4C ❚ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020 ❚ USA TODAY SPORTS
WEATHER ONLINE
WEATHER USATODAY.COMTODAY’S FORECAST TODAY’S HIGH TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION FORECASTBelow 10 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110+T-storms Rain Snow Ice/mixU.S. CITIESTOP TRAVEL CITIESWORLD CITIESATLANTA CHARLOTTE DENVER HOUSTONMIAMI NEW YORK PHOENIX SAN FRANCISCOBALTIMORE CHICAGO DETROIT LAS VEGASMPLS-ST. PAUL ORLANDO SALT LAKE CITY SEATTLEBOSTON DALLAS/FT. WORTH HONOLULU LOS ANGELESNEW ORLEANS PHILADELPHIA SAN DIEGO WASHINGTONAQI AQI AQIAQIAQIAQIAQI AQI AQI AQI AQI AQIAir quality index (AQI)c Cloudy f Fog i Ice r Rain sf Snowflurries sn Snow w Windy dr Drizzle h Haze pc Partly cloudy s Sunny sh Showers t ThunderstormsWashington
60Cheyenne
53Casper
50Jackson
Hole
38Milwaukee
43
Madison
45Charleston
68Seattle
Olympia 58 57 Spokane
48Richmond
60Burlington(^44) Montpelier
43
Salt Lake City
52
St. George
51
Dallas/Ft. Worth
78
Brownsville
85
Lubbock
74
Midland-
Odessa
78
El Paso
62 Austin 82
San Antonio
82 Houston
82
Nashville
75
Memphis
75
Knoxville
74
Rapid City
(^42) Pierre
48
Sioux Falls
49
Charleston
75
Columbia
75
Harrisburg
59
Philadelphia
58
Pittsburgh
58
Burns
48
Bend
44
Portland
Salem 58
57
Oklahoma
City
76
Tulsa
78
Cincinnati
61
Cleveland
54
Columbus
57
Fargo
36
Bismarck
34
Raleigh
Charlotte^67
67
Buffalo
50 Albany
52
New York
55
Albuquerque
60
Santa Fe
57
Reno
42 Elko 47
Carson City
40
Las Vegas
57
Omaha
58
North Platte
57
Billings
32
Miles City
34
Helena
35
Kansas City
66
Jefferson City
65
St. Louis
64
Jackson
82
Mpls-St. Paul
45
Duluth
35
Detroit
48
Marquette
38
Lansing
46
Grand
Rapids
46
Boston
51
Annapolis
55
Bangor
44
Augusta
46
Baton Rouge
83
Shreveport
80
NewOrleans
84
Louisville
67
Topeka
67
Wichita
Dodge City 74 72
Des Moines
55
Indianapolis
56
Chicago
Springfield^45
57
Boise
54
Idaho Falls
45
Atlanta
75
Savannah
78
Tallahassee
85
Jacksonville
83
Tampa
87
Miami
83
Hartford
56
Denver
Aspen 48 64
San Francisco
58
Palm Springs
63
Los Angeles
62
Sacramento
56
Fresno
59
Eureka
53
San Diego
62
Little Rock
Phoenix 62 73
Flagstaff
37
Birmingham
80
Montgomery
85
Mobile
Honolulu^79
80
San Juan
83
Anchorage
35
Juneau
39
Fairbanks
36
Puerto Rico
Hawaii
Alaska
Akron, Ohio 55/49r 66/61sh
Albany, N.Y. 52/37s 50/44c
Albuquerque 60/35w 54/32pc
Allentown, Pa. 55/38s 58/51r
Amarillo, Texas 73/45c 63/24w
Anaheim, Calif. 63/49pc 60/49pc
Anchorage, Alaska 35/23pc 35/29c
Aspen, Colo. 48/28sh 37/22sn
Atlantic City, N.J. 52/44s 60/48r
Augusta, Ga. 79/62pc 87/64pc
Austin, Texas 82/66c 80/60t
Bakersfi eld, Calif. 58/44pc 60/45sh
Baton Rouge, La. 83/68pc 85/68c
Billings, Mont. 32/19pc 27/16sn
Birmingham, Ala. 80/64c 82/67pc
Bismarck, N.D. 34/17pc 24/5c
Boise, Idaho 54/32pc 57/35pc
Buffalo, N.Y. 50/41pc 57/52c
Burlington, Vt. 44/33s 49/41sn
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 49/42r 59/30r
Charleston, S.C. 75/64c 83/67pc
Charleston, W.Va. 68/60c 75/62sh
Cheyenne, Wyo. 53/30pc 31/11sn
Beijing 74/42h 66/42s
Buenos Aires 74/61pc 75/62pc
Cancun, Mexico 85/75s 84/76s
Dubai, UAE 88/75h 89/74h
Frankfurt 64/44pc 64/45pc
Hong Kong 78/71sh 78/71h
Istanbul 50/40pc 50/39c
Jerusalem 49/46w 51/42w
Johannesburg 73/55h 79/59h
London 58/43sh 49/41sh
Mexico City 77/53pc 79/53pc
Montreal 39/30pc 45/40pc
Moscow 48/43c 49/34r
Mumbai, India 94/79h 91/77h
Paris 63/47pc 65/47pc
Rio de Janeiro 85/76pc 89/78pc
Rome 64/44pc 64/44s
Seoul 61/45s 52/36w
Singapore 92/79pc 92/79pc
Sydney 77/59s 83/64s
Toronto 40/33c 52/45pc
Tokyo 61/48s 67/53w
Cincinnati 61/57r 70/61r
Cleveland 54/45r 63/59r
Colorado Springs 61/35pc 44/18sn
Columbia, S.C. 75/64c 84/66pc
Columbus, Ohio 57/53r 67/63r
Corpus Christi, Texas 83/71f 84/69c
Dayton, Ohio 58/55r 70/62r
Daytona Beach, Fla. 82/65pc 83/66s
Des Moines, Iowa 55/47r 65/24r
Duluth, Minn. 35/30sn 38/11sn
Durham, N.C. 64/59pc 78/65pc
El Paso, Texas 62/44t 63/42w
Fairbanks, Alaska 36/18sn 35/28pc
Flagstaff, Ariz. 37/21sn 33/18sf
Fargo, N.D. 36/20sn 24/1w
Fort Myers, Fla. 90/67s 89/67s
Fort Smith, Ark. 75/62t 77/47t
Fort Wayne, Ind. 49/42r 64/58r
Fresno, Calif. 59/44pc 61/43sh
Grand Rapids, Mich. 46/36r 61/48r
Green Bay, Wis. 40/35c 46/29r
Greensboro, N.C. 62/57pc 75/64pc
Greenville, S.C. 65/60c 76/64pc
Harrisburg, Pa. 59/47pc 67/59r
Hartford, Conn. 56/36s 49/40r
Indianapolis 56/53r 70/59r
Islip, N.Y. 52/39s 53/43r
Jackson, Miss. 82/66c 85/67c
Jacksonville, Fla. 83/64pc 87/66s
Jefferson City, Mo. 65/59r 73/45t
Kansas City 66/57r 71/31t
Key West, Fla. 82/75pc 83/75s
Knoxville, Tenn. 74/63c 79/65t
Laredo, Texas 90/70c 93/70c
Lexington, Ky. 65/62r 71/62t
Lincoln, Neb. 59/51r 63/16t
Little Rock, Ark. 73/63c 74/58t
Long Beach, Calif. 62/50pc 59/50pc
Louisville, Ky. 67/63r 72/64t
Lubbock, Texas 74/47c 68/32s
Madison, Wis. 45/38r 54/32r
Manchester, N.H. 53/35s 44/39r
Memphis, Tenn. 75/66c 77/65t
Milwaukee 43/38r 53/36r
Mobile, Ala. 79/67pc 80/68pc
Modesto, Calif. 58/42c 62/41pc
Montgomery, Ala. 85/64pc 87/67s
Myrtle Beach, S.C. 67/62pc 76/66pc
Nags Head, N.C. 57/53pc 69/61c
Nashville, Tenn. 75/66c 77/65t
Newark, N.J. 55/43s 55/48r
New Haven, Conn. 52/40s 51/42r
Norfolk, Va. 57/53pc 77/66pc
Oakland, Calif. 59/47c 62/47c
Oklahoma City 76/61t 72/34w
Omaha, Neb. 58/49r 62/18r
Palm Springs, Calif. 63/46sh 64/50pc
Pensacola, Fla. 79/68pc 80/69s
Pierre, S.D. 48/28c 30/10sn
Pittsburgh 58/49r 67/61sh
Portland, Maine 49/35s 43/38r
Portland, Ore. 58/37pc 62/39pc
Providence, R.I. 55/38s 50/40r
Raleigh, N.C. 67/61pc 79/67pc
Rapid City, S.D. 42/26pc 28/8sn
Reno, Nev. 42/21c 47/26c
Richmond, Va. 60/53pc 79/67pc
Rochester, N.Y. 46/38pc 58/50pc
Sacramento, Calif. 56/39c 61/40pc
San Antonio 82/67c 83/61t
San Jose, Calif. 57/43c 60/42c
Santa Fe, N.M. 57/30sh 48/23sh
Sarasota, Fla. 86/66s 87/67s
Savannah, Ga. 78/65pc 85/67pc
Scottsdale, Ariz. 61/46r 59/47sh
Shreveport, La. 80/65c 80/64t
Sioux Falls, S.D. 49/39c 42/9r
South Bend, Ind. 48/40r 64/51r
Spokane, Wash. 48/28pc 50/28pc
Springfi eld, Mo. 70/60r 72/41t
Springfi eld, Ill. 57/50r 69/48r
St. Louis 64/59r 71/52r
St. Petersburg, Fla. 88/68s 88/69s
Syracuse, N.Y. 48/38pc 55/48r
Tallahassee, Fla. 85/61pc 84/62s
Tampa, Fla. 87/69s 87/69s
Toledo, Ohio 51/40r 62/60r
Topeka, Kan. 67/57r 72/29t
Tucson, Ariz. 65/45r 60/40pc
Tupelo, Miss. 80/65c 81/67c
Tulsa, Okla. 78/64t 76/37t
Virginia Beach, Va. 55/51pc 74/65c
Wichita, Kan. 72/60r 69/31w
Wilmington, Del. 58/45s 67/56r
Winston-Salem, N.C. 60/57pc 75/66pc
Worcester, Mass. 51/34s 43/37r
TODAY THU TODAY THU TODAY THU TODAY THU
TODAY THU
AQI
WED Showers75/
THU Some sun
81/
FRI A P.M. t-storm
76/
Moderate AQI
WED Incr. clouds
67/
THU Shower79/
FRI Partly sunny
81/
Good AQI
WED Partly sunny
64/
THU Very windy
41/
FRI Partly sunny
30/
Moderate AQI
WED Fog82/
THU A P.M. t-storm
84/
FRI T-storms74/5 4
Good
WED Partly sunny
83/
THU Partly sunny
84/
FRI Some sun
85/
Good
WED Incr. clouds
55/
THU A little rain
52/
FRI Shower75/
Good
WED Rain, cooler
62/
THU Showers around
62/
FRI Mostly sunny
68/
Good
WED Shower58/
THU Mostly cloudy
61/
FRI Mostly cloudy
63/
Good
AQI
WED Clouding up
57/
THU Warmer74/
FRI Showers around
81/
Good AQI
WED Rain45/
THU Rain63/
FRI Cooler45/
Moderate AQI
WED P. M. r a i n48/
THU P. M. r a i n59/
FRI A little rain
63/
Moderate AQI
WED Spotty showers
57/
THU Shower58/
FRI A few showers
57/
Good
WED Shower45/
THU Rain45/
FRI Clearing27/
Moderate
WED Mostly sunny
87/
THU Mostly sunny
87/
FRI Mostly sunny
89/
Good
WED Spotty showers
52/
THU A few showers
51/
FRI Spotty showers
52/
Good
WED Partly sunny
57/
THU Mostly cloudy
59/
FRI Mainly cloudy
60/
Good
AQI
WED Plenty of sun
51/
THU Rain, cooler
45/
FRI Shower68/
Good AQI
WED T-storms78/
THU T-storms76/
FRI Cooler58/
Good AQI
WED Spotty showers
80/
THU Rain81/
FRI A little rain
82/
Good AQI
WED Partly sunny
62/
THU Partly sunny
59/
FRI Partly sunny
63/
Good
WED Some sun
84/
THU Mostly cloudy
85/
FRI A P.M. t-storm
85/
Good
WED Incr. clouds
58/
THU A little rain
65/
FRI Shower78/
Good
WED Rainy times
62/
THU Partly sunny
62/
FRI Shower65/
Good
WED Cloudinup g
60/
THU An A.M. shower
75/
FRI Showers around
84/
Good
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
TODAY THU
EXTREMES
Note: For contiguous
48 states through
3 p.m. ET yesterday
HOTTEST:
93°
Falfurrias, Texas
COLDEST: -6°
Loma, Mont.
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather Inc. ©
A pocket of dry air will
settle over the Northeast
today as high pressure moves
off the New Jersey coast.
A weak but large storm
is forecast to spread rain
over a large part of the
Midwest.
Heavy, gusty and locally
severe thunderstorms are
in store for the Interstate 20
corridor of the South with
the biggest storms likely
over the southern Plains.
Snow will fall over the
northern tier of the Central
states.
The storm responsible
for feet of snow in the Sierra
Nevada recently will push
inland over the West with
low-elevation rain and
mountain snow.
Upgrade your news. Install the free app.
BASEBALL
Major League Baseball
American League
CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Optioned C Zack Collins to Charlotte
(IL).
FOOTBALL
National Football League
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Announced tendered one-year con-
tracts to K Zane Gonzalez and OL Justin Murray.
BUFFALO BILLS — Signed LB Tyler Matakevich to a two-year
contract.
CHIGAGO BEARS — Released LB Leonard Floyd.
DETROIT LIONS — Released S AJ Howard and QB Kyle Sloter.
GREEN BAY PACKERS — Signed LB Christian Kirksey and T Rick
Wagner.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS — Announced tendered contracts to
DE Isaac Rochell and OT Trent Scott. Placed a second-round
tender on CB Michael Davis.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Placed a tender on S Anthony Harris.
Announced tendered one-year contract to LB Eric Wilson.
Agreed to terms with P Britton Colquitt and FB C.J. Ham.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Agreed to terms with QB Nate Sud-
feld on a one-year contract.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Placed LB Ryan Shazier on the re-
serve list.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Announced tendered one-year con-
tracts to WR Kendrick Bourne and RB Matt Breida.
DEALS
Golden State Warriors star Steph
Curry began a tweet, “2020 ain’t it.”
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron
James tweeted, “Man we cancelling
sporting events, school, office work, etc
etc. What we really need to cancel is
2020!”
Those sentiments hit too close to
home for the NBA.
It has been a difficult and emotional
season, especially off the court.
❚It started with a tweet from Hous-
ton Rockets general manager Daryl Mo-
rey, whose support of Hong Kong an-
gered China as NBA teams were playing
preseason games there. Those seven
words sent into cyberspace on Oct. 4
prompted a political and financial deba-
cle for the league.
❚Former commissioner David Stern
died Jan. 1. During his 30-year tenure,
his leadership and business savvy
helped turn the NBA into a powerhouse.
❚NBA icon Kobe Bryant, 41, died on
Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash, along with
his daughter Gianna and seven others
en route to an AAU game.
❚The New York Knicks continue to
be the embarrassment of the league,
and their biggest fan, Oscar winner
Spike Lee, threw up his hands and said
he wouldn’t attend another game this
season after he was denied entrance
March 2 at a gate he’s used for years.
❚Then came March 11. Utah Jazz cen-
ter Rudy Gobert tested positive for
COVID-19, prompting commissioner
Adam Silver to suspend the season.
Don’t misunderstand. There have
been some compelling and fantastic
stories on the court: Giannis Anteto-
kounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks;
James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers;
Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and the Los
Angeles Clippers; the defending cham-
pion Toronto Raptors’ continued suc-
cess without Leonard; rookies Ja Mo-
rant and Zion Williamson; and the wel-
comed resurgence of a competitive All-
Star Game based on unique scoring
changes.
The playoffs are (were?) shaping up
to feature exciting matchups.
But the off-the-court circumstances
have overshadowed what has happened
on the court. This isn’t to equate life and
loss of life to things like TV ratings and
financial shortfalls, but in totality, this is
not the NBA’s best season.
There might not be playoffs. There
might not be a Finals. There might not
be a 2020 champion.
At best, the league faces the prospect
of a shortened season, and Silver ac-
knowledged Thursday that’s it possible
games won’t resume.
Even through labor disputes have
threatened seasons, the NBA has fin-
ished each year with a champion by
shortening the season.
A year without a champion would be
unprecedented.
Coronavirus threatens more than
just the rest of the season and a finan-
cial punch for the league and possibly
the players. There’s a real trickledown
impact on workers, especially part-time
arena workers, who rely on games for
income.
Yes, some teams and players have
stepped in to help provide financial as-
sistance, but that doesn’t account for
other events at the arena, such as con-
certs, where part-time workers earn ex-
tra income.
There are scores of contract and
independent production freelancers
who are hired by national and regional
sports networks to ensure games are
televised. There are freelance writers
and photographers who rely on games
for income.
Those are not faceless corporations
with deep pockets.
Those are real people with families,
rent, mortgages, bills.
There are, without question, more
important things than games, and Sil-
ver recognized that, doing what needed
to be done – suspending the season. His
move might have prompted other
leagues and organizations to cancel or
postpone events, helping prevent mil-
lions of fans from congregating.
And while Silver will get credit for
helping push decisions in the right di-
rection, he might not get a chance to
hand the Larry O’Brien championship
trophy to a team.
The NBA hoped – and is still hoping –
that an exciting playoffs could salvage
the season.
And maybe it can.
Right now, it is working on solutions
to resume if conditions allow.
Basketball fans around the world
would love it, and so would arena work-
ers and anyone else who derives income
from the games.
But much of it is out of the league’s
control.
The NBA has time.
But not much.
NBA’s emotional roller coaster season
Anthony Davis and LeBron James wear uniform numbers worn by longtime
Lakers player Kobe Bryant during warm-ups.ROBERT HANASHIRO/USA TODAY SPORTS
Jeff Zillgitt
Columnist
USA TODAY