Reuters Sports News Summary

A total of 25 players and 10 team staff members have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since testing began on June 23, the National Basketball Association said in a statement on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Baseball: Exemption allows Blue Jays to return home, but for how long

The Toronto Blue Jays will return home to the Rogers Centre for training camp after the Major League Baseball team was granted an exemption by the Canadian government on Thursday but where they will play their COVID-19 shortened regular season remains uncertain. With the border to the U.S. closed to non-essential travel until at least July 21, anyone entering Canada must self-isolate for 14 days. PGA Tour shortens players' path to return from COVID-19

The PGA Tour announced Wednesday that it will alter its health and safety plan to allow asymptomatic players a quicker road to return. Tour player Cameron Champ will be the first to take advantage of the new standards as he was allowed back into the field at this weekend's Rocket Mortgage Challenge at Detroit after three negative coronavirus tests in a 72-hour period. NFL: Redskins stadium sponsor FedEx requests team change its name

Key sponsor FedEx Corp has asked the Washington Redskins to change their name, adding to renewed calls for the NFL franchise to be rebranded. FedEx has the naming rights to the team's Landover, Maryland, stadium, known as FedExField, under a 27-year deal for which it paid $205 million in 1999, according to media reports at the time. Djokovic, wife Jelena test negative for COVID-19

Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena have tested negative for COVID-19, nine days after returning a positive test, the world number one tennis player's media team said on Thursday. Djokovic, along with Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki, tested positive after playing in the Adria Tour, an exhibition tournament organised by the 17-times Grand Slam champion. Golf: Blistering finish earns Redman share of early lead

Doc Redman collected seven birdies in his last eight holes to grab a share of the early first-round lead with Scott Stallings at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit on Thursday. Redman, runner-up at last year's Mortgage Classic and still chasing a first PGA Tour win, made a quiet start at the Detroit Golf Club, picking up a single birdie on his outward nine. Flyers F Lindblom completes cancer treatments

Philadelphia Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom completed his treatments for bone cancer Thursday. To mark the occasion, the 23-year-old Swede rang a ceremonial bell at Abramson Cancer Center at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. NBA: Nine more players test positive for COVID-19

Nine more NBA players have tested positive for COVID-19, less than a week before teams are set to travel to Florida to resume the 2020 season. A total of 25 players and 10 team staff members have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since testing began on June 23, the National Basketball Association said in a statement on Thursday. NFLPA hasn't signed off on two-game preseason: report

The NFL Players Association reportedly has not yet signed off on an abbreviated, two-game preseason. "Some in union leadership continue to question whether it's smart to play ANY preseason games," NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported late Wednesday. MLB will be lucky to finish season amid virus surge: Manfred

While attempting to clarify comments he made a day earlier that caused a bit of a stir, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday admitted the league will "be lucky" to play a full 60-game abbreviated season. During an interview on the "Dan Patrick Show" on Wednesday, Manfred said, "The reality is, we weren't going to play more than 60 games no matter how the negotiations with the players went or any other factor." NFL to play 'Black national anthem' before Week one games

The NFL will play "Lift Every Voice and Sing," a song often referred to as the Black national anthem, prior to the kickoff of Week 1 games, a source familiar with the league's discussions told Reuters on Thursday. The song, written by James Weldon Johnson and his brother J. Rosamond Johnson in the early 1900s, will precede the traditional pre-game playing of the "Star-Spangled Banner," the official national anthem.