Tag: COVID-19

Shams: NBA sets new COVID-19 protocols for 2022-23 season

It is unclear whether the league has a contingency plan should outbreaks begin and/or ambient cases rise to a degree that might warrant a change to those protocols.

We may not know how COVID-19 will affect the NBA and Boston Celtics in the 2022-23 season, but we know more about how the league plans to mitigate it.

A recent tweet from The Athletic NBA Insider Shams Charania reports the league has a plan in place to prevent games from needing to be rescheduled or canceled entirely due to outbreaks via a multi-pronged strategy.

That approach will include once-weekly surveillance testing for players who are still unvaccinated, tests for vaccinated players when they are symptomatic, and immediate isolation of the player upon return of a positive COVID-19 test result.

Facemasks will not be required for the 2022-23 season’s COVID-19 protocol, per Charania.

It is unclear whether the league has a contingency plan should outbreaks begin and/or ambient cases rise to a degree that might warrant a change to the protocol.

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Colts’ Ryan Kelly tests positive for COVID-19

Colts C Ryan Kelly tested positive for COVID-19.

Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly tested positive for COVID-19 and will not practice Wednesday, according to the team.

Given the new protocols the NFL put in place for the 2022 season, Kelly must isolate for five days after a positive test. That means Kelly is not expected to play in the preseason finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday.

With Kelly now isolating for the time being, the Colts will rely on starting right guard Danny Pinter, who has also been working as the backup center.

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Drew Lock returns to practice but Seahawks QB plan ‘has been adjusted’

After a bout with COVID-19, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock has returned to the field to compete with Geno Smith for the starting nod.

The Seattle Seahawks were without Drew Lock Thursday night against the Chicago Bears as the quarterback was sideline as he battled with COVID-19. His absence was short-lived, however, as Lock was able to return to the practice field on Sunday afternoon.

“He did okay today, yeah, he seemed to bounce back,” coach Pete Carroll told reporters. “He’s six, seven days into it now so he’s in good shape as far as getting back. But you never know until you get out there and start running around. He hung in there, tough, so that’s good.”

With just three games total in the preseason and a quarterback competition in full swing, any missed time could be a disadvantage for Lock, who has been trading first-team reps with Geno Smith.

Asked if things had changed over the last week, Carroll was short.

“The plan has been adjusted,” Carroll said. “I’ll talk to you more about it later in the week or I won’t. I’m not sure.”

The Seahawks return to practice on Monday morning when the QB competition will continue.

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Seahawks QB Geno Smith ‘banged his knee’ vs. Bears but could have returned

Coach Pete Carroll told reporters that Smith banged his knee but could have returned to the game if needed.

The Seahawks offense was relatively pathetic until garbage time against the Bears last night, raising more doubts about the future of their passing attack in the post-Russell Wilson era.

Geno Smith had an opportunity to seal the deal and effectively win the team’s QB1 job, but he didn’t do much to impress in the first half and also suffered a bruise knee. After the game, coach Pete Carroll told reporters that Smith banged his knee but could have returned to the game if needed.

In his time on the field Smith went 10/18 for just 112 yards, no touchdowns and a 74.3 passer rating. While he didn’t do anything to really secure his position as the leader in the QB1 battle, context is important and truthfully Smith doesn’t deserve much of the blame for his team’s offensive struggles against Chicago.

For one thing, Seattle’s receivers let him down over and over by dropping catchable passes, also a theme in last week’s loss to Pittsburgh. While Smith generally got quality protection from his offensive line he also had to deal with several false start penalties, including four from rookie left tackle Charles Cross. That made it very difficult for Smith to build a drive and the same would have been true for most NFL quarterbacks.

Smith is still the most-logical choice to start Week 1 against Wilson and the Broncos and time is running out for Drew Lock to prove otherwise. There’s only one preseason game left on the schedule and Lock is currently unwell.

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Pete Carroll says Drew Lock is still ‘really sick’ with COVID-19

Pete Carroll said as of Thursday he’s still really sick.

The Seahawks’ quarterback room didn’t inspire a lot of enthusiasm in last night’s preseason loss to the Bears. Geno Smith got the start for the second straight game and did very little to affirm his case to replace Russell Wilson as QB1. Meanwhile, third-stringer Jacob Eason ended the game having averaged four yards per pass attempt and posting a 59.3 rating.

The missing piece to the puzzle is Drew Lock, who came over from Denver as part of the Wilson trade. He was supposed to start against Chicago. However, Lock became sick near the end of Tuesday’s practice and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him out of the lineup.

Asked about Lock’s status after last night’s loss, coach Pete Carroll said as of Thursday he’s still really sick, per Brady Henderson at ESPN.

“Carroll said Lock was still “really sick” as of Thursday morning and that no decision has been made on a starter for Seattle’s preseason finale at Dallas next Friday. ‘It’s disappointing he didn’t get a chance to play tonight,” Carroll said. “We had a different plan for this night and we weren’t able to execute it. Couldn’t do anything about it. That’s why I’m still curious to see how he plays with us. Yeah, I am. He’s done enough good things.”

The Seahawks and Lock have seven more days to recover before their final preseason game of the year against the Cowboys.

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Kirk Cousins will practice in full on Wedensday

Cousins is ready for joint practices

After dealing with a short COVID-19 quarantine, things seem to be back to normal for the Minnesota Vikings quarterback.

Having returned to the practice facility yesterday, Kirk Cousins spoke to the media this morning before joint practices were set to begin. The bright side for the Vikings? Cousins will be a full participant in practice.

Cousins spoke on how he contracted COVID-19 at the right time and he would be right. The early portion of the preseason is the time where the starting quarterback usually plays the least. Going into the second game, Cousins and the first team offense will be getting a lot more run.

The joint practices against the San Francisco 49ers are going to be a lot of fun.

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Kirk Cousins returned to practice on Tuesday

QB1 returned to practice on Tuesday afternoon

The Minnesota Viking have been hit by COVID-19 a few times over the last two seasons, none more impactful than week 17 last season at the Green Bay Packers.

Starting quarterback Kirk Cousins tested positive for COVID-19 and missed the game against the Packers. Backup quarterback Sean Mannion started the game and the Packers routed the Vikings by a score of 37-10.

Last week, Cousins tested positive for the virus for the second time. On Tuesday, he returned to practice.

Sieffert also noted that, even though the league has paused its COVID-19 protocols, Cousinds did observe a five-day quarantine as recommended by the CDC.

He returns just in time for joint practices with the San Francisco 49ers, who are coached by his former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.

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Kirk Cousins ruled out for preseason opener after testing positive for COVID-19

Kirk Cousins set to miss the preseason opener after testing positive for COVID-19.

The Minnesota Vikings got some bad news on Friday, and unfortunately, it’s another instance of COVID-19.

Kirk Cousins was sent home on Thursday due to an unspecified illness. At the time, head coach Kevin O’Connell was very non-specific about the illness, stating that they would know more later in the week.

They finally got their answer, and it wasn’t what they were hoping for. The team announced that the 11th-year veteran tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

Thankfully for both Cousins and the Vikings, his symptoms are mild. He will, however, miss some practice and will not be at the game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. Our best to Cousins, who hopefully has a speedy recovery.

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Is golf still booming? Rounds played in U.S. up again for June but down for the year vs. COVID surge

Is golf still booming? Check the weather.

Is golf still booming? Are more people playing in the wake of now years-old COVID-19 gains for the game? How’s the weather? All relevant questions as the golf industry tries to maintain a furious rally in annual rounds played in 2020 and ’21.

The latest: Golf Datatech and the National Golf Foundation reported this week that rounds played in June were up 2.7 percent versus the same month in 2021. But that gain was on the heels of monthly declines in four of the previous five months. For the year, 2022 trails 2021 in rounds played by 5.7 percent, the industry-monitoring Golf Datatech reported.

The weather plays a considerable role, making it difficult for industry trackers to discern if declines in rounds played are because golfers who flocked to courses during the worst of the COVID pandemic have now found other things to do as health restrictions have almost entirely eased.

Industry analyst Pelucid Corp. tracks the days around the country on which weather conditions are favorable for golf, and it has reported a 9-percent decline nationwide in playable hours in 2022. The dip in rounds played, at least in part, might be because of winter weather that stretched well into spring in many areas followed by incredible heat waves and storms through much of the summer.

This all comes after some of the most dramatic increases in rounds played in history. The total number of rounds played in 2020 surged 13.9 percent versus 2019 as the pandemic shut down many alternative entertainment and exercise options. Rounds played increased again in 2021, rising 5.5 percent as the popularity of golf continued.

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Cowboys field emergency ball carriers Thursday as COVID, injury take out 3 RBs

Rico Dowdle and Aaron Shampklin will miss at least 5 days; Ryan Nall injured a shoulder. Joint practice and a game at Denver come next week. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys are quickly running out of bodies in the backfield.

Third-year rusher Rico Dowdle, likely the No. 3 ball carrier on the depth chart behind Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, will miss the rest of this week’s practice sessions after testing positive for COVID, as per the Dallas Morning News. He’s the second running back to contract the virus, joining undrafted rookie Aaron Shampklin.

Team protocol dictates that both players be quarantined for at least five days. If, after five days, no symptoms are present, they may rejoin their fellow players.

Ryan Nall is also a temporary scratch. The fullback signed to the team in April will now miss two to four weeks with a shoulder injury suffered this week.

Combined with Tuesday’s minor injuries to tight ends Jeremy Sprinkle and Jake Ferguson, these latest losses have stretched the offensive unit thin enough that the Cowboys were forced to shorten Thursday’s practice session, reports ESPN’s Todd Archer.

The team is scheduled to depart Oxnard on Aug. 10 and head to Denver, where they’ll practice jointly with the Broncos the following day and then play a preseason game on Aug. 13.

If COVID symptoms linger for Dowdle and Shampklin, it could leave Elliott, Pollard, and undrafted rookie Malik Davis as the only listed running backs available for those dates. (And Elliott has already said he will not see any action in preseason games.)

Wide receivers Dontario Drummond and KaVontae Turpin reportedly took some snaps at running back on Thursday.

They weren’t the only players moonlighting in new spots. Offensive lineman Connor McGovern played some fullback, as did backup center Matt Farniok. And even Elliott, the two-time rushing champ, acted as the lead blocker for Pollard on multiple plays during the day’s practice session.

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