Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
UNDATED (AP) — Six years after spurning a possible $1 million payday to play baseball so he could pursue his passion for football, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes struck gold with a record-breaking 10-year contract worth as much as $503 million. But Mahomes insists this deal was about more than money. Sure, the 24-year-old superstar wanted financial security. He also wanted stability in an organization, the freedom to play without worrying about contracts, to continue playing for a coach who helped him win the MVP Award in the 2018 season and the Super Bowl last season.
UNDATED (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs made sure they'll have Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes around as long as possible. Mahomes agreed to a 10-year extension worth $503 million, according to his agency, Steinberg Sports. The deal is worth $477 million in guarantee mechanisms and includes a no-trade clause and opt-out clauses if guarantee mechanisms aren't met. It's the richest contract in professional sports history, surpassing Mike Trout's $426.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.
UNDATED (AP) — Iowa State guard Rasir Bolton said he decided to leave Penn State last spring because of a comment by coach Pat Chambers, who said the player had a noose around his neck. Bolton, who is Black, disclosed the reason for his departure Monday in a tweet. Chambers, who is white, tweeted an apology. Bolton tweeted that Chambers made the noose comment after the coach returned from a one-game suspension for shoving Nittany Lions player Myles Dread in the chest during the previous game. Bolton said he was offended because the comment was a reference to "lynching, slavery and racial terrorism."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Baseball's two World Series finalists canceled workouts because of coronavirus testing delays. The Washington Nationals and Houston Astros called off training camp practices Monday after not receiving test results from Friday. The St. Louis Cardinals also scrubbed their scheduled workout for similar reasons. General manager Mike Rizzo of the champion Nationals said it's not safe to continue with camp without accurate and timely testing. Rizzo called on Major League Baseball to work quickly to resolve issues with its lab to keep the season from being at risk. Astros GM James Click speculated the July 4th holiday weekend contributed to the delay. MLB said it addressed delays caused by the holiday weekend and doesn't expect them to continue.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former police officer has been sentenced to four months in jail for causing a 2018 wreck that killed a Kansas teenager and injured two others outside the stadium where the Kansas City Chiefs play. Thirty-five-year-old Terrell Watkins was sentenced Tuesday for involuntary manslaughter and other charges in the October 2018 crash that killed 17-year-old Chandan Rajanna, of Overland Park, Kansas, and seriously injured Rajanna's father and sister. Witnesses told police the van had been speeding and making numerous lane changes as it passed other vehicles in heavy pregame traffic. Investigators say at the time of the crash, Watkins was late for an off-duty security assignment at Arrowhead Stadium.
Update on the latest sports
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MLB
Yanks’ Cole learns safety-protocol lesson in 1st intrasquad
NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole couldn’t have expected the New York Yankees to take the ball away from him just one batter into his first home start in the Bronx.
But the team’s new $324 million ace learned the hard way about one of baseball’s new coronavirus safety protocols Tuesday night during an intrasquad game at Yankee Stadium.
Cole allowed a home run to the second hitter he faced, Miguel Andújar, one pitch after being forced to give up the ball he used to strike out leadoff man Mike Tauchman. Cole grumbled that he liked the ball used to strike out Tauchman. But among the safety steps instituted by Major League Baseball for this virus-shortened season is that pitchers can’t reuse a baseball once it has been touched by other players. After Cole struck out Tauchman swinging, catcher Gary Sánchez whipped the ball around the infield — a customary ritual that’s frowned upon in MLB’s 2020 operations manual.
Giants suspend workouts
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants say they are "suspending workouts at Oracle Park, pending the results of tests conducted this past weekend."
On Monday, the club announced two people had tested positive for the coronavirus without providing further details on whether the two were players, coaches or staff. Prospect Hunter Bishop and pitcher Luis Madero, in the 60-player pool, already tested positive.
This means no simulated games as planned for Tuesday, and Giants manager Gabe Kapler had said Monday he considered his club fortunate to not be dealing with any interruptions thus far.
In other virus-related developments from baseball:
— The reigning World Series champion Washington Nationals have resumed training camp after canceling workouts Monday because of COVID-19 testing delays. General manager Mike Rizzo said the team felt confident about getting back to Nationals Park for practices after receiving all player and staff test results from Friday. The American League champion Houston Astros also canceled workouts Monday and resumed Tuesday. A handful of players did not take part in the Nationals' workouts, including Starlin Castro, Juan Soto, Howie Kendrick and Victor Robles. Without naming names, Rizzo said two players tested positive for the coronavirus and that any players and staff who came into contact with them had to be re-tested
— The Cleveland Indians are keeping outfielder Franmil Reyes away from training camp after they spotted him on social media attending a weekend holiday party without wearing a mask. Manager Terry Francona said Reyes is not in any trouble with the team. But by not practicing social distancing or wearing a mask, he says Reyes exposed himself — and his teammates — to infection, and the team is being overly cautious. Francona said Reyes, who was traded to Cleveland last season from San Diego, will have to be re-tested for the virus "when it's appropriate."
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NBA
Beal, Dinwiddie won't play
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wizards leading scorer Bradley Beal and Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie won't take part in the restart of the NBA season.
Beal is out because of a right rotator cuff injury. Dinwiddie announced that he is still testing positive for coronavirus and won't participate.
Washington, Orlando and Brooklyn are the three teams left in the race for the final two Eastern Conference playoff spots. If the Wizards finish within four games of whichever club finishes eighth, then two games will be played to determine the No. 8 seed. But with Beal and Davis Bertans out, a Wizards team that has been without John Wall all season will have to replace more than 40 points a game if it is to somehow get into that postseason mix.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-RAVENS QUARTERBACK
Jackson to hold annual event amid Florida spike
BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson announced he will hold his annual "Funday with LJ" event in Florida amid the state's spike in coronavirus cases.
A flyer posted on Jackson's Instagram page Monday says the event will be held in a park in his hometown of Pompano Beach in Broward County. The city's website says social gatherings in groups of more than 10 people are currently not allowed.
The announcement comes more than a week after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said interactions among young people are driving the surge in confirmed cases. Florida's Health Department says there are more than 21,000 positive coronavirus cases in Broward County.
In other NFL news:
— Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson has apologized after backlash for sharing anti-Semitic posts on social media over the weekend. In a video posted on Instagram, he said his post "was definitely not intended for anybody of any race to feel any type of way, especially the Jewish community," He added that he "just probably never should have posted anything Hitler did, because Hitler was a bad person."
— A person familiar with the negotiations tells the Associated Press the Cleveland Browns have re-worked defensive end Olivier Vernon's contract for next season. Vernon's future with the Browns seemed uncertain as he was set to make $15.25 million in 2020. But the club reworked his deal and the source says he'll earn $11 million. The 29-year-old Vernon joined the Browns last season after coming over from the New York Giants in the blockbuster trade involving wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
— The Cleveland Browns signed rookie left tackle Jedrick Wills, their first-round draft pick from Alabama. Wills will try to slide over from the right to left side in the NFL. He signed his fully guaranteed $19.7 million contract two weeks before he's set to report to Cleveland's training camp. The Browns selected Wills with the No. 10 overall pick in April's draft.
NHL-BLACKHAWKS-NAME
Blackhawks say team name honors namesake who inspired
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks say they will continue to use their team name because it honors a Native American leader who has been an inspiration to generations.
A statement said "The Chicago Blackhawks name and logo symbolizes an important and historic person, Black Hawk of Illinois' Sac & Fox Nation, whose leadership and life has inspired generations of Native Americans, veterans and the public."
Under renewed pressure to change their name, the NFL's Washington Redskins announced a "thorough review" of the issue. In baseball, the Cleveland Indians are also looking into it while the Atlanta Braves declined.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGE BASKETBALL-LOUISVILLE
Two in Louisville program test positive
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Two members of Louisville's men's basketball program have tested positive for COVID-19 and the team has suspended voluntary activities for two weeks.
A news release from the school did not specify whether it was players or staff members who tested positive. It added that those impacted are being quarantined and proper protocols are being followed.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGE FOOTBALL-OKLAHOMA-TEXAS
DALLAS (AP) — Oklahoma and Texas officials are cautiously optimistic that their annual football showdown still will be played at the Cotton Bowl in the Fair Park in Dallas, despite the announcement Tuesday that the fair would be canceled.
Oklahoma-Texas is one of the longest-running and most intense rivalries in college football. This year's game is scheduled for Oct. 10.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN
Women's British Open to take place without fans
UNDATED (AP) — Organizers are going ahead with the Women's British Open at Royal Troon without spectators.
The Women's British Open is set for Aug. 20-23 at Royal Troon along the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. It would be the first major on the LPGA Tour schedule that is played this year and it would be the week after the Ladies Scottish Open on the other side of the country just east of Edinburgh.
Qualifying for the AIG Women's British Open has been canceled. The field will be made up of leading players from the women's world ranking and recognizing top performances at recent events on the world's leading tours.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOCCER
VIRUS OUTBREAK-WNBA
Durr will miss season
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Liberty guard Asia Durr will miss the upcoming WNBA season after testing positive for the coronavirus on June 8.
Durr detailed her struggles with COVID-19 in a post on Instagram. The former Louisville star says she hasn't fully recovered.
The second pick of the 2019 WNBA draft averaged 6.7 points in her rookie season, starting 15 of her 18 appearances before being sidelined for the season with a hip injury.
In other WNBA news:
— Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler is not in favor of the WNBA's social justice plans and has sent a letter to Commissioner Cathy Engelbert objecting to the league's initiatives to honor the Black Lives Matter movement when the season begins in Florida. Loeffler is a Republican U.S. senator running for re-election in Georgia. She asked the commissioner to scrap plans for players to wear warmup jerseys reading "Black Lives Matter" and "Say Her Name" and instead put an American flag on all uniforms and apparel.