The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
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The New York Knicks have temporarily closed their training facility after three team employees tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Knicks say the tests came during routine screenings. They said all three employees were without symptoms and were currently under quarantine.
The training facility, located in Greenburgh, New York, will be thoroughly cleaned while closed.
The NBA season will begin Dec. 22.
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The Seattle Seahawks say they will not have fans for their Nov. 19 home game against Arizona.
The Seahawks have not had fans at any of their first four home games. The team said Tuesday that continued conversations with local health and government officials led to the decision not to allow spectators against the Cardinals.
The team said it has not ruled out the possibility that conditions could improve to the point where limited fans would be allowed for any of its three home games in December.
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Southern California’s women’s basketball team has halted all activities after one of its players tested positive for COVID-19.
The school says that after consulting with the Los Angeles County public health department, it was decided that all players on the team needed to be put into quarantine.
USC has reported two positive tests since it last announced numbers from 1,601 tests of athletes from its 21 sports on Oct. 30.
Two sports each had one confirmed positive and those athletes were put into isolation.
The USC women’s basketball team is the school’s third that has had to halt activities due to positive tests. Football and men’s water polo were the others.
The women’s basketball team is set to open the season on Nov. 25.
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The Green Bay Packers have activated rookie quarterback Jordan Love from the reserve/COVID-19 list.
The reserve/COVID-19 list is for players who either test positive for COVID-19 or who have been in close contact with an infected person.
Love was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday, the day after the Packers’ 34-17 victory at San Francisco.
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Kansas State has had a novel coronavirus outbreak among its younger players that has left the Wildcats without a scout team in practice this week, though they have this weekend off before facing Iowa State.
Wildcats coach Chris Klieman said Tuesday that the outbreak has sidelined ”upwards of 20 guys.” As a result, Klieman said, ”we’ve got to be really creative in what we do this week because we have a few young guys that have had it, and if they haven’t they are probably in quarantine or isolation.”
Kansas State has lost consecutive games to West Virginia and Oklahoma State.
Klieman said the Wildcats also wouldn’t practice as long as they normally do because of the lack of numbers, and that the outbreak is a good reminder to everyone on the roster that it only takes one positive test to cause problems.
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The Minnesota men’s basketball team has halted workouts and practices due to COVID-19.
The university confirmed the pause on Tuesday and said the team will resume activities once cleared to do so.
The season opener is expected to be on Nov. 25. Big Ten teams have yet to release their schedules.
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The Czech Republic soccer team says a second player has tested positive for the novel coronavirus ahead of a friendly game against Germany.
The Czech soccer federation hasn’t identified the player but says he’s in isolation. The federation adds that the player was feeling unwell and didn’t train with the team Tuesday in the German city of Leipzig.
Another player dropped out of the Czech squad Monday after testing positive before the team departed for Germany. The squad is left with 24 players.
The Czech Republic plays the friendly against Germany on Wednesday and then has Nations League games against Israel on Sunday and Slovakia on Nov. 18.
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The National Football League and NFL Players Association say the league has 15 new confirmed positive COVID-19 tests among players and 41 more among other personnel.
Testing performed the first week in November included 16,785 administered to 2,486 players and 26,193 administered to 5,436 personnel.
Since the beginning of August, approximately 600,000 tests have been given to players and personnel, and the tests resulted in 78 players and 140 personnel confirmed positive cases.
The Philadelphia Eagles confirmed a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. Safety Marcus Epps tested positive last week during the team’s bye. The team is following the league’s intensive protocols but the practice facility remains open.
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Undefeated American boxer Ryan Garcia’s fight against Luke Campbell has been postponed after the British boxer tested positive for COVID-19.
The interim WBC lightweight title fight was scheduled for Dec. 5 in California.
British promoter Eddie Hearn says on Twitter that Campbell had earlier tested positive and has completed isolation but won’t be ready.
Hearn did not disclose when exactly his fighter tested positive.
The 33-year-old Campbell (20-3) won gold as a bantamweight at the 2012 London Olympics. The 22-year-old Garcia is 20-0.
No new date has been announced.
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Tulsa’s home game against No. 7 Cincinnati has been moved a second time.
Originally scheduled for mid-October, it was moved to Dec. 5 because of Cincinnati’s COVID-19 issues and now will be played a day earlier.
The American Athletic Conference announced Tuesday that the game is set for Dec. 4. The news release from Tulsa highlighted the fact that the game would draw a national ESPN audience on a Friday night.
Tulsa has had numerous scheduling issues this season. Its game against Oklahoma State was pushed back a week to Sept. 19 because Tulsa had COVID issues. The Golden Hurricane were supposed to play Arkansas State on Sept. 26, but the Red Wolves couldn’t put a two-deep lineup together. That game has not been rescheduled.
Tulsa’s game last Saturday at Navy also was postponed due to Navy’s COVID issues and has not been rescheduled.
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North Carolina expects to lose about $30 million in projected revenue this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The school announced the figure Tuesday, saying the losses include ticket sales, reduced TV revenue and ”other setbacks.” It comes as the Rams Club fundraising arm of the athletics department launched a new fundraising initiative to navigate the pandemic’s financial challenges.
In a statement, athletics director Bubba Cunningham said the pandemic’s impact has been ”catastrophic to our budget.” The school is hoping the new ”Carolina Victory Fund” will provide revenue to support the 28-sport program ”in a time of great need.”
The school has previously announced salary reductions and furloughs in athletics, which followed spending measures such as halting non-essential travel, cutting sport budgets and leaving open positions unfilled.
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No. 24 Auburn has paused team activities after nine players and three staff members tested positive for COVID-19.
The Tigers game at Mississippi State scheduled for Saturday had already been postponed because of an outbreak with the Bulldogs. Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said Tuesday his administration had already been discussing whether the Tigers would have had enough scholarship players for the game.
Auburn also has ”a handful of close contact” cases having to quarantine in addition to the positive tests, Malzahn said. He didn’t give a specific number or which positions had been hardest hit.
Auburn, which is coming off an open date, is scheduled to host Tennessee on Nov. 21. There’s at least a chance the Tigers wouldn’t have been able to play Saturday anyway. The SEC requires at least 53 scholarship players to be available.
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Arkansas coach Sam Pittman will miss the Razorbacks’ game at No. 6 Florida on Saturday after having two positive COVID-19 tests.
The school made the announcement in a news release on Tuesday.
Pittman was tested Sunday as part of the team’s normal protocol and learned Monday morning that his test was positive. A follow-up test taken on Monday confirmed the initial positive result. Southeastern Conference protocol for an asymptomatic positive requires him to isolate for at least 10 days.
Defensive coordinator Barry Odom will serve as interim coach. Pittman will remain a part of team meetings virtually.
The Razorbacks are off to a 3-3 start in Pittman’s first year – a significant jump from last year’s 2-10 campaign. Arkansas has won two of three and is coming off a 24-13 win over Tennessee.
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The Mountain West Conference is announcing changes to its men’s and women’s basketball seasons that greatly reduces travel because of the pandemic.
The conference will play 20-game schedules over 11 weeks with teams facing each other in two-game series with a one-day break between games.
Each school will have five home and five road series, reducing the regular travel schedule by a month to help mitigate potential virus exposures.
The conference said league play will begin in December and conclude the last week of February.
The format adjustments create flexibility throughout the season to reschedule games if they need to be postponed because of COVID-19 outbreaks.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed four more players on the COVID-19 list, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
The move comes a day after tight end Vance McDonald went on the list after testing positive following a 24-19 win at Dallas that pushed the Steelers to 8-0. Running back Jaylen Samuels, offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins and linebacker Vince Williams joined Roethlisberger on the list Tuesday.
The reserve/COVID-19 list is either for players who have tested positive or have been in close contact with someone who has.
All players who have been in close contact must quarantine for five days and are unable to visit the team’s practice facility but can participate virtually. They must pass COVID-19 tests throughout the week to have an opportunity to play Sunday when the Steelers host the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Duke says it will open basketball and other winter-sports seasons without fans in attendance.
The school announced the decision Tuesday. It is an extension of the plan that has been in place for football and other fall sports due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. The Blue Devils football team is playing in an empty stadium in Durham, North Carolina, featuring only fan cutouts in the stands.
Duke will continue to limit attendance to game-management personnel and media.
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German soccer club Hoffenheim says forward Munas Dabbur has tested positive for the coronavirus while with the Israeli national team and is in isolation.
Israel is scheduled to play Norway in a friendly on Wednesday and then has Nations League games against the Czech Republic on Sunday and Scotland on Nov. 18.
Dabbur has two goals in seven Bundesliga games this season.
Dabbur is the second Hoffenheim player to test positive this week. Teammate Robert Skov tested positive while with the Danish national team.
Hoffenheim says both Dabbur and Robert Skov tested negative when they were with Hoffenheim on Friday ahead of a Bundesliga game.
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French soccer club Nice says it has shut down its training facilities because of a COVID-19 outbreak.
Nice says more than a dozen of players and staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus recently. The club says some players from the youth teams have also been affected.
Nice did not identify the players infected but made the announcement after the Swiss soccer federation said defender Jordan Lotomba had been ruled out of this week’s friendly match against Belgium because of a positive test. Lotomba plays for Nice.
Nice says it hopes to reopen the training facilities ”next week after new tests.”
Nice’s next French league match is on Nov. 21 in Marseille.
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Italian basketball team Olimpia Milano has suspended all team activity after ”numerous” members of the squad tested positive for the coronavirus.
The club says the cases emerged from tests carried out shortly after Sunday’s victory over Brescia.
All the positive people are asymptomatic and the group will undergo further tests on Tuesday.
Olimpia was due to fly to Russia for EuroLeague matches against Zenit St. Petersburg on Wednesday and Khimki Moscow Region three days later.
It is also scheduled to play Cantu in the domestic season on Sunday.
Olimpia coach Ettore Messina called last week for the EuroLeague season to be suspended until March or April.
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The Danish soccer federation has put eight national team players and some staff members in quarantine after two positive tests for COVID-19.
The federation says the affected players will miss a friendly game against Sweden on Wednesday and will be tested again before a pair of Nations League games. Denmark will host Iceland and travel to Belgium.
Robert Skov of German club Hoffenheim is one of the people who tested positive. He is not thought to have become infected while in the national team camp.
The players now self-isolating include Barcelona forward Martin Braithwaite and Leipzig striker Yussuf Poulsen.
Denmark already did not select several players from Premier League clubs because of British government restrictions on people arriving from the Scandinavian country. Those restrictions on recent visitors to Denmark could force England’s home game against Iceland on Nov. 18 to be moved to a neutral venue.
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European qualifying in December for the Women’s Rugby World Cup next year in New Zealand has been postponed.
Ireland, Italy, Scotland and the winner of the postponed Women’s Rugby Europe Championship were to play on Dec. 5, 12 and 19. The winner qualifies directly for the World Cup, and the runner-up advances to a final qualification tournament in 2021.
But travel and quarantine challenges in Europe because of the pandemic have forced World Rugby and Rugby Europe to postpone European qualifying to new dates yet to be found.
Spain was to play in the two remaining matches in the Women’s Rugby Europe Championship in October against Russia and the Netherlands, but both were postponed.
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The remaining three rugby matches in the Women’s Six Nations have been canceled.
”Recent government and health authority restrictions affecting squad preparations, travel, and the inability to stage matches due to the sport’s amateur status have made the successful completion of the 2020 championship impossible,” Six Nations Rugby said in a statement.
The affected matches were: Italy-Scotland, Wales-Scotland, and France-Ireland. The latter two matches were to be played on Nov. 1 but postponed after Scottish and French players caught the virus.
The standings will remain.
England, the only team to play all five of its matches, won the Grand Slam. France was second, ahead of Ireland on points difference. Italy was fourth, Scotland fifth, and Wales last.
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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
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