The Washignton Post - 04.04.2020

saturday, april 4 , 2020. the washington post eZ re c9

BY KAREEM COPELAND

The WNBA announced Friday it will delay its season in r esponse to the global novel coronavirus pandemic. The league announced it will postpone the opening of training camps, scheduled for April 26, and push back its regular season schedule, slated to begin May 15. “While the league continues to use this time to conduct scenar- io-planning regarding new start dates and innovative formats, our guiding principle will continue to be the health and safety of the players, fans and employees,” Commissioner Cathy Engel- bert said in a statement. The WNBA joins other major North American pro sports leagues and the NCAA in having to adjust playing schedules in response to the pandemic. The league, however, is moving forward with its draft as scheduled April 17. The event will be con- ducted virtually, without players, media or guests. The defending champion Washington Mystics said all tick- ets to postponed games will be honored and ticket holders will have a variety of options if games are canceled. “We will get through this difficult time together and look forward to seeing our fans and defending our championship as soon as safely possible,” Mystics General Manager and Coach Mike Thibault said. “In the meantime, we will continue to find other w ays to s tay connected as we encourage everyone to stay home and be safe.” [email protected]

WNBA

postpones

beginning

of season

Horse racing

Preakness postponed;

infield party canceled

The Preakness i s looking for a
new date this y ear and has
decided t o cancel the i nfield party
that is a s taple of the Triple C rown
race n ormally h eld o n the t hird
Saturday i n May in B altimore.
The owners of Pimlico Race
Course a nd the Maryland Jockey
Club s aid in a statement Friday
that the novel coronavirus
pandemic c aused officials to
delay t he r ace and cancel
InfieldFest 2020.
“Our first priority in these
difficult times is the h ealth and
well-being o f our customers, our
vendors, our employees and the
horses w e all love,” t he statement
read. “A decision will be m ade o n
a new date f or Preakness 145 and
will take into consideration a ll of
the r ecommended best p ractices
from local a nd governmental
health authorities to protect our
community.”

soccer
The English Premier League
was s uspended indefinitely
following a meeting o f its
20 clubs, which d iscussed
financial painkilling m easures
that included asking p layers t o
take a substantial pay cut during
the c oronavirus pandemic.
Having previously given a
tentative — and improbable —
return date of April 30, the world’s
richest league said the season
would not be resuming at t he start
of May and “will o nly return when
it is safe and appropriate to do so”
and only with the full support of
government and medical
guidance....
The Concacaf Nations League
semifinals and final in June were
called off because o f the
pandemic, a decision that l eaves
the U.S. men to play t heir fewest
matches in a year since 2007.
The United States was
scheduled t o play Honduras on
June 4 in Houston, with Mexico
meeting C osta Rica in the other
semifinal. T he winners were set
to play three days l ater i n
Arlington, Te x.
The United States has p layed
just once this year, a 1-0
exhibition w in over Costa Rica o n
Feb. 1. The Americans have s ix
remaining matches s cheduled,
World Cup qualifiers i n
September, O ctober and
November....
FIFA extended the age limit for
the m en’s s occer tournament a t
the r escheduled Tokyo Olympics.
Players eligible for the under-
23 tournament i n 2020 can still
play at a ge 24 next year.

baseball
The Major League Baseball
Players Association announced

the c reation of a special f und to support v eteran players w hose nonroster s tatus this spring made them ineligible for s hares of the $170 m illion being distributed to players during the m ajor league shutdown as part of t he u nion’s agreement with MLB l ast week. At the t op end of a s liding scale, the p ayments c ould provide up t o $50,000 f or nonroster v eterans with at l east six years of major league service time, with $5, 000 for p layers w ith less t han one year of service time. — D ave Sheinin

college b asketball Dayton forward Obi Toppin was awarded the Naismith Trophy as the nation’s most outstanding player. To ppin had a breakout sophomore s eason for the third- ranked Flyers, averaging 20 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 63 percent from the field. The 6-foot-9 Toppin was Dayton’s first consensus all- American, a nd h e led the F lyers t o a school-record 2 9 wins. The Flyers f inished No. 3 in the f inal Associated Press poll after the NCAA tournament w as c anceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, matching t he highest ranking in school history.... Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, who became the f irst player in college h istory with 2,000 p oints, 1,0 00 rebounds and 1,000 assists, was awarded the Naismith Trophy as the most outstanding women’s player.... Te xas dismissed women’s coach Karen Aston, ending an eight-year stint that included four straight t rips to the N CAA tournament Sweet 16 from 2015 to 2018.... George Mason junior Goanar Mar, whose minutes a nd points declined after a p romising freshman year, will transfer. The 6-foot-7 forward suffered a foot injury a s a sophomore and averaged 2.2 p oints in 32 games (two s tarts) t his s eason.

Misc. The U.S. Women’s O pen, originally s cheduled for June 4-7 at C hampions Golf C lub in Houston, was r escheduled f or Dec. 10-13.... The Ta mpa Bay Buccaneers re- signed free a gent quarterback Blaine Gabbert t o a one-year contract.... Wide receiver Travis Benjamin a nd offensive lineman Tom Compton s igned o ne-year deals with the NFC c hampion S an Francisco 49ers.... The Chicago Bears declared t he quarterback c ompetition between incumbent Mitchell Trubisky and newcomer Nick Foles an open one. — F rom news services and staff reports

Digest

BY RICK MAESE

For now, at l east, C aeleb Dressel has a swimming pool for daily workouts. He has a new month circled o n his calendar — July 2 021 — and a long list of goals that will carry o ver t o the postponed Olym- pics. B ut just a bout e verything else between now and then is less clear. “I don’t know when my next swim meet i s going to be. I h ave no idea,” Dressel said Friday in a tele- phone interview. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to train in the pool that I’m using right now. There’s so many I-don’t- knows right now.” For many athletes, that uncertainty has a ripple effect. They know the Olympics will take place a year later and now must figure out how to fund another 12 months of working toward that dream. But swimmers such as Dressel learned this week t hey will receive an a dded boost. The nascent International Swimming League, which c ompleted its inaugural season in December, has pledged to offer 10-month grants to more than 300 professional swimmers, g iving them $1,5 00 per month beginning in September. Konstantin Grigorishin, the Ukrainian businessman who is f inancing the league, said the i nitiative was prompted by

c onversations with his general managers. Jason Lezak, the four- time U.S. Olympian who runs the league’s Cali Condors, pointed out some of the financial challenges swimmers will face in the next year. There will be fewer prize checks and potential uncertainty surrounding sponsorship money. It’s possible some corporations h aven’t allocated as much money for 2021 after already spending heavily in anticipation of a 202 0 Olympics. “Massive,” Dressel called the ISL’s plan. “There are so many uncertainties for everybody right now. At least we k now we have this one thing. “If you don’t have to worry about money or how you’ll travel to a swim m eet, that’s so nice to not have that stress,” added Dressel, who swam last season for the C ondors. “You can just train.” The initiative will buoy swimmers struggling to make ends meet, but Dressel is among the elite few whose To kyo journeys had been backed by corporate sponsors. The 23-year-old has 13 world titles to his n ame and was poised to be among the biggest American stars at the Summer Games. He was expected to be a medal contender in as many as eight events in To kyo, which would have made him a nightly presence o n NBC’s b roadcasts.

Some of his sponsorships were set to expire after the Olympics concluded this summer, and D res- sel said he’s talking to his corporate partners t o sort out h ow those relationships will work now that the Tokyo Games won’t take place until 2 021. “Some have been kind enough to say, ‘Yeah, of course, we’ll roll this over through the Olympics,’ ” he said. “But we still have t o talk t o everybody and make sure we know what’s in their best interest, what’s in my best interest. I get it. The plan was 202 0. I understand it. I ’ll be thankful e ither way.” Grigorishin had hoped to ride the post-Olympic wave of interest into the ISL’s second season. He now sees an opportunity to help the world’s top swimmers continue pursuing their Olympic dreams, and he hopes to bring them together in the fall for a giant international training camp. He said it would last four or f ive w eeks and could include races or a full meet. He would like to have c ameras around, turning it into a reality s how of sorts. “Before Olympics, I think this reality-show format will h ave a lot of value,” he said. “Now, some- times during the Olympic Games, the swimmers seem like no-name athletes representing their coun- tries. We don’t know their person- alities. They’re just robots in the

pool. After this exposure, people will recognize them and support them differently.” He’s considering four locations for the camp — Australia, Japan, Budapest or Florida — but many of the d etails will depend on w hether the pandemic has slowed and it’s safe for athletes to train together. “We know the ISL format is quite flexible. This is our big ad- vantage,” Grigorishin said. “We can o rganize a c ompetition i n a TV show format that is exciting even without spectators.” While the league’s 3 00 -plus swimmers are largely expected to take part in the grant program, many will have to wait before c om- mitting to the camp. As Dressel pointed out, most don’t know when they can resume regular training or what their competition calendar will look like o n the o ther side of this crisis. Unlike many swimmers, Dres- sel said he still has access to a long-course pool in Florida, and he’s able to get in the water most days. He’s hoping to maintain his fitness and get a head start on his revised p ush f or To kyo. “Now it’s just another year to get better,” he said. “This year was going so well, so let’s carry it over and keep getting better. I don’t want to use it as a vacation. I was on a roll.” [email protected]

Nascent pro league throws top swimmers a lifeline

maddie meyer/agence France-Presse/getty images Caeleb Dressel, who took part in the International Swimming League’s debut season, is eligible to receive $1,5 00 per month for 10 months.

BY CANDACE BUCKNER

When the novel coronavirus
pandemic shut down the NBA,
the Washington Wizards had to
huddle quickly. Like every team in
the league, the Wizards found
themselves searching for answers
to unsolvable questions and try-
ing to keep the team united, even
through forced separation.
On March 11, when the league
announced the suspension of the
regular season, the Wizards held a
conference call. Every player,
coach and staff member heard
from Monumental Basketball of-
ficials, including the team’s medi-
cal experts, who wanted to dispel
myths and share updates at a t ime
when little was known. Since
then, there have been almost daily
connections and detailed
s olutions for how suddenly
o ut-of-action NBA players can get
through the quarantine.
Blair O’Donovan, the team’s
d irector of physical preparation,
has used Zoom video conferenc-
ing to lead players through
i ndividualized workouts.
When players need more than
physical exercise, Derick Ander-
son, a leading sports psychologist,
and two local pastors have been
on call.
When they need to know what
to eat at h ome — the kitchen at t he
practice facility closed — team
nutritionist Sue Saunders Bouvi-
er has shared advice. And if play-
ers don’t know the difference be-
tween a skillet and a sauce pan,
chef Stephen Korda has guided
novices through cooking sessions.
“So far, so good,” General
M anager To mmy Sheppard said.
Amid the NBA shutdown, no

Wizards player has tested positive for the coronavirus. On March 12, the team announced it would test its members who develop flu-like symptoms. “We haven’t had any issues,” Sheppard said recently. “Our guys have been asymptomatic. We h aven’t had the cause to go out and test people, and I think we have to be real cognizant of short- ages of tests.... And also, logical- ly, let’s wait.” When the NBA permitted players to travel, several Wizards left the area to return to their home bases. As of March 23, Sheppard estimated 13 players remained in the region, but he expected that number to dwindle as the hiatus continued. The Wizards don’t mind their players leaving as long as they continue to practice social distancing and remember to be a professional and stay in shape. Bradley Beal and John Wall, high-paid veterans who own pala- tial homes equipped with basketball courts and weight rooms, should be just fine. (They have live-streamed their workouts on Instagram.) The team’s younger players face more of a challenge. The shared fitness rooms in their apartment complexes or condo- miniums might be closed, so they are left confined in their space without much equipment. Still, the Wizards found a fix for that. The team sent every player a kit with tactile foam rolls and perfor- mance bands. Some were for light resistance to attach around their ankles for squats; others were heavy duty enough to hang from the ceiling for lat pull downs. Although each player received something different for his personal needs, the team shared the same goal: Stay active and try to keep a routine. “It’s a very challenging time, so for us I think we have to sympa- thize and emphasize with players who are used to being in more structure, as we all are finding

ourselves in a new reality, and make the best of the situation,” said Sashi Brown, chief planning and operations officer at Monu- mental Basketball. “A big piece of that is communication and finding creative and innovative ways to be in touch with players and help them find solutions for staying in shape, working out, eating the right way while we’re out.” The Wizards are also using strength and conditioning soft- ware Bridge. Almost daily, players receive personalized workouts through the app and train while watching a video. Some players may need more guidance, so O’Donovan and other staffers put them through workouts conduct- ed over Zoom. The virtual face-to-face sessions have continued in the kitchen, if necessary. To keep players away from junk food, Korda, who is in his first year as a chef for Monumental Basketball, has demonstrated how to cook. On Monday, the organization and its hospitality provider, Flik, launched meal service. Players who are still in the area can order a lunch and dinner two to three

times a day and pick up the pre- pared meal at t he practice facility. The Wizards say they’re not trying to be Big Brother, constant- ly keeping tabs on their players. If a guy needs to be left alone to get his work done, they will respect that. Still, they want to tailor assistance to each individual and make sure no player gets left behind. “The coaches and the medical staff kind of divide up the roster, but they’re poking every player every day: ‘What did you do to- day? Let me see you,’ ” Sheppard said. “The younger guys are the ones you’re concerned about. Old- er veteran players, I’m not as worried about their professional- ism and their ability to [say], ‘Hey, I’ve got to stay in shape because this is my job.’ ” Besides fitness, the Wizards were concerned about their players’ mental health. Some players have young children and might not be able to stand hearing car- toon theme songs much longer. There are also six international players on the roster who cannot leave the country, and they might be longing for family. Monumen-

tal Basketball officials said they planned for these issues; in f ollow-up conference calls, players and staffers were reminded of team resources. “We had nutritionists, chefs and mental health [profession- als] fully available for our players since Day One,” s aid Daniel Medi- na, chief of athlete care and per- formance. Anderson and his team of sports psychologists began working with the Monumental Basket- ball squads this season, and they have been available to players and their families during the hiatus. Also, team chaplains have coun- seled players who have missed the routine of chapel on game nights and Bible study during road trips, Sheppard said. While some resources can be deeply personal, the Wizards still want to keep a bond within the team. There are plans for a virtual group yoga class, led by Mariam Moghaddam, an instructor and the wife of Wizards player devel- opment coach Kamran Sufi. Shep- pard also envisions starting a book club, in which he will send specific titles for different players to help them pass the time wisely. But even online gaming and social media can be useful. Shep- pard has enjoyed scrolling past the banter about the players’ virtual showdowns or watching the latest TikTok dance routine per- formed by Beal and his fiancee, Kamiah Adams. “Bradley and Kamiah are be- coming TikTok rock stars,” Shep- pard said. “Everybody’s staying connected; guys are commenting on other guys’ posts and talking smack.” No one knows how long the suspension of the season will last and when teams will be whole again. But even as the web of Wizards crisscrosses the nation, they are finding ways to stick together. [email protected]

Wizards s taying connected, e ven at a distance

toni L. sandys/the Washington Post Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard and his staff had to scramble to set up a support network after the NBA went on hiatus.

Players are getting help

with everything from food

to mental health

The Washignton Post - 04.04.2020

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