As a man who once defiantly ditched his baseball career to work for a toilet company, Vida Blue understands the contentious nature of contract negotiations better than most. But not even Blue can sympathize with Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association as they haggle over money as a sports-starved nation grapples with the…
Vida Blue rips Major League Baseball, players for not reaching a deal — Times-Standard
Basketball fans might have NBA action back in their lives sooner than originally expected. Not by a whole lot, but earlier nonetheless. The NBA’s return-to-play plan initially included a target date of July 31 for regular-season action to resume. The league now is looking to kick things off one day sooner, according to ESPN NBA…
NBA Rumors: League Changes Target Date For 2019-20 Season Restart — NESN.com
The Red Sox refused to sit around and do nothing. Torii Hunter, a former major league outfielder who retired after the 2015 season, recently revealed he was subjected to racist taunts while playing at Fenway Park during his MLB career, even prompting him to place clauses in his MLB contracts ensuring he wouldn’t be traded…
Adam Jones Applauds Red Sox For Statement After Torii Hunter’s Comments — NESN.com
The Boston Red Sox refused to sit around and do nothing. Torii Hunter, a former major league outfielder who retired after the 2015 season, recently revealed he was subjected to racist taunts while playing at Fenway Park during his MLB career, even prompting him to place clauses in his MLB contracts ensuring he wouldn’t be traded to Boston. The Red Sox, taking Hunter’s comments very seriously, released a powerful statement Thursday night in which they acknowledged such incidents have occurred at Fenway Park and vowed to continue using their platform as a way to fight racial injustice. The Red Sox’s statement caught the attention of former major leaguer Adam Jones, who dealt with his own racist incident at Fenway Park in 2017 while playing for the Baltimore Orioles. Jones, who now plays baseball in Japan, applauded the message before then sharing a story about how Red Sox president Sam Kennedy and team owner John Henry handled the 2017 situation. Huuuge. https://t.co/4vWZiTIisE — 10 (@SimplyAJ10) June 11, 2020 I’ll never forget my convos the next day with Sam Kennedy (President of Baseball Ops) and the Owner John Henry. Much respect for them for coming into the visiting clubhouse and hearing my story. That was huuuuge!!! https://t.co/4vWZiTIisE — 10 (@SimplyAJ10) June 11, 2020 As the Red Sox noted in their statement, there’s still a lot of work to be done. However, the club clearly is committed to making Fenway Park a better place and, most importantly, doing whatever it can to combat racial inequality.
Read more at: https://nesn.com/2020/06/adam-jones-applauds-red-sox-for-statement-after-torii-hunters-comments/
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Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressSix-time All-Star forward Pau Gasol said Tuesday he’d like to finish his career with the Los Angeles Lakers or Spanish club Barcelona.”My intention is to play another season if the foot is OK, either in the NBA or in Europe,” he told reporters in Spain. “A final season with the Lakers is attractive,…
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With Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving and Vancouver Canucks counterpart Jim Benning already scoping out U.S. spots for Phase 3 training camps next month, because players crossing the Canadian border would have to quarantine for two weeks, Oilers Ken Holland is following suit. Read More
Edmonton Oilers contemplate holding U.S.-based training camp — Edmonton Sun
In 2009, MLB moved its draft into a primetime television slot, and aired the first round live from the MLB Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey. San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg was the big name going into the draft. He and other first-round hopefuls were invited to attend the event in person. The thought…
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On his way to being touted as one of the best pure hitters available in Major League Baseball’s 2020 draft, Austin Martin developed a reputation as a terrific contact hitter with a side order of power. Read More
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Late basketball great Kobe Bryant will be honored with a posthumous Emmy at this year’s Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards, the Television Academy announced late Wednesday. Bryant will recieve the 72nd Los Angeles Area Emmy Governors Award, which was selected by the Los Angeles Area Governors Award committee in honor of Bryant’s “philanthropy, community building…
Kobe Bryant to Receive Posthumous L.A. Area Emmy Governors Award — Variety
PREVIEW: 2020 Major League Baseball Draft
There have been no regular season Major League Baseball games in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic but the annual MLB Draft will take place on June 10 and 11 in a scaled-down version that will see just five rounds take place instead of the usual 40.
The Detroit Tigers hold the first overall selection with the Toronto Blue Jays holding the fifth overall pick.
Baseball Canada will be provide live updates each time a Canadian-born player gets selected on our Twitter (@baseballcanada), Instagram (baseballcanada) and Facebook pages with a recap of the day’s action on baseball.ca.
WHAT: The annual Major League Baseball Draft (or Rule 4 Draft) gets underway on Wednesday (7pm ET MLB Network/MLB.com) with the first 37 selections (First Round, Competitive Balance Round A) and continues Thursday with the second through fifth rounds. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, MLB has reduced the 2020 Draft to five rounds, down from the usual 40 rounds.
WHO: There are generally three groups of players that are eligible for the MLB Draft:
Countries eligible for the draft include Canada, Puerto Rico, the United States and US territories. Players from other countries are considered international free agents and must adhere to MLB’s international signing rules.
HOW TO FOLLOW: MLB Network/TSN 3/MLB.com will carry the first 37 selections live Wednesday from their studio in Secaucus, New Jersey beginning at 7pm ET…MLB Network/TSN 2/MLB.com will carry rounds two through five on Thursday beginning at 5PM ET…Live coverage of all five rounds along with a Draft Tracker will be available at MLB.com…Baseball Canada will be provide live updates each time a Canadian-born player gets selected on our Twitter (@baseballcanada), Instagram (baseballcanada) and Facebook pages with a recap of the day’s action on baseball.ca.
USEFUL LINKS:
CANADIAN MLB DRAFT FACTS:
NAMES TO WATCH:
Canadians on Baseball America’s Top 500 draft prospects list:
#67 OF David Calabrese (Maple, ON) Junior National Team
#140 SS Trei Cruz (Toronto, ON) Rice University*
#180 OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, ON) Junior National Team
#197 OF Jordan Nwogu (Ottawa, ON) University of Michigan*
#248 RHP Noah Skirrow (Stoney Creek, ON) Liberty University
#402 RHP Theo Millas (Burnaby, BC) Junior National Team
#413 OF Jason Willow (Victoria, BC) UC Santa Barbara
#414 OF Cooper Davis (Mississauga, ON) Vanderbilt University
#417 RHP Calvin Ziegler (Heidelberg, ON) Junior National Team
#454 RHP Jack Seward (Coquitlam, BC) Junior National Team
#466 RHP Carter Loewen (Abbotsford, BC) University of Hawaii
#478 RHP Logan Hofmann (Muenster, SK) Northwestern State
*Canadian born but resides outside of Canada
Canadians on MLBPipeline.com Top 200 draft prospects list:
#75 Owen Caissie
#97 David Calabrese
#108 Jordan Nwogu
#126 Trei Cruz
Canadian Baseball Network Top 5 Canadians:
#1 Owen Caissie
#2 Jordan Nwogu
#3 David Calabrese
#4 Noah Skirrow
#5 Calvin Ziegler
Keith Law’s (The Athletic) Top 100 Draft Prospects
#19 David Calabrese
#68 Jordan Nwogu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE on June 10 at 9 am EDT
MLS is Back: All 26 Teams to Resume Season at ESPN Wide World of Sports Starting July 8
NEW YORK & LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Wednesday, June 10, 2020) – Major League Soccer today announced the league’s plan to restart the 2020 season with all 26 MLS clubs competing in the MLS is Back Tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida beginning July 8. The tournament, which will be played without fans in attendance, provides a compelling way for MLS to resume its 25th season. Group stage matches will count in the MLS regular season standings and the tournament winner will earn a spot in the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League.
“We are pleased to team up with Disney to relaunch the 2020 MLS season and get back to playing soccer,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “The opportunity to have all 26 clubs in a controlled environment enables us to help protect the health of our players, coaches and staff as we return to play. We also recognize that the death of George Floyd and others has focused our country on issues of racial injustice, inequality and violence against black men and women. Together with our owners, players and staff, the League and its Clubs are deeply committed to creating meaningful and impactful programs to address these issues that have plagued our society for far too long.”
Major League Soccer has a longstanding relationship with ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The league held its 1998 preseason at the complex, and hosted events for the 1998 and 2019 MLS All-Star Games at the facilities.
“Sports have the power to unify and inspire, particularly during challenging times,” said Josh D’Amaro, chairman, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. “And we’re looking forward to bringing this exciting sport back to millions of fans, while prioritizing the health and well-being of the players, coaches and support staff as well as our cast members.”
COMPETITION FORMAT
Clubs will begin arriving in Orlando as early as June 24 for preseason training. Clubs that can conduct full team training in their markets pursuant to the league’s medical and testing protocols must arrive no later than seven days before their first match.
Similar to a FIFA World Cup format, the tournament will feature a continuous schedule of matches nearly every day, with games beginning at 9 a.m., 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. EDT. The vast majority of the matches will be played in the evening. Each team will play three group stage matches, and those results will count in the 2020 MLS regular season standings. After 16 consecutive days of group stage matches, the top two teams from each group along with the four best third-place finishers will move on to the knockout stage. The knockout stage will include a Round-of-16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and the Championship match will take place on August 11. Matches tied at the end of regulation in the knock-out phase will proceed directly to a penalty kick shootout. Click HERE for the MLS is Back Tournament Competition Guidelines.
MLS worked with U.S. Soccer, Canada Soccer and Concacaf to institute a one-time change to MLS berths to the annual Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. The MLS is Back Tournament winner will earn a spot in the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League, regardless of whether it is a U.S. or Canadian club. The winner would replace the berth previously awarded to the MLS regular season points leader in the conference opposite of the 2020 Supporters’ Shield winner.
In addition to matches that count in the regular season standings and the Champions League berth, players will have the opportunity to earn additional bonuses as part of a $1.1 million prize pool.
The substitution limit for the tournament will follow the new protocol set by the IFAB and allow five substitutions per match. In addition, teams may name up to 23 players on each official match day roster. Also, the Professional Referees Organization (PRO) will have access to video review for all games.
For the MLS is Back Tournament, the 26 MLS teams will be drawn into one of six groups during a live draw that will take place tomorrow, Thursday, June 11 at 3:30 p.m. EDT. For the remainder of the 2020 MLS season, Nashville SC will be moved to the Eastern Conference. The Eastern Conference will have three groups, one consisting of six teams and two consisting of four teams each. The Western Conference will have three groups, each consisting of four teams.
As the host club, Orlando City SC will be given the top seed in Group A, which will be the six-team group, and will play in the first match on July 8. The five remaining seeds will consist of the four semifinalists from the 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs – Atlanta United, Los Angeles Football Club, Seattle Sounders FC, Toronto FC – and Real Salt Lake (the team with the next highest points total in the Western Conference from the 2019 season). The seeded teams will be drawn into their respective groups first and then the remaining 20 clubs will be drawn and distributed across the conference-based groups.
In addition, the tournament schedule, national television partner networks, and other important details for the MLS is Back Tournament will be provided soon.
Upon completion of the MLS is Back Tournament, MLS plans to continue its regular season with a revised schedule in home markets, followed by the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and the 25th MLS Cup. The schedule will be developed at a later date. The final number of matches and the schedule for the remainder of the 2020 MLS regular season will be announced in the coming weeks.
The MLS medical department and the league’s infectious disease experts have developed a comprehensive COVID-19 testing plan which will be implemented for the entire MLS is Back Tournament. An overview of health, safety and medical protocols can be found HERE. In addition, MLS will make a contribution of serology (antibody) tests to Central Florida residents beginning June 18.
KEY DATES
June 24: Teams begin arriving in Florida
July 8: MLS is Back Tournament group stage begins
July 25-28: Round-of-16
July 30- Aug. 1: Quarterfinals
August 5-6: Semifinals
August 11: MLS is Back Tournament Final
MLS IS BACK TOURNAMENT – July 8 – August 11
Number of Matches: 54 (39 group; 15 knockout)
No. of matchdays: 26
Format: Group Stage, followed by Round-of-16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals &
Championship match
Minimum Matches: 3 (per club)
Maximum Matches: 7 (per club)
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
The view from left field 