Oklahoma City Thunder star Chris Paul thinks it could take “at least three to four weeks” for NBA players get back into playing shape during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday… from Bleacher Report – NBA https://ift.tt/2XUNZBs via IFTTT
Chris Paul: NBA Players Would Need ‘At Least 3-4 Weeks’ to Regain Playing Shape — Darnell’s Notebook
NEW YORK — The Boston Red Sox were stripped of their second-round pick in this year’s amateur draft by Major League Baseball for breaking video rules in 2018 and former manager Alex Cora was suspended through the 2020 postseason for his previous conduct as bench coach with the Houston Astros. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced…
MLB punishes Boston Red Sox for sign stealing in 2018 — Press Telegram
| BLUE JAYS LAUNCH NATIONWIDE VIRTUAL FOOD DRIVE IN SUPPORT OF FOOD BANKS CANADA Jays Care and The Sprott Foundation are encouraging fans to step up to the plate by enthusiastically matching $300,000 of fan donations |
https://twitter.com/NWHL/status/1252935246116540417?s=20 Read More
National Women’s Hockey League expands to Toronto — Toronto Sun
At a time when Toronto’s rinks are dark and the Maple Leafs and Marlies are shuttered, the National Women’s Hockey League is set to reveal a new team in town.
The unnamed franchise was announced Wednesday morning, an ownership group headed by U.S.-born former Harvard captain Johanna Boynton, with fellow American and former Brown University coach Margaret ‘Digit’ Murphy as president. It already has five players under contract, but does not have a home venue lined up. Everything in the sport is on hold with COVID-19 concerns.
The NWHL was established in 2015 as a startup venture by Dani Rylan and backed by private investors, becoming North America’s first women’s league to pay its players. Its foray into Canada comes a year after the six-team Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) folded following 12 seasons due to financial issues. The Leafs were a sponsor of the CWHL, which hoped to get a restart at some stage, possibly with NHL involvement.NWHL✔@NWHL
We couldn’t be happier to have Johanna, Tyler & Digit join us on this journey 
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“Launching our first team in Canada is a pivotal and proud moment for the NWHL,” Rylan said in statement. “Everyone in the Toronto hockey community can be sure that this first-class team of professionals will make bold strides for the women’s game.”
The new team brings the NWHL to six clubs, with teams in Boston, Buffalo, Monmouth Junction, N.J. Danbury, Conn. and Saint Paul, Minn.
All five Toronto players signed were in the CWHL, with the most notable being Shiann Darkangelo, a member of the American team that won the 2016 world championships. The four other players are Canadians: Forward Taylor Woods, defencemen Kristen Barbara and Emma Greco, and goalie Elaine Chuli.
“I’m delighted to be part of the first NWHL franchise in Canada because it brings me back to my roots,” 58-year-old Murphy told the Associated Press.https://www.youtube.com/embed/LZHEbVH1xo8?rel=1&controls=1&autoplay=0&modestbranding=1&embed_config=%7B%22autonavRelatedVideos%22%3Atrue%2C%22relatedChannels%22%3A%5B%22EFneExC3GZeiVztRuRRe0w%22%2C%22OXbUmGfpr_rb_UeqROTwkg%22%2C%22Vu_SlTS4SNNUAIkCmSDzMQ%22%2C%22qNPpzfFRh29-ULwkF0ys0w%22%2C%22RROHNHB3JN8JxKST9xl_og%22%2C%22iiiXY1ue6nb7iqY8o8f62w%22%2C%22N9gPUr8QTM6RkHdKThDmQQ%22%2C%22Z1-u3qX7AUUPzH9O_Peb-Q%22%2C%22kjNuLzfw5Ep7EJuMdeFylw%22%2C%22YuLCUHAoN1fs3pZi3WPRnA%22%2C%22Vyik4cnxEmbefInU7JnWyw%22%2C%22rbOGpnOudmETQ0WZkyvD8g%22%2C%22jmGwjC7pytqz8vvL5lIuxA%22%2C%22HmA32WCmlUp9ZUF_clAPHg%22%2C%22zFyTrFm5aM-342rJsjBbXw%22%5D%7D&enablejsapi=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Ftorontosun.com&widgetid=1
“A year ago, when the CWHL shut down, they had one of the best hockey products on the market. So I just see this as a continuation of that, and Toronto deserves a women’s franchise.”
After leaving Brown, where she won 318 games, Murphy won two CWHL championships during three seasons coaching the Boston Blades. Murphy then spent 2017-18 coaching a CWHL expansion team in China, whose players included Darkangelo and Chuli.
The AP speculated it’s unlikely the NWHL will be able to draw from the rosters of current U.S. or Canadian national teams after their members helped form the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association (PWHPA) in the wake of the CWHL’s demise.
The PWHPA was opposed to a pro league in North America without establishment of salaried players and a financially stable long-term economic model. The PWHPA spent last season holding a series of exhibition weekends to fill the void.
Last week, PWHPA executive member Jayna Hefford told the AP she was aware of and welcomed the NWHL’s expansion bid, as least as a way of sustaining interest in the women’s cause. Some NWHL players reportedly make as much as US$15,000, but full salaries are not released. They have a revenue generating plan through sponsorship and media, combined with players salaries.
“I don’t’ want to get cocky and say, ‘We’re going to win the Cup,’” Murphy said of Toronto’s first-season forecast, “but I want to contend.”
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LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers put in place a distribution program Tuesday that will pay $1.3 million to game-day workers put out of work by MLB’s shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic. The payouts from the fund will go to “event staff, concessions, parking, cleaning personnel employed by third party contractors and the Dodgers Foundation event…
Dodgers, Angels will distribute combined $2.5 million to event staff — Daily News
Georgia is aggressively moving to reopen its economy, with Governor Brian Kemp announcing Monday that the state would allow nail salons, massage therapists, bowling alleys and gyms to open this weekend. The decision comes well before President Donald Trump’s target return of May 1 to end lockdowns, and is causing quite the stir of criticism…
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Urges Georgia Residents Not To Listen To Governor — NESN.com
A memory of Jason Spezza stands out — one of many, we can assure you — from his formative days in the Ontario Hockey League. Read More
KOSHAN: Passion, optimism drive Leafs’ Spezza during pause brought on by COVID-19 — Toronto Sun
A memory of Jason Spezza stands out — one of many, we can assure you — from his formative days in the Ontario Hockey League.
We once tracked down Spezza, who would have been 16, in the Mississauga IceDogs’ workout room after practice, riding a stationary bike when the majority of his teammates had left the rink for the day.
That kind of desire never waned in the 20 years since, and it’s part of what’s keeping Spezza encouraged for the return of his beloved sport as the global COVID-19 pandemic continues.
“I’m not sure when it’s going to be, but I’m optimistic that we’re going to get a chance to finish the season,” the Maple Leafs forward said during a conference call with media on Tuesday. “I’m an eternal optimist, so I’m hoping there is going to be a chance to play.”
Yes, Spezza would like to play with the Leafs beyond the National Hockey League’s 2019-20 season, but knows there is no guarantee considering he will be heading for unrestricted free agency.
“It’s not the focus right now by any means, but definitely I feel like I have game left and there is nowhere else I would rather be than to play another year here in Toronto,” Spezza said. “I feel like we are building things with this club and I want to be a part of it.”
Spezza, who will be 37 in June, found a niche under coach Sheldon Keefe long before the NHL paused on March 12. Scratched 10 times with Mike Babcock in charge — including the unnecessary move on the part of Babcock to put Spezza in the press box for the season opener — Spezza was scratched twice in 47 games on Keefe’s watch following the firing of Babcock in November. Spezza became a resourceful bottom-six forward, working his way on to the power play every so often and becoming a veteran that others in the room sought out for advice.
“I just tried to have the mentality that I was going to stay in the fight,” Spezza said. “I didn’t give myself much of an option. I didn’t want to feel sorry for myself.”
From a team standpoint, there were inconsistencies, but the Leafs under Keefe had improved and were sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division with a playoff spot in hand when play halted.
“You don’t want to cruise through the regular season because you need that experience to get you into the playoffs, and we certainly didn’t cruise,” Spezza said. “I think it’s to the benefit of our group. We have a much more mature locker room than we did at the start of the season. There was a lot more ownership. Our young stars are able to have conversations with each other, with other guys on the team that maybe they weren’t comfortable with having early on in the season.
“Now, to have a chance to have a break and look back on things, it will only help us pinpoint what we can do differently and move forward.”
With four young daughters, Spezza and his wife Jennifer have been busy during self-isolation, concentrating on home-schooling during the morning before giving way to family activities later in the day. A lifelong fan of Michael Jordan — Spezza said there are “hundreds” of photos from his youth of him in a Chicago Bulls Jordan jersey, bought during a family trip to Florida — Spezza has been enthralled with The Last Dance, the documentary focusing on the 1997-98 Bulls.
Staying fit also is part of the daily regimen. When hockey resumes, and if it includes Spezza on the ice for the Leafs, you can bet the passion will be a driving force.
“My love for the game has probably allowed me to play as long as I have,” Spezza said. “Hockey is not work to me. As you go through different phases of your career, there are different challenges.
“I love the day-to-day grind and I love the coming to the rink and figuring out what to do that day. The chance to win a Stanley Cup … I’m in it for as long as I can be.
“It’s something I dreamed of as a kid and I would love nothing more than to do it here in Toronto.”
SPEZZA KEEPING EYE TO THE GROUND
Considering that Jason Spezza is regarded by his National Hockey League peers as one of the most dedicated students of the game, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Maple Leafs forward is consuming as much as he can in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have kept a pretty close tab on things,” Spezza said. “It’s the nature of how I operate. I like to have a full understanding of what’s going on and I have spent a few hours a day doing some reading and listening to what other leagues are thinking of doing.”
At best, the thinking is sports leagues will return eventually with no fans in the stands, at least to start.
“It also keeps you sharp and hungry,” Spezza said of his interest. “We all know there are bigger things at play right now and the health of everybody is first and foremost, but at some point we will get a chance to play and when we do, it will be exciting. It is important to be aware of some of the things that are being talked about.”
“So we all felt for him, nobody resented him for having that surgery.”
Steve Kerr disagrees with Jordan, says no animosity toward Pippen for 1997 surgery — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports
By Tom Ballato Mouphtaou Yarou emigrated to the United States in 2007 from Benin, a country in West Africa. He attended high school at Massanutten Prep in Woodstock, Virginia, before transferring to Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland. At Montrose Christian School, colleges started taking notice of him. He became a five-star prospect and a […] … Continue reading “Former Villanova big man Mouphtaou Yarou has found success in France and continues to work his way back from an Achilles injury — The Next Prospect”
By Tom Ballato Mouphtaou Yarou emigrated to the United States in 2007 from Benin, a country in West Africa. He attended high school at Massanutten Prep in Woodstock, Virginia, before transferring to Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland. At Montrose Christian School, colleges started taking notice of him. He became a five-star prospect and a […]
Former Villanova big man Mouphtaou Yarou has found success in France and continues to work his way back from an Achilles injury — The Next Prospect
In Yann Martel’s philosophical novel, Life of Pi, the main character finds himself stranded at sea for almost a year with a 450-pound tiger that may or may not be an actual tiger. It’s terrifying, at first. The tiger is hungry. It wants to eat. It’s always threatening to attack. But in the end, they…
Fehr and Bettman riding out NHL storm together — Toronto Sun
One continual debate that I enjoy having with people that love baseball is about the idea of how hard pitchers have thrown throughout history. Recently, I’ve seen a lot of posts online about great baseball documentaries, and this conversation re-inspired a debate in my mind because of the Netflix documentary simply titled Fastball. For those […]
A Baseball Debate: Do Today’s Pitchers Throw Harder Than They Used To? — Pick-Up Sports Talk: Cleveland
Dion Waiters signed with the Lakers on March 6, hoping to revive his stalled career – only to have the NBA season to stall out March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Nonetheless, the 28-year-old guard took a step forward Monday evening, opening up about past struggles with an entry on “The Players’ Tribune.” His…
Lakers’ Dion Waiters opens up about depression, edibles incident — Press Telegram
The view from left field 