Sports

(TOKYO) — The first COVID-19 case inside the Olympic Village was confirmed, officials said Saturday, as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are set to kick off in less than a week.

The case was reported after a screening test conducted Friday, according to Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto.

The person is not an athlete competing in the games, which open July 23, but has been identified as “games-concerned personnel” who is a non-resident of Japan. The person is under a 14-day quarantine period.

Muto said the organizing committee expected that there could be positive COVID-19 cases in the village.

“As such we will take proper measures so that athletes who are staying there can feel safe,” Muto said during a press briefing Saturday, according to APTN.

Athletes and those in close proximity are required to undergo daily testing. Additionally, temperature checks are conducted upon entry to the Olympic and Paralympic Village or an Olympic venue.

Those traveling to Japan for the games are also required to get tested before their flight and upon arrival and then quarantine for three days.

Between July 1 and 16, out of around 15,000 athletes, officials, journalists and others who arrived in Tokyo for the games, 15 tested positive on their arrival or during a screening test, according to the International Olympic Committee.

Organizers have confirmed 44 positive cases since July 1, including the resident of the Olympic Village. The people were mostly identified as contractors, though also included games-concerned personnel, employees, three members of the media and one athlete.

On Thursday, IOC President Thomas Bach said there was “zero” risk that people participating in the Olympics would infect Japanese residents due to detection and isolation measures, Reuters reported.

The Olympic Village will house about 11,000 athletes during the games, along with thousands of staff.

Last week, local officials declared a state of emergency in Tokyo amid rising COVID-19 cases, barring spectators from the Olympic venues.

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Friday’s sports events:

INTERLEAGUE
Final  Tampa Bay   7  Atlanta   6

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final  Toronto      10  Texas               2
Final  Boston        4  N.Y. Yankees        0
Final  Kansas City   9  Baltimore           2
Final  Houston       7  Chicago White Sox   1
Final  Oakland       5  Cleveland           4
Final  Seattle       6  L.A. Angels         5
Minnesota  at  Detroit  1:10 p.m.  (Postponed)
Minnesota  at  Detroit  2:10 p.m.  (Postponed)

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final  Philadelphia    5  Miami          2
Final  Miami           7  Philadelphia   0
Final  Pittsburgh      4  N.Y. Mets      1
Final  Milwaukee      11  Cincinnati     6
Final  San Diego      24  Washington     8
Final  San Francisco   7  St. Louis      2
Final  L.A. Dodgers   10  Colorado       4
Final  Chicago Cubs    5  Arizona        1

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(WASHINGTON) — RobertAnthony Cruz has dreamed about being a professional baseball player his whole life.

This week, when he got the call to join the Major League Baseball Washington Nationals as a rookie player, he decided to surprise his biggest supporter: his father.

“My dad would often throw me batting practice. Typically it would be after work or on his days off and I can’t remember a single time that he said ‘no,’” Cruz told “World News Tonight.”

In a video that has since gone viral, Cruz surprises his father Ron Cruz at his job in a local auto repair shop to hand him a Washington Nationals official baseball cap. Cruz and his father then shared an emotional moment.

“Your kids — your sons, daughters — out there have dreams and as far as our kids, I didn’t want to be the one to tell them that, ‘No, that cannot be done,’” said Ron Cruz.

“My son’s had a dream of being a professional baseball player from the time he was little and it’s very special for us, [and] for him to get his life started and going,” he added.

RobertAnthony Cruz said that having his father spend time with him made all the difference.

“He was just ready to be there for me. However, I needed him,” said RobertAnthony Cruz. “And growing up, I needed him to throw me batting practice and that’s what he did.”

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(NEW YORK) — Friday’s New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox game is on after Thursday’s clash in the Bronx was postponed following six positive COVID-19 tests on the Yankees roster. 

“After conducting testing and contact tracing involving members of the New York Yankees’ organization, the Club’s home game tonight vs. the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium will proceed as scheduled,” said  Major League Baseball in a statement.

The game gets underway at 7:05 ET. 

During his pre-game press conference, New York Manager Aaron Boone announced there were no additional positive tests on Friday. 

Aaron Judge, Gio Urshela, Kyle Higashioka, Jonathan Loaisiga, Nestor Cortes Jr., and Wandy Peralta are all on the COVID-19 injured list after their tests were confirmed, according to ESPN. 

Thursday’s game will be played as part of a double-header on Tuesday, August 17. 

The Yankees are in fourth place in the American League East, eight games behind the first-place Red Sox.

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(WASHINGTON) — Washington Nationals infielder Starlin Castro has been placed on administrative leave, Major League Baseball announced on Friday.

The Athletic reported earlier on Friday that the league was investigating an alleged domestic violence incident that took place earlier this summer. Castro would be on leave for seven days, during which he is still paid his normal salary.

The leave could also be extended by additional seven-day increments if the league and the MLB Players Association agree to do so.

Castro was placed on the restricted list on June 16 due to what Nationals manager Dave Martinez then referred to as “a family matter.” The Athletic says that matter is not believed to be related to the alleged domestic violence incident.

Castro was previously accused of sexual assault in 2011, but charges were not filed.

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(NEW ORLEANS) — New Orleans Saints defensive tackle David Onyemata announced on Instagram that he failed a drug test.

“I was informed by the NFLPA yesterday that I have tested positive for a banned substance resulting in a suspension for part of the 2021 NFL season,” Onyemata wrote in an Instagram story. “While I was certainly surprised and disappointed with this news, I am responsible for what I put in my body. As I have never knowingly taken anything that could cause a positive test, we are currently in the process of testing the supplements I was taking at the time of the test. Regardless, I am committed to being more aware of any medication and dietary supplements that may contain substances banned by the NFL.”

The NFL has not announced the suspension yet. 

ESPN reports, Onyemata was suspended one game in 2019 for a misdemeanor summons for marijuana possession. 

Last season, Onyemata had 6.5 sacks and 44 total tackles.

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(NEW YORK) — Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is withdrawing from the Olympics and will not play for Team USA, his agent told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski Friday.

Love spent ten days with the U.S. Men’s National Basketball Team in Las Vegas, preparing for the upcoming Olympics. But Love continues to recover from a right calf injury that forced him to miss much of the NBA season.

“I am incredibly disappointed to not be heading to Tokyo with Team USA,” Love said in a statement. “But you need to be at absolute peak performance to compete at the Olympic level and I am just not there yet.”

Love is the second player Team USA will have to replace on short notice, after Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal was forced to withdraw due to COVID-19 protocols. Beal entered the health and safety protocol for the virus earlier this week.

USA Basketball also announced late Thursday that its exhibition matchup against Australia, scheduled for Friday night, was being canceled. That after a second USA player, Detroit Pistons star Jerami Grant, was also placed in the health and safety protocol.

Team USA’s final exhibition game is scheduled for Sunday against Spain. They are expected to fly to Japan on Monday, before their Olympic Opener on July 25.

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(SEATTLE) — A judge ordered NFL star Richard Sherman be released from jail without bail on Thursday, one day after he was arrested on suspicion of trying to break into his in-laws’ home in Washington state.

Sherman did not appear in court Thursday, where King County District Court Judge Fa’amomoi Masaniai found probable cause that Sherman committed four offenses, including misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass in the second degree.

The other charges against Sherman are malicious mischief in the third degree, and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and driving under the influence.

While prosecutors requested $10,000 bail, the judge called Sherman a “pillar of the community,” and said that it was presumed Sherman would be released because the allegations represent his first arrest. The 33-year-old Sherman was also ordered not to have contact with his father-in-law, not possess a weapon, and not use alcohol or non-prescription drugs.

“I love and support my husband,” Sherman’s wife Ashley Sherman said in a statement Thursday. “I am committed to helping Richard get the support and care that he needs. Richard has always been a loving father and husband. And we are looking forward to seeing him at home with his family.”

Police reports indicated that Sherman was belligerent, had been drinking heavily, and spoke of killing himself when he left his home late Tuesday night. His wife called 9-1-1 to try to have police stop him.

He was later arrested after having crashed his car in a construction zone along a busy highway and then attempting to break into his in-laws’ home.

Sherman’s father-in-law, Raymond Moss, told officers that he armed himself with a handgun and used pepper spray to protect his family from Sherman, who had tried to break down the door of their home with his shoulder.

He told officers that he was upset over his children being taken from him. When the officers directed him to kneel down to be handcuffed and placed under arrest, they say Sherman ignored those commands and became increasingly hostile. A K-9 unit was eventually used to help apprehend Sherman.

King County prosecutors and the sheriff obtained an “extreme risk protection order” for Sherman in February, which barred him from having guns. That came after a judge had determined that he posed a danger to himself or others.

Ashley Sherman told police that her husband has been on antidepressants and was receiving mental health counseling.

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(LAS VEGAS) — Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love has withdrawn from the US Olympic team, his agent told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. 

“I am incredibly disappointed to not be heading to Tokyo with Team USA,” Love said in a statement released by his agent Jeff Schwartz, “but you need to be at absolute peak performance to compete at the Olympic level and I am just not there yet.” 

Love has been recovering from a calf injury that forced him to miss most of last season. He spent the past ten days with the team preparing in Las Vegas. 

Love appeared in two of the three tune-up games, playing 15 minutes total, 3 minutes against Nigeria, and 12 minutes against Argentina. He scored a combined one point. 

Team USA, which is going for its fourth straight Olympic gold medal, will now have to replace a second player. Washington guard Bradley Beal was placed in health and safety protocols and was forced to drop out of the games. 

Detroit guard Jerami Grant was also put into protocol “out of an abundance of caution.”

Late Thursday night, USA Basketball announced it canceled its game against Australia on Friday. 

Out of an abundance of caution, the USA Men’s National Team exhibition versus Australia on Friday has been cancelled.

The USA Women’s National Team’s matchup with Australia will be played at 2:30 PM ET on NBCSN.

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 16, 2021

Team USA starts its Olympic run on Sunday, July 25 against France. 

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(TAMPA BAY, Fla.) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady played the 2020 NFL season with a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee, according to a report from the Tampa Bay Times.

Brady led the Bucs to the Super Bowl victory in February over the Kansas City Chiefs.

The paper says Brady suffered the injury during his final season with New England.

Brady declined to give specifics on the injury in June.

“It was an injury I dealt with really since last, you know, April, May,” said Brady, after Tampa Bay’s mandatory minicamp. “I knew I would have to do something at the end of the year, and happy I did it, and it was probably something that certainly needed to be done, and there was a great outcome, so I’m very happy about that.

The Tampa Bay Times said the injury got worse during the season, but Brady never appeared on an injury report. He did miss one practice a week towards the end of the season, according to the paper.

Brady had surgery following the Super Bowl 55.

“[I’m] really happy with my rehab process,” said the Super Bowl MVP. “It’s been great communication. Alex [Guerrero] – Brady’s trainer – and I have worked really hard at trying to get back to full speed to get [back] to what I need to do to begin to improve.”

Brady tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the same knee in 2008 while playing for New England.

The 43-year old threw for 4,633 yards and 40 touchdowns last season while leading the Buccaneers to an 11-5 regular-season record.

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