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MLB-NEWS
Boston’s Rodriguez awaits test on COVID-related heart issue
UNDATED (AP) — Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez says he is awaiting results of additional testing after doctors recently discovered an issue with his heart they believe is a result of his recent bout with COVID-19.
The 27-year-old left-hander tested positive for the coronavirus before the start of summer camp, but was cleared and returned to workouts on July 18. He hasn’t had another positive coronavirus test, but said an MRI revealed a condition called myocarditis, that the team’s medical staff felt was serious enough to shut him down for at least a week. He’s been restricted from baseball activities since July 23.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle that is usually due to a viral infection. The inflammation can lead to arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy or heart failure.
Rodriguez’s doctors told him that 10-20% of people who have had COVID-19 also have been diagnosed with myocarditis.
In other MLB news:
— Reds second baseman Mike Moustakas (moos-TAH’-kahs) went on the injured list Sunday after he woke up feeling sick, and center fielder Nick Senzel was a late scratch from Cincinnati’s lineup for the final game of a series against the Detroit Tigers. The moves came a day after Reds infielder Matt Davidson went on the injured list because he tested positive for COVID-19. Davidson was the Reds DH in their season opener on Friday night, when Moustakas drove in four runs for a 7-1 win. Manager David Bell said Moustakas didn’t feel well when he woke up Sunday morning and was told to stay home as a precaution. There was no immediate explanation for why Senzel was scratched about an hour before the scheduled start of the game.
— Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani (SHOH’-hay oh-TAH’-nee) is set to make his first appearance on the mound since Sept. 2, 2018, after not pitching all last season following elbow surgery. Ohtani is under no restrictions when he faces the Athletics in Oakland. Ohtani was the Angels’ designated hitter in the season opener Friday night and didn’t play Saturday. Mike Fiers (FY’-urz) will start for the A’s in his first appearance since revealing to The Athletic in November that his former team, the Houston Astros, had stolen signs using a camera in center field during their run to the 2017 World Series championship.
— Rick Porcello makes his Mets debut against Atlanta at Citi Field. He won the 2016 AL Cy Young Award with Boston and went 14-12 last season. Porcello signed a $10 million, one-year deal with New York in December. Left-hander Sean Newcomb goes for the Braves in the nationally televised night game.
NBA-NEWS
Clippers’ Williams will serve 10-day quarantine, miss games
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The NBA said Sunday that Lou Williams of the Los Angeles Clippers is being quarantined for 10 days because of his trip out of the league’s bubble last week to attend a family member’s funeral.
He will miss at least two of the Clippers’ seeding games, including their July 30 opener against the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s possible he could miss more than two since his likely release will be Aug. 4, the day of the Clippers’ third seeding game.
The issue was not that Williams left the bubble but that he also went to a club on that trip to Atlanta, and photographs of that visit appeared on social media. That prompted an investigation by NBA security, and ultimately the 10-day ruling.
Williams visited a club that he has often described as being his favorite restaurant. The establishment has chicken wings that are named for him on the menu.
In other NBA news:
— Joel Embiid (joh-EHL’ ehm-BEED’) is hurting, and that’s a cause for concern as the Philadelphia 76ers get set to restart their season this week. The All-Star starting center sat out Philadelphia’s scrimmage against Oklahoma City on Sunday with right calf tightness, something 76ers coach Brett Brown hopes is merely a minor blip. Embiid has an extensive injury history. He has never appeared in more than 64 games in a regular season and missed 21 of Philadelphia’s 65 games this season before the March 11 shutdown.
— Boston’s Kemba Walker and Phoenix’s Ricky Rubio were back in action Sunday, going head-to-head in a Celtics-Suns scrimmage. Both missed the first scrimmages with their teams inside the NBA bubble last week. Walker missed the first scrimmage with left knee soreness. Rubio was a late arrival at Disney and the Suns wanted to get him a couple of more practices before he saw any scrimmage action.
— Of the 22 teams at the NBA restart, nine took the day off Sunday — at least from formal practice. There were five scrimmages, with Philadelphia-Oklahoma City, Phoenix-Boston, Indiana-Dallas, Portland-Toronto and Houston-Memphis on the day’s schedule. Orlando, Sacramento and Brooklyn all were scheduled for practice. The other teams at Disney — the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Washington, Miami, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Utah, New Orleans and Denver — were down to take the day off. All teams will play their third and final scrimmage game either Monday or Tuesday.
NHL-OBIT-MAPLE LEAFS-SHACK
Former Maple Leafs star Eddie Shack dies at 83
UNDATED (AP) — Eddie Shack, one of the NHL’s most colorful players on and off the ice, has died. He was 83.
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced the news in a tweet Sunday.
Known for his bruising style, distinctive skating gait and larger-than-life personality, Shack won four Stanley Cups with Toronto in the 1960s, including the franchise’s most recent victory in 1967. Nicknamed “The Entertainer” — with his trademark cowboy hat and luxurious mustache — he scored the winning goal for the Leafs in the 1963 final.
The native of Sudbury, Ontario, played parts of 17 seasons from 1958 through 1975 with six different teams, including nine years with the Maple Leafs.
Shack had 239 goals, 465 points and 1,431 penalty minutes in 1,047 NHL games. The winger added six goals and seven assists and 151 penalty minutes in 74 playoff matchups.
In October 2016, Shack was listed at No. 68 on The One Hundred, a list of the 100 greatest Leafs that was released as part of the team’s centennial anniversary.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPORTS
Lightning player delays travel to NHL bubble
UNDATED (AP) — Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman won’t travel with the team to the NHL’s Eastern Conference “secure zone” in Toronto because of a personal matter. General manager Julien BriseBois (BREEZ’-bwah) says Hedman will go from his home to the rink and back and avoid the general public in Florida this week before joining his teammates.
Hedman will undergo coronavirus testing daily, which is the protocol players, coaches and staff must follow in Toronto and the Western Conference hub city of Edmonton, Alberta. He’s expected to be able to practice upon arrival and play in Tampa Bay’s first playoff game Aug. 3.
In other news related to the coronavirus pandemic:
— Masked fans hopped, sang and shouted cheers in baseball stadiums in South Korea on Sunday as authorities began allowing spectators to return to professional sports amid the coronavirus pandemic. South Korea’s delayed 2020 baseball season began in early May without fans in the stands. On Sunday, the Korean Baseball Organization allowed a limited number of fans - 10% of the stadium capacity - to watch games live. They entered stadiums after their temperatures and smartphone QR codes were checked. During the games, they were required to wear masks and sit at least a seat apart while being banned from eating food and drinking any alcoholic beverages in line with the KBO guidelines. South Korea has seen an uptick in virus cases since it eased its rigid social distancing rules in May.
— Spectators have been allowed into a sporting event in England for the first time since March when coronavirus prevention measures were tested at a cricket match between Surrey and Middlesex at The Oval ahead of a planned wider reopening of stadiums in October. Alternate rows were used across two stands and advisory signs were on show for the friendly match being watched by 1,000 people. A limited number of members were in assigned seats in the stadium in south London. Surrey chief executive Richard Gould said the club received 10,000 calls for the available places within an hour of the tickets being made available to members.
— The Spanish soccer league says a second-division game postponed because of an outbreak of coronavirus cases will not be played. The league has made the announcement after new test results this weekend took the total number of COVID-19 cases at club Fuenlabrada to 28. The team’s final-round match against Deportivo La Coruña had been suspended last Monday after six people at the club had tested positive just hours before kickoff. The league says the club accepted the decision to have the match canceled as it was virtually impossible to try to reschedule another date for it. The club said it “was not renouncing” the playoff spot and wants other soccer entities to weigh in.
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