The Washington Post - USA (2020-08-03)

KLMNO

SPORTS

MONDAY, AUGUST 3 , 2020. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS SU D

Bryant, his body splayed on the court, shouted

again.

“I knew [LeVert] really wasn’t paying attention

and wanted to get the shot off quick,” Bryant said.

PRO FOOTBALL

Steven Sims Jr. says he is ready and motivated for a

bigger role in Washington’s offense this season. D2

JERRY BREWER

Pete Carroll is a differe nt kind of coach. He sees his

Seahawks as more than just a collection of players. D3

BASEBALL

The St. Louis Cardinals are bracing for more positive

coronavirus tests — and more postponements. D5

BY MARK MASKE

When the novel coronavirus

pandemic forced the shutdown of

sports in mid-March, it appeared

as if the NFL had time on its side.

It conducted its offseason busi-

ness remotely, with the hope and

assumption that its plans for an

uninterrupted season would be

bolstered by an ever-improving

national response to the out-

break.

But with caseloads elevated in

many parts of the country and the

return of major league baseball

already threatened by a string of

positive tests, time has turned out

to be the NFL’s foe.

“I’m not sure there was any

more implicit assumption than

that we all thought [in early

discussions of health protocols]

that things would trend in a more

positive direction,” DeMaurice

Smith, the executive director of

the NFL Players Association, said

in a recent video conference with

reporters. “The reality is in a lot

of states right now, that trend has

been in an opposite direction.”

The NFL pushed forward this

week, with teams opening train-

ing camps, but its aspirations for

an unaltered season were dented

by an increasingly foreboding set

of circumstances. Some players

are opting out of the season. New

Orleans Saints Coach Sean

SEE NFL ON D2

As time

runs short,

wary NFL

pushes on

BY JESSE DOUGHERTY

Juan Soto has hit all kinds of
homers in a very short and still-
blossoming career. At 19, he went
deep in Yankee Stadium. At 20, he
knotted Game 5 of the National
League Division Series with a solo
shot in the seventh inning. At 21 in
October, he smacked his second
and third bombs of the World Se-
ries.
So now consider Soto on Satur-
day, facing teammate Kyle McGow-
in in a near-empty stadium. The
Washington Nationals played an
intrasquad game after their week-

end series in Miami was canceled.

Soto, having isolated for the past 10

days — and for two weeks at the

start of July — was finally back after

testing positive for the novel coro-

navirus. And McGowin, a minor

league pitcher, was well aware once

Soto ripped one out to left.

First, Soto flipped his bat like a

pinwheel. Next, he pointed at the

bench, shouted, “It’s over!” at a f ew

heckling players and pointed to

the sky while rounding first. Then,

he leaped onto home plate, his feet

crashing down together, as if he

were a child at the park.

It looked like unbridled happi-

ness. But don’t discount the relie f.

“It feels amazing,” Soto said Sat-

urday, mixing in laughter and his

banter with teammates. “I mean,

every time you hit a homer, y ou’re

going to feel good. It feels the same

way, and it feels a little more be-

cause it’s my first da y.”

Soto said he believes he didn ’t

have the coronavirus, despite

learning of his positive result

Opening Day. He never showed

symptoms. He did three rapid-re-

sult antigen te sts July 23, and each

came back negative. None of his

teammates te sted positive in the

following days. He then received

back-to-back lab-confirmed nega-

tives through MLB, which cleared

him to play under its protocols.

Those are a few reasons Soto is

sure this all started with a false

positive. The other is that he has

been cautious and smart away

from the park, according to Soto

SEE SOTO ON D3

Soto insists result was a false positive

Being back with the Nats

after isolating for 10 days

‘feels amazing,’ star says

MANUEL BALCE CENETA/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Nationals outfielder Juan Soto,

left, never showed symptoms

and says he followed protocols.

KIM KLEMENT/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Wizards forward Rui Hachimu ra has nowhere to pass but out while being pressured by a trio of Nets in the first half. The rookie finished with nine points Sunda y.

NATHAN DENETTE/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Captain Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals open the postseason with

three games to determine their Eastern Conference seeding.

BY SAMANTHA PELL

toronto — The Washington
Capitals will get their first taste
of round-robin play Monday af-
ter 10 Stanley Cup playoff games
were played over the weekend.
Because the Capitals, who fin-
ished first in the Metropolitan
Division, were among the top
four teams in their conference,
they are exempt from the do-or-
die best-of-five qualifying series
that 16 teams in the NHL’s modi-
fied 24-team tournament must
play. Instead, they will compete
in a t hree-game round-robin
to urnament for seeding in the
Eastern Conference.
Round-robin games will fol-
low regular season overtime

ru les, which means a five-min-

ute, three-on-three period will be

followed by a shootout if neces-

sary. Regular season success is

the only tiebreaker after three

games.

All team and player statistics

from the round-robin games will

be considered part of the post-

season for record-keeping pur-

poses.

The winners from the qualify-

ing round will face the top four

seeds in best-of seven series in

the first round. The top four

teams in the East are the Capi-

tals, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston

Bruins and Tampa Bay Light-

ning. In the West, th ey are the

Dallas Stars, Colorado Ava-

la nche, St. Louis Blues and Vegas

Golden Knights.

The Capitals, who were third

in the Eastern Conference when

the novel coronavirus pandemic

disrupted the season in March,

open round-robin play against

the Lightning at 4 p .m. Monday

at Scotiabank Arena. Their sec-

ond round-robin game is Thurs-

day against the Flyers, with the

time still to be determined. The

third game is Sunday against the

SEE CAPITALS ON D5

Capitals g ive round-robin play a spin

Team focusing inward as

battle for seeding begins

with Lightning matchup

BY BEN GOLLIVER

kissimmee, fla. — T homas Bryant celebrated as

he backpedaled and admired his fourth three-

pointer, realizing mid-shout that the Brooklyn

Nets were frantically pushing the ball up the court

with seconds left on the clock. This can be a

nightmare scenario for big men — when their feet

might betray them in the frenzy and lead to a

transition foul.

But the Washington Wizards center spun and

recovered, picking a spot to set his feet. Caught

off-guard, Nets guard Caris LeVert plowed into

Bryant and was whistled for an offensive foul.

“I took the charge the best that I can because I

knew he was going to keep coming. I got right in

front of him and took it.”

The bang-bang sequence encapsulated a strong

night for Bryant and an improved second showing

for the Wizards, who pushed the Nets hard Sunday

before falling, 118-110, at HP Field House on the

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Washington (24-42) opened play at the NB A’s

Disney World bubble with a 125-112 loss to the

Phoenix Suns, a fast and loose showing that left

Coach Scott Brooks seeking better defensive com-

munication and discipline. Against the

SEE WIZARDS ON D5

Playo≠ hopes take a hit

NETS 118, WIZARDS 110

Bryant brings ‘juice’ and 30 points,

but Washington slides in East race

Mets at Nationals

Tomorrow, 7:05 p.m., MASN2

Wizards vs. Pacers Today, 4 p .m., NBCSW Plus

Capitals vs. Lightning Today, 4 p .m., NBCSW, NBCSN

BY EMILY GIAMBALVO,

ROBERT KLEMKO

AND BEN STRAUSS

A large group of Pac-12 football

players threatened to boycott fall

practices and games if d emands

related to safety, racial justice and

compensation are not met by the

conference. The players an-

nounced the unprecedented push

for college athlete rights with a

unified statement Sunday morn-

ing, and numerous players tweet-

ed their support of the group’s

mission.

The Pac-12 players asked for

the conference to enforce safety

standards as teams return to play

amid the novel coronavirus pan-

demic. After the death of George

Floyd and a summer of unrest, the

players want the Pac-12 to commit

to addressing social issues such as

racial injustice and grant players

more economic freedom through

revenue sharing and the ability to

profit off their names, images and

likenesses.

More than 400 Pac-12 players

were part of the GroupMe chat

where conversations about this

movement took place, organizers

said, but it is unknown how many

players would opt out of the sea-

son if the demands are not met.

As unpaid college athletes con-

tinue to grasp the leverage they

wield in this multibillion-dollar

industr y, they have started to

push for more rights and protec-

tions. Particularly now as the sea-

son nears with the number of

coronavirus cases still rising in

parts of the country, many college

football players have voiced con-

cerns about the risks of playing

and doubts that the NCAA will

value their safety over revenue.

The National College Players

Association and the organiza-

tion ’s executive director, Ramogi

Huma, offered guidance to this

Pac-12 player-led movement.

Huma said the Floyd protests,

SEE PAC-12 ON D3

Pac-12

players

threaten

to boycott

Group makes demands

related to racial justice,

safety and compensation