World Cup host city

Washington, D.C., launched its bid Tuesday to be one of the host cities when the 2026 World Cup comes to North America. "With our deep soccer roots and diversity, the culture of our city gives us the foundation to successfully highlight FIFA World Cup 2026, and leave a lasting impact on the future of the game," D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid, a native Washingtonian, and co-chair of the bid committee DC2026, posted on Instagram.

NBA to stop season if virus spreads

The spread of the coronavirus would prompt the NBA to stop the 2019-20 season, commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday. Speaking on the TIME 100 Talks, Silver said the league is "reasonably confident" about its plan to restart the season in Orlando on the Disney World campus in July. But if the virus spreads among players and personnel in Florida, Silver said the league will have no choice but to pull the plug.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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