FOOTBALL

On Wednesday the Big Ten announced football will begin the weekend of October 24th, but there was uncertainty about whether the conference would be eligible for the College Football Playoff. According to reports, the CFP Rankings will be announced on December 20th, so the Big Ten will be included.

The Pac-12 is now considering returning as well. They plan is to target mid-to-late November. The delay is apparently due to getting FDA approved rapid COVID-19 tests, so the league can test student-athletes daily.

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The NCAA Division 1 Council agreed college basketball will begin on November 25th. The season has been reduced to between 24-27 games.

LeBron James was selected to his 16th All-NBA selection, a record in the history of the NBA. He was previously tied with Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The other All-NBA First Team selections are: Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Anthony Davis, and Luka Doncic.

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The NFL season opens tonight with the Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, hosting the Houston Texans at 8:20 ET. Games will surely look and sound different this season without the throng of fans in the seats or cheerleaders and mascots on the field. Crowd noise will be piped in in lieu of people in the stands, but depending on where you live, some stadiums are allowing a limited number of fans. Click here for a list of stadium guidelines.

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The Toronto Raptors beat the Boston Celtics 125-122 in a thrilling Game 6 double overtime in the second round of the playoffs. The Raptors have demonstrated resilience during this series coming back from a 2-0 deficit to force a Game 7 on Friday. For a full list of playoff games, click here.

BASEBALL

Hedge fund manager Steve Cohen appears to be in final talks to purchase the NY Mets. According to reports, his final bid values the team at $2.35 billion (down $250 million from when he first tried to buy the franchise in February). The other high profile bidders, Josh Harris-David Blitzer group and Jennifer Lopez-Alex Rodrigues, have apparently dropped out.

The baseball world lost one of the greats this week. Tom Seaver, a Hall of Famer who led the Mets from last place to a world championship in his first three seasons with the franchise, passed away at the age of 75 from Lewy body dementia and COVID-19 complications. The Mets released the following statement:  “Tom was nicknamed ‘The Franchise’ and ‘Tom Terrific’ because of how valuable he truly was to our organization and our loudspeakers fans, as his #41 was the first player number retired by the organization in 1988. He was simply the greatest Mets player of all-time, and among the best to ever play the game which culminated with his near unanimous induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992.”

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The drama around the Big Ten having a football season continues. The White House has even weighed in with President Trump calling conference commissioner Kevin Warren to discuss the league’s status. After the call, Trump tweeted: “Had a very productive conversation with Kevin Warren, Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, about immediately starting up Big Ten football. Would be good (great!) for everyone – Players, Fans, Country. On the one yard line!”

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed running back Leonard Fournette just days after the Jacksonville Jaguars released him.

In other NFL news, Buffalo Wild Wings is trying to recreate a stadium experience for Cleveland Browns fans and is offering season ticket packages to the restaurant.

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With a huge block from James Harden, the Houston Rockets held off the Oklahoma City Thunder to win Game 7. They will now take on the LA Lakers in round 2 of the playoffs.

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Georgetown’s Hall of Fame coach John Thompson Jr. passed away on Sunday at the age of 78. The legendary coach was the first African American coach to lead his team to the NCAA championship. Thompson will be remembered as not only a great coach but as a trailblazer who had an influential impact on his player’s lives on and off the court. Thomas Boswell from the Washington Post wrote the following about him, “Thompson’s pride was the impact he had on his players. And if they didn’t want to receive the full weight of that impact, they could move along — out of Georgetown. The Hoyas’ graduation rate for four-year players was 97 percent, because they knew that, no matter what their academic challenges when they entered, they only had two years to prove they were serious about using school to prepare themselves for life — or give somebody else the chance they were wasting.”

Thanks to Chris Paul, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Houston Rockets to force a Game 7 on Wednesday in the first round of the playoffs.

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In documents from a lawsuit filed by eight Nebraska football players hoping to play football this season, it was revealed that the Big 10 presidents and chancellors voted 11-3 to cancel the 2020 fall college football season. According to reports, Nebraska, Iowa, and Ohio State voted to play, but that wasn’t enough to prevent the league from postponing.

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After postponing games on Wednesday and Thursday, the NBA players voted to resume their postseason this weekend.

LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers spoke about the heated emotions coming from the players and personnel this week and attributed some of it to the emotional wear and tear of being in the bubble for more than 50 days. He said, “You forget that being in the bubble is hard. And even some of that came up [around the boycott]. I knew it was hard, but listening to some of these guys speak, just mental awareness, we got to be a little sharper on that as well…I don’t think it’s a coincidence that everyone in this bubble just seems to be a little bit more emotional and I’m not kidding. It’s true. I think part of the effect of being like jammed together every day, it has had that effect on everyone.”

HOCKEY

The NHL postponed the Stanley Cup playoff games scheduled for Thursday and Friday this week after receiving criticism for continuing to play on Wednesday and not joining the NBA, WNBA, MLS, and some MLB teams in protesting racial injustice.

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In the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday, the Milwaukee Bucks decided they weren’t going to play their scheduled game against the Orlando Magic yesterday.  Soon after, the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder also announced they would be sitting out their scheduled games. The NBA then decided all three of Wednesday’s games would be postponed.

The WNBA, several baseball teams, and former #1 tennis players Naomi Osaka joined the NBA teams in postponing their games on Wednesday.

Later in the day, according to reports, the LA Lakers and LA Clippers voted to sit out the rest of the NBA season in protest. Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James were the most vocal calling for more action from the league’s owners.

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The Washington Football team is back in the news with more examples of a culture of sexual harassment. According to a new report, the Team used their cheerleaders to make lewd videos for team owner Dan Snyder.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves were awarded the first pick in the NBA Draft lottery. The Golden State Warriors will get the second pick, while the Charlotte Hornets landed at the #3 spot. The Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers round out the top five.

BASEBALL

The New York Mets had to postpone their Thursday night matchup against the Miami Marlins and will postpone their Subway Series against the New York Yankees due to a player and staff member testing positive for COVID-19.

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The Kansas City Chiefs banned their fans from American Indian-themed traditions including wearing headdresses and painting their faces at home games. They will also be reviewing their policy regarding the Arrowhead Chop and the Drum Deck. They will continue, however, their Blessing of the Four Directions and the Blessing of the Drum rituals.

INDY 500

The Indianapolis 500 will be held on Sunday at 2:30 pm ET. The race, known as “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” has traditionally been held on Memorial Day weekend, but due to the pandemic, it was postponed. The winner of the Indy 500 drinks milk in Victory Lane. The tradition started in 1936 when Louis Meyer won the race then picked up a bottle of milk because his mother said it would refresh him on a hot day. The dairy industry saw an opening and made it a tradition.

BASEBALL

After Fernando Tatís Jr. hit a “controversial” grand slam on Monday, the Padres have been on a roll becoming the first team in MLB history to hit grand slams in four straight games.

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The 37th annual NBA draft lottery will be at 8:00 pm ET on ESPN tonight. The Golden State Warriors finished the season with the worst record, and along with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves, will have a 14% chance to get the #1 pick.

LaMelo Ball, Obi Toppin, Anthony Edwards, and James Wiseman are considered potential top prospects depending on which team secures the first pick.

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Veteran MLB and NFL broadcaster Thom Brennaman has been suspended indefinitely after a homophobic remark during a Cincinnati Reds broadcast on Fox Sports Ohio. Brennaman did not know his mic was on when the incident happened. During the second game of the doubleheader, Brennaman issued an apology then was immediately pulled off the air.

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Arch Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, was ranked as the #1 quarterback and #5 overall player in the 247Sports player rankings for the class of 2023.  Arch is the son of Cooper Manning, Peyton and Eli’s older brother. Arch is heading into his sophomore year at Isidore Newman high school in New Orleans and has already received scholarship offers from Duke, North Carolina, LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Georgia, and Texas.

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The NBA postseason begins today with the first round of playoffs featuring:  No. 6 Jazz at No. 3 Nuggets (1:30 pm ET); No. 7 Nets at No. 2 Raptors (4 pm); No. 6 76ers at No. 3 Celtics (6:30 pm); No. 7 Mavs at No. 2 Clippers (9 pm).

The FDA granted emergency authorization for public use of a saliva-based coronavirus test called SalivaDirect. The test was developed by Yale University with partial funding from the NBA and NBPA (NBA Players Association). Most tests cost hundreds of dollars per sample, but SalivaDirect costs around $10 and, depending on the location of the lab, could be available within a few hours.

COLLEGE SPORTS

Senators Cory Booker (NJ) and Richard Blumenthal (CT) are leading an effort to create a College Athletes Bill of Rights. As part of the proposal, athletes would get a say in the rule-making process, have opportunities for revenue-sharing agreements, and have access to better health and safety protocols.

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Washington hired Jason Wright as their new team president, making him the first Black team president in NFL history. The 38-year-old Wright replaces Bruce Allen as head of the organization’s business divisions. In addition to seven years as an NFL running back, Wright has an MBA from the University of Chicago and a psychology degree from Northwestern. He was also a management consultant at McKinsey & Company.

BASEBALL

The Major League Baseball season starts tonight, marking the first North American major sports league to play since the pandemic shut down the world. Tonight’s matchup features:

• 7 pm ET: Yankees (Cole) at Nationals (Scherzer)
• 10 pm ET: Giants (Cueto) at Dodgers (Kershaw)

For the full MLB schedule click here.

Mookie Betts signed a huge deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday. His 12-year contract extension worth $365 million is the second-largest in Major League Baseball history. Only Mike Trout’s 12-year $430 million contract with the Los Angles Angels ranks higher.

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Denver Nuggets rookie Bol Bol (son of NBA player Manute Bol) made a splash in his on-court debut, a scrimmage over the Washington Wizards. The 7-foot 2 Bol Bol finished the game with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and six blocks.