The Latest: Sabres to have limited number of fans at 4 games
The Sabres added another option of proof of a negative antigen COVID-19 test within six hours of the doors opening. The Sabres had fans in attendance only once this season. No other players or coaches were affected by the coachโs positive test. ___Buffalo Sabres interim coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis are headed back to work after being cleared from the NHLโs COVID-19 protocol. Ad___The Michigan Wolverines are out of the NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament because of positive COVID-19 test results within the team's Tier 1 testing group.
The Latest: NHL lists 9 players in COVID protocol
The Boston Bruins had four players added to their list, which resulted in the league postponing their next two games. Bostonโs David Pastrnak, Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci and Craig Smith joined Sean Kuraly, who entered the protocol a day earlier. The five players on one team are the most since the Philadelphia Flyers had five on Feb. 23. A total of 153 players have spent at least one day in the protocol since the NHL season began publishing its list on Jan. 13. ___The NHL has paused the Boston Bruins after four more players entered the leagueโs COVID protocol.
Gators will begin football practice this week, no spring game this year
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 21: Head coach Dan Mullen of the Florida Gators addresses his team after a victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium on November 21, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ The Florida football team will begin practicing this week, but the school wonโt hold a spring game for the second consecutive season. โBeginning this Thursday, the Gators football team will have 15 practices that will encompass four weeks. However, hosting fans for an intra-squad spring football scrimmage seems unwise given all circumstances, including the fact that Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is being used as a large-scale COVID testing and vaccination site.โAdThe NCAA allows 15 practices during the spring, although teams typically use one of those 15 as the spring game. The Gators didnโt have a spring game last year as the onset of the pandemic forced sports into a hiatus.
Florida, Notre Dame schedule home-and-home series in 2031-32
A helmet of the Florida Gators (photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) and a Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet (photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images). GAINESVILLE, Fla. โ Florida and Notre Dame have scheduled a home-and-home series for the 2031 and 2032 football seasons. Notre Dame will travel to Gainesville early the following year. The programs have met just once, with Notre Dame rallying to beat Florida in 39-28 in the 1992 Sugar Bowl. The Gators have home-and-home series scheduled with Texas, Utah, Cal, Colorado, Arizona State and North Carolina State.
Florida AD: โEncouraging signs of progressโ for hoops player Johnson
Athletic director Scott Stricklin said on Thursday that Johnson was showing โtruly encouraging signs of progressโ at UF Health in Gainesville. The Gators also announced that their next three nonconference basketball games would be postponed. โKeyontae Johnson continues to show truly encouraging signs of progress as he undergoes tests and further evaluation at UF Health,โ Stricklin said in a statement. โThis has been an emotionally taxing time for Keyontaeโs family, friends and teammates,โ Stricklin said. โOur hope is that everyone impacted will take an opportunity to process those emotions and regroup ahead of the start of the new year.โGames against Florida Atlantic (Dec. 19), Florida A&M (Dec. 20) and James Madison (Dec. 22) were all being postponed.
Florida AD Stricklin: Johnson โtrending in right directionโ
Scott Stricklin told WRUF radio that Johnson continues to make progress after collapsing on the court during a game at Florida State. Stricklin visited Johnson at UF Health on Tuesday afternoon. โIโm told heโs even progressed a lot since then, that heโs having good conversations with his doctors, with his coaches,โ Stricklin said. โHis prognosis seems to be trending in the right direction, but we still have a lot of questions. Like many of his Florida teammates, Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 during the summer.
Gatorsโ COVID-19 outbreak seems to be slowing down
The 10th-ranked Gators reported four new positives since the middle of last week, when they postponed two games because of the novel coronavirus. Florida reported 25 new cases Tuesday from the past week of daily testing, but athletic director Scott Stricklin said last Wednesday that 21 football players had tested positive. Coach Dan Mullen and at least two assistants also tested positive. The Gators (2-1) were scheduled to host defending national champion LSU last week and Missouri this Saturday in the Swamp. Floridaโs football team has had 31 positive tests in October.
The Latest: UEFA cancels men's soccer under-19 Euros
___The Italian swim teamโs preparations for the Tokyo Olympics are in crisis with 10 more athletes testing positive for the novel coronavirus. Olympic champion Federica Pellegrini was already at home in isolation after testing positive last week. The federation says all of the swimmers are asymptomatic and that no staff members have tested positive. ___The Mountain West football game between New Mexico and Colorado State has been canceled due to COVID-19. Overall contenders Simon Yates and Steven Kruijswijk had already been withdrawn from the race after testing positive.
Virus wreaking havoc on SEC with Saban now testing positive
10 Florida's game against defending national champion LSU was postponed Wednesday to tentatively Dec. 12 after the SEC postponed Missouri-Vanderbilt on Monday. Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason is going through a similar situation. To play, the SEC requires at least 53 on game days. Timing is critical depending on the day of the week a positive test or tracing result returns. โEvery time youโre taking a test," Mason said, โyou're crossing your fingers ... you don't have anybody in harm's way."
Florida-LSU football postponed due to COVID-19
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ Floridaโs home game Saturday against LSU is being postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the Gators football program. The game against LSU, which was scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m., will now be played Dec. 12. Stricklin said that Florida had a surge in COVID-19 positive results. The Gators had 18 positive tests among scholarship players and another three walk-ons also test positive. A day earlier, Florida announced that it was pausing all football-related activities due to an increase in COVID-19 numbers among players.
SEC postpones LSU-Florida game as Gators deal with outbreak
The Southeastern Conference postponed Saturdayโs LSU-Florida game a day after Mullen had 19 players and coaches test positive for COVID-19. The game was tentatively rescheduled for Dec. 12, the league's built-in bye week before its annual championship. It's the second SEC game bumped this week, following Missouri-Vanderbilt. Florida hosts Missouri next, on October 24, and that game also could be in jeopardy. Mullen said two assistant coaches also tested positive.
Florida halts meetings, practices amid 19 new COVID cases
Florida head coach Dan Mullen reacts during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. 10 Florida paused all team activities Tuesday following โan increase in positive COVID tests among players," putting Saturday's home game against defending national champion LSU in jeopardy. The Gators had 19 positives following Tuesday morning testing, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press. He brushed aside criticism and praised his players for how well they have handled COVID safety protocols. The Gators test student-athletes three times a week, with football players getting tested Sunday at noon as well as Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
Gators halt football activities as COVID-19 cases rise within program
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ The University of Florida football team is pausing all football-related activities following an increase in COVID-19 cases, the school said Tuesday. Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement that the Gators would halt all football activity and look for more clarity on Wednesday. The Gators (2-1) are scheduled to host LSU (1-2) on Saturday at 4 p.m.โThe University of Florida football team has experienced an increase in positive COVID tests among players this week. Out of an abundance of caution, team activities are paused as of Tuesday afternoon,โ Stricklin said. Following the game, Mullen said that he hoped that Ben Hill Griffin would be packed with fans for Floridaโs game against LSU.
Gators announce safety protocols, attendance plans for 2020
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ Florida Gators football will look quite a bit different this season. Florida announced a handful of changes for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including only 20% capacity at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium ahead of its home opener against South Carolina on Oct. 3. The Gators open their season on the road at Ole Miss on Sept. 26. The capacity limit will take the Swamp from 88,548 to right at 17,000, the school said on Thursday. The only time that fans are permitted to remove them is when they are eating and drinking.
Stricklin: If it can be played, Florida-Georgia game still on in Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The SEC going with an all-conference schedule leaves one major hole for the Florida Gators. I anticipate that game staying in Jacksonville and staying on that same date, Stricklin said. Stricklin said that he wanted to keep that rivalry intact, but COVID-19 wouldnt allow it. A full SEC schedule will be released in the coming weeks, the conference said. Florida is currently scheduled to play the six SEC East teams, plus LSU and Ole Miss from the SEC West.
Florida-Georgia football game wont move to campus site this year
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. If there is a college football season in 2020, the Florida-Georgia game will be played in Jacksonville. Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said on Tuesday that if theres a season, that game should still be held in Jacksonville. Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity followed that on Thursday when he told the DawgNation website the game would remain in Jacksonville. Scott and I spoke about this on Monday and agreed the game would remain in Jacksonville, McGarity told the website. Stricklin said on Tuesday that if games are being played this year, then he thinks the Florida-Georgia game should be held where it always is.
Scott Stricklin: College sports will return when its safe to do so
Asked if college football was worried about a bad look if it rushed players back to the field to try and salvage a season, Stricklin said that the sport wouldnt do that. I dont think were going to put them in a situation where were going to have bad optics. I dont think college football will do that.The scheduling and what ifs about football in the fall remain up in the air, Stricklin said. Stricklin said that hed still like to play that game if it was safe to do so. Our hope is to be able to play the game and be able to play in Jacksonville in some form, he said.
Florida naming basketball court for Billy Donovan
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ The most successful coach in Florida menโs basketball history is getting his own piece of the hardwood floor in Gainesville. The school announced on Friday that the court at Florida will be named for former Gators coach Billy Donovan. Donovan spent 19 years with the Gators, leading the team to back-to-back national championships and four NCAA Final Four appearances. Donovan was told in person by current Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin and former AD Jeremy Foley, who hired Donovan in 1996. โDuring my time at Kentucky, I had a front-row seat for the impact Billy made, not just on the Florida program, but our league.