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      ‘Challenges and Bumps’ Expected as N.B.A. Returns

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesThe Latest Vaccine InformationU.S. Deaths Surpass 300,000F.A.Q.AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyon pro basketball‘Challenges and Bumps’ Expected as N.B.A. ReturnsPlaying without a bubble during the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t been smooth for sports leagues that tried this fall. Now it’s the N.B.A.’s turn.Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is set to star in the first game of the new N.B.A. season on Tuesday.Credit…Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports, via ReutersDec. 20, 2020, 3:00 a.m. ETOn Tuesday night at Barclays Center, Stephen Curry will take the floor for the Golden State Warriors and Steve Kerr will coach the team in its first meaningful game in more than nine months. The considerable wait to get back to work is where the oddities only begin for Kerr.As he returns from the longest hiatus he has known in an N.B.A. career that began when he was a rookie in 1988-89, Kerr must confront two familiar faces leading the Nets. He will be coaching against Kevin Durant, the co-pillar of two Warriors championship teams alongside Curry, and against a good friend, Steve Nash, who will be making his official debut as the Nets’ (and Durant’s) coach.It is a lot to track in terms of story lines and, at the same time, it is only half the story on opening night of the N.B.A.’s 75th season. To lead off a schedule that was moved up to begin just before Christmas, after strong urging from the league’s television partners in their quest for maximum profit, Warriors vs. Nets comes amid a pandemic that is wreaking its worst havoc yet across the United States.“We are in the same boat as a lot of people out there,” Kerr said. “Everything is strange for everybody. We’re lucky to be working, and we recognize that. So we are embracing our circumstances rather than lamenting them.”There figures to be enough worry to go around, from various corners of the league, even if Kerr manages to stifle his concerns. The N.B.A. is starting anew after its shortest off-season ever and will do so in the coronavirus-ravaged real world, just 72 days removed from the Los Angeles Lakers’ emerging as champions from the league’s bubble at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla.There will be no fans allowed inside Barclays to witness the various reunions for Kerr, Durant, Curry and Nash, but there will also be no bubble to protect the participants. The N.B.A. is counting on daily testing of players, coaches and team staff members, vigilant mask-wearing and social distancing, and an expanded book of health and safety guidelines to get through the winter — even as public health experts project January to be the most devastating month yet in the country’s battle against the virus.All 30 teams will also have a league-assigned “protocol officer” with them on the road and on team planes, trying to ensure adherence to the many restrictions outlined within the league’s nearly 160 pages of rules to govern the season.Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, recently predicted that access to a Covid-19 vaccine should be widespread nationally by late spring or early summer, with those who have no underlying conditions likely able to be vaccinated by the end of March or the beginning of April. The months until then, however, could be grim — something the N.B.A. has essentially acknowledged by releasing only the first half of its regular-season schedule, through March 4. The league office wants to maintain calendar flexibility to deal with the sort of coronavirus-related disruptions that have upended other sports, such as the N.F.L. and college football, which have not employed bubbles.“We know there are going to be challenges and bumps, but so far things are good and we’re optimistic that we have a plan that we can work through those challenges and bumps,” said David Weiss, the N.B.A.’s vice president of player matters.The Coronavirus Outbreak More

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      Australian Open Is Postponed Because of the Coronavirus Pandemic

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesThe Latest Vaccine InformationU.S. Deaths Surpass 300,000F.A.Q.AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyAustralian Open Is Postponed Because of the Coronavirus PandemicWith infections surging in other parts of the world, the first Grand Slam tennis event of 2021 has been delayed by three weeks, according to a schedule released by the men’s tour.Dominic Thiem, left, and Novak Djokovic in the 2020 Australian Open men’s final.Credit…Scott Barbour/EPA, via ShutterstockPublished More

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      N.B.A. Hopes for ‘as Close to a Normal Season as Possible’

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesThe Latest Vaccine InformationU.S. Deaths Surpass 300,000F.A.Q.AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storymarc stein on basketballN.B.A. Hopes for ‘as Close to a Normal Season as Possible’The league is embarking on a season with restrictions but no bubble: Yes to trips to Whole Foods. No to crowded elevators and the hotel gift shop.The N.B.A. is back, but it’s clear it’s not the same — and no one can be sure when it will be closer to what it was before the pandemic.Credit…Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesDec. 16, 2020, 4:38 p.m. ETThe first team to take up residence at the N.B.A. bubble in July was one of the first to be assigned a road trip last week. The Orlando Magic on Thursday afternoon boarded a team flight for the first time since March and made the short journey to Atlanta to jump-start a season like no other.Upon arrival, Orlando’s 47-passenger contingent — including two coronavirus testers — was divided up and ushered onto four separate buses to maximize social distancing. Players were reminded to avoid the hotel gift shop and crowded elevators and were instructed to stay on the hotel property, apart from visits to a nearby Whole Foods Market.“I don’t know if it’s going to be like that all season long,” Orlando’s Evan Fournier said in a phone interview. “I still don’t know what I’m really allowed to do. I guess that’s what the preseason is for.”Dress rehearsals, for a league adjusting to new realities, are indeed underway. Tuesday marked Day 5 for the N.B.A.’s rapid-fire exhibition schedule — with a countdown clock in the bottom left-hand corner of NBA TV, the league’s official channel, offering repeated reminders that next Tuesday’s opening night for the 2020-21 season is fast approaching.As Fournier noted, N.B.A. teams are trying to make road life as restrictive as possible, hoping to keep their traveling parties safe with the coronavirus still surging across the country. It’s way too soon to say the league’s measures are working, when leaguewide travel has just begun, but Fournier sounded refreshingly hopeful when we spoke, saying he feels safe given the players’ daily testing, combined with as many old bubble practices as teams are able to replicate now that they’re on the move.The French guard joked Saturday on Twitter, in his native language, that he was getting sick of himself after three days in the same Atlanta hotel room, but Fournier left little doubt in our chat that he was “super happy” to be back on the court for two games against the Hawks.“It’s so much better than just being in the bubble, in my opinion, because we actually get to travel and play in real arenas,” Fournier said.You can understand the sentiment. Everyone who plays and works in the league knows that the restricted-access village erected by the N.B.A. at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., was by far the safest way to conduct business and finish the 2019-20 season, but no one wanted to do it again because of the mental-health toll exacted by long stays behind Disney’s gates, cut off from the outside world.Orlando’s Evan Fournier, right, said playing in arenas, even without fans, is still better than playing inside the bubble.Credit…Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesSo the N.B.A. will try to do it this way, with nearly 160 pages of safety guidelines for teams to follow to try to keep the coronavirus from infiltrating practices and mostly fan-less arenas, even as the increasing (and at times farcical) ineffectiveness of college football and basketball in combating the virus suggests that major disruptions are looming. The N.F.L., without a bubble, has likewise had countless troubles.A month ago, as the draft and free agency approached, I wrote about how strange it was to see and hear so little public concern about the daunting challenges that the N.B.A. would face this winter, when medical experts were rightly predicting an alarming spike in Covid-19 cases. Not much has changed in the weeks since — James Harden’s uncertain future in Houston gets far more coverage from the basketball media than health issues — but I do get it. The virus has been a constant in our lives for nine months. Many have grown weary of worrying.It was thus so tempting, starting Friday night, to get swept up in the basketball as the preseason began. Training camps landed a little later on the calendar than usual, but this, after all, is the time of year for just that — for all teams and their fans to dream before the games start counting.John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins have looked healthier and livelier than the Houston Rockets, who are otherwise soaked in the drama of the disgruntled Harden, could have hoped. Golden State’s Stephen Curry returned from his own injury woes with a new trick shot that he flung from the empty stands at Chase Center during pregame warm-ups and that may have topped every past trick shot in a career full of them. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had majestic moments together in their long-delayed debut as Nets teammates. Talen Horton-Tucker, who turned 20 on Nov. 25, looked as dangerous as Los Angeles Lakers insiders have whispered for months he would be when he got a chance to play real minutes. Zion Williamson, too, was back to his wrecking-ball best Monday night in the New Orleans Pelicans’ exhibition opener.Thursday’s Minnesota at Dallas preseason game is the first I will have the chance to attend in person. Members of the news media are not allowed to get anywhere near the floor or the two teams, as we used to, but I don’t think I will be able to stay home after getting Fournier’s description of the State Farm Arena scene for the Magic’s 116-112 victory over the Hawks in the teams’ Friday exhibition.“It was really fun, actually,” Fournier said. “I didn’t really pay attention to the empty seats. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s just because I was so happy to be out there.”Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers spent months in the bubble this summer, which took a mental toll. Some elements of the bubble environment, like sideline masks, remain as the league goes forward in fan-less arenas.Credit…Kyusung Gong/Associated PressWhere I live, in the same city as one of the game’s loudest optimists, talk about the coming season tends to be even more bullish, in contrast to my typical fear-the-worst anxiety, which I am once again struggling to stifle. Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks’ owner, is a self-professed vaccines “geek” who has been reading everything he can as a mass vaccination campaign begins to roll out nationwide. Last week on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Cuban said it was “my personal belief” that there would be a “huge snap back” in March or April “where most of the people in the country will have had access” to coronavirus vaccination “if they wanted it.”Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, has predicted that most people will be able to get the vaccine by late spring or early summer, and that those with no underlying conditions could be vaccinated by the end of March or beginning of April. Seemingly taking his cue from such projections, Cuban told SiriusXM that he thinks “things are going to get really fun” in N.B.A. arenas in the second half of the season, provided that the league’s rush to start before Christmas to satisfy its television partners proceeds into the spring with no serious setbacks.When I reached Cuban on Tuesday, he insisted that the Mavericks’ mantra is “safety first, safety second and safety third.” He also confirmed that he would be at American Airlines Center on Thursday night, which will be Cuban’s first opportunity to watch his team in person since the viral clip of his stunned in-game reaction to news of the season’s suspension on March 11.“So far, so good,” Cuban said. “The most important aspect is that the players and staff that are traveling are treating each game as a self-imposed bubble. We won’t be able to eliminate cases and outbreaks, but if we can minimize them, then hopefully it can be as close to a normal season as possible.”The Coronavirus Outbreak More

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      Columbus Beats Seattle to Win M.L.S. Cup

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesThe Latest Vaccine InformationVaccine TrackerFAQAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyM.L.S. Cup: Crew 3, Sounders 0Columbus Wins M.L.S. Cup, the Final Stop on a Journey to Stay PutLucas Zelarayán’s two goals carried the Crew over the Sounders in the stadium the team had almost abandoned three years ago.Lucas Zelarayán, center, scored two of the Crew’s goals and set up the third.Credit…Emilee Chinn/Getty ImagesDec. 12, 2020The celebration was the catharsis Columbus Crew fans had dreamed of since 2017, when the team’s former owner had threatened to move their team to Texas. It was the party they had pined for since 2018, when their campaign to stop him had yielded new owners and new hope. It was the dream that sustained them this year when the coronavirus played havoc with the schedule and locked them out of their stadium.So once the party finally began, once the final whistle had blown on the Crew’s 3-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders at Columbus’s Mapfre Stadium and Columbus had won its second league title, the only sadness, it seemed, was that more Crew fans were not there to see it in person.“When I took the job, I had a dream to take M.L.S. Cup to those fans over there,” said Crew Coach Caleb Porter, who circled the field thanking the roughly 1,500 socially distanced supporters in attendance even before his team had been handed its silver trophy. “That’s why I was so emotional.”Porter had denied those fans just such a celebration five years ago when, as coach of the Portland Timbers, he beat the Crew at Mapfre Stadium to win his own M.L.S. Cup. When he was hired by the Crew in January 2019, only months after the city’s successful campaign to save the team, he pledged to give Columbus fans something to cheer again.On Saturday, those who had been allowed inside — where they were instructed by health officials and stadium signs to stay masked and safely distant for all 90 minutes — showered Porter with thanks. The hugs will come later, when that sort of thing is safe again.That the final of M.L.S.’s 25th season took place at all was, in many respects, a triumph in itself. The season had begun on Feb. 29, the earliest start in league history, and concluded with the latest M.L.S. Cup ever played. In between was a year like no other: two weeks of matches and then a four-month hiatus because of the pandemic; a five-week summer tournament; and then weeks of wary returns to empty — or near-empty — stadiums.Along the way, the league conducted more than more than 130,000 virus tests, with about 20 percent of its players recording positive results, according to a players’ union official. Dozens of games were postponed, rescheduled or simply not played at all. To get to the end of the season, the league repeatedly tweaked its health protocols, adjusted its rules and crossed its collective fingers.Not even the final was immune, though. Columbus’s title hopes were dealt a significant blow on Friday when the team’s most important player, midfielder Darlington Nagbe, and a key member of its attack, Pedro Santos, were ruled out of the final for medical reasons. Both Nagbe and Santos later confirmed the league’s worst fear: that they, too, had tested positive for the coronavirus.“It’s a big loss; it’s a big blow,” Porter had said Friday. But he expressed confidence that his players could adjust, and his team took the game to the Sounders from the opening whistle.The first goal came in the 25th minute: a driven cross from the right by Gyasi Zardes, and a powerful one-timed finish at the back post by Lucas Zelarayán, an Argentine midfielder signed out of Mexico’s top league last winter, and — despite his diminutive size — a menacing presence throughout the first half.Six minutes later, it was 2-0, after Zelarayán fed an open Derrick Etienne Jr. — Santos’s replacement in the starting lineup — on the left side of the penalty area. Slipping behind his defender, Etienne coolly curled a right-footed shot around Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei.Health regulations limited attendance at the final to about 1,500 fans. They were ordered to sit only with their own parties and to wear masks at all times.Credit…Kyle Robertson/USA Today Sports, via ReutersSeattle tried to adjust, making two substitutions at halftime, but by then the momentum — or was it fate? — was too much to overcome. Zelarayán’s second goal, Columbus’s third, in the 82nd minute removed all doubt. The Sounders, finalists for the fourth time in five years, and seeking their second title in a row, never stood a chance.“This was going to be our day,” Porter said. “Our time, our day and our trophy.”Next season is scheduled to start in March. But, in a halftime interview on Saturday night, Commissioner Don Garber said the ongoing pandemic meant that he could not guarantee it.The Crew, for now at least, are fine with waiting. The title is theirs again at last, and they are more than happy to hold on to it as long as they can.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      U.S. Women’s Open: December Date for Brings New Challenges

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesBritain’s Vaccine RolloutVaccine TrackerFAQ: Vaccines and MoreAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyDecember Date for U.S. Women’s Open Brings New ChallengesGolf’s final major tournament is set to play in Houston with coronavirus-related challenges, an unprecedented two-course format, and one of women’s golf’s largest purses.Former world No. 1 golfer Ariya Jutanugarn, left, and her sister Moriya both tested positive for the coronavirus in November. “It’s tough because I know my body isn’t 100 percent yet,” Ariya said Wednesday, ahead of opening round of the U.S. Women’s Open.Credit…Carlos Osorio/Associated PressDec. 10, 2020Updated 8:16 a.m. ETHOUSTON — The PGA Tour does not have a 72-hole stroke play event this week, and several weekend college football games, including the marquee matchup between Michigan and Ohio State, have been canceled or postponed because of the coronavirus, leaving the best female golfers in the world well positioned to fill the TV viewing void.This weekend, the L.P.G.A. contests the United States Women’s Open, its most lucrative major tournament, pushed back six months from its original date by the pandemic, on a stage cleared of some of the usual obstacles that can overshadow women’s golf in America. The spotlight it offers is in many ways tailored for Ariya Jutanugarn.Jutanugarn, 25, a former women’s world No. 1 from Thailand, generates tremendous clubhead speed and can produce birdies in bunches when she gets on a roll. But she tested positive for coronavirus before an L.P.G.A. event in Florida last month. In her final practice round this week, Jutanugarn did not look like the same player who was crowned Open champion in 2018 or even the same one who tied for sixth during an L.P.G.A. stop in Georgia in late October.Playing the back nine of the Cypress Creek course in a group that included her older sister, Moriya, 26, Jutanugarn consistently fell a few paces behind the others because of what she described as a lingering effect of the virus.“Every time when I play I walk really slow because my heart rate is up so high. But I just have to deal with it.”A month after her diagnosis, she continues to grapple with fatigue and headaches. The barbecue for which Texas is famous, a staple in players’ dining, is largely lost on her because she hasn’t regained her sense of smell or taste.“It’s tough because I know my body isn’t 100 percent yet,” Jutanugarn said. “I just have to deal with it and do my best, and make sure I take good care of my body.”They’re playing in a Christmas-themed bubble.The poinsettia centerpieces on the Nos. 1 and 10 tee snack tables don’t fool the players. They are acutely aware that Christmas isn’t quite here yet.“Coming into these two weeks, this past week or two that I was home, I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to be in a bubble,” said Lexi Thompson, the No. 11-ranked player. “I’m not taking the chance of testing positive coming into the two most important weeks of the year.”Tim Tucker, center, is moonlighting this week on the bag for Lexi Thompson, right. He usually caddies for the P.G.A. golfer Bryson DeChambeau.Credit…Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesStill, it’s 2020. So despite the best made bubbles, stuff happens. On Wednesday, the United States Golf Association announced that Andrea Lee, who had tested negative for the coronavirus before the Volunteers of America Classic outside Dallas and spent last week ensconced in the L.P.G.A. bubble, tested positive for the virus upon arriving in Houston and had withdrawn from the Open.Jutanugarn breathed a sigh of relief Monday after passing her pre-event coronavirus test. Despite being in a featured group alongside two other former champions, Inbee Park and So Yeon Ryu, Jutanugarn said her expectations were low.In her return to competition after quarantining, she finished tied for 62nd. Moriya, who had tested positive at the same time as her sister, also made her competitive return at the Volunteers of America Classic and tied for 16th.“Last week when I walked 18 holes I passed out because I was so tired,” Ariya Jutanugarn said.All is not necessarily lost. Last month, Dustin Johnson won the rescheduled Masters a month after testing positive for the coronavirus in a pretournament test. Like Jutanugarn, he isolated for at least 10 days and returned for the final tuneup event.On Masters Sunday, Jutanugarn said, she turned on the TV, intending to watch Johnson’s final round. But she was feeling feverish and her head was throbbing. “I fell asleep for four hours, I woke up and he had finished,” she said.It’ll take two courses to get the full field in before dark.The challenge for Jutanugarn, and the rest of the Open’s competitors, is compounded because this year, for the first time, the tournament is being played on two courses to accommodate a full 156-woman field in fading winter daylight.Cypress Creek, where three of the four rounds will be contested, is long, with massive greens. The second course, Jackrabbit, where each contender will play one of the first two days, is a tighter layout, with contouring around the smaller green complexes. To play both well requires the versatility of a Formula One driver who could also be competitive in NASCAR.Stacy Lewis, a two-time major winner who is a member of Champions Club, knows both courses well. “I think in everybody’s head you say, ‘We’re going to play Cypress three times, my focus is going to go that way more than the other one,’” she said. “And then you have a bad day on Jackrabbit and you’re not even playing the next two. I know people have asked me and I’ve told them, ‘Pay attention to Jackrabbit.’”There’s a lot of money on the line this weekend and next.For Jin Young Ko, the U.S. Women’s Open is only her third L.P.G.A. event in 2020. The world No. 1 has remained in her native South Korea since the Covid-19 outbreak took hold in America.Credit…David J. Phillip/Associated PressThe next two weeks have the players’ full focus. Both the U.S. Women’s Open and next week’s finale in Florida offer a winner’s check of at least $1 million. The U.S. Open will pay out $5.5 million and the purse for the Tour Championship will be the fifth-highest in the women’s game this year at $3 million, a haul that makes this stretch comparable only to the mid-August-to-September span during which two other majors — the Women’s British Open and the AIN Inspiration — were contested.“To be honest, it feels weird because I’m playing in December around Christmas Day, so it’s the first time,” said Jin Young Ko, the women’s world No. 1. “But the course is tough and then everyone look nervous, too, so it’s fun.”Fun? Danielle Kang, who has won twice since the tour’s July restart, is accompanied this week by her boyfriend, Maverick McNealy, who plays on the PGA Tour. McNealy is one of several male players, including major winners Jason Day and Bryson DeChambeau, who have thrown their support behind the L.P.G.A. this week by posting messages on social media with the hashtag #WomenWorthWatching. DeChambeau’s regular caddie, Tim Tucker, is moonlighting this week on the bag for Lexi Thompson.Asked the best piece of advice that she has received from McNealy, Kang, a one-time major winner, said, “Just relax. It’s the U.S. Open. Everyone is stressed out.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Ravens' Dez Bryant Tests Positive but Stays Active Thansk to Twitter

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesBritain’s Vaccine RolloutVaccine TrackerFAQAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyDez Bryant’s Wild Ride: A Positive Test, a Glass of Wine, a Ravens WinAfter testing positive for the coronavirus, receiver Dez Bryant missed Baltimore’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. But fans were still able to follow his emotional evening in real time.Dez Bryant didn’t play a down on Tuesday, but he still had his say.Credit…Nick Wass/Associated PressDec. 9, 2020Updated 9:14 a.m. ETIt was quite an evening for Dez Bryant.Bryant, the Baltimore Ravens wide receiver, began to warm up as usual before Tuesday night’s rescheduled game against his former team, the visiting Dallas Cowboys. Bryant had been looking forward to the matchup more than usual: After spending eight years in Dallas, he had missed the past two seasons with a torn Achilles’ tendon before returning to the N.F.L. this year with Baltimore.His first meeting with his old team, then, was much anticipated. But it was not to be.Bryant learned he had tested positive for coronavirus after he renewed some old friendships on the field before the game.Credit…Nick Wass/Associated PressBryant was abruptly pulled from the field before the end of warm-ups. The N.F.L. said that his two pregame coronavirus tests had produced inconclusive results but that the results had not come back until shortly before game time. A quick follow-up test was positive, and Bryant left the stadium.The rest of Bryant’s evening is curiously well documented thanks to his Twitter feed.His first tweet didn’t beat around the bush: “Tell me why they pull me from warming up so I can go get tested” — here he added a profanity — “I tested positive for Covid.”He followed up by letting his followers know that he was puzzled by the positive test because he had not changed his routine. The next tweet may have alarmed Ravens fans: a frustrated Bryant declared that his season was over.Less than 30 minutes later, he was openly wondering if anyone should be playing. Puzzled by the rules that had sent him away but not other players, he tagged the N.F.L. in a tweet and asked why. (Answer: The game went on. There were no other positive tests among players on either team.)With current and former players now sending him messages of support through their own Twitter accounts, there was only one solution, Bryant figured:He then mused about sharing information about his outside business endeavors and then did a quick catch-up for latecomers: “I got covid everyone.”As halftime of the Ravens-Cowboys game approached, he also assured readers that he was “not drunk yet” and had finished only one glass of wine. He also clarified that he was not planning to walk away from the season.His choice of libation led him to call for followers to share pictures of the wine they were drinking. Bryant retweeted about a dozen of the photos.By the time the game ended, with the Ravens 34-17 winners over the Cowboys, his melancholy had turned to exuberance.Soon afterward, his Ravens teammates were back in the locker room, and back to their phones. Running back Mark Ingram quickly sought out Bryant, tweeting: “We got your back brother. You gon beat this like every other obstacle.”And quarterback Lamar Jackson sent a message directly to Bryant in his postgame news conference.“We just had to win the game for him because we knew how much it meant to him,” Jackson said, adding, “I’m feeling for him because I know how much he wanted to be here.”Bryant tweeted that out, too.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      How Golf's European Tour Saved Its Season

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesBritain’s Vaccine RolloutVaccine TrackerFAQ: Vaccines and MoreAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyHow the European Tour Saved Its SeasonThe pandemic forced the golf tour to start almost from scratch. But six months later, it’s holding the tournament that will determine its champion.Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is hosting the DP World Tour Championship, the final stop on the European Tour.Credit…Andrew Redington/Getty ImagesDec. 9, 2020, 5:02 a.m. ETIt’s been a chaotic path to golf’s final stop on the European Tour.At the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, which is sponsored by a logistics company, a player will be crowned Europe’s No. 1 golfer on Sunday. As the season ends, tour officials and players will have artfully navigated a constellation of constant shifts, changes, postponements and cancellations.What began last November as a packed schedule of 46 tournaments across 31 countries came to a halt in March because of the pandemic. Professional golf was shut down, and it was unclear whether the season would resume or be even worth salvaging.“It was so many months without playing,” said Adrián Otaegui of Spain, who ranks 28th in the Race to Dubai, which determines the best player. “We didn’t know when we were coming back. It was hard to practice, not knowing when we would resume.”In June, tour officials regrouped in an attempt to restart the season.Keith Pelley, the tour’s chief executive, warned players that tournaments would look “radically different,” suggesting that there would be a condensed schedule, with multiple tournaments in the same location.Keith Pelley, the European Tour’s chief executive, at the Hero Open in England in August. Credit…Richard Heathcote/Getty ImagesIn addition, sponsorship and prize money would be tight, he said. With the European Tour already struggling to draw players lured by the larger prize purses of the PGA Tour, the news dealt an additional blow: Players would also have to give up some of their perks.“Many of the things you have become accustomed to, such as top-class players’ lounges or courtesy car services, will most likely assume a different appearance, if indeed they are present at all,” Pelley said in a memo.He said the pandemic had become the biggest challenge of his life.“The job changed overnight,” he said in a June teleconference. “Every single day you were getting knocked down, knocked down and knocked down, another tournament canceled, more revenue lost.”It came down to prioritizing safety and making the tough decision to play without spectators, he said.“There was no question whether or not the tour would close tournaments to spectators,” he said. “We’d love to have 30,000 fans, but I think it’s going to be very difficult.”The tour resumed in July with the Austrian Open at the Diamond Country Club in Atzenbrugg near Vienna. By the end of the year, the tour managed to schedule 38 events in 18 countries.Under the guidance of the tour’s medical advisory board, which included virologists, public health experts, immunologists and senior health leaders from FIFA, World Rugby and the ATP, the tour’s new health strategy was put in place.Sean Crocker, an American golfer, playing on the 16th hole at the British Masters in England in July.Credit…Andrew Redington/Getty ImagesDeveloped by Dr. Andrew Murray, the European Tour’s chief medical officer, the strategy included rapid on-site Covid-19 testing, daily symptom checks, social distancing and no-touch sanitizer stations.At each tournament, players, caddies and staff members were required to go through a process that would be “some of the strictest screening and testing criteria on earth,” Murray said.“The entire world has changed,” he said. “What we know is that we can put golf on safely, but there are a number of factors we need to consider.”Tour organizers also created a bio-bubble system that requires players, caddies and the media to be only at the golf course and the hotel.They are subject to screenings, including daily questionnaires, temperature readings, and nasal swab or saliva tests. Everyone is also being tested as they leave airplanes.There were initial grumblings about lack of fans during tournaments or socializing after hours, but players adjusted.Joost Luiten of the Netherlands in July at a practice session before the Euram Bank Open in Austria. He drove instead of flying.Credit…Stuart Franklin/Getty Images“When you get here, you have to do a test and you have to do a temperature check,” said Joost Luiten of the Netherlands, who ranks 72nd in points. “It’s new and it’s different, but it’s just part of the new rules on tour, and you just have to accept it.“We’ve all seen the different sporting events around the world that have been started, so I think you learn from each other, and I think golf is a sport where it’s quite easy to keep the distance between each other. There’s no spectators, so it’s as quiet as you can get it, and I think that’s the way to do it at the moment.”Connor Syme of Scotland, who is 67th in points, said he welcomed the new restrictions. “It just feels more comfortable if you know for certain everyone is all right,” he said. “I feel safe. All the precautions the European Tour is taking make it possible to play. It feels good.”Another big change was travel. Many players opted out of flying and instead drove to the tournaments.Luiten drove with Maarten Bosch, his caddie, from the Netherlands to Austria. “It’s a bit further than normal,” Luiten wrote on his blog.“Usually I drive if it’s to Paris, and I’ve done to Cologne in Germany, because that’s only a two-hour drive from Rotterdam,” Luiten said. “This is one where you would normally fly, but because it felt like a better idea to drive and we had some extra time anyway, so we thought why not. We just took it easy, so we did five hours on Sunday, stopping in Munich, and then did another four or five hours on Monday.”Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, at 231 in the points race, said on Twitter that players should drive if possible. Richard Mansell of England, ranked at 185, took that to heart. “It kind of got me thinking — I’ve never done a road trip like that,” he said in a video released by the tour.His fiancée’s father bought him a Ford Transit van, and Mansell drove with his caddie, Connor Winstanley.They slept in the van and made the trip from Staffordshire, England, to Austria in two days. “We woke up fresh as a daisy and did the last stretch,” Mansell said.“I thought it was going to be brutal, but the roads were brilliant. It was quite a beautiful drive to be honest. I really enjoyed it, but Connor probably got a bit sick of my singing.”The tour stayed Covid-free until the summer swing in the United Kingdom, where Alex Levy of France tested positive in August and Jbe’ Kruger of South Africa in October.David Howell, European Tour Tournament Committee chairman, admitted that this year was more crisis management than tour scheduling.“I look back with amazement what we were able to do with what we had and very little collateral damage in terms of positive tests,” he said. “We’re lucky that we play a sport that is able to be played in a socially distant manner, but the logistics of getting an international sporting organization back up and running was just amazing.”By the time the European Tour arrived in South Africa for the Joburg Open in November, Covid-19 cases had resurged worldwide, and event organizers and city officials increased precautionary measures for players, caddies, tournament staff and media.Fans sneaking a peek at third-round action in the BMW PGA Championship in England in October.Credit…Paul Childs/Action Images, via ReutersIn addition to undergoing Covid-19 screening and daily testing, players stayed at hotels within five miles of golf clubs and were permitted to travel only between the hotel and course.Yet in spite of tight restrictions and the eerie absence of fans, players were happy to be playing again.“We were one of the first sports to get back into competition,” Luiten said from the Joburg Open. “It was great to get back, but it’s a bit boring now. We miss the fun times. Also, at the moment there’s no atmosphere on the golf course without fans.”Oliver Wilson of England, ranked at 212, called it better than the alternative.“It’s a shame because we play better with fans,” he said. “But we’re very fortunate to be able to play — it was sheer excitement for players to get out of the house and back to competing. It’s hard not being able to socialize in the bubble. It’s tricky, but we have it good. We’re lucky.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Lee Westwood and His Decades of Success

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesBritain’s Vaccine RolloutVaccine TrackerFAQ: Vaccines and MoreAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyLee Westwood and His Decades of SuccessUsually a slow starter, he began 2020 by winning the first tournament he played.Lee Westwood, right, celebrated with James Baker, his caddie, after winning the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship tournament in January.Credit…Kamran Jebreili/Associated PressDec. 9, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ETAn admitted slow starter, Lee Westwood was as surprised as anyone when at age 46 he won the first tournament of the year on the European Tour, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. It made him the only active player on the tour to have won in four different decades.“Historically I’ve been the type of player who had to play his way into form,” he said. “I threw that out of the window in winning the first event. It just surprised me.”Within two months of that hot start, the strangest year in golf began. The Covid-19 pandemic shut down the main golf tours for months. When professional golf resumed in the spring, it surged in popularity, as one of the few live sports on television.But the pandemic made the travel necessary to be at the top of the international game tough. And Westwood’s career has been a global one. Including his 25 victories on the European Tour, Westwood has 44 worldwide wins, with 12 in Asia, three in South Africa, two in the United States and one in Australia. In more than 800 tournaments on the two major tours, the PGA and the European, he has made the cut more than 80 percent of the time.And going into this week’s DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, he is ranked fourth in points in the Race to Dubai, the yearlong points race to determine the best player on the European Tour.The following interview has been edited and condensed.In addition to winning the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, your play at the majors has been solid. You had a great start at the Masters this year, tied for 13th at the United States Open and tied for fourth at the last British Open. What do you attribute that continued strong play?I’m just still keen to work. It’s putting in the hard work that leads up to the tournament. Everyone gets excited to play in a tournament. I think people lose the drive to get to that point. I’m still fit and strong. It’s not like I’ve lost my length. When you look at it analytically, there’s no reason I shouldn’t play well. I have experience on my side. Majors take a slightly different approach. You have to think your way around the golf course a little bit more. Par means a lot more. For me at a U.S. Open or Open Championship, it’s plotting your way around a golf course. It plays into my game.Westwood on the eighth hole of The RSM Classic at the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club in November.Credit…Sam Greenwood/Getty ImagesYou’ve been a global player for decades. What was traveling for tournaments like this year?Well, it was dictated by the pandemic. We were in lockdown March, April and May. Up until September, I didn’t feel comfortable going too far. I went to Europe, and I didn’t fancy going too far until I got a picture of how things were. The U.S. Open [at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, N.Y.] was the first time I went over to the States. When your job is traveling through all these time zones, that really goes out the window.How important is playing around the world to a player’s development?You become much more well-rounded as a person. You need to play on different courses, different grasses, different greens. It can be part of your development as a player. At the end of the day, what people want to see is the top players playing together more often in the same tournaments. It’s all right seeing everyone play in the States. That’s where the cash is. But I think we should have tournaments in Australia, South Africa, South America where all the great players come together. The pandemic has shown that golf isn’t broken. It doesn’t need fixing. It just needs sharing around the world.Your 2020 season is ending in Dubai, with seven tournaments in the United States and 14 on the European Tour. How would you sum up this year for you and other global players?It’s very difficult to sit back and do an appraisal of it. There were five months off in the middle of it where I just sat around, really. Then I played a lot in Europe, not too successfully. I played well in the U.S. Open. It’s been a weird one. One of the good things that came out of it is I lost 12 kilos [about 26 pounds]. I’ll be fitter going into next season. I’ll take a month off after Dubai and start again in Abu Dhabi.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More