Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Not even a week after the 2020 Olympics were postponed the International Olympic Committee has finalized new dates for the Tokyo games.
Not even a week after the 2020 Olympics were postponed the International Olympic Committee has finalized new dates for the Tokyo games.
If the 2021 NBA season runs into the Tokyo Olympics, veteran stars in the playoff could pull out of the Games, giving younger guys a chance.
The delay of the Tokyo Olympics and questions surrounding the NBA in 2020 could lead to younger players taking the spot of veteran stalwarts, according to ESPN.
On Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee and Japan agreed to postpone the Olympics until 2021.
If the 2020 NBA postseason is played and the 2021 season is delayed, then runs into the summer, that could prevent players from going to the Olympics.
Even if the 2020-21 season ends before the 2021 Olympics, players might not be ready to compete in another massive tournament following the completion of the season.
ESPN reporters Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps, who received co-bylines on the story, wrote:
Even if the Olympics and the NBA season do not conflict directly, players could be coming off a grueling 12-to-15-month schedule that could include squeezing in the remainder of the 2019-20 season and then playing the 2020-21 season on a tighter-than-normal timeline.
Stars who make the playoffs, especially those who advance deep, may be less likely to play than those who don’t.
That would mean LeBron James, who would be 36, would not be able to play if he chose to return to the Olympics after missing 2016.
Steph Curry has not played in the Olympics yet, but he would be 33. If the Golden State Warriors manage another deep playoff run, he could miss out.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will all be 32, and James Harden’s 32 birthday will be in August 2021. Chris Paul will be 36, if he were to have interest.
If those athletes have to pull out, younger players could get their chance on the international stage sooner.
ESPN listed rookies Zion Williamson and Ja Morant as two names left off the 44-man Team USA roster that are on path to receive future consideration.
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It’s also possible NCAA players would be considered. Men’s college basketball is scheduled to proceed as normal, so those athletes would theoretically be free over summertime.
That would mean Williamson and Morant, players in next year’s rookie class like AP National Player of the Year Obi Toppin, and the 2021 class with guys like Evan Mobley, Jalen Green and Cade Cunningham could be on Team USA earlier than usual.
Those players won’t necessarily make the Olympic squad, though. Team USA has a large pool of players it selects from.
Since NBA players were allowed in the Olympics in 1992, the only players who were on the team before beginning their rookie seasons were Christian Laettner (1992) and Anthony Davis (2012).
Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James both made the team following their rookie season (2004).
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics is in danger of being postponed in part because athletes — including boxers — can’t train properly.
Amateur boxing’s postponement of Olympic qualifying events during the last couple of weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic are just part of a growing move toward a postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Games.
The International Olympic Committee announced Sunday that it will consider postponement. In a letter to athletes, IOC President Thomas Bach said an outright cancellation has been ruled out. However, re-staging the Games at another date is possible.
According to the letter, the IOC has given itself four weeks to come up with a decision.
Last week, USA Boxing said it would review its selection procedure for the men’s and women’s teams. USA Boxing had already canceled all tournaments through March 31. It was not clear whether they would, or could, be re-scheduled.
Boxers, like athletes in every sport, are having trouble training. Gyms are closed, worldwide.
Until Sunday, the IOC had said the Tokyo Games would go on. Opening ceremonies are still scheduled for July 24, closing ceremonies for Aug. 9.
However, the IOC began to get mounting pressure to postpone late last week. USA Swimming on Friday asked for a postponement until next year. USA Track & Field asked for one on Saturday.
Some star athletes, including USA swimming gold medalist Katie Ledecky, haven’t been able to train. Pools, like gyms, are closed.
Olympic boxing has been on the decline, mostly because of repeated scandals since American Roy Jones Jr. was robbed of a gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Games. Still, Olympic boxing has continued to produce fighters who have gone on to make significant impacts in the professional ranks.
Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko, No. 1 in Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound poll, is a two-time gold medalist, 2008 and 2012.
Shakur Stevenson, a 2016 silver medalist in Brazil, is an emerging star at featherweight. Jose Ramirez, a 2012 U.S. Olympian, holds two junior-welterweight titles. Deontay Wilder, who lost a heavyweight title to Tyson Fury on Feb. 22 in a rematch, won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Games. Claressa Shields is a two-time gold-medalist, 2012 and 2016.
The Olympics qualifiers for the Americas, the final leg for boxers hoping to make the 2020 Tokyo games, has been cancelled…
The Olympic boxing qualifier for the Americas, scheduled to take place March 26 to April 3 in Buenos Aires, has been canceled because of the coronavirus.
The government of Argentina decided to “restrict all types of international events in the country with immediate effect as a precautionary measure to COVID-19,” according to a statement by the International Olympic Committee Boxing Task Force, the organization that took over for AIBA to oversee all boxing events for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“We are searching for the appropriate solution for this unexpected situation and will immediately inform the National Olympic Committees, National Federations and other impacted parties as soon as further information is available.”
The tournament, which is open to all boxers from North, South and Central America, is the last qualifier for boxers hoping to make the summer Tokyo Olympics. It is uncertain whether the IOC will move ahead with the Olympics. The games are scheduled to start July 24.
The BTF organizes qualifiers in five regions around the world but is unlikely to complete them all. The European qualifier is still scheduled to take place in London March 13-23, but a delay or cancellation is still a possibility. The final qualifier is scheduled for May 13 in Paris.
The BTF’s announcement was made Wednesday shortly before the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. Later that same day, the NBA decided to suspend its season “until further notice” after one of its players, center Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz, tested positive for the coronavirus.
Among many drastic steps taken by sports organizations worldwide, the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be played without fans.
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Japanese authorities have canceled all boxing cards through at least April 1 because of the coronavirus threat.
There will be no boxing in March in Japan because of the coronavirus threat.
The day after a card was postponed in northern Italy because of the spreading threat of a pandemic, the Japanese Boxing Commission and Japanese Professional Boxing Association announced in a joint statement Wednesday that they are “suspending all boxing during a one-month period, nationwide.’’
A card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Thursday will be the last boxing in Japan until at least April 1.
Fifteen cards were scheduled for March in Japan – nine in Tokyo, one in Osaka, one in Okayama, one in Fukuoka, one in Okinawa and two in Kariya in Aichi Prefecture.
The boxing decision came a day after International Olympic Committee Vice President Richard Pound sparked fears that the virus, a respiratory infection, could threaten the Tokyo Olympics.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Pound said that a decision would have to be made “two to three months” before opening ceremonies on July 24.
“You could certainly go to two months out if you had to,” Pound said. “By and large, you’re looking at a cancellation. This is the new war, and you have to face it. In and around there, folks are going to have to say: ‘Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident of going to Tokyo or not?’”
However, on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Japanese government said the IOC and those organizing the Games plan to stage them as planned. He said Pound can express his opinion but that it’s not the official view of the IOC.
On Tuesday, Matchroom Boxing announced that a card featuring a super-middleweight fight between Daniele Scardina (18-0, 14 KOs) and Andrew Francillette (21-2-1, 5 KOS) in Milan would be re-scheduled because of the virus.
Multiple deaths in Italy prompted authorities to place restrictions on public events in various regions, including Lombardy, where Milan is located. The Italian restrictions, which have forced postponements of soccer and rugby events, will last until March 1.
On Jan. 23, junior welterweight Jose Ramirez’s title defense against Viktor Postol on Feb.1 in Haikou, China, was canceled and then rescheduled for May 9 in Fresno, California, Ramirez’ hometown.
The IOC has a deadline for deciding the status of the Tokyo Olympics.
We’re just a few weeks away from the start of the Olympic torch relay in Greece, which begins with the flame lighting ceremony in Olympia on March 12th – but the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which continues to spread around the world, has left many wondering whether the 2020 Tokyo Games could be at risk of a postponement or cancellation.
The 2020 Olympics are scheduled to open on July 24th, and according to International Olympic Committee senior member Dick Pound, we should know by late May whether the Games will occur this summer. In an interview with the Associated Press, Pound said that the scale of the event makes any kind of postponement impossible, and that if action needs to be taken to protect attendees, the Games will likely be cancelled.
Via the AP:
“In and around that time, I’d say folks are going to have to ask: ‘Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or not?'”
The Olympics have never been cancelled due to a health concern – though some athletes chose not to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro due to the Zika virus. The Olympics have been cancelled five times in the past, due to World War I and World War II.
According to Pound, though, the IOC expects the Olympics and the Paralympics to continue as scheduled.
“As far as we all know, you’re going to be in Tokyo. All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual. So keep focused on your sport and be sure that the IOC is not going to send you into a pandemic situation.”
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AIBA is looking to change its name after missing out on organizing the boxing tournament for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
AIBA, the embattled organization that oversees international amateur boxing, is mulling a name change after losing out on the opportunity to organize the boxing tournament for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
“There is a wish to reform, and a change of the name is also a part of reform,” Mohamed Moustahsane, AIBA’s interim president, said in a statement to the Associated Press. “It will be discussed at the next (executive committee) meeting to be presented at the Congress in March.”
The International Olympic Committee suspended AIBA in June 2019 for issues related to debt and governance and assumed the reins for overseeing the boxing competition of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
AIBA is reportedly at least $16 million in debt. AIBA’s last president Gafur Rakhimov, who has had alleged links to organized crime and drug trafficking, stepped down last July amid an IOC investigation. The U.S. Treasury Department accused Rakhimov of being “one of Uzbekistan’s leading criminals,” according to the Associated Press.
Moustahsane, who was voted in as interim president last March, noted to AP that he is working with AIBA’s creditors.
“It’s a heavy heritage, but I am confident that the creditors are fully aware of AIBA’s financial situation,” he said. “Chinese and Azerbaijani companies are our main creditors, the good thing is these countries are deeply involved in the sport, especially in boxing. I am sure that we will reach an agreement for the best interest of the sport.”
The boxing competition at the Tokyo Games begins July 25 and runs through Aug. 9.
