USA Today - 27.03.2020

Baseball simulation game Strat-O-Matic is play-

ing out MLB games till real ones start. Page 3C

Nationals start World Series

**defense on opening day***

Ticket holders unhappy that teams, outlets using

“postponement” designation. Page 4C

With sports events on hold,

buyers want refunds now

USA TODAY | FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020 | SECTION C

SPORTS

FIRST WORD

This pandemic we are cur-

rently experiencing is a

unique situation in our lives. It is

our responsibility to cooperate

with those who have data and in-

formation on what causes such a

virus to be so devastating.”

Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt, who

became a March Madness star in 2018

during Loyola-Chicago’s run to the

Final Four as an 11 seed, on a video

released by the school Thursday. She

said she is staying at home and urged

others to do the same to help contain

the coronavirus pandemic.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

Aug. 23

New date for the 2020 Indianapolis

500, IndyCar and IMS announced

Thursday. It had been scheduled for

May 24. This is the first time in 104

races it will not be competed in May.

April 17

Date of the WNBA draft, which is still

on, though without players, guests or

media. WNBA Commissioner Cathy

Engelbert will announce picks on

ESPN2 (8 p.m. ET) while the top

prospects participate remotely.

$5 million

To be donated by Saints QB Drew

Brees and his wife, Brittany, to Louisi-

ana and will help provide 10,000 meals

a day as part of a coronavirus relief

effort, they announced Thursday.

20%

Cut in base salaries for 100 of the

highest-paid NBA league office exec-

utives, according to ESPN.

4:43 a.m.

Local time Thursday when UFC star

Jon Jones was booked in Albuquer-

que, New Mexico, for alleged aggra-

vated driving while intoxicated and

negligent use of a firearm, police rec-

ords show. He was also charged with

possession of an open container and

failure to show proof of vehicle insur-

ance; all charges are misdemeanors.

He was released later Thursday.

IN MEMORIAM

Former Braves owner Bill Bartholomay,

who brought the team to Atlanta in

1966, died Wednesday at 91, accord-

ing to his daughter Jamie, The Atlanta

Journal-Constitution reported. “He

was a dear, thoughtful friend whose

presence will be missed,” the Braves

said in a statement, “but his legacy

will surely stand the rest of time for

the Atlanta Braves and all of baseball.”

TB X TB

Tom Brady in Tampa Bay. TB in TB. The

obvious connection for the new Buc-

caneers’ quarterback is turning into a

business opportunity for the 42-year-

old. Brady’s agency, Yee & Dubin

Sports LLC, filed a trademark request

with the U.S. Patent and Trademark

Office for “TB X TB” on March 20, the

day Brady officially signed with his

new team. The application calls for the

intended use on clothing, including:

shirts, T-shirts, pants, shorts, sweat-

shirts, sweaters, jerseys, sleepwear,

athletic tops and bottoms and head-

wear. Brady’s health and wellness

company is called TB12.

From staff and wire reports

BOB DONNAN/USA TODAY SPORTS

SPORTSLINE

Fred “Curly” Neal, one of the best-

known members of the Harlem Globe-

trotters, died Wednesday night at his

home outside Houston. He was 77.

“We have lost one of the most genu-

ine human beings the world has ever

known,” Harlem Globetrotters general

manager Jeff Munn said in a state-

ment issued by the team. “His basket-

ball skill was unrivaled by most, and

his warm heart and huge smile

brought joy to families worldwide. He

always made time for his many fans

and inspired millions.”

Neal was born in Greensboro, North

Carolina, and played college basketball

at Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte, where

he earned All-Central Intercollegiate

Athletic Association honors.

He joined the Globetrotters in 1963

and played for the barnstorming on-

court entertainers for 22 years. He ap-

peared in more than 6,000 games in 97

countries before retiring in 1985.

His shaved head that earned him the

ironic nickname Curly, as well as his vir-

tuoso ball-handling skills, made him

one of the most recognizable members

of the squad, along with longtime team-

mate Meadowlark Lemon.

The Globetrotters retired Neal’s

No. 22 at a ceremony in 2008 in Madi-

son Square Garden in New York City. He

continued to make appearances with

the Globetrotters in his later years.

“Being a Globetrotter, especially dur-

ing that time, was as much a responsi-

bility as it was a job,” Neal wrote for USA

TODAY in 2016. “We weren’t just enter-

tainers. I truly believe that we helped

ease many of the tensions that pulled at

the country. It didn’t matter if you were

black, white or whatever – laughing and

enjoying our games made those barriers

disappear.”

Original Harlem Globetrotter

Fred “Curly” Neal had virtuoso

ball-handling skills, making

him one of the most recog-

nizable members of the squad.

ROSS D. FRANKLIN/AP

Globetrotter’s ‘basketball

skill unrivaled by most’

Eddie Timanus

USA TODAY

CURLY NEAL

1942-

and training sites as the novel coronavi-

rus surged worldwide.

“Unhesitatingly high marks,” says

Ronald Waldman, a professor of global

health at George Washington University

who has worked with the World Health

Organization, the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention and the United

Thanks in large part to swift action

by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver,

North America’s major professional

sports leagues got it right this month

in shutting down arenas, stadiums

Nations in the fight against infectious

diseases.

Now, the far more complex part: How

and when to reopen, and, of utmost im-

portance, avoid a “biological bomb”

that, thanks to a sporting event, spread

When play resumes, avoiding ‘biological bomb’

Gabe Lacques and Jeff Zillgitt

USA TODAY

See RESUMES, Page 5C

The American economic boom of

the last decade has gone hand-in-

hand with a fundamental change in

the financial reach of college athletics.

Beyond the obvious growth areas like

TV revenue and the College Football

Playoff, which helped fuel an exponen-

tial rise in coaching salaries, athletic

departments became much more so-

phisticated at getting their fans to part

with large amounts of money.

As the stock market roared and busi-

nesses thrived, schools climbed over

each other to promote hotshot fundrais-

ers into athletic director jobs, launch

eight- and nine-figure facilities pro-

jects, endow coaching positions and re-

orient their stadiums toward amenities

and premium experiences.

The looming economic fallout from

the coronavirus pandemic has raised a

question that athletic departments of

all sizes are scrambling to assess: Is the

party over?

“One of the byproducts we’re facing

is people who have lost 25 or 30% of

their net value of their portfolio or their

retirement funds, that’s going to have

Athletic departments’ tough days

As COVID-19 challenges loom for colleges, question becomes: Is the party over?

See COLLEGES, Page 5C

Dan Wolken

USA TODAY