The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
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Boston College will have only four scholarship players available for Tuesday night’s men's basketball game against No. 20 Florida State.
Coach Jim Christian says he will fill out the rest of his bench with players from the scout team. Christian said the team was off for 11 days and he has only had two practices with the five walk-ons who will be on his bench against the Seminoles.
“COVID and COVID protocol hit us very, very hard,” he said Monday on an Atlantic Coast Conference call. “Our administration made the decision that the game needs to be played. They know how I feel about it, but once that decision is made, my job is to get guys ready to play.”
Boston College (3-10, 1-6 ACC) has not played since Jan. 16. Four games were postponed because of players testing positive or quarantining under the COVID-19 protocol.
Christian said other leagues wouldn’t proceed with the game unless there are enough scholarship players. The ACC allows the game to go ahead as long as there are healthy bodies. That means walk-on Andrew Kenny, who has scored five points in 11 minutes this season, will get his first start.
“You want to reward these kids for all their effort,” Christian said. “It’s a unique situation that we’ve just got to muddle through and do the best we can.”
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DePaul’s game next week at third-ranked Villanova has been postponed, one of three schedule adjustments for the Blue Demons announced Monday by the Big East Conference.
DePaul’s game against Xavier on Wednesday also has been postponed due to COVID-19-related issues in the Xavier program. DePaul’s previously postponed game at St. John’s on Jan. 2 has been rescheduled for Feb. 20.
A date for the rescheduled Villanova game will be announced once it’s finalized.
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The NHL has announced the New Jersey Devils have been forced to postpone three games this week after four more players tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.
New Jersey was scheduled to play the Penguins on Tuesday and Thursday in Pittsburgh. They also had a home game against the Rangers on Saturday afternoon.
The Devils played back-to-back games against the Sabres in Buffalo on Saturday and Sunday. Center Travis Zajac missed Saturday’s game after a positive test and forward Kyle Palmieri did not play Sunday after a positive test.
On Monday, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod and Pavel Zacha all tested positive. They played in the games over the weekend.
New Jersey now has 10 players on the COVID list, including No. 1 goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood.
Two players on the list, defenseman Sami Vatanen and goaltender Aaron Dell, are isolating after signing with the team.
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Kentucky will play at No. 18 Missouri on Wednesday night, one day later than scheduled, in an adjustment following a weekend pause because of positive COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and quarantining within the Wildcats' program.
The pause resulted in the cancellation of Saturday night’s meeting in Lexington, Kentucky, against No. 5 Texas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Wednesday’s game was adjusted in conjunction with Southeastern Conference and UK Athletics COVID-19 management requirements.
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The sale of spring training tickets for St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins games in Jupiter, Florida, has been delayed because of uncertainty about the schedule for games.
Major League Baseball last week proposed a one-month delay in starting spring training due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter earlier had announced it would begin selling spring training tickets for the Cardinals and Marlins on Monday. It’s now uncertain when sales might begin.
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The Cleveland Indians will not be allowing fans to watch their spring training workouts in Arizona due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team said Monday that per MLB guidelines, the club’s player development complex in Goodyear, Arizona, will not be open to fans. Cleveland’s facility is adjacent to one for the Cincinnati Reds.
There has not yet been a decision on whether fans will be able to attend spring training games. The Indians said Goodyear city officials are working with MLB to determine a fan policy.
Players are expected to report to Arizona in two weeks.
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