As sports begin to return in the United States and in Europe, stadiums are left empty as the coronavirus pandemic has forced leagues to make the decision to not permit fans at games, at least for the time being, until the number of positive cases of COVID-19 goes down. In New Zealand, however, things seem to be slowly looking to return a normal.

New Zealand has not had a positive case for COVID-19 since May 22 and because of this, the country’s government lifted all restrictions on crowd size. Over the weekend, stadiums at rugby games across the country were filled to the brim with fans.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBZsrR9p4ah/

In Auckland, 43,000 people attended a game between the Blues and Hurricanes. Blues team CEO Andrew Hore said that the fact that the country has gotten back to this point is an amazing thing. “It was only a few weeks ago that we were planning for a competition behind closed doors,” he said. “When we got the news during the week that fans could come, we always wanted to do our part in terms of ticket pricing because we know that many of our fans have been doing it hard. I want to recognize the mammoth job from everyone involved in being able to turn an event of this size around in less than a week. This will be a special occasion that everyone will remember and a celebration of what New Zealand has achieved as a nation to get to this stage.”

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ahearn said that just because there have not been any new positive cases for the virus in recent weeks, that does not mean that people should not expect some cases could develop as things open back up.

SLIDESHOW: 50 GREAT SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019

Cristiano Ronaldo reminded boisterous fans at the World Cup in Russia on Sunday that even star soccer players need sleep.

Ronaldo Asks World Cup Fans To Let Him Sleep

Portugal’s 33-year-old striker begged Iranian fans to let him sleep peacefully ahead of his national team’s final group-stage game against Iran on Monday at 2pm EST.

SLIDESHOW: 30 Best Sports Instagrams!

As loud fans swarmed outside Portugal’s hotel in Saransk with drums and vuvuzelas on Sunday night, Ronaldo walked over to the window and made a universal gesture to ask fans to stop making noise: he wagged his finger, then put his hands together and leaned his head onto them to signal his desire for rest.

Ronaldo then quickly gave them a thumbs-up as if to say “thank you.”

Portugal is in second place in Group B with four points, after tying Spain 3-3 in its opener and defeating Morocco 1-0 in its second game last week. Spain leads the group and also has four points, and will play Morocco at 2pm EST on Monday.

SLIDESHOW: 10 Highest-Paid Athletes

Spain and Portugal are predicted to reach the second round, the eighth-of-finals.

Earlier on Monday, Uruguay routed Russia 3-0 after the host team earned a red card late in the first half, while Saudi Arabia beat Egypt 2-1.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are always a time when fans become especially rowdy, but on Sunday, some Philadelphia Flyers supporters may have gone too far in a matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Flyers Fans Toss Trash On Ice In Game 6 Loss To Penguins

At first, Flyers fans simply honored Sean Couturier by throwing hats onto the ice to celebrate the center’s hat trick (three goals), which trimmed the Penguins’ lead to 7-5 with just under three minutes remaining in Game 6, which Pittsburgh won 8-5.

SLIDESHOW: 30 Best Sports Instagrams!

However, fans at the Wells Fargo Center soon realized that the Flyers would not win the contest, and sure enough Bryan Rust scored an unassisted empty-net goal with 31 seconds left to seal the Penguins’ victory.

The Penguins won the first-round series 4-2, and Flyers fans seemed to think the best way to express their anger with their team’s elimination was to throw all sorts of objects onto the ice. Beer cans, bracelets, and other garbage was tossed onto the rink, and several people quickly voiced their disgust with the crowd’s behavior, including players on the Penguins’ roster.

Announcer Lou Nolan also slammed the fans for their actions, as arena personnel came on to clean up the mess they created and so as to avoid players from becoming injured.

Nolan had to repeat to the crowd several times not to toss objects of any kind onto the ice. NBC broadcasters even warned that any fans continuing to do this could be ejected from the venue.

One Penguins beat writer for The Athletic asked Sidney Crosby about the beer cans that began raining down onto the ice, and this is what the veteran player said:

According to USA Today, a towel was even on the ice in front of Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov when he lost the puck to Rust, who then scored his empty-netter in the final seconds.

SLIDESHOW: 10 Highest-Paid Athletes

The Penguins will face the winner of the series between the Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second round. Washington leads the series 3-2, and Game 6 is set for Monday night in Columbus.

Though he is only in his first MLB season, Aaron Judge is tied for the league lead in home runs with 14.  Nevertheless, the New York Yankees outfielder is still not immediately identifiable to many fans.

Aaron Judge Asks Yankee Fans About Himself on Tonight Show

This was never more apparent than on NBC’s Tuesday night episode of “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon. Judge, who has been hitting .316/.420/.744 overall this season after playing just 33 games, participated in a segment on the nightly comedy series in which he sat at an anchor desk by New York’s Bryant Park and asked around 20 baseball fans how familiar they are with the Yankees and with the 25-year-old rookie specifically.

The sketch revealed that most Yankee supporters still can’t quickly recognize Judge, despite the outfielder’s imposing 6-foot-7, 282-pound frame. Judge simply donned a suit and a pair of glasses for the bit, but this disguise proved enough to trick New Yorkers into thinking they were speaking to an actual sportscaster who was asking them about their favorite players on the Yankees.

“How many homers do you think he’ll finish [the season] with?” Judge asks (referring to himself) one man who cites the outfielder as his favorite player. “Forty,” replies the man. “He can’t keep up this pace, I don’t think,” the man adds after the rookie seems to doubt the fan’s prediction.

“I think he can, though” says Judge, before suggesting he could reach 70 home runs this seasons to top the fan’s prediction, which increases to 60 homers.

Another fan incorrectly called the outfielder “Adam Judge,” but the rookie played along.

A third fan laughed and joked around with Judge after realizing he had been tricked into speaking with the Yankees star the entire time. The fan compared Judge to another prominent New York sports figure, former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, for the gap between his teeth. “You’re the future, man,” says the fan with a smile and a chuckle. “We love you here.”

The last fan, an middle-aged woman, even got a hug and a photo with Judge.

The Yankees (23-13) are currently first in the AL East. They defeated the Kansas City Royals 7-1 at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday, the opener of a three-game series. The two teams face off in Kansas City again at 8:15 pm EST on Wednesday.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 14: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees hits a two-run homer during the fourth inning against the Houston Astros during game one of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on May 14, 2017 in New York City. Players are wearing pink to celebrate Mother’s Day weekend and support breast cancer awareness. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)