Sports News Roundup: Tokyo marks one year to go until Olymiocs; Release the Kraken and more

Baseball: Fox to bring the noise with 'virtual fans' as sport adjusts to new normal When the Major League Baseball season gets underway on Saturday, players will be met by an eerie silence from empty stands at ballparks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but fans at home can expect to see a boisterous full house on their television screens.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tokyo marks one year to go until Olympics... again

Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee, who is battling back from leukemia, provided a glimmer of hope for embattled Tokyo Olympics organizers during a somber yet poignant ceremony to mark one year to go until the rearranged Games on Thursday. The Olympics were due to begin on Friday with an extravagant opening ceremony in the National Stadium but the Games have instead been delayed until July 23, 2021, because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

NHL: Release the Kraken! Seattle unveils name, logo for expansion franchise

Seattle's new NHL team released its name - the Kraken - on Thursday, announcing that the huge mythical sea beast would represent the NHL's 32nd franchise. The Seattle Kraken are expected to take the ice in Washington starting in the 2021-22 season, after the expansion franchise was approved by unanimous vote in December 2018.

Boxing: Saunders fined for social media post promoting domestic abuse

WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders has been found guilty of misconduct and fined by Britain's boxing authorities for a social media post in which he advised men how to hit their female partners during the COVID-19 lockdown. The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) said in a statement that Saunders was fined 15,000 pounds ($19,000).

MLB might expand 2020 playoffs to 16 teams

With the season set to open in less than 24 hours, Major League Baseball and the players union reportedly were talking about how the year will conclude. The possibility of expanding this year's playoffs from 10 teams to 16 teams was under discussion, according to multiple media reports.

Motorcycling: Marquez declared fit to race in Jerez a week after breaking arm

MotoGP champion Marc Marquez has been declared fit to race at this weekend's Andalusian Grand Prix in Jerez but will sit out Friday's practice sessions as he continues to recover from surgery on a broken right arm. Marquez sustained the injury when he crashed in the season-opening Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez last Sunday and underwent surgery in Barcelona two days later.

Motor racing: Hockenheim ruled out for Formula One this year, says, circuit boss

Hockenheim will not host a Formula One race this year after being mooted as a possible stand-in on a calendar ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, the German circuit's manager Jorn Teske said on Thursday. Teske told Reuters that a crowd ban had been a sticking point, with Formula One hoping to allow spectators back later in the year after the championship started this month behind closed doors.

Cycling: CCC-Liv team pulls out of Spain races, citing COVID-19 concerns

Polish-backed women's World Tour cycling team CCC-Liv have pulled out of this week's resumption of racing because of concerns about health risks, the team said on Thursday. Women's racing is returning from a five-month pause caused by the COVID-19 pandemic with two one-day events in Spain, the Emakumeen Nafarroako Klasikoa and Clasica Femenina Navarra.

Antonio Brown demands NFL resolve 'investigations' so he can talk to teams

Antonio Brown's latest retirement lasted all of two days. After tweeting, among other things, "mission complete" when referencing his career on Monday, the four-time All-Pro on Wednesday posted a message to Instagram, calling on the NFL to resolve investigations and provide him clarity "on this situation" so he can talk to teams.

WTA chief hopes Palermo Open will provide blueprint for 2020

WTA chief Steve Simon cannot wait for the Tour to get back up and running in Sicily next month and hopes the Palermo Open will provide a blueprint for tournament operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The women's claycourt tournament, which gets underway in the Sicilian capital on Aug. 3, will be the first across both the WTA or ATP tours since they were suspended in early March because of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Baseball: Fox to bring the noise with 'virtual fans' as sport adjusts to new normal

When the Major League Baseball season gets underway on Saturday, players will be met by an eerie silence from empty stands at ballparks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but fans at home can expect to see a boisterous full house on their television screens. Fox Sports said on Thursday that "virtual fans" will pack the stands on its broadcast of the games in an attempt to recreate the traditional atmosphere at ballparks, with thousands of virtual avatars who cheer or boo at the push of a button.