HUTCHINSON, Kan.- The Houston, TX Express stayed alive in the 2020 NBC World Series powered by Evergy, defeating the Rose Hill, KS Sluggers 5-3 on Thursday night at Hobart-Detter Field.&nbsp;

The Express’ one, two and three hole hitters collected seven of the team’s 10 hits, with Court Cosco leading the way with a 3-for-4 outing and two RBIs. Dante Freeman led the Sluggers with a 4-for-4 outing to go with two RBIs.&nbsp;

After the Sluggers obtained a 2-0 lead through the middle of the third inning, Myles Jefferson scored the Express’ first run off a groundout following a double and wild pitch in the bottom of the third inning. Freeman responded with a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning, extending the Sluggers’ lead 3-1.&nbsp;

Gales DeVaughn answered back in the bottom of the sixth inning with a home run of his own, cutting the Express’ deficit down to one run. The Express took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring three runs that they would eventually keep for good.&nbsp;

The Express will play either the Santa Barbara, CA Foresters or the Liberal, KS Bee Jays on Friday at Eck Stadium. The game time is to be determined.

HUTCHINSON, Kan.- The Houston, TX Express stayed alive in the 2020 NBC World Series powered by Evergy, defeating the Rose Hill, KS Sluggers 5-3 on Thursday night at Hobart-Detter Field.&nbsp;The Express’ one, two and three hole hitters collected seven of the team’s 10 hits, with Court Cosco leading the way with a 3-for-4 outing and two RBIs. Dante Freeman led the Sluggers with a 4-for-4 outing to go with two RBIs.&nbsp;After the Sluggers obtained a 2-0 lead through the middle of the third inning, Myles Jefferson scored the Express’ first run off a groundout following a double and wild pitch in the bottom of the third inning. Freeman responded with a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning, extending the Sluggers’ lead 3-1.&nbsp;Gales DeVaughn answered back in the bottom of the sixth inning with a home run of his own, cutting the Express’ deficit down to one run. The Express took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring three runs that they would eventually keep for good.&nbsp;The Express will play either the Santa Barbara, CA Foresters or the Liberal, KS Bee Jays on Friday at Eck Stadium. The game time is to be determined.

Rose Hill Sluggers eliminated by Houston Express

WICHITA, Kan. - The Cheney, KS Diamond Dawgs advanced in the winner’s bracket in the 2020 NBC World Series powered by Evergy on Thursday at Eck Stadium, defeating the Hays, KS Larks 2-1.&nbsp;

Cheney won the pitcher’s duel despite only coming up with five hits as a team on the night, with Brennen van Breusegen going 3-for-3 at the plate to lead the Larks in offense.&nbsp;

Hays got on the board first with an RBI single from Corbin Truslow following a two-out double in the top of the fourth inning, Davis Sims from Western Kentucky managed to get the game tied for the Diamond Dawgs in the next half inning with an RBI single. Following a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh inning, George Specht collected an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Cheney the 2-1 lead.&nbsp;

The Larks managed to get two runners on base in the top of the ninth by drawing a hit by pitch and coming up with a single to shortstop. Diamond Dawgs’ closer Jeff Wilson, however, forced a fielder’s choice groundout and forced a strikeout to secure the win for Cheney.&nbsp;

Cheney will play either the Santa Barbara, CA Foresters or the Liberal, KS Bee Jays <a href="outlook-data-detector://1">on Saturday at 6 p.m.</a> at Eck Stadium in Wichita.

WICHITA, Kan. - The Cheney, KS Diamond Dawgs advanced in the winner’s bracket in the 2020 NBC World Series powered by Evergy on Thursday at Eck Stadium, defeating the Hays, KS Larks 2-1.&nbsp;Cheney won the pitcher’s duel despite only coming up with five hits as a team on the night, with Brennen van Breusegen going 3-for-3 at the plate to lead the Larks in offense.&nbsp;Hays got on the board first with an RBI single from Corbin Truslow following a two-out double in the top of the fourth inning, Davis Sims from Western Kentucky managed to get the game tied for the Diamond Dawgs in the next half inning with an RBI single. Following a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh inning, George Specht collected an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Cheney the 2-1 lead.&nbsp;The Larks managed to get two runners on base in the top of the ninth by drawing a hit by pitch and coming up with a single to shortstop. Diamond Dawgs’ closer Jeff Wilson, however, forced a fielder’s choice groundout and forced a strikeout to secure the win for Cheney.&nbsp;Cheney will play either the Santa Barbara, CA Foresters or the Liberal, KS Bee Jays <a href="outlook-data-detector://1">on Saturday at 6 p.m.</a> at Eck Stadium in Wichita.

Cheney Advances with win over Hays

GAME TIME UPDATE: The two NBC World Series games to be played in Hutchinson Thursday night have swapped time frames.

6pm - Rose Hill, KS Sluggers vs. Winner of Houston, TX Express/Lonestar Baseball Club

8:30pm - Hutchinson Monarchs vs. Hattiesburg Black Sox

GAME TIME UPDATE: The two NBC World Series games to be played in Hutchinson Thursday night have swapped time frames.6pm - Rose Hill, KS Sluggers vs. Winner of Houston, TX Express/Lonestar Baseball Club<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vzO_3gfiZ5s" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>8:30pm - Hutchinson Monarchs vs. Hattiesburg Black Sox<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ALo5GC8bHUU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><figure>
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LIVE STREAM VIDEO: Hutch Monarchs play  Hattiesburg, MS tonight in nightcap game at Hobart-Detter

Holding competitions as planned or postponing them to spring deemed not feasible

Division II’s seven fall 2020 championships are canceled, the Division II Presidents Council decided Wednesday due to the operational, logistical and financial challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The council made the move after the&nbsp;NCAA&nbsp;Board of Governors directed&nbsp;each division to make a decision on its fall sport championships. The Board of Governors also directed each division to meet various requirements to compete in the fall. Those directives include that all member&nbsp;institutions apply the&nbsp;re-socialization principles&nbsp;to fall sports and set a 50% sponsorship threshold for a fall sport championship to be conducted, among other requirements. As of Wednesday, 11 of the 23 Division II conferences had announced they will not compete during the traditional fall season.

With the Board of Governors’ directives, the Division II Presidents Council determined that it was not feasible to hold fall championships as planned or to postpone them to the spring while prioritizing the health and well-being of student-athletes.

“After reviewing and discussing the Board of Governors’ directives, the Division II Presidents Council made the difficult decision that holding fall championships in any capacity was not a viable or fiscally responsible option for Division II,” said Sandra Jordan, chancellor of South Carolina Aiken and chair of the council. “This decision was discussed very thoroughly, and I assure you, it was not made lightly. It is important to note that fall student-athletes will be given eligibility-related flexibility to allow them championship opportunities in the future. As we move forward, we will continue to focus on providing the best championships experience for our winter and spring student-athletes who were not afforded those opportunities at the beginning of this pandemic.”

On July 22, the&nbsp;Division II Administrative Committee approved waivers&nbsp;to allow Division II student-athletes to retain the use of a season of competition if their team completes 50% or less of the sport’s Bylaw 17 maximum contests/dates of competition for the 2020-21 academic year. Additionally, student-athletes who qualify for the season of competition waiver, or whose institutions cancel the sport season entirely, will receive an extension of their 10 semesters/15 quarters of eligibility, provided the student-athlete was otherwise eligible for competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Division II schools and conferences can still choose to play part or all of their regular season in the fall semester if they follow the requirements set forth by the Board of Governors.

<h2>Holding competitions as planned or postponing them to spring deemed not feasible</h2>Division II’s seven fall 2020 championships are canceled, the Division II Presidents Council decided Wednesday due to the operational, logistical and financial challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.The council made the move after the&nbsp;NCAA&nbsp;Board of Governors directed&nbsp;each division to make a decision on its fall sport championships. The Board of Governors also directed each division to meet various requirements to compete in the fall. Those directives include that all member&nbsp;institutions apply the&nbsp;re-socialization principles&nbsp;to fall sports and set a 50% sponsorship threshold for a fall sport championship to be conducted, among other requirements. As of Wednesday, 11 of the 23 Division II conferences had announced they will not compete during the traditional fall season.With the Board of Governors’ directives, the Division II Presidents Council determined that it was not feasible to hold fall championships as planned or to postpone them to the spring while prioritizing the health and well-being of student-athletes.“After reviewing and discussing the Board of Governors’ directives, the Division II Presidents Council made the difficult decision that holding fall championships in any capacity was not a viable or fiscally responsible option for Division II,” said Sandra Jordan, chancellor of South Carolina Aiken and chair of the council. “This decision was discussed very thoroughly, and I assure you, it was not made lightly. It is important to note that fall student-athletes will be given eligibility-related flexibility to allow them championship opportunities in the future. As we move forward, we will continue to focus on providing the best championships experience for our winter and spring student-athletes who were not afforded those opportunities at the beginning of this pandemic.”On July 22, the&nbsp;Division II Administrative Committee approved waivers&nbsp;to allow Division II student-athletes to retain the use of a season of competition if their team completes 50% or less of the sport’s Bylaw 17 maximum contests/dates of competition for the 2020-21 academic year. Additionally, student-athletes who qualify for the season of competition waiver, or whose institutions cancel the sport season entirely, will receive an extension of their 10 semesters/15 quarters of eligibility, provided the student-athlete was otherwise eligible for competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Division II schools and conferences can still choose to play part or all of their regular season in the fall semester if they follow the requirements set forth by the Board of Governors.

DII Presidents Council cancels fall 2020 championships

<div><iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/871126645&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/hutchpost" title="HutchPost.com" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">HutchPost.com</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/hutchpost/eagle-sports-august-6-2020" title="Eagle Sports August 6 - 2020" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Eagle Sports August 6 - 2020</a></div></div>

AUDIO: Eagle Radio Sports for Thursday

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

UNDATED (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have returned to the field for light workouts nearly a week after an outbreak of COVID-19 forced the club and its staff members to quarantine in Milwaukee. Cardinals manager Mike Shildt called it "a breath of fresh air" after five days spent in The Pfister Hotel. The Cardinals returned 13 positive coronavirus tests in their traveling party, seven of them players, forcing them to suspend their season. They were finally cleared to travel back to St. Louis late Tuesday, when they returned negative tests for the second straight day.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yu Darvish pitched seven sharp innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the skidding Kansas City Royals 6-1 on Wednesday night for their sixth straight victory. Javier Báez drove in two runs for the Cubs, who handed Kansas City its sixth consecutive defeat. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo each had two hits and scored twice. Darvish was in midseason form for the second straight outing. He gave up five hits, struck out four and walked one.&nbsp;

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs hope to know soon whether cornerback Bashaud Breeland will be suspended to start the season, but they are confident they'll be fine either way. Even before the veteran was arrested in South Carolina in April, the Chiefs worked hard to fortify one of the crucial spots in coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's defense. They signed special teams ace Antonio Hamilton, who played for the Giants last season, and used a pair of draft picks on cornerbacks. L'Jarius Sneed was picked in the fourth round and Bopete Keyes was chosen in the seventh.

CHICAGO (AP) — Cubs overcame another shaky outing by closer Craig Kimbrel to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 Tuesday night for their fifth straight win.Jason Heyward, Jason Kipnis and Willson Contreras homered and the Chicago Cubs overcame another shaky outing by closer Craig Kimbrel to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 for their fifth straight win. Kimbrel took over to begin the ninth inning with a 5-2 lead, but struggled again and allowed two runs and two hits while getting only one out. Kyle Ryan closed it out for his first save, getting Bubba Starling to ground out with a runner on third to end it.

UNDATED (AP) — When a team is sidelined by the coronavirus, it affects future opponents as well, and leaves players and managers in an unusual holding pattern. That's a challenge several teams have already had to deal with during this baseball season. Milwaukee had a whole series against St. Louis called off, and Detroit now has a gap in its schedule because the Cardinals still can't play. Philadelphia played three games against Miami. Then the Marlins were sidelined because of an outbreak within their team, and the Phillies went a week without playing a game.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tristan Wirfs knows he has a critical role to play in helping Tom Brady transform the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into winners. The rookie is undaunted by the challenge of preparing for the task without the benefit of a normal preseason. The former Iowa star was the 13th pick in this year's NFL draft, addressing the need to bolster an offensive line responsible for protecting the team's 43-year-old quarterback. While Wirfs is expected to be an immediate starter at right tackle, he concedes he has a lot of ground to cover in training camp.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have had two players opt out of the upcoming season because of COVID-19 concerns in running back Damien Williams and guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. Both were key parts of their Super Bowl run. But with the signing of veteran guard Kelechi Osemele, and some key offseason acquisitions at both spots, there may be no positions for which the Chiefs are better able to absorb those losses as they head into training camp.&nbsp;

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina says he's one of the players on the team who tested positive for COVID-19. The nine-time All-Star revealed his results in a Spanish-language Instagram post. Soon afterward, the Cardinals issued a release naming six of the players who have tested positive. The others are infielders Paul DeJong, Edmundo Sosa and Rangel Ravelo along with pitchers Junior Fernandez and Kodi Whitley. The outbreak resulted in the postponement of the Cardinals' scheduled three-game weekend series at Milwaukee as well as a four-game series with Detroit.&nbsp;

Garland, Hall each score in 3rd as Coyotes beat Preds 4-1

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Conor Garland and Taylor Hall each scored in the third period and the Arizona Coyotes beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 Wednesday. Now the Coyotes can eliminate the sixth-seeded Predators in Game 4 on Friday in this best-of-five qualifying series. Christian Dvorak scored on Arizona's first shot, and the Coyotes scored three in the third for the victory capped by Carl Soderberg's empty-netter. The Predators thought they had a 2-1 lead 1:13 into the third period on a goal by Kyle Turris, but the Coyotes won their challenge of offside with Nashville center Matt Duchene found over the blue line on review.

— Matthew Highmore tied the score with 5:47 left in the third period, and Jonathan Toews got his second of the game 4 1/2 minutes later to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their qualifying round series. On the winner, Oilers defenseman Ethan Bear errantly tipped a Chicago point shot off Toews and past goalie Mikko Koskinen. It was Toews' fourth goal of the series. Olli Maatta also scored for the Blackhawks, and Corey Crawford finished with 25 saves. Leon Draisaitl scored twice for Edmonton, and Connor McDavid got his fifth of the series. Koskinen had 21 saves.

— Mike Hoffman and Brian Boyle scored 2:07 apart in the opening minutes of the third period, and the Florida Panthers avoided elimination with a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders Wednesday in Game 3 of their preliminary round playoff series. Erik Haula also scored and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 20 shots. The 10th-seeded Panthers trail the best-of-five series 2-1 with Game 4 at the NHL's Eastern Conference hub city of Toronto on Friday. Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Brock Nelson scored for the Islanders, the East's seventh seed. Semyon Varlamov stopped 19 shots and made a costly error leading to Hoffman's go-ahead goal 41 seconds into the third period.

— Tyler Johnson scored the tiebreaking goal with 87 seconds left to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-2 victory over Boston. The Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins fell to their second straight loss in the NHL's playoff seeding round. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 shots for the Lightning, who improved to 2-0 in the three-game round-robin. Tampa Bay would earn the top seed in the East with a victory over Philadelphia on Saturday. Tuukka Rask made 32 saves for the Bruins. They led the NHL with 100 points in the pandemic-shortened regular season but can now finish no higher than No. 3. 

— High-scoring rookie defenseman Cale Makar connected on an early power-play goal, 30-year-old Pavel Francouz recorded a shutout in his postseason debut and the Colorado Avalanche cruised to a 4-0 round-robin win over the Dallas Stars. Joonas Donskoi, Vladislav Namestnikov and Andre Burakovsky also scored as the Avalanche improved to 2-0 in the three-game round that will determine playoff seeding for the top four teams in the Western Conference. The Stars have lost both of their games and are likely to finish where they started as the fourth seed.

— Jeff Petry scored 5:33 into the third period as the Montreal Canadiens rallied from two goals down and beat Pittsburgh 4-3 in Game 3, pushing the Penguins to the brink of elimination in the best-of-five series. Shea Weber had a goal and two assists for Montreal, Paul Byron added a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Drouin also scored. Carey Price stopped 30 shots for the Canadiens. Montreal can advance to the normal first round with 16 teams with win in Game 4 on Friday. Patric Hornqvist, Jason Zucker and Teddy Blueger scored for fifth-seeded Pittsburgh, which led 3-1 after Blueger's goal 5:34 into the second. Matt Murray finished with 27 saves.

Ingles, Jazz keep Grizzlies winless in bubble, 124-115

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Utah Jazz kept the Memphis Grizzlies winless in the NBA bubble with a 124-115 victory. Joe Ingles scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and Mike Conley had 23 points and seven assists against his former team as the Jazz improved to 2-2 in the seeding round and nudged ahead of Houston for the fourth spot in the Western Conference standings. Dillon Brooks scored 23 points, while Grayson Allen had a career-high 20 points and six 3-pointers as the Grizzlies dropped to 0-4 in the seeding round.

— Jaylen Brown stayed hot with 21 points on five 3-pointers, and the Boston Celtics rolled past the Brooklyn Nets 149-115 without All-Star point guard Kemba Walker. Jayson Tatum added 19 points, and Gordon Hayward and Robert Williams each had 18 points for the Celtics, who posted a season high in points and improved to 2-2 in Orlando. Boston shot 20 of 39 from 3-point range. Jeremiah Martin had 20 points and Joe Harris had 14 for the Nets.

— Fred VanVleet had 21 points and 10 assists, and the Toronto Raptors held on to beat the Orlando Magic 109-99. Pascal Siakam added 15 points and Kyle Lowry finished with eight points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. Toronto has won its last seven dating back to before the hiatus and three straight games since the restart. The Magic missed an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot following Washington's loss to Philadelphia earlier Wednesday. But they maintained their 7 1/2-game lead over the Wizards for the East's eighth seed with four seeding games to play. 

— Joel Embiid had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers held on to beat the Washington Wizards 107-98 on Wednesday despite losing two-time All-Star Ben Simmons to a knee injury in the third quarter.

— Chris Paul had 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 105-86 victory over the poor-shooting Los Angeles Lakers. Danilo Gallinari scored 19 points and Steven Adams had 18 for the Thunder, who never trailed in their first win over the Lakers in four meetings this season. LeBron James had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who had another possibly concerning offensive performance while dropping to 2-2 in the bubble. The Lakers never held a lead for the first time all season.

— Michael Porter Jr. scored 30 points and had 15 rebounds and the Denver Nuggets rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the San Antonio Spurs 132-126. Nikola Jokic added 25 points and 11 assists. Jerami Grant finished with 22 points. San Antonio, which started the day two games behind Memphis for the final playoff spot in the West, dropped to 2-2 since the restart. Derrick White had 23 points and seven assists.

Visiting Phils beat Yankees 11-7 at home to open twin bill, Yanks top in nightcap 3-1

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mike Tauchman's tiebreaking double in the seventh inning sent the New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies and a split of their seven-inning doubleheader Wednesday. 

Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto homered to back Zack Wheeler and lead the "visiting" Phillies to an 11-7 win in the opener, snapping New York's seven-game winning streak. Due to a late schedule change, the Yankees were the "home" team for the first game — even in Philadelphia. 

Phillies ace Aaron Nola tied a career high with 12 strikeouts in the nightcap, allowing one run on Luke Voit's homer and three hits in six innings. 

— Joc Pederson's second home run of the game sailed an estimated 435 feet through two palm trees just beyond the center field fence at Petco Park, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 7-6 to take two of three in an early series between NL West rivals. Pederson drove in five runs on the two homers for the seven-time defending division champion Dodgers, who won seven of nine on a three-city trip. Pederson hit a two-run homer off Garrett Richards in the second inning and then welcomed rookie Luis Patiño to the big leagues with his monster three-run shot in the sixth. 

— Scorching slugger Kyle Seager hit a three-run homer, rookie Kyle Lewis stayed hot with an RBI single, and the Seattle Mariners overcame two home runs by Mike Trout to beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-6. Albert Pujols remained on 659 career home runs, one behind Willie Mays on the career list. There were plenty of long balls otherwise. The Angels got all their runs — and hits — off Seattle starter Marco Gonzales via a trio of solo shots. Trout connected for one of those off Gonzales and added a three-run drive in the eighth against reliever Taylor Williams to pull the Angels within 7-6.

—Matt Olson homered twice, Ramon Laureano also went deep and the Oakland Athletics rallied to beat the Texas Rangers 6-4 on Wednesday night. Austin Allen hit his first career homer, a go-ahead, two-run drive in the seventh inning, as the A's stunned the Rangers late for a second consecutive night and won their fifth straight. On Tuesday, Stephen Piscotty hit a walk-off grand slam in Oakland's 5-1 win.

— Kole Calhoun hit his first career inside-the-park homer with the help of a crazy bounce, David Peralta had four RBIs and the Arizona Diamondbacks used a nine-run burst in the fourth inning to beat the Houston Astros 14-7 on Wednesday night. The Diamondbacks broke out of their extended early-season offensive slump by sending 14 batters to the plate in the fourth and building a 9-4 lead. Peralta had a triple with the bases loaded and a solo homer. Stephen Vogt hit two doubles. The Astros hit four homers, one each by Abraham Toro, Kyle Tucker, George Springer and Yuli Gurriel.

—Brandon Belt extended his success against Colorado starter Jon Gray with a three-run homer and a double to lead the San Francisco Giants past the Rockies 4-3. Belt's two hits raised his career average against Gray to .417 and helped Logan Webb get his first win in his fourth start of the season. Nolan Arenado homered for the third straight game for the Rockies, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.

— Five pitchers combined on a four-hitter for the undermanned, gritty and first-place Miami Marlins, who beat the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 Wednesday night for a doubleheader sweep. Brian Anderson homered in the opener, and Miami won 1-0 despite getting only two hits. The sweep kept the Marlins atop the NL East and earned Don Mattingly his 281st win as Miami's manager, tying Jack McKeon's club record. In a baseball season complete with new rules and an ever-changing, abbreviated schedule, this doubleheader raised the bar on strange. Not only were both games seven innings apiece, but the Orioles were the home team in the opener and the Marlins served as hosts in the nightcap.

— Nationals starter Max Scherzer exited because of a hamstring problem after laboring through just one inning, overshadowing Juan Soto's eventful 2020 debut for the World Series champs, and Rick Porcello collected his 150th career win in the New York Mets' 3-1 victory over Washington. Porcello went seven innings, allowing one run and five hits. Seth Lugo got the last six outs for his second save. Scherzer's replacement, Erick Fedde, took the loss after giving up a tiebreaking run in his three innings. Soto had an RBI double, a single and a highlight-reel catch in his first game after coming off the COVID-19 list.

— Hyun-Jin Ryu combined with four relievers on a three-hitter and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Sean Newcomb and the shorthanded Atlanta Braves 2-1. Ryu lasted only five innings but was dominant as he gave up only one hit, an infield single by Adam Duvall in the second inning. Duvall homered in the seventh off Thomas Hatch. Ryu struck out eight. The Braves were forced to recast their lineup after placing Ozzie Albies and Matt Adams on the injured list and giving Freddie Freeman a day off. The new-look lineup didn't resemble the unit which had 13 hits in a 10-1 win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday night.

— Brian Anderson hit a fourth-inning homer off Alex Cobb and the Miami Marlins won their second straight since returning, beating the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 in the opener of a doubleheader. Miami improved to 4-1 with its second successive shutout win over the Orioles. 

-Mike Clevinger didn't have his best stuff but did enough to pitch into the sixth inning and lead the Cleveland Indians to a 2-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds. César Hernández hit an RBI single and Óscar Mercado scored with some daring baserunning in the fifth when the Indians finally scored after being blanked by Reds rookie Tejay Antone in his first major league start. The Indians have won two of three against their in-state rivals. 

— Adrian Houser dominated over seven innings and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the White Sox 1-0 to snap Chicago's six-game win streak. The Brewers held struggling star Christian Yelich out of the lineup. The Brewers ended Chicago's best streak since a six-game run in April 2017. Houser simply dazzled on a night when Dallas Keuchel was about as good for Chicago. The 27-year-old right-hander gave up five hits and struck out five. Eric Sogard drove in Mark Mathias with a single in the third, and that was all Milwaukee needed.

—Martín Pérez pitched out of trouble all night, and Alex Verdugo and Michael Chavis homered to help the Boston Red Sox stop a four-game skid Wednesday with a 5-0 victory over the slumping Tampa Bay Rays. Pérez allowed four hits and three walks, wiggling out of jams for five innings. He struck out four. The Rays have trailed in 11 of 12 games this season, including their last 10.

— Minnesota's Randy Dobnak dominated in his homecoming, allowing three hits in six innings as the streaking Twins topped the reeling Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2. Pittsburgh managed just four balls out of the infield against Dobnak, who dropped his ERA to 0.60. Marwin Gonzalez went 2 for 4 with two RBIs for the Twins. Max Kepler gave Minnesota some breathing room in the ninth with a three-run home run off Pirates' reliever Dovydas Neverauskas.

MLB tightening virus protocols, including masks in dugouts

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball is cracking down on coronavirus safety protocols, mandating that players and staff wear face coverings at all times, including in the dugouts and bullpens, except for players on the field of play. 

The league sent a memo to teams Wednesday outlining changes to its 2020 operations manual after outbreaks on the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals led to 21 postponements in the first two weeks of a shortened 60-game season. 

The memo, obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday night, says that repeated or flagrant violators of the protocols could be banned from participating in the 2020 season and postseason.

Cyclist in Poland crash stable after 5-hour surgery on face

WARSAW (AP) —Dutch cyclist Fabio Jakobsen has had a five-hour surgery on his skull and face and is in a serious but stable condition after a controversial crash with another cyclist near the finish line at the Tour of Pland in Poland. 

The hospital says there were no complications. 

Jakobsen was fighting for victory with the other cyclist Wednesday in the first stage when the cyclist deviated from his line in the final meters and sent Jakobsen crashing through roadside barriers. 

Doctors say they see no brain or spinal injury and they'll try to bring him out of a coma later today.

Sports Headlines for Thursday

WICHITA, Kan. - The Hattiesburg, MS Black Sox defeated the Denver, CO Cougars 9-4 in the 2020 NBC World Series powered by Evergy on Wednesday night at Eck Stadium.&nbsp;

Jamal Washington and Marcus Regan led the Black Sox with two hits and two RBIs each, with Carter Pennington going 3-for-4 at the plate for the Cougars.&nbsp;

A single to right field by JT Hall allowed the game’s first run to score in the bottom of the first inning for the Black Sox, with two more runs crossing home following an error in the outfield. The Cougars chipped away to make it a one-run game through the middle of the fourth inning, but a two-RBI single from Regan and a wild pitch gave the Black Sox three runs to push the lead 6-2.&nbsp;

The Cougars cut the deficit to two runs after the top of the eighth inning, but the Black Sox struck again with another three-run outing in the bottom of the eighth. A solo home run from Pablo Lanzarote and a two-RBI double from Washington gave the Black Sox the five-run lead carried through the end of the game.&nbsp;

The Black Sox will play the Hutchinson, KS Monarchs on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in Hutchinson. 

WICHITA, Kan. - The Hattiesburg, MS Black Sox defeated the Denver, CO Cougars 9-4 in the 2020 NBC World Series powered by Evergy on Wednesday night at Eck Stadium.&nbsp;Jamal Washington and Marcus Regan led the Black Sox with two hits and two RBIs each, with Carter Pennington going 3-for-4 at the plate for the Cougars.&nbsp;A single to right field by JT Hall allowed the game’s first run to score in the bottom of the first inning for the Black Sox, with two more runs crossing home following an error in the outfield. The Cougars chipped away to make it a one-run game through the middle of the fourth inning, but a two-RBI single from Regan and a wild pitch gave the Black Sox three runs to push the lead 6-2.&nbsp;The Cougars cut the deficit to two runs after the top of the eighth inning, but the Black Sox struck again with another three-run outing in the bottom of the eighth. A solo home run from Pablo Lanzarote and a two-RBI double from Washington gave the Black Sox the five-run lead carried through the end of the game.&nbsp;The Black Sox will play the Hutchinson, KS Monarchs on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in Hutchinson.

Hattiesburg survives to defeat Denver, CO Cougars

HUTCHINSON, Kan. - Behind 15 hits in eight innings, the Houston, TX Express defeated Lonestar, TX Baseball Club 15-7 in the 2020 NBC World Series powered by Evergy on Tuesday night at Hobart-Detter Field.&nbsp;

Gales DeVaughn led the Express with five hits in six at-bats, scoring four runs to go with five RBIs. The Express had four players that recorded multi-hit outings, with Lonestar having three players with at least two hits.&nbsp;

Phillip Jones of the Express shined in the final 6.1 innings of play, coming up with 10 strikeouts and earning the win in the process. Tristen Bayless of Lonestar recorded eight strikeouts in 3.2 innings pitched.&nbsp;

After being tied 2-2 at the end of the first inning, Lonestar used a five-run top of the second inning to move ahead 7-2. The Express, however, scored 10 unanswered runs to lead 12-7 after three innings of play. The Express scored three more runs to cap off the run-rule effort in the eighth inning.&nbsp;

The Express takes on the Rose Hill, KS Sluggers at 6 p.m. in Hutchinson on Thursday.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. - Behind 15 hits in eight innings, the Houston, TX Express defeated Lonestar, TX Baseball Club 15-7 in the 2020 NBC World Series powered by Evergy on Tuesday night at Hobart-Detter Field.&nbsp;Gales DeVaughn led the Express with five hits in six at-bats, scoring four runs to go with five RBIs. The Express had four players that recorded multi-hit outings, with Lonestar having three players with at least two hits.&nbsp;Phillip Jones of the Express shined in the final 6.1 innings of play, coming up with 10 strikeouts and earning the win in the process. Tristen Bayless of Lonestar recorded eight strikeouts in 3.2 innings pitched.&nbsp;After being tied 2-2 at the end of the first inning, Lonestar used a five-run top of the second inning to move ahead 7-2. The Express, however, scored 10 unanswered runs to lead 12-7 after three innings of play. The Express scored three more runs to cap off the run-rule effort in the eighth inning.&nbsp;The Express takes on the Rose Hill, KS Sluggers at 6 p.m. in Hutchinson on Thursday.

Houston Express rally to defeat Lonestar, TX Baseball Club

WICHITA, Kan. - Behind a walk-off home run by Wichita State’s Hunter Gibson, the Rose Hill, KS Sluggers defeated the Colorado Cyclones 9-7 in the 2020 NBCWS powered by Evergy on Wednesday night at Eck Stadium.&nbsp;

Gibson led the Sluggers with a 3-for-5 outing and two RBIs, with four total players recording multi-hit games for Rose Hill. Ryan Sullivan led the Cyclones with four hits in six at-bats to go with three RBIs.&nbsp;

After the Cyclones took the opening lead in the top of the first inning, the Sluggers opened the gap with a five-run bottom of the first inning. Mason Hartman hit a leadoff triple before Ryan Koval smashed a home run to give the Sluggers the 2-1 lead. Two singles allowed another run to score for the Sluggers, with two bases loaded walks allowing two more runs to cross home plate.&nbsp;

The Sluggers added an insurance run in the bottom of the second inning, but a sacrifice fly from Jake Haze and three-run home run from Ryan Sullivan cut the Cyclones’ deficit to one through the middle of the sixth inning. The Cyclones tied it up in the top of the seventh inning before the Sluggers responded to retake the lead a half-inning later, with Wichita State’s Ross Cadena scoring off a sacrifice fly following a lead-off double.&nbsp;

Jason Ajamian came up with a left field double in the top of the eighth inning for the Cyclones, with Wyatt Featherston driving in the tying run with a double in the next at-bat to make it a 7-7 game. Following a single by Ryan Koval, Gibson sealed the win with his two-run home run.&nbsp;

The Sluggers will take on either the Houston, TX Express or the Lonestar, TX Baseball Club on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in Hutchinson. 

WICHITA, Kan. - Behind a walk-off home run by Wichita State’s Hunter Gibson, the Rose Hill, KS Sluggers defeated the Colorado Cyclones 9-7 in the 2020 NBCWS powered by Evergy on Wednesday night at Eck Stadium.&nbsp;Gibson led the Sluggers with a 3-for-5 outing and two RBIs, with four total players recording multi-hit games for Rose Hill. Ryan Sullivan led the Cyclones with four hits in six at-bats to go with three RBIs.&nbsp;After the Cyclones took the opening lead in the top of the first inning, the Sluggers opened the gap with a five-run bottom of the first inning. Mason Hartman hit a leadoff triple before Ryan Koval smashed a home run to give the Sluggers the 2-1 lead. Two singles allowed another run to score for the Sluggers, with two bases loaded walks allowing two more runs to cross home plate.&nbsp;The Sluggers added an insurance run in the bottom of the second inning, but a sacrifice fly from Jake Haze and three-run home run from Ryan Sullivan cut the Cyclones’ deficit to one through the middle of the sixth inning. The Cyclones tied it up in the top of the seventh inning before the Sluggers responded to retake the lead a half-inning later, with Wichita State’s Ross Cadena scoring off a sacrifice fly following a lead-off double.&nbsp;Jason Ajamian came up with a left field double in the top of the eighth inning for the Cyclones, with Wyatt Featherston driving in the tying run with a double in the next at-bat to make it a 7-7 game. Following a single by Ryan Koval, Gibson sealed the win with his two-run home run.&nbsp;The Sluggers will take on either the Houston, TX Express or the Lonestar, TX Baseball Club on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in Hutchinson.

Rose Hill Sluggers get walk-off to stay alive in NBC World Series

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball is cracking down on coronavirus safety protocols, mandating that players and staff wear face coverings at all times, including in the dugouts and bullpens, except for players on the field of play.

The league sent a memo to teams Wednesday outlining changes to its 2020 operations manual after outbreaks on the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals led to 21 postponements in the first two weeks of a shortened 60-game season.

That includes those who don’t wear face coverings while watching from the dugout. Although such measures were suggested in MLB’s operations manual before Wednesday, some players have continued to not wear face masks, offer high fives, spit and violate the protocols in other ways during games.

Umpires are also being instructed to wear face masks at all times, except when it would make it unfeasible for them to do their jobs.

Compliance officers have been appointed for each team, and they have been charged with enforcing protocols outlined in the operations manual in an effort to keep baseball’s season running.

Players and staff must wear face coverings at all times at team hotels and in public places while on the road. On team buses and airplanes, personnel must wear surgical masks or N95/KN95 respirators.

At hotels, teams have been instructed to provide a large private room -- a ballroom, for instance -- where staff and players can get food and other amenities with enough space to keep their distance. Players are discouraged from talking to each other or facing each other if their mask is pulled down while eating.

If players want to leave the hotel, they must get approval first from the team’s compliance officer.

While in their home cities, players and staff are banned from visiting bars, lounges, malls or other places where groups of people are gathered.

Clubs are being instructed to provided spaces for visiting players that are covered and outdoors, and that home and visiting teams must have access to areas where personnel can socially distance during weather delays. Players are being told to use those outdoor areas as much as possible, rather than linger in the clubhouse.

Among other changes: teams must limit the size of traveling parties to essential personnel, maintain unoccupied rows between passengers on team buses, and distance seating on airplanes while ensuring players do not change locations.

MLB said in the memo it made many of the changes after evaluating results of its investigation into the Marlins outbreak. The league also said it is working with the union to review contact tracing protocols, specifically the requirements for identified close contacts. Close contacts do not currently include passing interactions or physical contact unlikely to pass secretions, such as elbow bumps.

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball is cracking down on coronavirus safety protocols, mandating that players and staff wear face coverings at all times, including in the dugouts and bullpens, except for players on the field of play.The league sent a memo to teams Wednesday outlining changes to its 2020 operations manual after outbreaks on the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals led to 21 postponements in the first two weeks of a shortened 60-game season.The memo, obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday night, says that repeated or flagrant violators of the protocols could be banned from participating in the 2020 season and postseason.That includes those who don’t wear face coverings while watching from the dugout. Although such measures were suggested in MLB’s operations manual before Wednesday, some players have continued to not wear face masks, offer high fives, spit and violate the protocols in other ways during games.Umpires are also being instructed to wear face masks at all times, except when it would make it unfeasible for them to do their jobs.Compliance officers have been appointed for each team, and they have been charged with enforcing protocols outlined in the operations manual in an effort to keep baseball’s season running.Players and staff must wear face coverings at all times at team hotels and in public places while on the road. On team buses and airplanes, personnel must wear surgical masks or N95/KN95 respirators.At hotels, teams have been instructed to provide a large private room -- a ballroom, for instance -- where staff and players can get food and other amenities with enough space to keep their distance. Players are discouraged from talking to each other or facing each other if their mask is pulled down while eating.If players want to leave the hotel, they must get approval first from the team’s compliance officer.While in their home cities, players and staff are banned from visiting bars, lounges, malls or other places where groups of people are gathered.Clubs are being instructed to provided spaces for visiting players that are covered and outdoors, and that home and visiting teams must have access to areas where personnel can socially distance during weather delays. Players are being told to use those outdoor areas as much as possible, rather than linger in the clubhouse.Among other changes: teams must limit the size of traveling parties to essential personnel, maintain unoccupied rows between passengers on team buses, and distance seating on airplanes while ensuring players do not change locations.MLB said in the memo it made many of the changes after evaluating results of its investigation into the Marlins outbreak. The league also said it is working with the union to review contact tracing protocols, specifically the requirements for identified close contacts. Close contacts do not currently include passing interactions or physical contact unlikely to pass secretions, such as elbow bumps.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — UConn canceled its 2020-2021 football season Wednesday, becoming the first FBS program to do so because of the coronavirus pandemic, after other schools had taken the Huskies off their schedules and the governor was reluctant to allow players to travel to states with high infection rates.

“After receiving guidance from state and public health officials and consulting with football student-athletes, we’ve decided that we will not compete on the gridiron this season,” athletic director David Benedict said. ”The safety challenges created by COVID-19 place our football student-athletes at an unacceptable level of risk.”

UConn had been scheduled to play its first season as an independent after leaving the American Athletic Conference.

The Huskies had already been taken off the schedules of Illinois, Indiana, Maine and Mississippi by those schools, and games against North Carolina and Virginia remained uncertain, UConn officials said. Many of the Power Five conferences are playing league-only games this season.

But coach Randy Edsall said the decision had nothing to do with UConn’s conference status.

“If I was the head coach in a conference — a Power Five conference, a Group of Five conference — I’d be saying the same thing. I’d be doing the same thing,” Edsall said. “Because these young men’s lives are more important than money.”

The Huskies began spring practice on Feb. 4 and were one of the only teams in the country to complete a full spring schedule. The team returned to campus on July 1 and no one has tested positive for the coronavirus, UConn officials said.

But the team had several scares, with three players showing COVID-19 symptoms at various times this summer, requiring those players and everyone they had contact with to be isolated until those tests came back negative.

“In those three incidents, there was a total of 22 people and the average (isolation) time was 10 days,” Edsall said.

That meant that only 30% of the team was available for the 14 workouts the Huskies have had this summer, he said.

Senior left tackle Ryan Van Demark read a statement to the media from the team, which he said was united in its agreement to cancel the season.

“We love this game and we love competing,” he said. “We came to campus in the beginning of July knowing there would be challenges presented by the pandemic, but it is apparent to us now that these challenges are impossible to overcome.”

The football team will remain enrolled in classes either in-person or virtually, and will keep access to facilities and support services under NCAA rules.

Benedict said he is hopeful the NCAA will allow fall athletes an extra year of eligibility, as they did when spring sports were canceled.

He said UConn, which has rejoined the Big East for most other sports, has not made a final decision about any other program and is working with the conference, which is planning for league-only schedules for the fall.

“We have the same concerns for all of our student-athletes,” he said. “We will continue to monitor the situation. It is a big difference because, typically, as a conference you are trying to make that decision together. But, ultimately, at some point in time, we will absolutely make the decision that is in the best interest of our student-athletes.”

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont had expressed reluctance to allow the football team to travel to any state with a high virus infection rate. He said the team would be subject to the state’s 14-day quarantine rule upon its return to Storrs from away games.

Connecticut, New York and New Jersey have travel advisories that require visitors from 34 states and Puerto Rico to quarantine for 14 days, with certain exceptions.

UConn officials said they will be reaching out to season ticket holders in the coming days to explain refunds and other options.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — UConn canceled its 2020-2021 football season Wednesday, becoming the first FBS program to do so because of the coronavirus pandemic, after other schools had taken the Huskies off their schedules and the governor was reluctant to allow players to travel to states with high infection rates.“After receiving guidance from state and public health officials and consulting with football student-athletes, we’ve decided that we will not compete on the gridiron this season,” athletic director David Benedict said. ”The safety challenges created by COVID-19 place our football student-athletes at an unacceptable level of risk.”UConn had been scheduled to play its first season as an independent after leaving the American Athletic Conference.The Huskies had already been taken off the schedules of Illinois, Indiana, Maine and Mississippi by those schools, and games against North Carolina and Virginia remained uncertain, UConn officials said. Many of the Power Five conferences are playing league-only games this season.But coach Randy Edsall said the decision had nothing to do with UConn’s conference status.“If I was the head coach in a conference — a Power Five conference, a Group of Five conference — I’d be saying the same thing. I’d be doing the same thing,” Edsall said. “Because these young men’s lives are more important than money.”The Huskies began spring practice on Feb. 4 and were one of the only teams in the country to complete a full spring schedule. The team returned to campus on July 1 and no one has tested positive for the coronavirus, UConn officials said.But the team had several scares, with three players showing COVID-19 symptoms at various times this summer, requiring those players and everyone they had contact with to be isolated until those tests came back negative.“In those three incidents, there was a total of 22 people and the average (isolation) time was 10 days,” Edsall said.That meant that only 30% of the team was available for the 14 workouts the Huskies have had this summer, he said.Senior left tackle Ryan Van Demark read a statement to the media from the team, which he said was united in its agreement to cancel the season.“We love this game and we love competing,” he said. “We came to campus in the beginning of July knowing there would be challenges presented by the pandemic, but it is apparent to us now that these challenges are impossible to overcome.”The football team will remain enrolled in classes either in-person or virtually, and will keep access to facilities and support services under NCAA rules.Benedict said he is hopeful the NCAA will allow fall athletes an extra year of eligibility, as they did when spring sports were canceled.He said UConn, which has rejoined the Big East for most other sports, has not made a final decision about any other program and is working with the conference, which is planning for league-only schedules for the fall.“We have the same concerns for all of our student-athletes,” he said. “We will continue to monitor the situation. It is a big difference because, typically, as a conference you are trying to make that decision together. But, ultimately, at some point in time, we will absolutely make the decision that is in the best interest of our student-athletes.”Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont had expressed reluctance to allow the football team to travel to any state with a high virus infection rate. He said the team would be subject to the state’s 14-day quarantine rule upon its return to Storrs from away games.Connecticut, New York and New Jersey have travel advisories that require visitors from 34 states and Puerto Rico to quarantine for 14 days, with certain exceptions.UConn officials said they will be reaching out to season ticket holders in the coming days to explain refunds and other options.

UConn becomes 1st FBS program to cancel football over virus

GRANT COHEN - NBC Media Relations

HUTCHINSON, Kan. - Thanks to 12 hits in just six innings, the Hutchinson, KS Monarchs defeated the KCCBA All-Stars 12-1 in the 2020 NBC World Series powered by Evergy <a href="outlook-data-detector://0">on Wednesday night</a> at Hobart-Detter field.&nbsp;

Taylor Barber and Clayton Chadwick led the Monarchs with a 3-for-4 outing at the plate each, with Chadwick driving in five RBIs to lead Hutchinson in that category. Mikel Howell pitched all six innings for the Monarchs and recorded five strikeouts with only one earned run.&nbsp;

Barber helped the Monarchs strike first in the top of the first inning, driving in the go-ahead run with an RBI single. Following a seven-run top of the third inning, Drew Reetz came up with an RBI double in the top of the fourth inning to put the Monarchs ahead by nine runs.&nbsp;

KCCBA’s Jaidan Quinn put the All-Stars on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning, smashing a solo home run. The Monarchs scored three more runs in the top of the sixth inning, allowing them to take the game in a run-rule effort.&nbsp;

The Monarchs will play on Thursday at 8:30pm in Hutchinson, taking on&nbsp; Hattiesburg, MS Black Sox. 

GRANT COHEN - NBC Media RelationsHUTCHINSON, Kan. - Thanks to 12 hits in just six innings, the Hutchinson, KS Monarchs defeated the KCCBA All-Stars 12-1 in the 2020 NBC World Series powered by Evergy <a href="outlook-data-detector://0">on Wednesday night</a> at Hobart-Detter field.&nbsp;Taylor Barber and Clayton Chadwick led the Monarchs with a 3-for-4 outing at the plate each, with Chadwick driving in five RBIs to lead Hutchinson in that category. Mikel Howell pitched all six innings for the Monarchs and recorded five strikeouts with only one earned run.&nbsp;Barber helped the Monarchs strike first in the top of the first inning, driving in the go-ahead run with an RBI single. Following a seven-run top of the third inning, Drew Reetz came up with an RBI double in the top of the fourth inning to put the Monarchs ahead by nine runs.&nbsp;KCCBA’s Jaidan Quinn put the All-Stars on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning, smashing a solo home run. The Monarchs scored three more runs in the top of the sixth inning, allowing them to take the game in a run-rule effort.&nbsp;The Monarchs will play on Thursday at 8:30pm in Hutchinson, taking on&nbsp; Hattiesburg, MS Black Sox.

Monarch’s erupt for 12-1 run-rule win and advance

LIVE STREAM VIDEO: NBC World Series Game 13 Houston, TX Express vs Lonestar, TX Baseball Club

LIVE VIDEO STREAM:  Hutchinson vs KC All-Stars

<div><iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/870565123&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/hutchpost" title="HutchPost.com" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">HutchPost.com</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/hutchpost/eagle-sports-august-5-2020" title="Eagle Sports August 5 - 2020" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Eagle Sports August 5 - 2020</a></div></div>

AUDIO: Eagle Radio Sports for Wednesday

Triumphant return for retooled Marlins, who beat Orioles 4-0

BALTIMORE (AP) — Finally back on the baseball diamond after enduring eight days of virus testing, hotel room service and lengthy bus rides, the Miami Marlins scratched out a victory worth savoring.

Following one final delay in their effort to return from a miserable coronavirus-induced hiatus, the Marlins found enough power and pitching within their vastly overhauled roster to beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-0 Tuesday night. Francisco Cervelli and Jesús Aguilar homered for the Marlins, who had their season halted after 18 players tested positive for COVID-19 following the opening series in Philadelphia.

All the happiness that playing baseball brings was displayed when Cervelli slammed a 3-1 pitch from John Means over the left-field wall to give Miami a 1-0 lead in the fifth. The players in the dugout cheered, and Cervelli saluted them as the rounded third and headed for home.

— Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa hit solo homers, George Springer added a two-run double and the Houston Astros roughed up Madison Bumgarner in an 8-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night. Altuve hit his homer in the first inning and Correa followed with another in the second. The Astros put the game away in the fifth inning with five runs, including two on Springer's bases-loaded double. The Diamondbacks have lost five of six games. Bumgarner had a rough night, giving up eight runs over 4 1/3 innings.

— Max Fried boosted Atlanta's depleted rotation by allowing only one run in six innings, Austin Riley hit a three-run homer and the Braves beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-1. Riley pulled a 3-2 pitch from Matt Shoemaker into the Blue Jays' bullpen behind the left-field wall in the fifth. It was the third homer allowed by Shoemaker. Matt Adams and Tyler Flowers hit homers in the second. Fried was thrust into the role of staff ace when Mike Soroka suffered a torn right Achilles tendon on Monday night, ending his season. 

—Stephen Piscotty hit Oakland's second walkoff grand slam of the year and the Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 5-1 Tuesday night for their fourth straight win.

— José Berríos pitched six strong innings, Nelson Cruz had three hits and the Minnesota Twins beat the Pittsburgh 7-3 Tuesday in a game briefly delayed when an unauthorized drone flew over Target Field. The Twins won their fifth in a row and improved to 9-2 for the second time in the team's 60-year history. The game was delayed for nine minutes in the fifth inning and players were pulled off the field when the drone flew over center field. A few pitchers in the bullpen threw balls at the flying intruder but missed.

— Max Fried boosted Atlanta's depleted rotation by allowing only one run in six innings, Austin Riley hit a three-run homer and the Braves beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-1. The Blue Jays played their first game since Thursday in this virus-interrupted season.

—Jose Abreu hit a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning, helping Lucas Giolito and the Chicago White Sox edge the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2. The White Sox have won six consecutive games for the first time since April 2017 as they attempt to snap a string of seven straight losing seasons. This latest victory may prove costly. White Sox rookie second baseman Nick Madrigal left the game with an injured left shoulder.

— Shane Bieber overcame two solo home runs to pitch into the eighth inning, Franmil Reyes hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer and the Cleveland Indians snapped a four-game skid with a 4-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night. The Indians played their third consecutive game without manager Terry Francona, who continues to undergo tests in Cleveland for a gastrointestinal condition. 

— Austin Meadows got two hits after missing the first 10 games of the season with the coronavirus and the Tampa Bay Rays stopped their losing streak at five by beating the Boston Red Sox 5-1. Boston lost its fourth in a row, including a three-game sweep at Yankees Stadium over the weekend, and fell to 3-8 overall. 

—The Cubs overcame another shaky outing by closer Craig Kimbrel to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 Tuesday night for their fifth straight win. Jason Heyward, Jason Kipnis and Willson Contreras homered and the Chicago Cubs overcame another shaky outing by closer Craig Kimbrel.

Molina among Cardinals who tested positive

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina says he's one of the players on the team who tested positive for COVID-19. 

The nine-time All-Star revealed his results in a Spanish-language Instagram post. Soon afterward, the Cardinals issued a release naming six of the players who have tested positive. The others are infielders Paul DeJong, Edmundo Sosa and Rangel Ravelo along with pitchers Junior Fernandez and Kodi Whitley. 

The outbreak resulted in the postponement of the Cardinals' scheduled three-game weekend series at Milwaukee as well as a four-game series with Detroit. 

— The Atlanta Braves have placed right-hander Mike Soroka on the 45-day injured list following his torn right Achilles tendon and have designated right-hander Chris Rusin for assignment. Soroka was the team's opening day starter. He had to be helped off the field after suffering his season-ending injury in Monday night's loss to the New York Mets. 

— A group of House Democrats has called for the name of former baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to be pulled off future Most Valuable Player plaques. It's an idea endorsed by several players who have won the award. U.S. Reps. Gil Cisneros of California and Cedric Richmond of Louisiana sent a letter signed by 28 members of Congress on Tuesday to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and the Baseball Writers' Association of America asking for action. In late June, former NL MVPs Barry Larkin, Mike Schmidt and Terry Pendleton told The Associated Press they would favor removing Landis' name from the trophy because of concerns over his handling of Black players.

Doncic's triple-double sends Mavericks past Kings in OT

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Luka Doncic punctuated a triple-double by making the tiebreaking shot with 1:57 left in overtime Tuesday and leading the Dallas Mavericks past the Sacramento Kings, 114-110.

Doncic was sensational, finishing with 34 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and 12 assists. Kristaps Porzingis added 22 points and seven rebounds before fouling out late in regulation.

It was the Mavs' first victory since arriving at Walt Disney World and allowed them to remain the only NBA to avoid three straight losses this season.

—Damian Lillard scored 21 points and Carmelo Anthony hit a big 3-pointer late to help the Portland Trail Blazers to a 110-102 victory over the Houston Rockets. The Blazers led by one before Lillard made one of two free throws. Anthony's 3 then extended the lead to 107-102 when less than a minute to go. Anthony had 15 points and 11 rebounds. James Harden led Houston with 23 points and nine assists on a night he was slowed by foul trouble. Jeff Green added a season-high 22 points 

—Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot hit back-to-back 3s to put Brooklyn ahead to stay, and the Nets beat Milwaukee 119-116 to keep the Bucks from clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Luwawu-Cabarrot finished with a career-high 26 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a team-high 16 points playing only the first half for Milwaukee, which now has lost two of three seeding games. 

—T.J. Warren scored 32 points and Myles Turner added 21 to send the Indiana Pacers past Orlando 120-109 for their third consecutive victory. Warren has topped the 30-point mark in each game at Walt Disney World and tied Jermaine O'Neal's franchise record for most points in a three-game stretch with 119. Nikola Vucevic had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Magic.

— Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the Miami Heat never trailed in beating the Boston Celtics 111-106. The Heat remained alone in the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics had their lead for the No. 3 seed cut to 1 1/2 games over the Heat. Miami has a game lead on Indiana and improved to 2-1 so far in the seeding games despite Jimmy Butler sitting out with a sore right ankle.

— Devin Booker made a turnaround jumper over Paul George as time expired, capping a 35-point performance and giving the Phoenix Suns a 117-115 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Suns improved to 3-0 in the bubble as they chase a playoff spot. Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 27 points and George added 23. 

—Jamal Crawford made his Brooklyn debut and it ended quickly. Crawford hurt his left hamstring in the second quarter of the Nets' game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. Crawford had five points and three assists in six minutes off the bench. He got hurt while being guard by Milwaukee's Khris Middleton, who appeared to step on Crawford's foot. 

—The Memphis Grizzlies will be without forward-center Jaren Jackson Jr. for whatever remains of this season after he hurt his left knee. The Grizzlies said Jackson was hurt when he landed awkwardly after making contact with an opponent while contesting a shot. Further evaluation found a meniscus tear in his left knee. Jackson is expected to make a full recovery.

Aho, Reimer help Hurricanes beat Rangers 4-1 for sweep

TORONTO (AP) — Sebastian Aho scored twice in the third period while James Reimer was strong in net to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 4-1 on Tuesday night and sweep the Stanley Cup qualifier series. Warren Foegele scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period for the Hurricanes. Reimer added 37 saves for the Hurricanes in his first start of the series. Chris Kreider scored for the Rangers. Rookie Igor Shesterkin finished with 27 saves in his postseason debut for New York.

— The Nashville Predators stumbled in their postseason opener by falling into an early hole, putting themselves in a must-win situation for Game 2. Behind steady goaltending and a dedication to clogging shooting lanes, the Predators snatched the momentum back less than 24 hours before Game 3.

—Aware of how much back-to-back losses could devastate their playoff hopes, the Calgary Flames wrested momentum back in their series with the Winnipeg Jets with a 6-2 win Tuesday. The Flames lead the best-of-five qualifying series 2-1. Game 4 is Thursday.

—Jordan Eberle scored twice, including the go-ahead goal, and the New York Islanders rallied to a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers and take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five NHL preliminary round playoff series. Ryan Pulock and Matt Martin also scored, and Semyon Varlamov stopped 26 shots in a game New York overcame a pair of one-goal deficits. Mike Hoffman had a goal and assist and captain Aleksander Barkov also scored for Florida, which is one loss from going one-and-done in the playoffs for a fifth consecutive time. 

—Auston Matthews and John Tavares scored and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 on Tuesday to even their best-of-five qualifying series at one game. Toronto defenseman Jake Muzzin was taken off the ice on a stretcher with 1:52 left in the game after his head made violent contact with Columbus' Oliver Bjorkstrand behind the Blue Jackets net. He was taken to a hospital.

Lions say Stafford's test was a false positive

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Lions removed Matthew Stafford from the COVID-IR list, saying he received a false positive test result — and drawing the ire of the quarterback's wife toward the NFL.

The list was created for players who either test positive for COVID-19 or have been in close contact with an infected person. Stafford was listed on it Saturday, but the team said Tuesday his testing sequence for the pre-entry period was: negative, negative, false positive -- then the next three tests were all negative.

The team issued a statement saying Stafford does not have the virus and never did.

— NFL players who decide to opt out of the coming season must do so by Thursday afternoon. That's according to a person familiar with the agreement between the league and the players. There also are opt-out provisions for players who experience emergency or extenuating circumstances during the season due to the coronavirus. 

Another person with direct knowledge of the agreement between the league and the players' union tells The Associated Press that relief in the 2020 salary cap is being provided to the 32 teams.

Among the players who are already opting out:

— Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Andrew Billings has opted out of the 2020 season because of coronavirus concerns. Billings signed a one-year free-agent contract with Cleveland in March after spending three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. The 6-foot-1, 328-pounder was going to give the Browns some size and depth up front. Billings is the third Cleveland player who has chosen not to play, following guard Drew Forbes and tackle Drake Dorbeck. The Browns also placed wide receiver Ja'Marcus Bradley on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

— Linebacker Skai Moore has become the first Indianapolis Colts player to opt out of playing the 2020 season because of the coronavirus. Moore has been a backup linebacker and special teams player the last two seasons for Indy. He appeared in a total of 10 games over those two seasons. Players who opt out voluntarily will receive a $150,000 stipend. Those who receive a medical opt out will receive $350,000.

— The Jacksonville Jaguars have cleared starting quarterback Gardner Minshew from the COVID-19 list. Minshew spent the last two days in mandatory quarantine after being in close contact with someone infected. Safety Andrew Wingard also was activated from the COVID-19 list Tuesday. Minshew, Wingard and receiver Michael Walker are roommates in Jacksonville and have been for more than a year. Walker remains on the list. Jacksonville had an NFL-leading dozen players on the COVID-19 list Monday, with most of them being rookies and second-year players like Minshew, Wingard and Walker. The Jaguars are expected to hold their first training camp practice next Wednesday.

— Six-time Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy has finalized a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the signing, the Bucs add another offensive playmaker to help Tom Brady with his new team. The 32-year-old McCoy is entering his 12th NFL season. 

— The New York Giants improved their pass rush by re-signing linebacker Markus Golden. The Giants announced Tuesday the signing on their leader in sacks last season. Golden's contract is a one-year tender for $5.1 million. Golden had 10 sacks in 2019, more than twice the total of any other Giants defender. The 29-year-old is entering his sixth season.

Gophers star Bateman skips season amid virus worry, goes pro

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Gophers wide receiver Rashod Bateman has opted out of the 2020 season amid concerns about the coronavirus. He will forgo his remaining two years of eligibility to enter the 2021 NFL draft. 

Bateman posted a video on Twitter that he narrated in explanation of his decision. The university confirmed his departure, which Bateman called "the hardest decision that I've ever had to make in my life." 

The native of Tifton, Georgia, totaled 111 receptions, 1,923 yards and 17 touchdowns over two seasons. Bateman was a third team All-American in 2019. He won the Big Ten Conference's receiver of the year award.

<h2>Update on the latest sports</h2>MLB SCHEDULE-MARLINS-ORIOLESTriumphant return for retooled Marlins, who beat Orioles 4-0BALTIMORE (AP) — Finally back on the baseball diamond after enduring eight days of virus testing, hotel room service and lengthy bus rides, the Miami Marlins scratched out a victory worth savoring.Following one final delay in their effort to return from a miserable coronavirus-induced hiatus, the Marlins found enough power and pitching within their vastly overhauled roster to beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-0 Tuesday night. Francisco Cervelli and Jesús Aguilar homered for the Marlins, who had their season halted after 18 players tested positive for COVID-19 following the opening series in Philadelphia.All the happiness that playing baseball brings was displayed when Cervelli slammed a 3-1 pitch from John Means over the left-field wall to give Miami a 1-0 lead in the fifth. The players in the dugout cheered, and Cervelli saluted them as the rounded third and headed for home.In other Tuesday action:— Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa hit solo homers, George Springer added a two-run double and the Houston Astros roughed up Madison Bumgarner in an 8-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night. Altuve hit his homer in the first inning and Correa followed with another in the second. The Astros put the game away in the fifth inning with five runs, including two on Springer's bases-loaded double. The Diamondbacks have lost five of six games. Bumgarner had a rough night, giving up eight runs over 4 1/3 innings.— Max Fried boosted Atlanta's depleted rotation by allowing only one run in six innings, Austin Riley hit a three-run homer and the Braves beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-1. Riley pulled a 3-2 pitch from Matt Shoemaker into the Blue Jays' bullpen behind the left-field wall in the fifth. It was the third homer allowed by Shoemaker. Matt Adams and Tyler Flowers hit homers in the second. Fried was thrust into the role of staff ace when Mike Soroka suffered a torn right Achilles tendon on Monday night, ending his season. —Stephen Piscotty hit Oakland's second walkoff grand slam of the year and the Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 5-1 Tuesday night for their fourth straight win.— José Berríos pitched six strong innings, Nelson Cruz had three hits and the Minnesota Twins beat the Pittsburgh 7-3 Tuesday in a game briefly delayed when an unauthorized drone flew over Target Field. The Twins won their fifth in a row and improved to 9-2 for the second time in the team's 60-year history. The game was delayed for nine minutes in the fifth inning and players were pulled off the field when the drone flew over center field. A few pitchers in the bullpen threw balls at the flying intruder but missed.— Max Fried boosted Atlanta's depleted rotation by allowing only one run in six innings, Austin Riley hit a three-run homer and the Braves beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-1. The Blue Jays played their first game since Thursday in this virus-interrupted season.—Jose Abreu hit a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning, helping Lucas Giolito and the Chicago White Sox edge the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2. The White Sox have won six consecutive games for the first time since April 2017 as they attempt to snap a string of seven straight losing seasons. This latest victory may prove costly. White Sox rookie second baseman Nick Madrigal left the game with an injured left shoulder.— Shane Bieber overcame two solo home runs to pitch into the eighth inning, Franmil Reyes hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer and the Cleveland Indians snapped a four-game skid with a 4-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night. The Indians played their third consecutive game without manager Terry Francona, who continues to undergo tests in Cleveland for a gastrointestinal condition. — Austin Meadows got two hits after missing the first 10 games of the season with the coronavirus and the Tampa Bay Rays stopped their losing streak at five by beating the Boston Red Sox 5-1. Boston lost its fourth in a row, including a three-game sweep at Yankees Stadium over the weekend, and fell to 3-8 overall. —The Cubs overcame another shaky outing by closer Craig Kimbrel to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 Tuesday night for their fifth straight win. Jason Heyward, Jason Kipnis and Willson Contreras homered and the Chicago Cubs overcame another shaky outing by closer Craig Kimbrel.MLB-VIRUS OUTBREAK-CARDINALS-MOLINAMolina among Cardinals who tested positiveST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina says he's one of the players on the team who tested positive for COVID-19. The nine-time All-Star revealed his results in a Spanish-language Instagram post. Soon afterward, the Cardinals issued a release naming six of the players who have tested positive. The others are infielders Paul DeJong, Edmundo Sosa and Rangel Ravelo along with pitchers Junior Fernandez and Kodi Whitley. The outbreak resulted in the postponement of the Cardinals' scheduled three-game weekend series at Milwaukee as well as a four-game series with Detroit. In other MLB news:— The Atlanta Braves have placed right-hander Mike Soroka on the 45-day injured list following his torn right Achilles tendon and have designated right-hander Chris Rusin for assignment. Soroka was the team's opening day starter. He had to be helped off the field after suffering his season-ending injury in Monday night's loss to the New York Mets. — A group of House Democrats has called for the name of former baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to be pulled off future Most Valuable Player plaques. It's an idea endorsed by several players who have won the award. U.S. Reps. Gil Cisneros of California and Cedric Richmond of Louisiana sent a letter signed by 28 members of Congress on Tuesday to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and the Baseball Writers' Association of America asking for action. In late June, former NL MVPs Barry Larkin, Mike Schmidt and Terry Pendleton told The Associated Press they would favor removing Landis' name from the trophy because of concerns over his handling of Black players.NBA-SCHEDULEDoncic's triple-double sends Mavericks past Kings in OTLAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Luka Doncic punctuated a triple-double by making the tiebreaking shot with 1:57 left in overtime Tuesday and leading the Dallas Mavericks past the Sacramento Kings, 114-110.Doncic was sensational, finishing with 34 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and 12 assists. Kristaps Porzingis added 22 points and seven rebounds before fouling out late in regulation.It was the Mavs' first victory since arriving at Walt Disney World and allowed them to remain the only NBA to avoid three straight losses this season.In other action:—Damian Lillard scored 21 points and Carmelo Anthony hit a big 3-pointer late to help the Portland Trail Blazers to a 110-102 victory over the Houston Rockets. The Blazers led by one before Lillard made one of two free throws. Anthony's 3 then extended the lead to 107-102 when less than a minute to go. Anthony had 15 points and 11 rebounds. James Harden led Houston with 23 points and nine assists on a night he was slowed by foul trouble. Jeff Green added a season-high 22 points —Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot hit back-to-back 3s to put Brooklyn ahead to stay, and the Nets beat Milwaukee 119-116 to keep the Bucks from clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Luwawu-Cabarrot finished with a career-high 26 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a team-high 16 points playing only the first half for Milwaukee, which now has lost two of three seeding games. —T.J. Warren scored 32 points and Myles Turner added 21 to send the Indiana Pacers past Orlando 120-109 for their third consecutive victory. Warren has topped the 30-point mark in each game at Walt Disney World and tied Jermaine O'Neal's franchise record for most points in a three-game stretch with 119. Nikola Vucevic had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Magic.— Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the Miami Heat never trailed in beating the Boston Celtics 111-106. The Heat remained alone in the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics had their lead for the No. 3 seed cut to 1 1/2 games over the Heat. Miami has a game lead on Indiana and improved to 2-1 so far in the seeding games despite Jimmy Butler sitting out with a sore right ankle.— Devin Booker made a turnaround jumper over Paul George as time expired, capping a 35-point performance and giving the Phoenix Suns a 117-115 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Suns improved to 3-0 in the bubble as they chase a playoff spot. Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 27 points and George added 23. In NBA news:—Jamal Crawford made his Brooklyn debut and it ended quickly. Crawford hurt his left hamstring in the second quarter of the Nets' game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. Crawford had five points and three assists in six minutes off the bench. He got hurt while being guard by Milwaukee's Khris Middleton, who appeared to step on Crawford's foot. —The Memphis Grizzlies will be without forward-center Jaren Jackson Jr. for whatever remains of this season after he hurt his left knee. The Grizzlies said Jackson was hurt when he landed awkwardly after making contact with an opponent while contesting a shot. Further evaluation found a meniscus tear in his left knee. Jackson is expected to make a full recovery.NHL-SCHEDULE-HURRICANES-RANGERSAho, Reimer help Hurricanes beat Rangers 4-1 for sweepTORONTO (AP) — Sebastian Aho scored twice in the third period while James Reimer was strong in net to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 4-1 on Tuesday night and sweep the Stanley Cup qualifier series. Warren Foegele scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period for the Hurricanes. Reimer added 37 saves for the Hurricanes in his first start of the series. Chris Kreider scored for the Rangers. Rookie Igor Shesterkin finished with 27 saves in his postseason debut for New York.In other Tuesday action:— The Nashville Predators stumbled in their postseason opener by falling into an early hole, putting themselves in a must-win situation for Game 2. Behind steady goaltending and a dedication to clogging shooting lanes, the Predators snatched the momentum back less than 24 hours before Game 3.—Aware of how much back-to-back losses could devastate their playoff hopes, the Calgary Flames wrested momentum back in their series with the Winnipeg Jets with a 6-2 win Tuesday. The Flames lead the best-of-five qualifying series 2-1. Game 4 is Thursday.—Jordan Eberle scored twice, including the go-ahead goal, and the New York Islanders rallied to a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers and take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five NHL preliminary round playoff series. Ryan Pulock and Matt Martin also scored, and Semyon Varlamov stopped 26 shots in a game New York overcame a pair of one-goal deficits. Mike Hoffman had a goal and assist and captain Aleksander Barkov also scored for Florida, which is one loss from going one-and-done in the playoffs for a fifth consecutive time. —Auston Matthews and John Tavares scored and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 on Tuesday to even their best-of-five qualifying series at one game. Toronto defenseman Jake Muzzin was taken off the ice on a stretcher with 1:52 left in the game after his head made violent contact with Columbus' Oliver Bjorkstrand behind the Blue Jackets net. He was taken to a hospital.NFL-STAFFORD-FALSE POSITIVELions say Stafford's test was a false positiveDETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Lions removed Matthew Stafford from the COVID-IR list, saying he received a false positive test result — and drawing the ire of the quarterback's wife toward the NFL.The list was created for players who either test positive for COVID-19 or have been in close contact with an infected person. Stafford was listed on it Saturday, but the team said Tuesday his testing sequence for the pre-entry period was: negative, negative, false positive -- then the next three tests were all negative.The team issued a statement saying Stafford does not have the virus and never did.In other NFL news:— NFL players who decide to opt out of the coming season must do so by Thursday afternoon. That's according to a person familiar with the agreement between the league and the players. There also are opt-out provisions for players who experience emergency or extenuating circumstances during the season due to the coronavirus. Another person with direct knowledge of the agreement between the league and the players' union tells The Associated Press that relief in the 2020 salary cap is being provided to the 32 teams.Among the players who are already opting out:— Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Andrew Billings has opted out of the 2020 season because of coronavirus concerns. Billings signed a one-year free-agent contract with Cleveland in March after spending three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. The 6-foot-1, 328-pounder was going to give the Browns some size and depth up front. Billings is the third Cleveland player who has chosen not to play, following guard Drew Forbes and tackle Drake Dorbeck. The Browns also placed wide receiver Ja'Marcus Bradley on the reserve/COVID-19 list.— Linebacker Skai Moore has become the first Indianapolis Colts player to opt out of playing the 2020 season because of the coronavirus. Moore has been a backup linebacker and special teams player the last two seasons for Indy. He appeared in a total of 10 games over those two seasons. Players who opt out voluntarily will receive a $150,000 stipend. Those who receive a medical opt out will receive $350,000.— The Jacksonville Jaguars have cleared starting quarterback Gardner Minshew from the COVID-19 list. Minshew spent the last two days in mandatory quarantine after being in close contact with someone infected. Safety Andrew Wingard also was activated from the COVID-19 list Tuesday. Minshew, Wingard and receiver Michael Walker are roommates in Jacksonville and have been for more than a year. Walker remains on the list. Jacksonville had an NFL-leading dozen players on the COVID-19 list Monday, with most of them being rookies and second-year players like Minshew, Wingard and Walker. The Jaguars are expected to hold their first training camp practice next Wednesday.In other NFL news: — Six-time Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy has finalized a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the signing, the Bucs add another offensive playmaker to help Tom Brady with his new team. The 32-year-old McCoy is entering his 12th NFL season. — The New York Giants improved their pass rush by re-signing linebacker Markus Golden. The Giants announced Tuesday the signing on their leader in sacks last season. Golden's contract is a one-year tender for $5.1 million. Golden had 10 sacks in 2019, more than twice the total of any other Giants defender. The 29-year-old is entering his sixth season.COLLEGE FOOTBALL-MINNESOTA-BATEMANGophers star Bateman skips season amid virus worry, goes proMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Gophers wide receiver Rashod Bateman has opted out of the 2020 season amid concerns about the coronavirus. He will forgo his remaining two years of eligibility to enter the 2021 NFL draft. Bateman posted a video on Twitter that he narrated in explanation of his decision. The university confirmed his departure, which Bateman called "the hardest decision that I've ever had to make in my life." The native of Tifton, Georgia, totaled 111 receptions, 1,923 yards and 17 touchdowns over two seasons. Bateman was a third team All-American in 2019. He won the Big Ten Conference's receiver of the year award.DOCTOR-SEXUAL ASSAULT-COACHFormer coach gets 90 days in connection with Nassar caseLANSING, Mich. (AP) — A former Michigan State University head gymnastics coach has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for lying to police during an investigation into ex-Olympic and university sports doctor Larry Nassar. Sixty-five-year-old Kathie Klages was found guilty by a jury in February of a felony and a misdemeanor for denying she knew of Nassar's abuse prior to 2016 when survivors started to come forward publicly. She also was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months probation. Klages said in a tearful statement that she did not remember being told about abuse and apologized to victims if the conversations occurred. Klages is the second person other than Nassar to be convicted of charges related to his serial molestation of young women and girls under the guise of medical treatment.NASCAR-ILLEGAL TESTNASCAR penalizes Xfinity team for illegal test at DaytonaCHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR has fined an Xfinity Series team $50,000 because driver Alex Labbe violated the testing policy for the road course at Daytona International Speedway.NASCAR will race on that configuration for the first time later this month and is not holding any practice sessions before the events. The sanctioning body has said drivers may participate in only one race that weekend in an effort to prevent competitors from gaining experience on the course.In an attempted workaround of the rules, Labbe went to an SCCA event last weekend at Daytona to try to learn the circuit. NASCAR officials caught wind of his presence and ordered Labbe off the track.