Hometown Broadcasting Sports Wednesday 6/17/20
17 June 2020 Sports
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases warned of the potential dangers of letting the Major League Baseball season go too far into the fall.
“If the question is time, I would try to keep it in the core summer months and end it not with the way we play the World Series, until the end of October when it’s cold,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told The Times. “I would avoid that.”
When to end a potential season has been a significant point of contention between MLB and the players’ union. The league has been consistent in its insistence that the regular season end Sept. 27, citing health concerns, as well as the desire of national TV partners not to have games extend into November. The union’s most recent proposal of 89 games would have had the regular season end in mid-October. Coronavirus cases have been on the rise even in warmer areas of the country as some states begin to reopen. But Fauci said that if baseball is to be played, it should be done mostly in the summer. The potential for a season of any length is currently unclear, as the commissioner’s office is refusing to set a schedule unless the union waives its right to file a grievance against the league.
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Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver each will be eligible to be a hub city as part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday. “We have indicated that we are comfortable with moving forward on an NHL hub in one of three Canadian cities that are asking for it,” Trudeau said. “Obviously, the decision needs to be made by the NHL and the cities and the provinces in the jurisdiction. Canada is open to it as long as it is OK by the local health authorities.”
The NHL had said a Canadian city would not be chosen if players were required to complete the mandatory 14-day quarantine currently in effect for people entering Canada. Trudeau said the border with the United States will remain closed to nonessential travel through at least July 21, Reuters reported, but that the closure does not affect NHL players, some of whom have already been traveling to rejoin their teams. The NHL, which paused the season March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, announced 10 cities are in the running to be one of two hub cities — one for the 12 participating Eastern Conference teams and one for the 12 Western Conference teams.
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Jason Botterill was fired as general manager of the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday and replaced by Kevyn Adams. The Sabres announced May 26 that Botterill would return for his fourth season as GM after they finished 30-31-8, tied for 13th in the Eastern Conference with the New Jersey Devils (.493 points percentage). Buffalo had a losing record in all three seasons under Botterill and is 88-115-30 since he was hired May 11, 2017. The Sabres will miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season after not making the Stanley Cup Qualifiers as part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, extending the longest active drought in the NHL to nine seasons.
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The NASCAR Hall of Fame announced Tuesday its three inductees for the Class of 2021, with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mike Stefanik and Red Farmer set for enshrinement next winter. The three-member class was the first elected under new voting rules, with nominees divided into Modern Era and Pioneer Era groups. Two were chosen from a field of 10 Modern Era nominees, and one was selected from a group of five on the Pioneer Era ballot for legends whose careers began more than 60 years ago.
Earnhardt — a two-time Daytona 500 winner who was chosen as NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver 15 times — led all nominees with 76 percent of the vote, winning induction on his first year on the ballot. Stefanik — a nine-time champion in Modified and Busch North (now ARCA East) competition — was the other Modern Era selection, appearing on 49 percent of ballots cast in his seventh year of eligibility. Ricky Rudd and Neil Bonnett were the next top vote-getters in the Modern Era category.
Farmer, a founding member of the Alabama Gang and a four-time regional champion in NASCAR’s early days, topped the Pioneer Era list with 71 percent of the vote. Hershel McGriff and Banjo Matthews were the next-highest candidates receiving votes.
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