UNDATED (AP) — The Big Ten and Pac-12 became the first leagues to shift to an all-conference fall schedule as the college sports world faces difficult decisions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. More Power Five conferences could follow, causing a ripple effect on small-conference schools across the country. If more big conferences ditch nonconference games, smaller schools who rely on “buy games” to help fund their athletic departments will take huge financial hits at a time when they’re already facing ugly bottom lines.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Caleb Williams, the No. 1 quarterback in the 247Sports Class of 2021 and ESPN’s No. 1 dual-threat quarterback for that class, has given Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley another top recruit at the position. He recently was named MVP of the Elite 11 camp. Riley has coached Heisman winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray and turned Jalen Hurts into a Heisman runner-up. Now, he is building a new tradition at Oklahoma: pulling top quarterbacks to Oklahoma from the high school ranks. Mayfield, Murray and Hurts started elsewhere. Spencer Rattler, the top prep quarterback in 2019, already is a Sooner.
UNDATED (AP) — The NHL board of governors and members of the NHL Players’ Association have ratified a return-to-play plan slated to have games begin in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, on Aug. 1. The voting process also included both sides approving a four-year extension to the current collective bargaining agreement which provides the league a comprehensive path out of the economic challenges raised by the new coronavirus pandemic.
UNDATED (AP) — The NBA is making preps for an alternative season. The 22 teams participating in the NBA restart were all at the Disney campus together for the first time on Friday. None of them, however, made it to the Orlando, Florida, area with their usual travel party. Leaving families behind for several weeks or months during a pandemic isn’t the only hardship that teams are dealing with during this restart. Space limitations within the quasi-bubble at Disney also meant that teams had to cut their official traveling parties down to 37 total.
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Collin Morikawa takes a three-shot lead into the weekend at the Workday Charity Open. He made nine birdies Friday for a 66 and leads over Justin Thomas and Kevin Streelman. Storms twice halted play at Muirfield Village, so the second round wasn’t completed. That means Brooks Koepka has to wait to see if his big finish allowed him to make the cut. Koepka birdied five of his last seven holes for a 69 and was one-shot outside the cut. Nearly three dozen players were to return Saturday morning to complete their rounds.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — As bull riders attempted to hang on to their rides for eight seconds Friday night, they were encouraged by something they hadn’t heard in months — the cheers of a crowd. A little more than a thousand fans were on hand in a 9,000-seat arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to watch one of the first indoor professional sporting events since the coronavirus pandemic began. Professional Bull Riders welcomed the smaller crowd to cheer the culmination of a month-long competition that until Friday has played out before silent stands.