Sports briefs
Meadows card canceled
Because of the snowstorm that hit the area, The Meadows Racetrack & Casino canceled its harness racing card for Wednesday. Live racing will resume at the track on Monday at 12:45 p.m.
Pitt’s Pickett returning for 2021
Pitt’s football season is over. Quarterback Kenny Pickett’s college career is not.
The senior announced late Tuesday night he will return in 2021. Pickett had participated in Pitt’s Senior Day festivities against Virginia Tech last month, an indication he was going to enter the NFL draft.
Apparently not.
“One more year,” Pickett tweeted.
Pickett passed for 2,408 yards with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season for the Panthers (5-5, 6-5). He missed two games with an ankle injury – both losses – and was up and down when he returned.
Pickett threw for 404 yards in a win over the Hokies but tossed four interceptions in a loss to Clemson before finishing with a touchdown and a pick in a season-ending 34-17 victory over Georgia Tech.
The Panthers figured to be in the bowl mix after winning three of their final four games but voted to not participate in the postseason, a decision coach Pat Narduzzi supported after the team spent months playing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pickett has passed for 7,984 yards with 39 touchdowns and 25 interceptions since taking over as the starter late in the 2017 season. He is fifth on the school’s all-time yards passing list and fourth on the total yardage list, passing Hall of Famer Dan Marino late in the season.
His decision could create a logjam at quarterback. Arizona State transfer Joey Yellen and redshirt freshman Davis Beville figured to be in the mix to replace Pickett next fall.
NCAA says no waiting for transfersThe NCAA’s Division I Council has granted blanket waivers for all athletes to play immediately.
The NCAA’s announcement Wednesday includes all Division I sports, but is contingent on certain criteria being met.
Transfers previously were required to sit out a season unless granted a waiver by the NCAA. The NCAA had decided on waivers on a case-by-case basis, but had been more lenient during the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision should have an immediate impact on basketball programs, with some transfers becoming eligible for games on Wednesday.
“The Council continued its trend of voting in favor of maximum flexibility for student-athletes during the pandemic,” said Council chair M. Grace Calhoun, athletics director at Pennsylvania. “Allowing transfer student-athletes to compete immediately will provide additional opportunities to student-athletes during this continued difficult time, and perhaps allow games to be played that otherwise might not have been.”
The waiver only applies to transfers from other Division I schools. The regular transfer waiver process will be used for non-Division I transfers.
Ravens put 3 on COVID-19 list
The Baltimore Ravens have placed receivers Marquise Brown, Mile Boykin and James Proche on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
The status of the three players for Sunday’s game against Jacksonville was uncertain.
Brown scored a key touchdown for Baltimore in the fourth quarter of a 47-42 victory over Cleveland on Monday night. Boykin has 16 receptions for 206 yards.