NFL agrees to eliminate preseason, reaches deal with union on coronavirus testing
The league’s concessions on the preseason and daily testing of players increased the likelihood that all teams’ camps will open fully by July 28 as scheduled.
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NCAA lays out plan for playing, but warns of surging pandemic
The NCAA handed down its latest guidelines for playing through a pandemic while also sounding an alarm: The prospect of having a fall semester with football and other sports is looking grim.
Indianapolis to share in $5M donation from NBA player Jrue Holiday
Jrue Holiday and his wife, Lauren, a former U.S. national team soccer player who was born and raised in Indianapolis, plan to donate about $5 million to social justice causes.
UPDATE: Washington’s NFL team drops Redskins name after 87 years
Arguably the most polarizing name in North American professional sports is gone at a time of reckoning over racial injustice, iconography and racism in the United States.
Big Ten scraps nonconference football games due to pandemic
The conference cited medical advice in making its decision and added ominously that the plan would be applied only “if the conference is able to participate in fall sports.”
Fever delay trip for WNBA launch after 2 players test positive for COVID
The women’s pro basketball league announced on Monday that seven of its 137 players have tested positive. Fever officials confirmed two of them played for Indiana.
Penske adds golden touch to iconic Indy—His ‘Mona Lisa’
Penske gave a two-hour tour of the speedway this week, showing off with dizzying detail the new landscaping, paved lots, planted trees, picnic tables, widened pedestrian paths, hand dryers in every bathroom, improved sight lines, pressure-washed buildings, freshly painted signs and LED monitors everywhere.
Sports Corp. takes over statewide tourism-support association
Team Indiana is meant to give its members—about three dozen tourism and sports organizations across Indiana—better access to resources that will get the attention of sports governing bodies that decide where to play events.
Indy Eleven plans return to pitch—with masked fans—on July 11
Safety precautions for the team’s season restart also will include limiting ticket sales to the lower bowl of Lucas Oil Stadium and restricting seats to every other row, with at least six feet between each grouping of four seats.
Indianapolis Indians forced to call off season for first time in 120 years
The triple-A Minor League Baseball team is sure to take a financial hit from the decision, but franchise President Randy Lewandowski said the Indians are “in a good financial position to weather this storm.”
UPDATE: Indy 500 to run with stands at 50% capacity, IMS officials say
About 175,000 tickets—most of them renewals—have been sold for the race, IMS confirmed to IBJ. Ticket requests are still being accepted, going into a queue for fulfillment after existing ticketholders have been accommodated.
Fans to be allowed to attend the Kentucky Derby, with restrictions
Churchill Downs will institute a number of operating procedures for the Kentucky Derby, which has been moved to Sept. 5 because of the pandemic.
NFL teams could cover seating around field with ads to make up lost revenue
The NFL and its franchises are discussing a plan by which rows of seating closest to the field in stadiums this season could be covered and used to display the logos of sponsors and messaging for league and team initiatives.
Pacers’ Brogdon in quarantine after positive test for virus
Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon wasn’t healthy before the season was suspended, sitting out with a leg and hip muscle injury. But the stoppage has allowed him to recover.
Prosecutor says victims deserve ex-quarterback’s concussion funds
Former Colts quarterback Art Schlichter has received nearly $700,000 from a national settlement with the NFL over concussions. A prosecutor says that money should go to Schlichter’s many fraud victims.
NCAA expands ban, joins SEC in targeting Confederate flag
The NCAA on Friday expanded its policy banning states with prominent Confederate symbols from hosting its sponsored events, one day after the Southeastern Conference made a similar declaration.
IndyCar plans season’s first races with fans in stands next month
Tickets are being sold for races July 11 and 12 at Road America, a four-mile, 14-turn road course in Wisconsin where fans can spread out. And a limited number of tickets will be available for the races at the short oval at Iowa Speedway on July 17 and 18.
Sen. Rubio introduces bill to help NCAA make uniform compensation changes
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s bill would protect the NCAA from being challenged in court if the association changes its rules to allow athletes to earn money for endorsement deals and personal appearances.
Motorsports research body hires new director, relocating to Indianapolis
The International Council of Motorsport Sciences, established in Indianapolis in 1988, will relocate from Texas later this month after hiring veteran motorsports exec Tom Weisenbach as its new executive director.
WNBA plans to play 2020 season in Florida starting in late July
Players would receive their entire salaries for the year despite playing a schedule that’s only about two-thirds the length of the 36-game one that was supposed to start May 15.