Mar 18, 2020 3 min read

Pro tennis tours stop until June

The ATP and WTA professional tennis tours suspended all competition through at least June 7 because of the new coronavirus pandemic and froze their rankings Wednesday “until further notice.”

In a rare joint statement by the men’s and women’s tours, they announced that the entire clay-court circuit “will not be held as scheduled” – a day after the start of the French Open, also played on that surface, was postponed from May to September.

Raiders decline option to stay in Oakland

The Raiders have officially declined their option to play the 2020 season in Oakland and remain set to begin play in Las Vegas this season.

A person familiar with the team’s plans said Wednesday that the Raiders notified officials in Oakland and Alameda County that they won’t exercise an option that would have allowed them to play this season at the Coliseum in case the new stadium in Las Vegas wasn’t completed on time.

The Raiders announced plans to move to Las Vegas in 2017 and the NFL approved it later that year. The team remained in Oakland as a lame duck the past three seasons and had an option to stay for 2020 if needed.

With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down many businesses in Nevada for at least 30 days, there were questions about whether construction on the $1.9 billion stadium would go on without interruption.

But construction on the stadium has been deemed “essential” and is still going on. The stadium will be home to the Raiders and UNLV football.

MLB could skip draft

Major League Baseball is considering skipping its amateur draft this year and putting off the next international signing period as a way to preserve cash while games are affected by the new coronavirus, people familiar with the discussions told the Associated Press.

Talks between management and the players’ association are ongoing and include the contentious issue of major league service time, which determines eligibility for free agency and salary arbitration. MLB has proposed crediting full service for 130 games or more and proportional service for a shorter season, the people said on condition of anonymity because those details have not been made public.

The union has taken the position that a full season of service should be credited even if no games are played.

Scheduling has been left open since there is no way to determine when the season could start. Some radical solutions, such as more doubleheaders and playing deep into autumn by using enclosed stadiums and warm-weather sites, have not been thoroughly discussed.

With the prospect of expected cash not coming in from tickets, broadcast and sponsorship contracts, teams have told the commissioner’s office they are fearful they may have to lay off administrative staff. Signing bonuses for amateur players total about $400 million annually.