By Agence France-Presse

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love has committed $100,000 to help workers at the team’s arena and support staff impacted by the suspension of the NBA season.

The league, already considering contingencies for the coronavirus pandemic including playing in empty arenas, suspended play on Wednesday night after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.

The NHL and Major League Soccer followed suit on Thursday, when Major League Baseball announced it was postponing the March 26 start of its season at least two weeks.

The dearth of games — not to mention concerts and other events — at arenas around the country will be a big financial blow to the legion of ticket-takers, ushers and food vendors who keep the events running but don’t get paid when they aren’t working.

“I’m concerned about the level of anxiety that everyone is feeling and that is why I’m committing $100,000 through the @KevinLoveFund in support of the @Cavs arena and support staff that had a sudden life shift due to the suspension of the NBA season,” Love wrote on Instagram.

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Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations. And the fear and anxiety resulting from the recent outbreak of COVID-19 can be extremely overwhelming. Through the game of basketball, we've been able to address major issues and stand together as a progressive league that cares about the players, the fans, and the communities where we work. I'm concerned about the level of anxiety that everyone is feeling and that is why I'm committing $100,000 through the @KevinLoveFund in support of the @Cavs arena and support staff that had a sudden life shift due to the suspension of the NBA season. I hope that during this time of crisis, others will join me in supporting our communities. Pandemics are not just a medical phenomenon. They affect individuals and society on so many levels, with stigma and xenophobia being just two aspects of the impact of a pandemic outbreak. It's important to know that those with a mental illness may be vulnerable to the effects of widespread panic and threat. Be kind to one another. Be understanding of their fears, regardless if you don't feel the same. Be safe and make informed decisions during this time. And I encourage everyone to take care of themselves and to reach out to others in need — whether that means supporting your local charities that are canceling events, or checking in on your colleagues and family.

A post shared by Kevin Love (@kevinlove) on Mar 12, 2020 at 2:36pm PDT

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“I hope that during this time of crisis, others will join me in supporting our communities,” Love added. “Pandemics are not just a medical phenomenon. They affect individuals and society on so many levels, with stigma and xenophobia being just two aspects of the impact of a pandemic outbreak … I encourage everyone to take care of themselves and to reach out to others in need — whether that means supporting your local charities that are cancelling events, or checking in on your colleagues and family.”

Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, also touched on the plight arena workers who are paid an hourly wage, saying he hoped to formulate a plan to compensate them during the suspension.

“It’s certainly something that’s important to me,” he said.

Cuban told ESPN on Thursday that the team had come up with a program by which for the next four “would-have-been” Mavs game “we’ll pay our employees, our hourly employees, as if they worked.”

The Philadelphia 76ers also issued a statement saying they were committed to assisting their arena associates and Atlanta Hawks owner Tony Ressler said he would create a program for workers at State Farm Arena.

Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller vowed to help.

“We all have fun playing and watching NBA games, but many of our hard working hourly employees and support staff depend on wages from our home games,” Zeller wrote on Twitter. “We’re going to make sure that they’re taken care of! Even if I have to pay out of pocket to help out”.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Japanese government officials insisted Friday they have no plans to alter the Olympics, including holding it without spectators, after US President Donald Trump proposed a delay over the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The fate of the 2020 Games, scheduled to open in Tokyo on July 24, has been thrown into doubt by the outbreak of the virus, now dubbed a pandemic.

But organisers, Japanese government officials and the International Olympic Committee have insisted preparation for the Games is on track, with no expectations of a postponement or cancellation.

“There is no change in the government policy in that we closely cooperate with the IOC, the organising committee, and the Tokyo metropolitan government to steadily prepare for holding the Games as scheduled,” government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

He said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Trump had held a phone call to discuss the outbreak as well as the Olympics.

“In the telephone talks with President Trump, the prime minister mentioned our efforts toward holding the Games, and the president said he highly values Japan’s efforts on transparency,” Suga said.

He did not say whether Trump had repeated his suggestion, made a day earlier, that the Games might need to be delayed.

“I would say maybe they postpone it for a year,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday.

“You know, I like that better than I like having empty stadiums all over the place. I think if you cancel it, make it a year later, that’s a better alternative than doing it with no crowd,” he said.

The suggestion was roundly dismissed by Japan’s Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto.

“I’m aware of President Trump’s remarks but neither the IOC nor the organizing committee is thinking about delaying or cancelling the Games at all,” she said at a regular briefing Friday.

Asked about the possibility of scaling back the number of spectators, Hashimoto said: “We are not thinking about that at all.”

Suga also said the government “doesn’t envisage” either a Games without spectators or the prospect of athletes withdrawing from the event.

IOC chief Thomas Bach told German television ARD on Thursday that the body would follow recommendations by the World Health Organization, but for now continues to work for a “successful” Games.

He acknowledged however that cancellations of Olympic qualifiers are starting to pose “serious problems.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday the league shut-down because of the coronavirus pandemic is likely to last “at least 30 days.”

That would see the league shuttered through what would have been about the last month of its regular season.

“What we determined today is that this hiatus will be, most likely, at least 30 days,” Silver said on TNT’s “Inside The NBA” program.

The NBA suspended play on Wednesday after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.

A second Jazz player, Donovan Mitchell, has reportedly also tested positive.

The regular season was scheduled to end on April 15 with the playoffs to begin on April 18.

Silver offered no indication of whether the league was considering shortening either the regular season or the playoffs, and indeed said it was hard to know at this point what the options might be.

Once the 30 days is up, he said, “the question becomes is there a protocol, frankly, with or without fans, where we can resume play.”

Silver discussed the talks league officials, teams and players union representatives were having before Gobert’s positive test about contingency plans in the face of increased coronavirus incidence in the United States.

“Up to a few days ago or even yesterday, the experts were unclear as to whether, as a public health matter, NBA arenas should be emptied,” he said.

On Wednesday league officials spoke with teams to get their views about the possibility of playing games with no fans in the stands or taking “some kind of hiatus.”

The decision ended up coming in dramatic style after Utah’s game against the Thunder in Oklahoma City was called off just as it was due to start and fans cleared from the arena.

Shortly thereafter the NBA announced that a Jazz player had tested positive for COVID-19 and that games would be suspended from Thursday.

For the time being NBA players have reportedly been told to remain in their team’s cities at least through Monday.

Group workouts and practice are not allowed, but team medical staff are in touch with players.

Economic impact

Joe Lacob, the Golden State Warriors owner who has a masters degree from the University of California at Los Angeles in public health said in an interview with The Athletic that the eventual economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the league is “monumental.”

“We just lost virtually all of our revenues for the foreseeable future,” Lacob said. “But we have huge expenses that aren’t going away. I feel for these part-time employees and local restaurants and Uber drivers and all of the service people that make their living in and around events like ours

“So many small businesses in the city of San Francisco will be impacted by this series of events.”

While that is undoubtedly true, Silver said that in further talks among owners on Thursday “not one team raised (the issue of) money.

“The entire discussion was about the safety and health of the players, the community around the NBA and our fans.”

What the league is trying to determine now he said, is “what makes sense here, without compromising anyone’s safety.

“I think it’s too early to tell.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

Francis Casey Alcantara and Thai partner Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul withdrew their quarterfinal match in the 1st Qatar Men’s ITF World Tennis Tour in Doha, Qatar on Thursday in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In an online interview with the Manila Bulletin, Alcantara said they decided to skip the match against Bulgaria’s Alexandar Lazarov and Romania’s Dan Alexandru Tomescu to catch the earliest flights back home.

“Baka maabutan ng lockdown eh, kaya nag-decide na kami ng partner ko na umuwi na lang.”

A few hours after, the International Tennis Federation released a statement postponing “all ITF-sanctioned events across the men’s and women’s ITF World Tennis Tour, the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors, the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, the ITF Beach Tennis World Tour, and the ITF Seniors Tour”.

“This will be reviewed on a weekly basis, but no ITF events will take place until at least the week of Monday, April 20,” said the statement posted on their website.

ITF’s announcement also came on the heels of ATP and WTA’s postponement of their tournament calendars for the next six weeks.

Alcantara and Wishaya are coming off a 3-6, 6-2, 10-4 opening round win over Bulgaria’s Gabriel Donev and Germany’s Milen Ianakiev to jumpstart their title bid in the $15,000 tournament.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

The collapse of sports events worldwide over the rapidly spreading new coronavirus (COVID-19) heaped pressure on the Tokyo Olympics on Friday as US President Donald Trump suggested delaying the Games by a year.

Formula One’s Australian Grand Prix and The Players Championship, one of golf’s most prestigious events, were the latest to fall in a period when the virus has laid waste to the sporting calendar.

Football’s Premier League, with a worldwide audience of billions, is also in question after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea midfielder were confirmed to have the disease.

The PGA Tour golf season, the men’s tennis tour, NBA basketball, Major League Baseball and a host of top-flight football leagues have all been put on hold or forced behind closed doors.

The impact of COVID-19, which has killed nearly 5,000 people according to an AFP tally, is accelerating just over four months from the Tokyo Olympics’ start on July 24.

European football chiefs will consider whether to postpone Euro 2020, this year’s other major international sports event due to start in mid-June, at a meeting next week.

Tokyo Olympics organizers, Japan’s government and the International Olympic Committee have been adamant the Games will go ahead as planned despite the global panic.

But Trump became the first foreign leader to break ranks and raise the prospect of delaying the Olympics until 2021.
“Maybe they postpone it for a year,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, 19 weeks before the opening ceremony in Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium.

“You know, I like that better than I like having empty stadiums all over the place. I think if you cancel it, make it a year later, that’s a better alternative than doing it with no crowd,” he said.

Trump’s comments came just hours after actresses dressed as ancient Greek priestesses held the ceremonial flame-lighting at a ruined temple in the original Olympia, Greece.

‘Lots of options!’

Trump later discussed the Olympics with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by telephone, before tweeting there were “Lots of options!”

But Tokyo’s governor Yuriko Koike was unmoved, telling reporters on Friday: “For Tokyo, there is no option of cancellation at all.”

Japan’s Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto said: “Neither the IOC nor the organising committee is thinking about delaying or cancelling the Games at all.”

Asked about the possibility of scaling back the number of spectators, Hashimoto said: “We are not thinking about that at all.”

In Melbourne, drivers were just hours from the first practice session when the season-opening Australian Grand Prix was axed on Friday, after a McLaren team member was diagnosed with COVID-19.

The last-minute cancellation raises fears for other races including next week’s Bahrain Grand Prix, which has already barred fans.

The Chinese Grand Prix has been postponed, while the inaugural Formula One race in Vietnam on April 5 is also at risk.

The Players Championship was called off after the first round as the PGA Tour cancelled another four tournaments leading up to the Masters, starting on April 8.

Premier League chiefs will hold emergency talks later on Friday “regarding future fixtures”, which look uncertain with Arsenal and Chelsea both in lockdown.

Arsenal’s game against Brighton was postponed after Arteta’s positive test, before Chelsea’s Hudson-Odoi became the first Premier League player confirmed with the coronavirus.

Leicester City and Manchester City also have players in isolation because of fears over the disease.

Spain’s top two divisions have been suspended for at least two weeks after Real Madrid put its team in quarantine, while Italy’s Serie A is on hold and France’s Ligue 1 will continue in empty stadiums.

Indian cricket chiefs will meet on Saturday to decide the fate of the lucrative Indian Premier League, scheduled to start on March 29, after the government called for it to be cancelled.

Australia’s one-day international against New Zealand went ahead behind closed doors in Sydney but the hosts were without seam bowler Kane Richardson, who is quarantined and has been tested for COVID-19.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jan Carlo Anolin

The ONE Championship: Infinity 2 event in Manila on May 29 will push through behind closed doors for safety purposes due the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a Facebook post, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced Thursday night that “all events with live audiences will now be suspended until at least May 29, 2020 due to the extraordinary COVID-19 global situation.”

“Bar none, the safety of our fans, athletes, staff, partners, and the public is the highest priority for ONE Championship,” Sityodtong wrote.

The COVID-19 threat prompted the promotion to resort to broadcast-only and closed-door events with additional dates to follow.

Filipino-American Brandon Vera is set to defend his heavyweight title against former Olympic wrestler Arjan Bhullar at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“We are operating in truly extraordinary times, but my team and I remain committed to providing you the best sports and entertainment action available anywhere on global broadcast today.

ONE Championship will continue to thrill you with the greatest martial artists on the planet and inspire you with their incredible stories. This virus might be on the attack right now, but I believe in the power of the human spirit,” Sityodtong added.

The remaining initial dates that are likely to be affected are March 20 in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, April 10 in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 17 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the Manila event.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

San Miguel Alab Pilipinas and three other teams have asked the ASEAN Basketball League to suspend its season due to the continuous threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Alab along with Hong Kong Eastern, Macau Black Bears and Taiwan’s Formosa Dreamers made this known in separate statements released Thursday, saying that travel risk will be too much to deal especially with the World Health Organization declaring the disease as a pandemic.

“Since the ABL is a regional league and travel will be difficult and risky, Alab Pilipinas together with Hong Kong Eastern, Macau Black Bears and Formosa Dreamers deem it appropriate to request the ABL to follow the NBA and other sporting leagues in suspending our season,” Alab said in a statement.

“Alab Pilipinas believes that our fans and supporters will understand this move as it is for the best interest of everyone to take precaution,” the team added. “Many experts have shared that social distancing is the best way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and we wish to take part of this solution.”

The ABL had rescheduled numerous games since early-February as precautionary measures against the spread of the virus.

But the league was forced to postpone additional matches last Sunday after Singapore Slingers import Jameel McKay was placed under quarantine after it was discovered that he was included in a flight where a French passenger tested positive for COVID-19.

McKay, a former PBA import, is undergoing quarantine and has not shown any symptoms of the infectious disease, according to media reports in Singapore.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), ESPN reported Thursday, hours after the network identified teammate Rudy Gobert as the first NBA player to test positive for the virus.

The report said Mitchell, who averaged 24.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists a game, tested positive in the wake of Gobert’s positive case just before Wednesday’s schedule tip-off in Oklahoma City.

The ESPN report said that Jazz players privately said Gobert had been careless in the locker room touching other players and their belongings.

Gobert had wiped his hands on a microphone and reporters’ recording devices at the end of a news conference earlier in the week.

The session was conducted in a room because team locker rooms had been closed to reporters to protect players and media from possible contraction of the virus.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

The ATP announced Thursday it was suspending the men’s tennis tour for six weeks “due to escalating health and safety issues” arising from the coronavirus  (COVID-19) pandemic.

The virus, which has so far infected more than 127,000 people globally and killed over 4,600, according to an AFP tally, is wreaking havoc on the tennis calendar and global sport.

The ATP announcement came shortly after the cancellation of the Miami Open, which followed the axing of the Indian Wells tournament in California.

Next month’s Fed Cup tennis finals in Budapest have been postponed.

“This is not a decision that was taken lightly,” said ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi.

“However, we believe this is the responsible action needed at this time in order to protect the health and safety of our players, staff, the wider tennis community and general public health in the face of this global pandemic.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jenny Ortuoste

In view of the community spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the rising number of confirmed cases, the Philippine Racing Commission released a memorandum on Thursday urging the public to watch and bet on horse races at off-track betting stations (OTBs) and not the racetracks.

 

The memorandum signed by Philracom Executive Director veterinarian Andrew M. Buencamino states that effective March 17, “all races shall continue as scheduled unless otherwise cancelled by the racing clubs with the approval of the Commission.”

The agency, which regulates and supervises professional horse racing, also directed the racing club management, through their racing managers, to “restrain the entry of all racing aficionados/bettors (live audience) inside the club premises, particularly in the grandstand and betting areas.”

Philracom advised fans and bettors to “proceed to the nearby OTB stations.”

Also according to the memo, during race days, only employees and officials of the racing club who are involved in the conduct of the races, including “Philracom officials and FID (Field Inspection Division) personnel, and Philracom licensees such as jockeys, trainers, horseowners, and grooms with horses participating in the races, shall be allowed access within the club premises.”

The agency also required racing clubs to “ensure the necessary precautions to prevent, contain, and mitigate the possible transmission of COVID-19 in workplaces in accordance with the general preventive measures by the DOH (Department of Health).”

The Philracom Board also said they would release updates on this situation “subject to the duration of the state of public health emergency’ declared by President Duterte last Monday (March 9).

Meanwhile, according to Santa Ana Park Racing Manager Antonio B. Alcasid Jr., the instruction to bar a live audience does not greatly impact their sales because only four to five percent of their total sales come from in-track attendance.

He estimates that the situation is similar for the other two racing clubs, Manila Jockey Club and Metro Manila Turf Club, with the former enjoying slightly higher in-track sales.

“The COVID hasn’t really affected us, things are just the same,” he said. “People are still betting.

Source: Manila Bulletin