USA Today - 18.03.2020

Tennis major will be played in late September,

which opens with Triple Crown race. Page 5C

French Open, Kentucky

Derby postponed till fall

Padres outfielder talks of growing ‘frustration’ as

opening pushed back to at least May. Page 6C

MLB players unsure of start of

season, how they’ll be paid

E

USA TODAY| WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020 | SECTION C

SPORTS

FIRST WORD

For those who say we do

everything for money, this is

the most painful thing we’ve ever

done financially. We will lose a

significant portion of our revenue.

We’re working our way through

that right now, as you might

expect ... but there’s no way to go

through this year and into next

year without a very significant

financial interruption.”

NCAA president Mark Emmert on the

impact of canceling March Madness.

The NCAA’s revenue comes from the

tournament, and most of that is then

passed on to the member schools.

Emmert also said, “We would have

loved to postpone it. We looked at

postponing it, and also looked at

whether we could move it up, shorten

the tournament to a Sweet 16 to ac-

celerate and get in front of the spread

of the coronavirus, but we wound up

having to conclude we couldn’t do

either one.”

NOTABLE NUMBERS

$100 million

Over five years for Dallas WR Amari

Cooper, the Cowboys announced,

surpassing Saints receiver Michael

Thomas’ $96.25 million extension to

become the richest receiver in NFL

history.

$1 million

From each of the 30 Major League

Baseball teams to help support ball-

park employees during the coronavi-

rus shutdown, according to commis-

sioner Rob Manfred.

77

Miles left as of Tuesday eve-

ning for Norway’s Thomas

Waerner, leader of the Iditarod, one of

the few sports still being contested.

Three-time champion Mitch Seavey

was five hours behind Waerner, ac-

cording to the Anchorage Daily News.

The race is scheduled to end Wednes-

day.

4

Nets players tested positive for

COVID-19, according to the team.

Kevin Durant told The Athletic he was

one of them. This makes at least seven

NBA players who have coronavirus.

LAST WORD

We are unbelievably excited

to have Bryce Drew lead our

basketball program into its next

phase of development.”

Grand Canyon president Brian Mueller

in a statement announcing the hiring

of former Valparaiso star and Vander-

bilt coach Bryce Drew to head the

basketball program. Drew replaces

Dan Majerle, who was let go after

posting a 136–89 record in Grand Can-

yon’s first seven years as an NCAA

Division I member.

FANTASY EXTRA

Although opening day is delayed, our

annual issue prepares you for baseball

drafts and the 2020 season. Our 23

pages of fantasy coverage include

player rankings, projected stats and

lineups, experts’ auctions and average

player draft positions. Available on

newsstands or subscribe at mysports-

weekly.com or 800-872-1415.

Staff and wire reports

EMMERT BY ROBERT DEUTSCH/USA TODAY

SPORTSLINE

INDIANAPOLIS – The rumor has

become reality.

Indianapolis has agreed to terms

with longtime Chargers quarterback

Philip Rivers in free agency, a person

with knowledge of the deal told the

USA TODAY Network, in a move that

likely ends Jacoby Brissett’s time as

the Colts’ starter at the position. The

person spoke on condition of anonym-

ity because the deal cannot be complet-

ed until the start of the new league year

on Wednesday.

The Colts are signing the 38-year-old

Rivers to a one-year deal worth $25 mil-

lion, according to ESPN.

The move capped a wild day involv-

ing prominent NFL quarterbacks. Be-

yond the stunning Tom Brady an-

nouncement he would leave New Eng-

land that jump-started Tuesday, Drew

Brees agreed on a deal to stay with the

Saints while former New Orleans back-

up Teddy Bridgewater, according to

multiple reports, agreed to go to the di-

visional-rival Panthers, who also said

starter Cam Newton could seek a trade.

Facing uncertainty at the quarter-

back position for the first time in more

than two decades in Indianapolis, Colts

owner Jim Irsay, general manager Chris

Ballard and Frank Reich made a move at

the game’s most important position, a

move coming just hours after Ballard

made an enormous splash by trading his

first-round pick to the 49ers for All-Pro

Rivers lands 1-year Colts deal

Joel A. Erickson

The Indianapolis Star

USA TODAY

See RIVERS, Page 3C

Lilly King is American Olympic roy-

alty, a two-time swimming gold med-

alist in 2016 in Rio who is expected to

be one of the veterans of the U.S.

Olympic team this summer in Tokyo.

But right now, little more than four

months before the July 24 opening

ceremony, King’s description of what

life is like for the nation’s Olympians

trying to prepare for Tokyo in the midst

of the coronavirus outbreak is sobering.

“The athletes’ lives have truly been

turned upside down by this,” she wrote

in a text message Tuesday to USA TO-

DAY Sports. “Most of us are struggling

to find places to let us in to work out.

Many don’t know where they are train-

ing tomorrow. We have to prepare as if

the Olympics are going on as planned,

even if our training plans have com-

pletely changed within the last week.”

Several hours before King sent those

Olympian: Lives ‘turned upside down’

Christine Brennan

Columnist

USA TODAY

See BRENNAN, Page 5C

Lilly King is an 11-time world champ

expecting to compete at the Tokyo

Olympics.MADDIE MEYER/GETTY IMAGES

Tom Brady didn’t take long to deter-

mine his landing spot in the NFL.

The former Patriots quarterback

agreed in principle to sign with the

Buccaneers, a person with knowledge

of the deal told USA TODAY on Tues-

day evening. The person spoke on con-

dition of anonymity because the deal

had not been finalized and cannot be

completed until the start of the league

year Wednesday.

The deal is believed to be worth

roughly $30 million a year, according

to the report.

Earlier in the day, NFL Network re-

ported that the Chargers believed they

were out of the running for Brady. The

six-time Super Bowl champion and

three-time MVP would prefer to stay

on the East Coast because of “family

considerations,” according to the re-

port.

ESPN had reported the Buccaneers

had emerged as the front-runner.

The new NFL league year starts at

4 p.m. ET Wednesday. However, negoti-

ations have been allowed to go on.

Brady, who will turn 43 in August, an-

nounced Tuesday morning that he will

not return to the Patriots next season

and instead look elsewhere in free agen-

cy.

“To all my teammates, coaches, exec-

utives and staff, Coach (Bill) Belichick,

RKK (owner Robert Kraft) and the Kraft

family and the entire organization,” Bra-

dy wrote on a post to his social media

channels. “I want to say thank you for

the past twenty years of my life and the

daily commitment to winning and cre-

ating a winning culture built on great

values. ... Although my football journey

will take place elsewhere, I appreciate

everything that we have achieved and

am grateful for our incredible TEAM ac-

complishments.”

Several other quarterback dominoes

have already fallen throughout the NFL.

The Titans, once seen as a leading con-

tender for Brady because former team-

mate Mike Vrabel is now their head

coach, decided to re-sign incumbent

starter Ryan Tannehill to a four-year,

$118 million contract on Sunday.

On Tuesday, the Colts reached a one-

year pact with longtime Chargers sig-

nal-caller Philip Rivers, a person with

knowledge of the move told USA TO-

DAY. The person spoke on condition of

anonymity because deals cannot be-

come official until Wednesday.

The Chargers were in the running for

Brady because they have an opening on

the depth chart and they want to revive

their fan base – especially given they’re

scheduled to move into new SoFi Stadi-

um in Los Angeles.

They’ve got studs permeating the

roster, including WRs Keenan Allen and

Mike Williams, RB Austin Ekeler and

franchise-tagged TE Hunter Henry. GM

Tom Telesco also has the requisite cap

room.

When you’re a California kid in the

process of starting up your own Holly-

wood production company – and one

who might want to stay in the AFC (the

Chargers will host the Patriots in 2020)

After 20 years with the Patriots, Tom Brady has plotted his next landing point on the NFL landscape as Tampa with the

Buccaneers. KIM KLEMENT/USA TODAY SPORTS

Brady heading to Bucs

and sunny Florida

Mike Jones

and Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz

USA TODAY

See BUCS, Page 3C