D2 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST.SATURDAy, MARCH 14 , 2020
Dorrance said. “She will be a
great leader on the men’s side, as
well. Yo u’re certainly disappoint-
ed in the reasons she is in the
position [following Cordeiro’s
fall], but we can celebrate from
all sorts of different perspectives.
This couldn’t have happened any
better for our game and this
incredibly important organiza-
tion.”
Dorrance credits Parlow Cone
with running UNC practices in
2012, when he was spending time03). She was inducted into the
National Soccer Hall of fame in
2018.
Dorrance believes Parlow
Cone’s leadership qualities will
serve the federation well, saying
she was “among an extraordi-
nary group of women” who ele-
vated the program to global su-
periority and inspired millions of
young people.
“So excited for Cindy but also
for U.S. Soccer, and I’m not just
talking about the women’s side,”OLYMPICS
Semenya shifts to 200
in bid to run in Tokyo
caster semenya said friday
that she’s switching events to
the 200 meters in an effort to
run at the Tokyo Games.
The two-time olympic 800-
meter champion from South
Africa is barred from competing
in top-level races in distances
from 400 meters to one mile
unless she undergoes treatment
to reduce her natural
testosterone levels.
Semenya announced her
decision on her Instagram
account. She said it was driven
by a desire “to compete at the
highest level of sport.”
Semenya needs to improve
her personal best in the 200
meters by nearly two seconds to
qualify for the Games. Her best
is 24.26 seconds; the olympic
qualifying standard is 22.80....
Dana Zatopkova, an olympic
javelin champion at the 1952
Helsinki Games and the wife of
running great emil Zatopek,
died in Prague at 97, the Czech
olympic Committee said. N o
cause of death was given.PRO FOOTBALL
The Baltimore ravens
designated Pro Bowl o utside
linebacker Matthew Judon with
the franchise tag, k eeping the
team’s top pass rusher from
entering free agency as they
negotiate a long-term deal.U nder the nonexclusive
franchise tag — which allows
teams to match any offer and, if
their player signs elsewhere,
receive two compensatory first-
round draft picks — J udon
would get a one-year tender
offer of about $17 million....
The Los Angeles Chargers
placed the n onexclusive
franchise tag on tight end
Hunter Henry and released two
team captains, linebacker
Thomas Davis sr. and defensive
tackle Brandon Mebane....
The Denver Broncos placed
the franchise tag on safety
Justin simmons and p icked up
the 2020 contract options on
star pass rusher Von Miller,
linebacker Todd Davis and
kicker Brandon McManus....The Jacksonville Jaguars put
the nonexclusive franchise tag
on disgruntled defensive end
Yannick Ngakoue, a move that
guarantees him more than
$19 million next season....
The minnesota Vikings
terminated the contracts of two
longtime starters: nose tackle
Linval Joseph and cornerback
Xavier rhodes. The moves clear
more than $18.5 million off the
team’s salary cap....
The Te nnessee Titans waived
three-time Pro Bowl tight end
Delanie Walker and veteran
kicker ryan succop....
The Cincinnati Bengals
released tackle cordy Glenn,
who missed most of last season
because of a concussion and a
suspension....Chicago Bears i nside
linebacker Danny Trevathan
received a three-year extension.COLLEGE BASKETBALL
minnesota Coach richard
Pitino will return for his eighth
season with the men’s program,
a person with knowledge of the
situation confirmed....
T im cluess, who led Iona to
six NCAA tournament
appearances, resigned to focus
on making a full recovery from a
recent health concern....
Illinois Chicago fired coach
steve Mcclain after five
seasons in which he went 76-93,
42-48 i n the Horizon League....
U NC Wilmington hired North
Carolina State assistant Takayo
siddle as its head coach.MISC.
Ted cox, the first major
league baseball player with hits
in his first six at-bats, d ied at 65
on Wednesday, according to the
Barnes friederich funeral
Home in midwest City, okla.
Cox got four hits in his major
league debut for the Boston red
Sox on Sept. 18, 1977, at the
Baltimore orioles and two more
in the next game....
W ith the NBA season on hold
because of the coronavirus
pandemic, Dallas mavericks
guard Jalen Brunson went
ahead with surgery for a right
shoulder injury that had
sidelined him for three weeks.
He had the procedure on his
labrum in Dallas, the team said.
— From news servicesDIGESTsaid “she was incredibly impres-
sive. She came with a list of
questions based on her research
of me and was enormously chal-
lenging. She was almost a force
of nature.”
A year later, Parlow Cone was
elected vice president. Last
month, she easily won reelection.
Although she is well regarded
in the soccer community, there is
skepticism about whether some-
one already working in the feder-
ation can change things. And
there are questions of her role in
the mishandling of the women’s
lawsuit.
“I would be reluctant to wel-
come anyone from the inside to
be promoted to a higher position,
but she is definitely an exception
to that rule,” said Kyle martino, a
former mLS midfielder and cur-
rent Premier League analyst for
NBC Sports who sought the U SSf
presidency two years ago.
“It’s hard to put the blame on
any one person because the fail-
ure is systemic.... It’s not
enough for Cindy and others to
leave; I’d rather see them fight to
create the federation I’ve heard
they are fighting for but has
fallen on deaf ears.
“She is incredibly bright. She
has a lot of integrity. And she is
taking the reins of a very difficult
ship to right.”
[email protected]always led with integrity and a
commitment to others. I have no
doubt that she will dedicate her-
self to making our game better
for all.”
Anson Dorrance, the longtime
coach at the University of North
Carolina, where he guided Par-
low Cone and later hired her as a
part-time assistant, was happy to
hear of her promotion.
“The timing for a woman to be
running U.S. Soccer couldn’t be
better,” he said in an interview.
“A nd to have a strong and power-
ful woman like Cindy step in also
couldn’t be better for U. S. Soccer
and the long-term development
of the game in the United States.”
Parlow Cone is best known for
her scoring exploits for the na-
tional team between 1995 and
2006, posting 75 goals in 158 ap-
pearances. Her career was cut
short by post-concussion syn-
drome.
At 5 feet 11, she was a towering
presence in the attack and — as
part of a unit that included,
among others, Hamm, michelle
Akers and Kristine Lilly — h elped
the Americans win the 1996 and
2004 olympic tournaments and
the 1999 World Cup.
Professionally, she played for
the Atlanta Beat in the Women’s
United Soccer Association (2001-
soccer from D1
T iming for woman to lead U.S. Soccer ‘couldn’t be better’ as Parlow Cone ascends
CHARLES REX ARBOGAST/ASSOCIATED PRESSNorth Carolina fC in the ra-
leigh-Durham area as director of
girls’ youth programs. (The
USSf’s elected positions are un-
paid.)
In USSf political circles, Par-
low Cone was a consultant in
2018 to the athletes’ council,
whose support of Cordeiro in an
eight-person field was instru-
mental to his election.
Candidate Steve Gans, a Bos-
ton-based attorney, did not win
Cone’s support. But on friday hewith his ailing wife. That was the
last time the Ta r Heels won the
NCAA championship.
“I had no issue telling the
world she was my secret weap-
on,” he said.
When the National Women’s
Soccer League launched in 2013,
the Portland Thorns hired her as
their head coach. They won the
championship. She then stepped
down for family reasons.
In recent years, the memphis
native has been working forCHARLES REX ARBOGAST/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Perhaps cindy Parlow cone’s biggest task will be the u.s. women’s gender discrimination lawsuit, which carlos cordeiro, right, bungled.hopeful it could still be held this
year.
The decision came less than
24 hours after the PGA To ur can-
celed the final three rounds of the
Players Championship, as well as
all other To ur events through
April 5. The masters was sched-
uled to take place the following
week, which means the world’s
top golfers probably won’t play a
tournament again until at least
mid-April.
“Ultimately, the health and
well-being of everyone associated
with these events and the citizens
of the Augusta community led us
to this decision,” fred ridley,
chairman of Augusta National
Golf Club, said in a statement.
“We hope this postponement puts
us in the best position to safely
host the masters To urnament and
our amateur events at some later
date.”
Around the same time friday,
Boston mayor martin J. Walsh
appeared at a news conference
and announced the Boston mara-
thon, originally scheduled for
April 20, would be postponed
until Sept. 14, another proactive
measure by event organizers to
minimize large gatherings and
help stem the outbreak of the
virus that causes covid-19.
“our expectation and hope
right now is that this day will get
us to a safer date,” Walsh said. “We
want to make sure that we keep
people safe.... That’s what all
this is about.”
moving the marathon — one of
the largest and most prestigious
distance races in the world — i s “a
very big undertaking,” Walsh
said, adding that the proposed
new date of the race “jumped
around like a pinball” as officials
discussed logistics. Questions
about temperatures and possible
conflicts with activities at local
schools had to be considered.
The marathon winds its way
through eight Boston-area com-
munities over the 26.2 miles, at-
tracting more than 30,000 run-
ners and crowds that annually
exceed 500,000 along the route.
The race began in 1897 and has
been altered only once before: in
1918 during World War I, when a
military relay race was held in-
stead.
runners were bracing for the
postponement; other marathons
across the globe similarly were
impacted by the coronavirus,
VIrus from D1
with rome canceling its race and
Paris moving its event to october.
on friday, race officials also de-
layed the London marathon until
oct. 4. It had been scheduled for
April 26.
NASCAr, which earlier this
week had planned to stage its
next two Cup Series races without
fans present, reversed course fri-
day, postponing both Sunday’s
race at Atlanta motor Speedway
and the march 22 race at Home-
stead-miami Speedway.
“We believe this decision is in
the best interest of the safety and
well-being of our fans, competi-
tors, officials and everyone asso-
ciated with our sport,” the circuit
said on statement. “We will con-
tinue to monitor this dynamic
situation as we assess future race
events.”
Sunday’s IndyCar race, which
likewise was to be run in the
absence of fans in St. Petersburg,
fla., also was canceled, alongwith all other IndyCar races
through April.
The U.S. olympic wrestling tri-
als, scheduled for April 4-5 in
University Park, Pa., were also
postponed, making the event the
first U.S. trials to be impacted.
The International olympic Com-
mittee, meanwhile, remained
steadfast in its stance that the
To kyo Games will take place as
scheduled this summer.
The mass postponements are
sure to prompt creative schedule-
shuffling with leagues, broadcast-
ers, sponsors and municipalities.
rescheduling the masters, usual-
ly golf ’s first major of the year,
could be especially tricky, and
tournament officials might have
to target September or later.
There is no hole on the summer
golf calendar that isn’t otherwise
occupied by an existing PGA To ur
event. In addition, Augusta Na-
tional holds its tournament in
April to take advantage of idealconditions. Te mperatures are so
hot in the summer that the course
is closed, and it doesn’t reopen to
members until early fall.
The PGA To ur concludes its
season Aug. 30 in Atlanta, just a
couple of hours west of Augusta.
The masters could seek to host its
tournament shortly after that, be-
fore international players return
to their home countries.
The masters has been held in
Augusta, Ga., every year since
1934, except for 1943-45, when it
was canceled because of World
War II.
“Unfortunately, the ever-in-
creasing risks associated with the
widespread Coronavirus covid-19
have led us to a decision that
undoubtedly will be disappoint-
ing to many, although I am confi-
dent is appropriate under these
unique circumstances,” ridley
said in the statement.
The soccer world has been
rocked by the disease with a high-profile player and a manager test-
ing positive for the virus. While
Concacaf suspended all competi-
tions for the next 30 days, UEfA,
the governing body for European
soccer, announced that all round-
of-16 matches in its Champions
League and Europa League club
competitions scheduled for next
week were postponed. Because
those matches will not be played
as scheduled, the march 20 quar-
terfinal draws also were put off.
“further decisions on when
these matches take place will be
communicated in due course,”
UEfA said in a statement.
A number of European profes-
sional leagues also suspended op-
erations friday because of the
coronavirus, including the Pre-
mier League, which will halt play
until at least April 3. That deci-
sion was made just one day after
Arsenal manager mikel Arteta
tested positive for the coronavi-
rus and its entire first teamplaced itself in isolation. Chel-
sea’s Callum Hudson-odoi also
tested positive, and players from
four other clubs — B ournemouth,
Everton, Leicester and Watford —
were in self-isolation after show-
ing symptoms.
To p leagues in france and Ger-
many also suspended play, falling
in line with counterparts in
Spain, Italy, Portugal and the
Netherlands that had already
shut down because of the corona-
virus.
With club competitions across
Europe halted and season com-
pletions delayed, UEfA must de-
cide what to do with this sum-
mer’s Euro 2020 tournament.
Speculation centered on a post-
ponement until 2021.
In many ways, the most sur-
prising developments this week
revolved around the organiza-
tions that opted to continue hold-
ing events.
mexico’s top soccer league is
one of the few not to shut down
amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Liga mX matches through the
weekend were still set to be
played — with fans allowed to
watch in most cases — though
pregame handshakes among
players, officials and child mas-
cots would not be allowed.
And UfC President Dana
White said Thursday that his
company would continue to stage
its upcoming mixed martial arts
shows, beginning with one Satur-
day in Brazil that won’t have fans
in attendance. The following
weekend, a UfC card in London
will “proceed as planned,” h e said.
The company is moving its
march 28 event from Columbus,
ohio, where the governor has
called for no spectators at indoor
sporting events, to a UfC-owned
arena in Las Vegas.
White said that the UfC has
always gone “overboard with
health and safety” and that he
even consulted President Trump
and Vice President Pence this
week.
“They’re saying, ‘Be cautious,
be careful, but live your life and
stop panicking,’ ” White told
ESPN. “Everybody is panicking,
and instead of panicking, we’re
actually getting out there and
working with doctors and health
officials and the government to
figure out how we keep the sport
safe and how we can continue to
put on events.”
[email protected]
[email protected]Spring sports calender all but empty after more events fall
DAVID J. PHILLIP/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Masters, which was scheduled for April 9, was postponed with no new date. Tournament officials hoped i t could still be held this year.