………………(Baseball)…………….

MLB….Commissioner Rob Manfred conference calls Monday with owners…Proposal to reopen the season in July…Will then tweak the proposal and hold conference call with Union on Tuesday.

..Open 3-week spring training camp in mid-June in home stadiums
..Teams that cannot open in infected cities-go to spring training sights
..80-game schedule to start July 1st
..Teams that cannot play home games-start at spring training sights
..Teams will play regional schedule..AL East would play NL East etc
..Play possible 6-game series to limit travel
..No fans allowed at games
..30-man active rosters…20-player taxi squad

..No Minor League baseball this season
..Playoffs to be expanded to 7-teams per league
..Top team in each league gets a 1st round bye
..2-divisions winners and top wildcard team host Best of 3-series
..3-other wildcard teams will join the field
..Will consider use of DH for all teams
..Players salaries cut in half because 80-game season
..Owners ask players to do revenue share for salaries-no fans games
..Neutral sight stadiums used for playoffs-World Series-November

MLB…Making contingency plans for Yankees-Mets-Red Sox-Orioles in most infected cities…May have to open spring training in Florida…Could have to play regular season games to start season at their spring training sights also.

Union…Sources indicate Union will go to ‘War’ if Manfred tries to get players to take a second pay-cut because they will start season without fans.

MLB..Informs Union will limit Baseball Draft to just 5-rounds…Players will be signed to slotted according last year’s bonus system…Undrafted players can be signed to only 20,000-bonus…To be determined how many undrafted players a team can sign.

Padres…If the ‘Return to Play’ proposal is excepted, would play bulk of games against NL West teams..Dodgers-Giants-Arizona-Rockies..but would also play teams in AL-West, possibly one series apiece against Angels-A’s-Mariners-Texas-Astros to make up rest of 80-game schedule….Padres would face a very rugged schedule against high powered teams.

Phillies..ownership guarantees all employees full-time pay thru October 31st

Yankees…3B-Miguel Andujar cleared for full spring training workouts-coming off shoulder surgery.

Bobby Del Greco..passes away (86)..Longtime OF with Cardinals-Pirates-Yankees..1950s-60s
Jim Coates..former Yankees-Senators-Angels pitcher passes away (87)..was (40-22) as reliever…1960-70s
Bob Johnson..ex 2nd baseman Senators-Orioles-Mets passes away..played in 60s-70s.

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……………………..(Football)……………

Chargers…1st round draft pick QB-Justin Herbert moves to Orange County to work with personal trainer and beginning Virtual-OTA-Classroom work with coaches.

NBC…Reporting NFL looking at possiblilty of moving Chargers-Rams opening home games to Las Vegas Allegiant Stadium if the Virus-Crisis prohibits them from playing in LA to start the season.

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(Teams)

Bears..Do not pick up 5th year option QB-Mitch Trubisky…tell him to ‘earn it’…will compete with Nick Foles for starting QB job.

Steelers…Doctors say QB-Ben Roethlisberger cleared for all training camp workouts coming off elbow surgery.

Patriots..Coach Bill Belicheck says ‘have 4-Good QBs in our room’…not interested in Cam Newton.

Vikings..QB-Kirk Cousins wants to form passing camp with his WRs in Florida in June.

Bengals..Will not sign veteran QB to work with first round pick Joe Burrow…will use 2nd year man Ryan Finley as his backup.

Carolina..Hire Pat Stewart-Director Player Personnel-ex Eagles
Tennessee..President Steve Underwood leaves franchise after 40-years

Colts..QB-Philip Rivers agrees to become head football coach at St. Michaels High School in Fairhope, Alabama when his career is over

XFL..Vince McMahon puts spring football league up for sale…lost 26M in first half season operation…Filed for bankruptcy.

CFL…Commissioner meets with Parliament says league could fold unless it gets 150M-loan to stay afloat…CFL looking at just 8-schedule for season because of late start and virus

49ers..Confirm exploring ‘out of state’ training camp if California remains in lockdown mode in late summer.

Rams…Ex-RB-Todd Gurley says team still has not paid him (7.2M) roster bonus he was due in April.

NFL Concussion Committee…says it has paid off 35% of claims…denied 31% of claims…evaluating other 44%….average pay-out to injured players (650,000) each.

California….Governor Gavin Newsome wants meeting with NFL Medical people to discuss ‘what happens if players test positive’…not willing to open stadiums to fans this summer or fall.

CFL..Calgary Stampeders..Sign QB-Jake Maier-UC Davis…threw for (89TD-11,163Y) in career with Aggies…also sign DT-Dadi Nicolas-ex Chiefs…LB-JoJo Tillery-ex Titans.

CFL..Edmonton Eskimos..Sign WR-Armanti Edwards..ex Toronto Argonauts 1,000-yard receiver….ex-Carolina Panther…record setting QB-Appalachian State…(14,700APY-130TD)

ESPN…Fires Monday Night Broadcast crew Joe Tessitore-Booger McFarland after two disastrous years in booth.

NFL..Thursday night schedule has two games going head to head with Trump-Biden debates in the fall…Chiefs-Bills game…Giants-Eagles game.

NFL..Criticism over schedule…Baltimore leaves Eastern time zone only once this year….Seattle goes to Eastern time zone 5X…Rams 4X.

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(Roster Moves)

Jaguars…Sign FA-QB-Mike Glennon-ex Tampa Bay-Bears-Arizona
Eagles..Open talks to re-sign veteran LT-Jason Peters
Saints..Release veteran OG-Larry Warford

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(College Football)

NCAA…President Mark Emmert says ‘if we don’t have student on campus…then we can’t have student athletes on campus for fall sports’….Responding to questions whether the college football season can start on time.

Pac 12..Commissioner Larry Scott…optimistic there will be a full season of college football…says coaches feel they need 6W of training camp though..might have to push start of season back.

Wisconsin..Coach Paul Chryst takes 15%-pay cut
West Virginia..Coach Neal Brown takes 10% pay reduction

Western Kentucky…lands transfer QB-Jarren Williams-ex Miami

San Diego State..Receives 2.5M donation for new football stadium from Walter Zable Family Foundation.

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……………….(Basketball)…………….

SDSU…former C-Joel Mensah-transfers to James Madison University
SDSU..lands (6’10-C) Joshua Tomaic from Maryland..averaged (1P-1R) a game last year.
SDSU..signs home and home series with Arizona State-starts 2020.

NBA..Proposing to Union…using 2-bubble city plan to host playoff games..Las Vegas and Orlando-Disney World…playoff teams would report for 3W-training camp then start playoffs in July in those cities without fans.

NBA Union…Not like the 2-Bubble City proposal…wants teams to play in home cities and allow players to be with their families…travel on private jets to games.

Shaquille O’Neal..Thinks NBA should scrap the entire season and playoff idea and work towards starting 2020-21 season in October rather than December.

Toronto..Raptors to open facilities…1-player and 1-trainer on the floor at a time.

Lakers..Delay opening facility till May 16th

Portland..G-CJ McCollum says opening playoffs now ‘is not safe’
Clippers..Coach Doc Rivers…’worried about opening season now’
Dallas..G-Luca Doncic-flew home to Slovenia during outbreak-might not be able to return

Mike Storen…former GM-ABA-Indiana Pacers-Kentucky Colonels..former Commissioner ABA…passes away (84)…built ABA-power Indiana Pacers franchise.

NBA…Commissioner Adam Silver says NBA teams get 40% of revenue from fans in the stands….Players may have to take paycuts in addition to pro-rated salaries if games start without fans.

Chicago..reports coach Jim Boylan could be fired before season restarts…  was (39-84) with Bulls.

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……………(Hockey)………..

American Hockey League…..3-hour conference call on Friday discussing cancellation of rest of season and playoffs…No announcement yet on outcome of Board of Governors meetings.

Washington..Release F-Bredan Leipsic-terminate 700,000 contract for rude comments on social media about wives and women.

NHL..Cancels International games in Prague, Helsinki, Germany and Switzerland.

Ontario…Province says it will allow NHL-MLB-NBA-CFL teams to to open facilities for small groups of players to do conditioning…but no practices or scrimmages.

NHL..continues dialogue with Union about using a 4-hub city to start 24-team playoffs…with Best of 3-cities…has yet to choose the cities or dates to start.

Montreal..Sign D-Alexander Romanov-CSKA-Moscow-KHL
Edmonton..Sign D-Yanni Kaldis-ex Cornell University
Chicago..Lose F-Anton Wedin-signs to play for HV71-Sweden
Rangers..Sign G-Tyler Wall..ex UMass-Lowell (.931) save percentage
Penguins..Veteran F-Ben Sexton-retires

Ducks..Re-sign C-Sam Carrick and D-Brendan Gruhle to contract extensions-played most of season with AHL-San Diego Gulls.

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…………………(General)………………

England…Prime Minister Boris Johnson extends lockdown in country till June 1st…does not give permission to English Premier League teams to consider full opening of camps.

NASCAR…Drops Chicagoland..Richmond…Sonoma races…will move those races to Darlington-Charlotte….NASCAR schedule starts May 17th

Indy Car…Announces opening of season June 6th with Texas 400..no fans allowed.

Chip Ganassi Racing…reopens shops in Indianapolis-Charlotte..limited work crews with testing.

Formula 1…Driver Lewis Hamilton says he has ’empty feeling’ about opening of season without fans.

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