The Latest: Washington Nationals resume training camp
The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
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The reigning World Series champion Washington Nationals have resumed training camp after canceling workouts Monday because of COVID-19 testing delays.
General manager Mike Rizzo said the team felt confident about getting back to Nationals Park for practices after receiving all player and staff test results from Friday. The American League champion Houston Astros also canceled workouts Monday and resumed Tuesday.
A handful of players did not take part in workouts, including Starlin Castro, Juan Soto, Howie Kendrick and Victor Robles. Without naming names, Rizzo said two players tested positive for the coronavirus and that any players and staff who came into contact with them had to be re-tested
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Major League Soccer has postponed Wednesday night’s match between Nashville and Chicago Fire.
MLS says five Nashville players have received positive tests for COVID-19 since arriving in Orlando. Two players received positive results during the weekend, while three others got their positive results Monday night. Four other Nashville players need further testing after receiving inconclusive results.
The league is continuing to evaluate Nashville’s participation in its tournament. FC Dallas withdrew Monday after 10 players tested positive for coronavirus.
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New York Liberty guard Asia Durr will miss the upcoming WNBA season after testing positive for the coronavirus on June 8.
Durr detailed her struggles with COVID-19 in a post on Instagram. The former Louisville star says she hasn't fully recovered.
The second pick of the 2019 WNBA draft averaged 6.7 points in her rookie season, starting 15 of her 18 appearances before being sidelined for the season with a hip injury.
“Asia worked extremely hard this offseason to put herself in position to take a major leap forward in her second WNBA season,” Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said. “While we are disappointed that we will need to wait a bit longer to see her emerge as one of the bright young players in the game, we fully recognize and support the difficult decision she had to make amidst unprecedented circumstances. Brooklyn will be ready for her in 2021.”
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Two members of Louisville’s men’s basketball program have tested positive for COVID-19 and the team has suspended voluntary activities for two weeks.
A news release from the school did not specify whether it was players or staff members who tested positive. It added that those impacted are being quarantined and proper protocols are being followed.
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The R&A is going ahead with the Women’s British Open at Royal Troon without spectators.
The Women’s British Open is set for Aug. 20-23 at Royal Troon along the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. It would be the first major on the LPGA Tour schedule that is played this year and it would be the week after the Ladies Scottish Open on the other side of the country just east of Edinburgh.
Qualifying for the AIG Women’s British Open has been canceled. The R&A says the field will be comprised of leading players from the women’s world ranking and recognizing top performances at recent events on the world’s leading tours.
The R&A says it will create a bio secure zone at Royal Troon for those essential to the championship. It says it will continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure a safe championship without spectators.
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The International Cycling Union says this year’s BMX world championships have been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The event was scheduled to be held in Houston in May and was at first postponed.
The UCI says no new host was found “despite its best efforts to come up with an alternative.”
The next BMX worlds are scheduled to start in Papendal, Netherlands, in August 2021. That is one week after the Tokyo Olympics. Four BMX medal events are on the Olympic program.
The UCI also says the 2020 season in BMX Freestyle Park and Flatland World Cup will not happen.
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Sixteen players and officials from Bulgarian soccer club Cherno More have tested positive for coronavirus.
The club from the Black Sea town of Varna says 12 players are among the positive cases and adds “all players who tested positive are quarantined and we have taken the necessary precautions.”
Cherno More played a league game against Tsarsko Selo in Sofia on Thursday. The laboratory that conducted pre-match tests admitted the following day that it had not announced that one of the players on the team from Sofia had tested positive.
Cherno More says the club is still ready to play on Tuesday against Arda Kardzhali despite the positive tests. The quarantined players would be replaced by members of the team’s junior squad.
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The Austrian soccer league has started an investigation into the coronavirus testing procedures of all 16 second-division teams after three players from one club tested positive over the weekend.
The league says each club must provide receipts and test results to prove that all players have been tested on a weekly basis since play resumed on June 5 after a 12-week break.
The investigation comes after last-place Kapfenberger SV apparently breached the anti-coronavirus rules by failing to structurally test its players.
The league opened proceedings against Kapfenberg on Monday.
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Two more badminton tournaments have been canceled in the revamped calendar because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The China Masters in Lingshui was canceled after already being moved from February to May and then to August.
It was to be the first comeback event but that’s now expected to be the Chinese Taipei Open in Taipei from Sept. 1-6.
The Dutch Open in Almere in October was also put off for this year.
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