Sports briefs
NCAA waives standardized test requirements
The NCAA is waiving standardized test requirements for incoming freshmen to be eligible to compete in Division I and II during the 2020-21 academic year.
The Eligibility Center adjusted several of its eligibility requirements for incoming freshmen, including the number of core courses and minimum grade-point averages. The adjustments were made in response to schools across the country moving to online learning as part of the fight against coronavirus. Social-distancing restrictions had also canceled some SAT and ACT testing dates.
The NCAA’s news release said: “Membership committees in both Divisions I and II reviewed initial-eligibility data and determined the NCAA would offer flexibility for incoming student-athletes based on research, fairness, equity and a standard of college readiness.”
In college basketball
North Carolina freshman point guard Cole Anthony is entering the NBA draft.
Anthony announced his decision Friday. He had been considered a likely one-and-done player and a high first-round draft prospect before his arrival in Chapel Hill.
The 6-3 Anthony – son of former UNLV and NBA player Greg Anthony – averaged a team-high 18.5 points, starting with 34 points against Notre Dame to set an Atlantic Coast Conference record for points by a freshman in his debut. But the Tar Heels (14-19) suffered the first losing season in head coach Roy Williams’ Hall of Fame career.
- Guard Malachi Flynn, a consensus All-American and the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, will forgo his senior season at San Diego State and enter the NBA draft.
NFL to hold practice draft
The NFL will hold a practice remote draft on Monday, three days before the real thing is done in the same way.
Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn said Friday morning that the mock draft will be Monday. He didn’t provide any details on the proceedings, other than what the Lions will be part of.
“We’re going to do a couple internal tests and trial runs here,” Quinn said in a Zoom meeting with reporters to preview the draft. “The league is having a mock draft, mock trial run on Monday that we’ll participate in.”
Commissioner Roger Goodell ordered all team facilities closed in March, and later required club personnel to conduct the draft from their homes. Because of the reliance on free-flowing communication, the league decided to stage a mock draft to ensure that the proceedings next Thursday, Friday and Saturday would go smoothly.
The draft originally was scheduled to be held in Las Vegas, but the NFL canceled all public events last month as a safeguard against the coronavirus. On April 6, Goodell instructed the teams on how they should plan to make their selections.
MLS season delayed
Major League Soccer is pushing back restarting the season to at least June 8 and says it is also discussing possible salary cuts with the players’ union.
Teams had played two matches before the season was suspended on March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic and the league had been looking at possibly resuming play in mid-May. The league would still like to play a full season.
MLS also said it is exploring possible “changes to player compensation” because of the financial hit the league and teams are facing.
NBA players to receive 25% less in paychecksCommissioner Adam Silver said it remains impossible for the NBA to make any decisions about whether to resume this season and that it is unclear when that will change.
But in a clear sign that at least some of the 259 remaining regular-season games that were not played because of the coronavirus pandemic will not be rescheduled, the league announced Friday it will withhold 25% of player pay starting with their May 15 checks.
Silver, speaking after the league’s regularly scheduled April board of governors meeting — one that took place through video conferencing and not the usual in-person setting in New York — said all options remain on the table for trying to resume play and eventually crowning a champion.
“I think there is a sense that we can continue to take the leading role as we learn more in coming up with an appropriate regimen and protocol for returning to business,” Silver said. “There’s a recognition from (owners) that this is bigger than our business; certainly, bigger than sports.”
The salary decision was made in concert with the National Basketball Players Association, the league saying it would “provide players with a more gradual salary reduction schedule” if games are officially canceled or the rest of the season is totally lost.
Players will be paid in full on May 1. The cutback in salary has been expected for some time in response to the NBA’s shutdown that started March 11, and has no end in sight.