The Latest: Dougie Hamilton ready to play if season resumes

A locked gate is seen by the Etihad Stadium where Manchester City was due to play Burnley in an English Premier League soccer match Saturday March 14, 2020, after all English soccer games were cancelled due to the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus. For most people, the new COVID-19 coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, but for some it can cause more severe illness.(AP Photo/Jon Super) (Jon Super, Jon Super)

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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Carolina Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell said All-Star defenseman Dougie Hamilton would be ready to play if the season resumes after breaking his left leg in January.

Hamilton needed surgery and had been listed as out indefinitely before the season was suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a video conference with reporters Thursday, Waddell said Hamilton’s rehab has gone well and that he would soon start work on the ice.

Waddell said there was no need for Hamilton to rush back on the ice in his recovery with the season suspended.

“If we were playing today, we would’ve sped up that on-the-ice performance over the last couple of weeks, so he’s ready to go,” Waddell said. “And just a matter of time before we put him on the ice and move forward from there. But yes, he’ll be ready to play when we drop the puck.”

Additionally, Waddell said goaltender James Reimer is healthy again after being sidelined in February with a lower-body injury, noting he was close to returning when the season was suspended.

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Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano has completed his quarantine period that followed a positive test for the coronavirus and has returned to his base in New York.

Castellano tested positive for COVID-19 last month as part of a physical mandated by Gulfstream Park to determine if he could be cleared to ride in the Florida Derby on March 28. He quarantined in Florida and returned to New York earlier this week.

Castellano said he was largely asymptomatic throughout his time with the virus, thanked Gulfstream for setting up “procedures to follow because of the situation and enforced it.

"Whoever came in from out of town had to have a test. That’s the only way to ride,” he said.

Castellano is scheduled to ride at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas on May 1 and May 2. He has not ridden since having two mounts at Gulfstream on March 15.

Castellano has won more than 5,000 races in his career with purse winnings exceeding $344 million.

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New Mississippi football coach Lane Kiffin and other athletic officials are combining to donate $50,000 for students struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The university said Thursday Kiffin is giving $20,000 to the Rebel Aid campaign. Athletic director Keith Carter, basketball coaches Kermit Davis and Yolett McPhee-McCuin and baseball coach Mike Bianco are also contributing.

Most of the gift will be directed to the Fins Up Fund, which provides financial assistance to Ole Miss student-athletes during this crisis. The remaining $10,000 is dedicated to the Rebel Relief Fund, which serves the campus’ most urgent student needs.

The Fins Up Fund is an available resource to student-athletes through the NCAA’s miscellaneous benefits permission.

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Falcons running back Todd Gurley is donating meals to feed Atlanta residents in need and healthcare workers at two hospitals.

The former standout at the University of Georgia is donating meals to low-income Atlantans through Hungry@Home. The donations also will benefit the Ronald McDonald House Atlanta and two Atlanta hospitals, Northside and Piedmont.

“Atlanta has welcomed me back with open arms, so it was only right that I gave back to this city,” Gurley said Thursday. “My partners at Hungry have allowed me to reach out and spread love to those who need it most by donating good food to people in need.”

He said he hopes to inspire others to provide similar help, “especially for those risking their lives on the front lines and, most importantly, make a difference every day.”

Gurley, who played five seasons for the Rams before he was released last month, has agreed to a one-year contract with the Falcons for $6 million.

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The Kentucky Derby Museum is looking to unload all merchandise for the 146th Derby dated May 2.

The race has been postponed from that date to Sept. 5 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result, over 300 Derby 146 items with the old date will be available for online sale from April 15 to May 3. The museum will donate 20% of sales proceeds to two funds that help those affected by COVID-19.

The merchandise includes Derby glasses, T-shirts, bags, socks, posters and magnets. It also includes items associated with the Kentucky Oaks, the race for fillies held on Derby eve.

Derby glasses have long been popular with collectors and limited production runs or mistakes can make them highly sought after.

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The Chicago Bears say they are donating $2 million to COVID-19 relief efforts in Illinois.

The Bears gave $250,000 to the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund on March 20, and they said they plan to donate $250,000 each to three other causes — the Advocate Charitable Foundation’s Relief Fund for Critical Care, Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund and the University of Chicago’s Community Support Programs.

“We will be forever grateful to the healthcare providers, first responders, grocers, sanitation workers, janitors and everyone keeping our communities healthy and safe during this time,” Bears president Ted Phillips said. “Please continue to do your part and stay home so we can slow down the virus and save lives.”

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The World Curling Federation has canceled its championships this year.

The men’s, women’s, mixed doubles and senior championships will not be held in 2020. The events had already been indefinitely postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The WCF has adjusted its qualifying for the 2021 world championships and the 2022 Winter Olympics to compensate for the missing tournaments.

Also Thursday, Curling Canada canceled all of its remaining championships for the 2019-20 season, which ends in the spring.

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The International Tennis Federation is putting about half of its staff on furlough and cutting other employees’ salaries because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The move includes a 30% pay drop in 2020 for ITF President David Haggerty and reductions of 10% or 20% for others.

Haggerty wrote in an email to the AP on Thursday that the ITF’s finance committee and board “looked at all areas where we felt we could make savings in the short term to be prepared for the return to tennis.”

Haggerty also said that the group’s reserve funds are available to help individual countries’ tennis federations be prepared for tournaments and grassroots efforts once it’s deemed safe to return to competition.

The ITF oversees the Fed Cup and Davis Cup, along with hundreds of lower-tier tournaments around the world.

The Fed Cup finals this month have been postponed; the Davis Cup finals are scheduled for late November. All tournaments are on hold until at least mid-July.

Haggerty wrote to the AP: “In these unprecedented times, it is hard to predict when we will return to tennis.”

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The Indiana-Kentucky boys and girls high school all-star games have been canceled for the first time since World War II.

Officials from the two states cited measures taken by both state governments to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, including the closure of schools through the rest of academic year.

The boys series began in 1940 but was not played in 1943 or 1944. The girls games were added in 1976 and have never previously been called off.

The series pits the top seniors from each state and were scheduled to play June 5 in Georgetown, Kentucky, and June 6 in Indianapolis. The top juniors were scheduled to square off June 1 at Floyd Central High School near the Ohio River.

Indiana also has canceled the junior-senior all-star games on June 3 and the All-Star Shootout on June 6.

"I am sad for the players and coaches who comprise this year’s All-Star teams,” Indiana game director Mike Broughton said in a statement. “This is a once in a lifetime experience for the seniors who made the team, but they do have the satisfaction that they are an Indiana All-Star for life.”

The Indiana boys hold a 99-44 advantage in the seniors’ series while the Indiana girls lead 50-38.

The move comes less than a month after the Indiana High School Athletic Association canceled the boys state tournament for the first time since its inception in 1911.

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The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic track and field trials for next year’s Tokyo Games will remain in Montreal.

Athletics Canada announced Thursday that the trials will take place in 2021 at Montreal’s Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard. The event is expected to be held June 24-27.

Montreal was scheduled to hold the trials this summer from June 25-28, but the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The trials will serve as the final event to determine the athletes nominated to the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic teams competing in Tokyo.

Montreal hosted the Canadian Track and Field Championships in 2019. The last Olympic trials held in Montreal were in 1996.

The Tokyo Games will take place July 23 to Aug. 8, 2021, after being postponed for a year due to the novel coronavirus. The Paralympic Games will run from Aug. 24 to Sept. 5.

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The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony has been postponed indefinitely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Toronto Blue Jays first baseman and two-time World Series champion John Olerud, 2006 American League MVP Justin Morneau, former Blue Jays pitcher Duane Ward, and Montreal sportscaster Jacques Doucet were scheduled to be enshrined in a ceremony in St. Marys, Ontario, on June 20.

The hall of fame said in a release Thursday that the ceremony and related events are postponed until further notice.

The museum and ballfields are closed to the public, as mandated under Ontario’s declaration of emergency.

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The NBA, the National Basketball Players Association and ESPN will stream a HORSE tournament on ESPN’s app.

The NBA HORSE Challenge will have eight participants. The quarterfinals are to be shown Sunday and the semifinals and final on April 16.

The quarterfinal matchups are Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks against former NBA player and ESPN analyst Chauncey Billups; WNBA great and 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Tamika Catchings against Mike Conley Jr. of the Utah Jazz; Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls against NBA retiree and ESPN analyst Paul Pierce; and Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder against Allie Quigley of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.

Players must call their shots before the attempt and dunking is not allowed. The players will be isolated and competing on separate home courts.

State Farm is the presenting sponsor and will offer a prize pool exceeding $200,000 to charities working on the coronavirus response. The event will be pre-taped.

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The International Cycling Union says it can get through its greatest crisis since World War II with limited damage “as long as the situation does not last longer than current predictions.”

The UCI has received more than 650 requests for postponements or cancellations from organizers because of the coronavirus pandemic. That represents 30% of its international calendar.

The UCI says it is reimbursing all registration fees of canceled events to help organizers.

The UCI will take a considerable financial hit from paying those fees and it also expects its Olympic revenue payment from the delayed Tokyo Games to be postponed and likely reduced.

The UCI says its leadership has agreed to reduce salaries or allowances and furloughed all 130 employees of the UCI and the world cycling center.

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Australia’s rugby league championship plans to restart on May 28.

The NRL has been suspended since March 23.

The governing ARL Commission also says it intends to play a full three-game State of Origin series.

Commissioner Wayne Pearce says they wanted to set a date and then work on finalizing a competition. It will depend on border restrictions in New South Wales and Victoria states and New Zealand opening up.

Pearce says “a date is to give certainty to players and their schedules, clubs and thousands of people who are out of work through clubs and millions of fans."

He says “the situation is changing dramatically and we need to get moving. It is in the best interests of our clubs, our players, our stakeholders and importantly our fans that the competition resumes as quickly and as safely as possible.”

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Australia’s two-test cricket tour of Bangladesh in June has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The first test was to start on June 11 in Chattogram. The second from June 19 in Dhaka.

Both were part of the world test championship. The final of that tournament is scheduled for next June. Trying to find a new slot for the tests will be a challenge.

Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts says “the global cricket calendar is very busy but we will do everything we can to honor our commitment to Bangladesh and will continue to work with the BCB on an agreed date.”

The Bangladesh-Australia series is the second in the world championship to be postponed. England returned home from Sri Lanka last month at the start of the outbreak.

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Southampton has become the first Premier League club to announce its players will defer some of their salaries amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Premier League had wanted all squads to take a 30% pay cut but the move led to a standoff with the players’ union.

The league has been indefinitely suspended.

Southampton says players will defer part of their salaries in April, May and June “to help protect the future of the club, the staff that work within it and the community we serve.”

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl, his coaching staff and directors will also defer some pay over three months.

Southampton says it has “put measures in place to ensure that all staff not deferring part of their salaries will continue to receive 100% of their pay, paid in the normal way until 30th June.”

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