MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred will step down from his position in 2029 when his current term ends. Voted in by owners to replace Bud Selig in 2015, Manfred has overseen several radical changes in baseball in recent years.

“You can only have so much fun in one lifetime,” Manfred said. “I have been open with them (the owners) about the fact that this is going to be my last term.”

Though 2029 still seems very far away and Manfred will likely do more to impact the sport in the meantime, the commissioner has already done more than enough to draw both praise and ire from fans.

In 2018, Manfred began MLB’s long and arduous investigation into the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. By the time he issued a verdict and punishment, sometimes considered too light by especially angry critics, the Covid-19 pandemic derailed the 2020 season and forced the commissioner to quickly readjust.

Because baseball is played outdoors or in wide-open spaces, MLB was more impacted by the timing of the pandemic than anything. Still, the league had to host games without fans in a shortened 2020 season often deemed less legitimate than those with the typical 162-game schedule.

After an entire season of baseball was indelibly marked by a public health crisis, Manfred oversaw radical changes to cut down on ballooning game times, pitching substances and general apathy for the sport. MLB implemented a pitch clock, routine pitcher inspections and smaller changes like larger bases, accordingly.

Manfred was voted in by the owners and has often been loyal to them, much to the chagrin of some fans. Oakland Athletics supporters have often redirected their rage from owner John Fisher to the MLB commissioner, who once seemed to mock the fans’ reverse boycott campaign in 2023.

The position of MLB commissioner is always a divisive one, and Manfred has handled some situations deftly and some in ways that he has admitted he would like to do over. Either way, he will be remembered as the league’s leader through a number of triumphs and crises, some of which may still come in his time remaining.

After getting deported before this year’s Australian Open, star tennis player Novak Djokovic said that the event remains fresh in his mind but that he is also ready to move past it and compete again in 2023.

In January 2022, the Australian government barred Djokovic from competing in the tournament due to his failure to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. He had previously announced that he could compete because of an exemption. This exemption to compete did not extend to travel across the border, however, leading to his deportation.

“It stays with you for the rest of your life,” Djokovic said at his first press conference since returning to Australia. “It’s something I’ve never experienced before and hopefully never again, but it is a valuable life experience for me.”

Despite Djokovic’s negative memories about the incident, he went on to express admiration for the tournament and its organizers, as well as enthusiasm to compete again in the country.

“I have to move on and coming back to Australia speaks about how I feel about this country and how I feel about playing here,” Djokovic said.

Before his unceremonious and premature exit from the tournament in 2022, Djokovic’s name was already firmly associated with the Australian Open. He has dominated the event for most of his career, winning it nine times between 2008 and 2021. 

The Cardinals are in the thick of the NL Wild Card race, sitting just 2.5 games back of the first spot in the NL Central as of July 25. All cylinders are firing right now, however, their progress may suffer a little hiccup this week.

Third baseman Nolan Arenado and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt will not be making the trip up to Toronto to play the Blue Jays in a quick two-game series due to the fact that they are not vaccinated against Covid-19. Canada currently has restrictions against those traveling into the country who are not vaccinated and that prevents Arenado and Goldschmidt from entering the country to play. Catcher Austin Romine will also not be making the trip.

Due to the MLB’s collective bargaining agreement, they all will forfeit pay and major league service and will be placed on the restricted list. Arenado stands to lose $385,416, Goldschmidt $241,758 and Roman $10,989.

Both All-Stars explained their decisions not to get vaccinated with Arenado saying, “It’s just a personal choice, and I’m not trying to do a political stand here or be a spokesperson for this or that,” Arenado said. “I’m just choosing to do what’s best for me and my family, and I mean no harm. But it’s unfortunate that I’ve got to miss two games.”

Goldschmidt also double-down on his decision. “It was not an easy decision, but over this year-plus that this has happened, I’ve tried to talk to as many doctors and professionals as I could, figured out as much as I could, and I decided the potential risks outweighed the potential benefits of doing it,” he said. “It stinks that I can’t play in Toronto and can’t play these next couple of games—I hate that part of it, but that’s, unfortunately, the consequence.”

Goldschmidt is one of the most offensively productive players on the roster, leading in batting average (.333), homers (22), RBI (74), OBPS (.416) and hits (116). Arenado follows closely behind with 102 hits, 18 homers and 59 RBIs.

As the second half of the season gets underway, many fringe playoff teams are not able to drop certain games or series, therefore it remains to be seen how hard a potential two-loss series against the Blue Jays may hurt come November.

One Lakers legend has taken another to task over the latter’s handling of the Covid-19 situation.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar criticized LeBron James Sunday afternoon for supporting Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins’ vaccination trepidation as well as for sharing an Instagram meme that trivialized the coronavirus as the flu or common cold.

Though he did offer praise for James’ incredible philanthropic efforts and say he’d like to sit down with The King to talk about it, Abdul-Jabbar didn’t hold back.

“I wouldn’t mind doing it if he would take the time; I definitely got the time,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “I admire the things that he’s done that have gotten all our attention. Sending a whole school to college? Wow. That’s amazing.

“His thoughtfulness and willingness to back it up with his wallet, you got to give him credit for that. So I’m not throwing stones. I just wish he wouldn’t … you know, some of the things he’s done, he should be embarrassed about. That’s just where I’m coming from.”

Another bone of contention for the NBA’s all-time leading scorer was James’ November in-game celebration that was deemed obscene by the league and warranted a fine.

“I think he has so much going for him in terms of respect and accomplishment and he shouldn’t stoop to those moments,” Abdul-Jabbar said.

The comments were made as the retired Laker was attending an NBA event unveiling a social justice trophy with his name.

As of Monday morning, Abdul-Jabbar sits at 38,387 points with James on his tail at 37,062.

Belgian Olympian Kim Meylemans has been released from isolation in Beijing after pleading for help due to her treatment ahead of the games.

The 25-year-old skeleton racer was forced into isolation after she tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival in the Chinese capital.

Mistakenly thinking she could return to the Olympic Village after three days of isolation and two consecutive negative tests, she was instead taken to a separate government facility. Fighting back tears, she said she may never get to enter the Olympic Village.

Hours after her cries for help Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) intervened and secured her release.

“I am now in a wing that is just isolation, but at least I am back in the village,” Meylemans said on Instagram. “I feel safe and I’ll be able to train a little better here.”

Meylemans said she tested negative a dozen times prior to her departure and was miffed by her positive result.

Meylemans’ story is one of many highlighting the strict measures in China—one of the few places continuing to adhere to a zero-COVID policy.

Another measure is the “Closed Loop System”—a bubble housing all the games completely cut off from the rest of the city and its wider population.

Anyone inside testing positive will be immediately removed; symptomatic patients will be sent to a designated hospital, while asymptomatic people will be taken to isolation. Their bubble return won’t be allowed until all symptoms disappear and they consecutively test negative.

Some positive-testing athletes have given up any hope of competing.

Russian Olympic Committee’s biathlete Valeria Vasnetsova said her hopes were dashed after two positive tests on her Beijing arrival. American bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor was also forced into isolation after testing positive for the virus two days after her arrival last week.

“This is just the latest obstacle that my family and I have faced on this journey, so I’m remaining optimistic that I’ll be able to recover quickly and still have the opportunity to compete,” the latter said.

Overall, there have been more than 280 COVID cases—102 of which coming from athletes and team officials—coming from inside the (alleged) closed loop.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper has been fined $14,650 by the NFL for violating the Covid-19 protocols for the unvaccinated, after he attended a Dallas Mavericks game last week sans mask.

Even before the Mavs game, Cooper was seen on the sideline at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, cheering on his alma mater Alabama against Cincinnati.

The receiver was with vaccinated teammates both times, so CeeDee Lamb won’t catch heat for the Mavs game and Trevon Diggs is safe for attending the Cotton Bowl.

League rules state that unvaccinated players can attend sports events but must sit in a luxury suite with a mask and no more than 10 people.

“You don’t want to get sick,” Cooper said. “This is the tournament. We train so hard in the offseason, OTAs, camp, to get to this point. We accomplished that goal thus far. We’re going to do everything we can do to not get sick. If that means isolation, then that’s what that means. Hopefully, we can isolate enough to not catch it.”

Cooper missed two games earlier this season after testing positive for Covid-19, and the Cowboys lost both (Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders). And, since he’s had COVID, Cooper would not fall in the daily testing protocol through Super Bowl LVI.

He’s out. He’s in. Now he’s out again.

Novak Djokovic now faces deportation—again—after the Australian government revoked his visa, as the plot thickens on the saga of the top-ranked men’s tennis player and his COVID-19 vaccination status.

Djokovic is looking to compete in the Australian Open, which begins in three days and at which he has won nine of his 20 Grand Slam titles. However, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said he used his ministerial discretion to cancel the 34-year-old’s visa on “health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so.”

His statement added that Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government “is firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

His lawyers are expected to appeal at the Federal Circuit and Family Court, which they successfully did last week after his visa was first canceled after he landed in Melbourne.

Deportation from Australia can lead to a three-year ban, which would make Djokovic 37 the next time he’s allowed to compete there.

“This pandemic has been incredibly difficult for every Australian but we have stuck together and saved lives and livelihoods,” Morrison said in a statement. “Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected. This is what the Minister is doing in taking this action today.”

Everyone at the Australian Open is required to be vaccinated for the illness caused by the coronavirus. Djokovic is not and had sought a medical exemption on the grounds that he had it in December. The exemption was approved by the Victoria state government and Tennis Australia, but the Australian Border Force rejected the exemption and canceled his visa on January 5.

Djokovic spent four nights in an immigration detention hotel before a judge overturned that decision, which allowed him to travel the country. He’s been practicing at Melbourne Park and had a mid-afternoon practice booked for Friday afternoon but changed it to earlier in the day.

Melbourne immigration lawyer Kian Bone said, “If you left it any later than he has done now, I think from a strategic standpoint, he’s really hamstringing Djokovic’s legal team, in terms of what sort of options or remedies he could obtain.”

Djokovic’s lawyers would need to get two urgent orders—one an injunction preventing his deportation, and the other to force Hawke to grant Djokovic a visa to play.

“That second order is almost not precedented,” Bone said. “Very rarely do the courts order a member of the executive government to grant a visa.”

Continuing the seemingly never-ending saga of Novak Djokovic attempting to play in the Australian Open, the top-ranked men’s tennis player admitted Wednesday that a travel document he presented to Australian border officials last week contained erroneous information.

The acknowledgement came as the country’s authorities were investigating whether he should be deported with regards to his COVID-19 vaccination—or lack thereof—status.

Djokovic also revealed that he had attended a basketball game and then participated in an interview and photo shoot last month in Serbia despite testing positive for COVID—a breach of the country’s rules. Australian officials are looking into whether he poses public-health risk.

It’s not the first time Djokovic has run afoul of rules during the pandemic. In mid-2020, he held a tennis tournament after which he and several others tested positive for COVID.

Djokovic’s statement says that he “had not received the notification of a positive PCR result” until December 17, after the event involving children, documents he provided to Australian officials say otherwise. Officials say the Serbian government will “deal with it” if it turns out Djokovic lied.

Also addressed were questions about the declaration he made on his visa paperwork that he had not traveled to any other countries in the 14 days before arriving in Australia. He said his agent made an “administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box.”

“This was a human error and certainly not deliberate,” he said, adding that his team on Wednesday had “provided additional information to the Australian government to clarify the matter.”

Djokovic’s lawyers had made “lengthy further submissions and supporting documentation said to be relevant to the possible cancellation of Djokovic’s visa.”

Don’t look for this messy situation to be cleared up any time soon.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, already a lightning rod for criticism for misrepresenting his COVID-19 vaccination status, caused an uproar on social media following his appearance on the ESPN2 ManningCast of Monday Night Football.

Although he did not address the former controversy of running afoul of the NFL’s COVID protocols, for which he was fined $14,650 by the NFL, Rodgers still managed to make waves. This time it was for addressing the reading material displayed on his bookshelf.

Straying from their gridiron discussion, the Manning brothers asked the 38-year-old what he was currently reading.

“Yeah, a lot of French poetry, and I’ve got Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand over here,” Rodgers said. The latter sent the social media world into a frenzy.

Some out there in the Twitterverse had Rodgers’ back, though.

Kyrie Irving’s season debut provided an emotional lift Wednesday night as the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Indiana Pacers 129-121.

Irving appeared to not miss a step, as he posted 22 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals in 32 minutes. In addition, he sunk several crucial baskets down the stretch as the Nets erased a 19-point deficit.

“Just a lot of gratitude just to be present tonight with everyone,” Irving said. “Just go out there and have fun doing what we love to do. It was a not-so-good first half for us, and we came in the locker room and we knew that in order to build this identity that we want to have later in the season we got to start now.”

Irving, of course, made news for refusing the COVID-19 vaccination, which leaves him ineligible to play in New York City, where the Nets’ arena is located. The team decided to sit him so as not to have a “part-time player” on the roster, but a COVID outbreak forced the team’s hand to let him play on the road.

After the game Irving was asked if his stance on vaccines had changed or will change.

“Man, I’m just taking it one day at a time,” he said. “Like I said earlier in the season, it’s not an ideal situation and I’m always praying that things get figured out and we’re able to come to some collective agreement, whether it be with the league or it’s just things that’s going on that could help kind of ease what we’re all dealing with COVID-19 and the vaccine.

“I think everybody’s feeling it, so I don’t want to make it simply about me and someone lessening the rules for me. I know what the consequences were, I still know what they are, but right now I’m just going to take it one day at a time like I said and just enjoy this time I get to play with my guys. And however it looks later in the season, then we’ll address it then.”

Brooklyn’s offense looked dynamic at times again with Irving back; Kevin Durant, who scored a game-high 39 points, said it was “amazing.”

“It was amazing to have him out there,” Durant said. “I just missed his presence around the locker room, his energy, his vibe around the team. And then his game is just so beautiful. It makes the game so much easier for everybody out there. It was amazing to see him out on the floor again.

“The crowd showed him so much love, teammates, just the game of basketball is happy to have him back. He made the game so much more difficult for the Pacers, giving us a different attack, especially in the fourth quarter. We’ll just keep building on this.”

“He looks like himself,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “Not a big surprise watching him play in practice—he’s so gifted and talented and you could see the rhythm was there, but it’s still an adaptation so we got to give him some space here as he transitions back to playing, but tonight he was big.”

On the heels of posting to social media that he’s all set to defend his three straight titles at the Australian Open following his COVID-19 vaccination exemption, Novak Djokovic now has a problem with his visa.

The medical exemption permitted Djokovic entry to the tournament regardless of his vaccination status, but now, with stricter border regulations in place, a mistake with his visa application has thrown a wrench into the process.

Local newspapers reported that the top-ranked Djokovic landed Wednesday around midnight local time at Tullamarine Airport, but his entry was denied by immigration officials and he is now being held in detention while he waits for a court to her his appeal.

Local government mandated that only fully vaccinated players, staff, fans and officials could enter Melbourne Park when the tournament starts on January 17. Many wondered why Djokovic could enter, but tournament director Craig Tiley defended the “completely legitimate application and process” and insisted there was no special treatment.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews clarified that the Australian Border Force would have the final say.

“While the Victorian government and Tennis Australia may permit a nonvaccinated player to compete in the Australian Open, it is the Commonwealth government that will enforce our requirements at the Australian border,” Andrews said. “If an arriving individual is not vaccinated, they must provide acceptable proof that they cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons to be able to access the same travel arrangement as fully vaccinated travelers.”

When asked again about Djokovic’s case, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, “If that evidence is insufficient, then he won’t be treated any different to anyone else and he’ll be on the next plane home.

“And so if medical exemptions had been provided by medical professionals and that’s been furnished to him as a proviso for him to get on that plane, well, that will have to stack up when he arrives in Australia.”

Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus in 2020 after he played in a series of exhibition matches that he organized in Serbia and Croatia.

Officials say 26 people connected to the Australian Open applied for a medical exemption, but they estimated only about five were granted.

He’s “no longer a Buc” – though maybe he wants to be a Net.

One day after stripping shirtless and throwing his equipment into the stands during a third-quarter meltdown in a game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium—and subsequently getting kicked off the team—Antonio Brown left the gridiron for the hardwood and was spotted courtside at the Barclays Center taking in the Nets-Grizzlies game.

The plot thickens, as in August the Nets announced that “individuals age 12 and up will be required to show proof of at least one vaccine dose” to enter the arena starting on September 13.

Brown, of course, was one of three players recently suspended for “misrepresenting their vaccination status under the NFL-NFLPA COVID-19 protocols” when he used a fake vaccination card.

There has not been any further news that Brown has since been vaccinated.

The Bucs haven’t officially released Brown after the scene he caused, but coach Bruce Arians made it clear that Brown won’t be back. There’s been some speculation that the team is only dragging its feet to release him so another playoff contender can’t claim him.

Covid-19 has ravaged the NBA, and another game will have to be postponed. The game between the Denver Nuggets and the Golden State Warriors, meant to be played last night, will have to wait after the Nuggets did not have the eight healthy players required for a game. This is the eleventh game the NBA has postponed for COVID reasons.

Warriors forward Draymond Green voiced his frustrations on Twitter.

“How do you continue to cancel games when you’ve implemented rules to prevent this from happening?” Green said. “Is that not a competitive advantage for other teams? The guys we didn’t have due to the protocol list played no role in Tuesday’s loss? Pick a side but don’t straddle the fence.”

Green’s insinuation that the Nuggets 89-86 win on Tuesday was unfair came from the fact that the Warriors weren’t at full strength either – they also had key players in Covid protocol including Green himself and point guard Jordan Poole. Green also argued that the Nuggets have an advantage when the game is made up since it would likely add a back-to-back game on the Warriors schedule.

“So when the game is rescheduled (which will probably take a day away from our “break”), we will play them at full strength… But they got to sneak a win when we weren’t at full strength, only two days ago??? Let’s make it make some sense here.”

The Nuggets are without coach Michael Malone, two assistant coaches, forwards Jeff Green and Zeke Nnaji, guard Bones Hyland. This adds to the eight players that were already out due to injury and non-COVID-related illnesses.

The Nuggets are scheduled to play the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center tomorrow while next up for the Warriors is tomorrow night’s game against the Utah Jazz.

Jackson State football player Abdul-Malik McClain was arrested in Los Angeles earlier this week on charges of fraud relating to COVID-19 unemployment money.

McClain, 22, pleaded not guilty to being the ringleader of a scheme that raked in at least $227,736 in unemployment payments. He was released on a $20,000 bond and ordered to stand trial on February 15.

The school has since removed McClain’s bio page from its athletics website. He’s charged with 10 counts of mail fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft that occurred while he was a member of the Southern Cal football team — he transferred to Jackson State last December.

Each mail fraud count carries a maximum 20-year federal prison sentence; the aggravated identity theft counts carry a two-year minimum.

McClain’s accused of causing “at least three dozen” fraudulent applications to be filed with the California Employment Development Department during the summer of 2020. The fraudulent applications sought at least $903,688 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits.

“While a member of his university’s football team, McClain organized and assisted a group of other football players in filing fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits, including under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program established by Congress in response to the pandemic’s economic fallout,” a press release states. “The indictment alleges that the claims contained false information about the football players’ supposed prior employment, pandemic-related job loss, and job-seeking efforts in California.”

The claims led to the authorization of Bank of America to mail debit cards to the claimants in their names.

“Those debit cards were loaded with at least hundreds of dollars, and sometimes thousands of dollars, in unemployment benefits, which the recipients used to make cash withdrawals at ATMs and to fund personal expenses,” according to the release. “In some cases, McClain sought and obtained a cut for helping others file fraudulent UI applications.”

McClain appeared in one game this season, recording three tackles against Louisiana-Monroe on September 18.

The NBA and the player’s association have announced that they will allow teams that are missing players because they are taking part in following the league’s Covid-19 protocol to sign replacements. This memo released by the NBA and NBPA went into effect yesterday and will last until January 19 when the league will reevaluate and decide the next steps.

The memo states that a team will be allowed to sign at least one new player for every two positive tests. A team can sign two new players for three positive tests, and at least three players for four or more positive tests.

The signings will not be counted against a team’s salary cap or affect their luxury tax payment.

This allowance will especially help teams, like the Brooklyn Nets, who are experiencing an outbreak. They have 10 players, which is the most in the league, in COVID protocol so they could sign up to 10 players and no less than three players before the January 19 deadline.

The NBA will also enforce an additional testing protocol effective on December 26.

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum missed Monday’s 108-103 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves as he entered Covid-19 health and safety protocols; Marcus Smart sat out because of a hand laceration he suffered in a Christmas Day loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Tatum joined Dennis Schröder, Josh Richardson, Aaron Nesmith, Bruno Fernando, Enes Freedom, Justin Jackson and C.J. Miles in Covid protocol. Grant Williams and Al Horford were cleared to return, and neither player will have a minutes restriction.

“It’s been the story of the year,” coach Ime Udoka said. “Lose a few, get a few back. So we’ll mix and match until further notice. Jayson is a big one, but it’s been piecing the puzzle together all year.”

Tatum was sidelined for nearly three weeks last January after testing positive for COVID and said he dealt with aftereffects for about three months — even using an inhaler before games. He’s averaging 25.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game this season but shooting a career-low 41.7% percent from the field and 32.9% from three-point land.

“It’s definitely a unique circumstance, like anything this league or this world has ever seen,” he said following Saturday’s loss. “I think unfortunately it’s kind of like the new normal, and it’s not just us, it’s everybody in the league. Every day it’s kind of like a toss-up, trying to figure out who’s going to be there, who’s available, who’s out. Just a lot of uncertainty.

“But I think at the end of the day it’s our job. Whoever’s available, whoever we’ve got, we’ve got to go out there and try to figure it out.”

Covid-19 has now wreaked havoc on the third college football bowl game in the last day or so, as the Barstool Arizona Bowl was canceled Monday night.

Originally scheduled for Friday in Tucson, Arizona, the game was set to feature Boise State and Central Michigan. However, the former announced they couldn’t make it due to a Covid outbreak on the team. Soon thereafter, organizers of the bowl pulled the plug.

Friday’s Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl quickly gobbled up Central Michigan, and now the Chippewas will sub in for the University of Miami—also sidelined by a Covid outbreak—in El Paso and play in the Sun Bowl, one of the nation’s four oldest bowl games, having been played since 1935.

Central Michigan will now face Washington State at 10 a.m. MT on Friday in El Paso. Jack Dickert coaches the Cougars after he took over mid-season after Nick Rolovich was fired for refusing to get the Covid vaccine.

“We are grateful for the diligent work of the Sun Bowl Association, the Pac-12 Conference, the Mid-American Conference, and Central Michigan University to ensure the 2021 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl will be played,” Washington State Athletic Director Pat Chun said.

Prior to the Sun Bowl’s ixnaying on Sunday, the Military Bowl (Boston College) and Wasabi Fenway Bowl (University of Virginia) were both called off because of Covid complications.

Also, the Hawaii Bowl (University of Hawaii) was called off last Thursday on the eve of the game due to COVID and injuries. Last week, the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (Texas A&M) was threatened before Rutgers filled the spot.

The College Football Playoffs semifinals are set for Friday, with the championship game scheduled for January 10 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

College football officials said that, due to Covid issues, teams could advance to the final or one be declared a champion by forfeits.

The NBA announced that COVID-19 lineup changes may move game times on Christmas day for the 10 teams who are scheduled to play.

The ABC windows are the league’s priority. Those games are currently set to be the Boston Celtics at the Milwaukee Bucks at 2:30 p.m., Golden State Warriors playing the Phoenix Suns at 5 p.m. and the Brooklyn Nets versus the Los Angeles Lakers at 8 p.m.

The other two games are scheduled to air on ESPN at noon and 10:30 pm, with the Atlanta Hawks taking on the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks at the Utah Jazz.

The Nets still have the league’s highest number of players unavailable in COVID-19 protocol with 10. Those 10 players include Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. The Nets have already had two games postponed. Out of the 10 teams, the Suns and Jazz do not have a player in COVID protocol as of Tuesday.

Teams with missing players could get some of them back by Christmas. The current rules are that each person who tests positive must quarantine for 10 days or have two negative PCR tests taken at least 24 hours apart. Notably, the Nets could regain Harden as he entered protocol on December 14.

Decisions on game times could be up in the air as late as Friday. If there is a gameday decision to postpone a game, it won’t affect the other games on Christmas day.

Commissioner Adam Silver also announced today that even though some teams are struggling to stay healthy, there are no plans to pause the season.

“This virus will not be eradicated, and we’re going to have to learn to live with it,” Silver said.

The world has had to adjust a lot during the almost two years of living in a pandemic and the NFL is no exception. The NFL has announced that it has made a playoff rule change. Teams will now be able to elevate an unlimited number of players from the practice squad.

Before the new rule, teams were only allowed to call up a player twice and the player had to pass through waivers after the second time. If the player passed waivers, they would need to be on an NFL deal instead of a practice squad deal. Now, the athlete can be promoted on a practice squad deal in the playoffs. The new rule applies to this postseason only.

This rule could not have come at a better time as the NFL is currently experiencing its worst Covid-19 outbreak. The Washington Football Team has as many as 18 players on the list this week. The Cleveland Browns are without quarterback Baker Mayfield and head coach Kevin Stefanski because of positive tests. Around 100 players across the league have been put on the Covid list in the past four days.

Rumors continue to fly surrounding Covid-19 and if the NFL will step in to mandate the vaccine or encourage the booster. If they don’t require it, they may instead find ways to incentivize athletes to do it.

“One idea being discussed is “incentivizing” players to get the Covid-19 booster shot with the promise the league will stop testing players who have received it,” senior NFL Reporter Albert Breer said.

The league is also considering allowing vaccinated, asymptomatic players who test positive for the coronavirus to return to the team sooner.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said that the league has no plans to suspend its season, despite the omicron variant surging.

“No plans right now to pause the season,” Silver said in an interview on NBA Today. “We have of course looked at all the options, but frankly we are having trouble coming up with what the logic would be behind pausing right now.

“As we look through these cases literally ripping through the country, let alone the rest of the world, I think we’re finding ourselves where we sort of knew we were going to get to over the past several months, and that is this virus will not be eradicated, and we’re going to have to learn to live with it. I think that’s what we’re experiencing in the league right now.”

The NBA has had to postpone seven games over the past week due to COVID-19, with omicron “beyond dominant,” according to Silver.

“We’re up around probably 90% of the positive cases we’re seeing right now are omicron,” he said.

The league Sunday sent a memo to teams announcing new rules regarding replacement players; clubs now have more flexibility to add players immediately after losing one to COVID-19 protocols. However, Silver said the league is not yet prepared to change its stance on how long a player must sit out in the wake of a positive test.

“We always are measuring viral loads with our PCR test,” Silver said. “So that’s something, again, that it’s not just our doctors but the medical community is looking at. I think they’re already realizing that you can move away from the 10-day protocol when you have players who are vaccinated and boosted.

“It seems the virus runs through their systems faster. They become not just asymptomatic but, more importantly, they’re not shedding the virus anymore. That’s the real concern in terms of others. And so we are actively looking at shortening the number of days players are out before they can return to the floor.”