B4 The BulleTin • Friday, January 15, 2021
ON THE AIR
SCOREBOARD
FRIDAY
BASKETBALL
Women’s college, Stanford at Utah
Men’s college, Marshall at Western Kentucky
Men’s college, Alabama-Birmingham at Charlotte
Women’s college, California at Colorado
Men’s college, Bowling Green at Buffalo
Men’s college, Duquesne at St. Bonaventure
Men’s college, Cleveland St. at Wright St.
NBA, Dallas at Milwaukee
Men’s college, Wisconsin at Rutgers
NBA, New Orleans at L.A. Lakers
Men’s college, Fresno St. at Nevada
FIGURE SKATING
U.S. Championships, Rhythm Dance
GYMNASTICS
Women’s college, Iowa at Minnesota
Women’s college, Auburn at Kentucky
Women’s college, LSU at Arkansas
GOLF
PGA Tour, Sony Open in Hawaii
WRESTLING
College, Northwestern at Purdue
College, Nebraska at Iowa
BASEBALL
Australian Baseball League, Perth vs. Brisbane
SAILING
Americas Cup Prada Challenger Series
SOCCER
Premier League,
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. West Brom
Time
12:30 p.m.
2 p.m.
2 p.m.
2:30 p.m.
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
4:30 p.m.
6 p.m.
7 p.m.
8 p.m.
TV
Pac-12
CBSSN
ESPNU
Pac-12
CBSSN
ESPN2
ESPNU
ESPN
FS1
ESPN
FS1
1 p.m.
NBCSN
1:30 p.m.
4 p.m.
5:30 p.m.
Big Ten
SEC
SEC
4 p.m.
Golf
4 p.m.
6 p.m.
Big Ten
Big Ten
6 p.m.
Root
6 p.m.
NBCSN
4:30 a.m. (Sat) NBCSN
SATURDAY
SOCCER
Premier League,
Leeds United vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
Premier League, Fulham vs. Chelsea
Mexico Primera Division, Monterrey vs. América
Italian Serie A, Napoli vs. Fiorentina
BASKETBALL
Men’s college, Ohio St. at Illinois
Men’s college, North Carolina at Florida St.
Men’s college, Georgia at Ole Miss
Men’s college, Syracuse at Pittsburgh
Men’s college, Marquette at St. John’s
Men’s college, Missouri at Texas A&M
Men’s college, San Diego St. at Utah St.
Women’s college, North Alabama at Liberty
Men’s college, Kentucky at Auburn
Men’s college, Michigan at Minnesota
Men’s college, Creighton at Butler
Men’s college, George Mason at Rhode Island
Men’s college, Stanford at Colorado
Men’s college, Xavier at Seton Hall
Men’s college, Arkansas at Alabama
Men’s college, Baylor at Texas Tech
Men’s college, Florida at Mississippi St.
Men’s college, East Tennessee St. at Furman
Women’s college, Ohio St. at Nebraska
Men’s college, Washington at UCLA
Men’s college, New Mexico at UNLV
Men’s college, Virginia at Clemson
Men’s college, Northern Iowa at Loyola-Chicago
Men’s college, Loyola Marymount at Pacific
Men’s college, Vanderbilt at Tennessee
Men’s college, Arizona St. at Oregon St.
Men’s college, Oklahoma at Oklahoma St.
Men’s college, BYU at San Francisco
Women’s college, Iowa St. at Baylor
Men’s college, South Carolina at LSU
Men’s college, Washington St. at Southern Cal
Men’s college, Gonzaga at Saint Mary’s (Calif.)
Men’s college, California at Utah
NBA, Atlanta at Portland
WRESTLING
College, Penn St. at Rutgers
FIGURE SKATING
U.S. Championships, Men’s Short
U.S. Championships, Free Dance/Pairs Free Skate
FOOTBALL
NFL, L.A. Rams at Green Bay
NFL, Baltimore at Buffalo
HORSE RACING
America’s Day at the Races
GOLF
PGA Tour, Sony Open in Hawaii
HOCKEY
College, Ohio St. at Michigan
College, St. Cloud St. at Western Michigan
BASEBALL
Australian Baseball League, Brisbane vs. Adelaide
7 a.m.
NBCSN
9:30 a.m.
NBC
7 p.m.
FS1
3:25 a.m. (Sun) ESPN2
9 a.m.
9 a.m.
9 a.m.
9 a.m.
9 a.m.
10 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
11 a.m.
11 a.m.
11 a.m.
11 a.m.
11 a.m.
noon
12:30 p.m.
12:30 p.m.
1 p.m.
1 p.m.
1 p.m.
2 p.m.
2 p.m.
2:30 p.m.
3 p.m.
3 p.m.
3 p.m.
3 p.m.
4 p.m.
5 p.m.
5 p.m.
5 p.m.
5:30 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
7 p.m.
7 p.m.
7 p.m.
FOX
ESPN
ESPN2
Root
FS1
SEC
CBS
ESPNU
ESPN
ESPN2
FS1
NBCSN
Pac-12
CBSSN
SEC
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPNU
Big Ten
Pac-12
CBSSN
ESPN
ESPN2
Root
SEC
Pac-12
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPNU
SEC
Pac-12
ESPN
ESPNU
NBCSNW
11:30 a.m.
Big Ten
1 p.m.
6 p.m.
NBC
NBCSN
1:35 p.m.
5:15 p.m.
FOX
NBC
3 p.m.
FS1
4 p.m.
Golf
4 p.m.
4:30 p.m.
Big Ten
CBSSN
8:30 p.m.
Root
Listings are the most accurate available. The Bulletin
is not responsible for late changes made by TV stations.
SPORTS BRIEFING
BASKETBALL
Men’s college
PAC-12 CONFERENCE
Conference
All Games
W L
Pct W L Pct
uCla
6 0 1.000 10 2 .833
Southern Cal
4 1
.800 10 2 .833
Oregon
4 1
.800 9 2 .818
Colorado
4 2
.667 10 3 .769
Stanford
4 2
.667 8 4 .667
arizona
3 3
.500 9 3 .750
Washington St. 2 3
.400 9 3 .750
utah
2 4
.333 5 5 .500
Oregon St.
1 2
.333 5 4 .556
arizona St.
1 2
.333 4 5 .444
California
1 6
.143 6 8 .429
Washington
0 6
.000 1 10 .091
Thursday’s Games
Colorado 89, California 60
utah 79, Stanford 65
uCla 91, Washington St. 61
Southern Cal 95, Washington 68
arizona at Oregon St., late
arizona St. at no. 22 Oregon, ppd.
Saturday’s Games
Stanford at Colorado, noon
Washington at uCla, 2 p.m.
arizona St. at Oregon St., 4 p.m.
Washington St. at Southern Cal, 6:30 p.m.
arizona at no. 22 Oregon, ppd.
California at utah, 7 p.m.
TOP 25 SCORES
Thursday’s Games
no. 1 Gonzaga 95, Pepperdine 70
no. 5 iowa vs. Michigan St., ppd.
no. 11 houston at South Florida, ppd.
Women’s college
PAC-12 CONFERENCE
Conference
All Games
W L
Pct W L Pct
Stanford
7 0 1.000 10 0 1.000
Washington St. 5 1
.833 7 1 .875
arizona
7 2
.778 9 2 .818
uCla
5 2
.714 7 2 .778
Oregon
7 3
.700 9 3 .750
arizona St.
3 3
.500 7 3 .700
Southern Cal
3 5
.375 5 5 .500
Colorado
2 5
.286 4 6 .400
Oregon St.
1 3
.250 3 3 .500
utah
2 7
.222 3 7 .300
Washington
1 5
.167 4 5 .444
California
0 7
.000 0 10 .000
Thursday’s Game
no. 11 arizona 57, no. 10 Oregon 41
Friday’s Games
no. 1 Stanford at utah, 12:30 p.m.
California at Colorado, 2:30 p.m.
no. 25 Washington St. at Southern Cal, 4:30 p.m.
Oregon St. at arizona St., ppd.
Washington at no. 8 uCla, ppd.
Thursday’s Boxscore
No. 11 Arizona 57, No. 10 Oregon 41
OREGON (9-3)
Boley 0-1 0-0 0, Sabally 6-9 3-9 15, Mikesell 0-2 0-0 0,
Paopao 2-9 0-0 4, Shelley 2-3 0-0 5, Giomi 0-1 0-0 0,
Prince 0-2 1-2 1, Chavez 1-2 2-2 5, dugalic 1-5 0-0 2,
Parrish 2-8 2-2 7, Scherr 1-2 0-0 2, Watson 0-2 0-0 0.
Totals 15-46 8-15 41.
ARIZONA (9-2)
Baptiste 4-13 4-4 14, reese 2-4 0-0 5, Thomas 2-3 6-7 10,
Mcdonald 6-14 2-6 16, yeaney 1-5 0-0 2, Manumaleuga
0-0 0-0 0, Pellington 1-7 1-2 3, Pueyo 0-1 1-3 1, erdogan
0-1 2-2 2, Ware 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 18-52 16-24 57.
Oregon
7 15
5 14 — 41
Arizona
22 14 10 11 — 57
3-Point Goals—Oregon 3-11 (Mikesell 0-2, Paopao
0-3, Shelley 1-1, Chavez 1-2, Parrish 1-2, Scherr 0-1),
arizona 5-16 (Baptiste 2-4, reese 1-1, Thomas 0-1,
Mcdonald 2-6, yeaney 0-1, Pellington 0-1, Pueyo 0-1,
erdogan 0-1). Assists—Oregon 6 (Paopao 2), arizona 9
(Baptiste 3). Fouled Out—arizona reese. Rebounds—
Oregon 41 (Sabally 4-7), arizona 31 (Baptiste 2-6). Total
Fouls—Oregon 23, arizona 17. Technical Fouls—Ore-
gon Team 1. A—0.
TOP 25 SCORES
Thursday’s Games
no. 2 louisville 89, Boston College 70
no. 3 nC State vs. Virginia, ppd.
Tag Garson, the senior vice
president of properties at Was-
serman, has long been a pro-
ponent of alternate broadcasts
going back to his days at ESPN
because viewers, especially
younger ones, continue to be
more fragmented by the way
they watch and consume vari-
ous types of content.
“The NFL because of their
reach allows for the different
types of distribution we saw on
Sunday,” he said. “In my view
I think you are seeing the net-
works also looking to program
the other channels with the
content they have on. If you’re
not paying additional rights
fees to do that but give a dif-
ferent look, it provides a wider
reach while giving channels
programming.”
To prove Garson’s point,
Nickelodeon averaged 2.06 mil-
lion viewers during the game.
That was the network’s most-
watched program in nearly
four years and a 245% increase
MLB hires former team exec Epstein to evaluate rule
changes — Former Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox exec-
Continued from B3
UFC won’t punish fighters for pot — The UFC will no
longer punish fighters for using marijuana in most cases, mak-
ing a major change to its anti-doping policy. The world’s larg-
est mixed martial arts promotion confirmed Thursday that
it will no longer worry about positive tests for carboxy-THC,
the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, unless it believes a
fighter used it intentionally to enhance performance. All other
cannabinoids derived naturally from marijuana are no longer
prohibited substances, said Jeff Novitzky, the UFC’s senior vice
president of athlete health and performance.
— Bulletin wire reports
NFL playoffs
DIVISIONAL ROUND
Saturday’s Games
l.a. rams at Green Bay, 1:35 p.m.
Baltimore at Buffalo, 5:15 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Cleveland at Kansas City, 12:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay at new Orleans, 3:40 p.m.
America’s Line
NBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W
l
Pct
Boston
7
3
.700
Phila.
9
4
.692
Milwaukee
8
4
.667
indiana
7
4
.636
Orlando
6
5
.545
Brooklyn
7
6
.538
atlanta
5
5
.500
Charlotte
6
7
.462
new york
5
7
.417
Cleveland
5
7
.417
Miami
4
6
.400
Chicago
4
7
.364
Toronto
3
8
.273
Washington
3
8
.273
detroit
2
9
.182
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W
l
Pct
l.a. lakers
10
3
.769
l.a. Clippers
8
4
.667
utah
7
4
.636
Portland
7
4
.636
Phoenix
7
4
.636
dallas
6
4
.600
Golden State
6
5
.545
San antonio
6
6
.500
denver
5
6
.455
Memphis
5
6
.455
Oklahoma City
5
6
.455
Sacramento
5
7
.417
new Orleans
4
6
.400
houston
4
6
.400
Minnesota
3
8
.273
Wednesday’s Late Games
l.a. Clippers 111, new Orleans 106
Portland 132, Sacramento 126
GB
½
—
½
1
2
2
2½
3
3½
3½
3½
4
5
5
6
GB
—
1½
2
2
2
2½
3
3½
4
4
4
4½
4½
4½
6
Wednesday’s Box Score
Trail Blazers 132, Kings 126
PORTLAND (132)
Covington 4-12 0-0 12, Jones Jr. 3-5 1-2 8, nurkic 6-8
6-9 18, lillard 11-23 12-12 40, McCollum 10-23 2-4 28,
anthony 2-4 0-0 6, hood 0-2 0-0 0, Trent Jr. 6-8 0-0 16,
Kanter 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 44-90 21-27 132.
SACRAMENTO (126)
Bagley iii 4-5 2-4 11, Barnes 3-9 5-6 11, holmes 6-6 5-6
17, Fox 9-18 6-8 29, hield 9-21 0-0 26, robinson iii 1-3
0-0 3, Metu 1-1 0-0 2, Whiteside 3-6 1-2 7, haliburton
7-10 0-0 17, Joseph 1-5 0-0 3. Totals 44-84 19-26 126.
Portland
33 32 35 32 — 132
Sacramento
43 25 37 21 — 126
3-Point Goals—Portland 23-48 (lillard 6-15, McCo-
llum 6-16, Trent Jr. 4-5, Covington 4-7, anthony 2-2,
Jones Jr. 1-3), Sacramento 19-38 (hield 8-18, Fox 5-8,
haliburton 3-4, Bagley iii 1-2, Joseph 1-3, Barnes 0-2).
Fouled Out—none. Rebounds—Portland 38 (nurkic
12), Sacramento 42 (holmes 9). Assists—Portland
28 (lillard 13), Sacramento 35 (haliburton 9). Total
Fouls—Portland 24, Sacramento 18. A—0 (17,608)
Thursday’s Games
Phila. 125, Miami 108
Toronto 111, Charlotte 108
houston 109, San antonio 105
Golden State at denver, late
indiana at Portland, late
Friday’s Games
Washington at detroit, ppd
dallas at Milwaukee, 4:30 p.m.
new york at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m.
Orlando at Boston, 4:30 p.m.
Chicago at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m.
Memphis at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
atlanta at utah, 6 p.m.
Golden State at Phoenix, ppd
l.a. Clippers at Sacramento, 7 p.m.
new Orleans at l.a. lakers, 7 p.m.
Favorite
PaCKerS
BillS
ChieFS
SainTS
(Home team in CAPS)
———
NFL Divisional Playoffs
Open Current O/U
Saturday
7
6½ 45½
2½ 2½ 49½
Sunday
10
10
57
3½ 3
52
Underdog
rams
ravens
Browns
Bucs
HOCKEY
NHL
Central
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Tampa Bay
1 1 0
0
2
5
1
Carolina
1 1 0
0
2
3
0
nashville
1 1 0
0
2
3
1
Columbus
1 0 1
0
0
1
3
detroit
1 0 1
0
0
0
3
Chicago
1 0 1
0
0
1
5
dallas
0 0 0
0
0
0
0
Florida
0 0 0
0
0
0
0
East
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
n.y. islanders
1 1 0
0
2
4
0
Philadelphia
1 1 0
0
2
6
3
Washington
1 1 0
0
2
6
4
Boston
1 1 0
0
2
3
2
new Jersey
1 0 0
1
1
2
3
Buffalo
1 0 1
0
0
4
6
Pittsburgh
1 0 1
0
0
3
6
n.y. rangers
1 0 1
0
0
0
4
North
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Vancouver
1 1 0
0
2
5
3
Toronto
1 1 0
0
2
5
4
Winnipeg
1 1 0
0
2
4
3
Calgary
1 0 0
1
1
3
4
Montreal
1 0 0
1
1
4
5
edmonton
1 0 1
0
0
3
5
Ottawa
0 0 0
0
0
0
0
West
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
St. louis
1 1 0
0
2
4
1
Colorado
1 0 1
0
0
1
4
Vegas
0 0 0
0
0
0
0
los angeles
0 0 0
0
0
0
0
arizona
0 0 0
0
0
0
0
San Jose
0 0 0
0
0
0
0
Minnesota
0 0 0
0
0
0
0
anaheim
0 0 0
0
0
0
0
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.
Wednesday’s Late Games
Vancouver 5, edmonton 3
St. louis 4, Colorado 1
Thursday’s Games
Washington 6, Buffalo 4
Boston 3, new Jersey 2, SO
n.y. islanders 4, n.y. rangers 0
Carolina 3, detroit 0
nashville 3, Columbus 1
Winnipeg 4, Calgary 3, OT
dallas at Florida, ppd
San Jose at arizona, late
Vancouver at edmonton, late
anaheim at Vegas, late
Minnesota at los angeles, late
Friday’s Games
Chicago at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m.
dallas at Florida, ppd
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.
Toronto at Ottawa, 4 p.m.
Washington at Buffalo, 4 p.m.
St. louis at Colorado, 6 p.m.
DEALS
Transactions
BASEBALL
Major League Baseball
MlB — named Theo epstein consultant regarding
on-field matters.
American League
OaKland aThleTiCS — acquired lhP nik Turley from
“There’s not a single docu-
mented case where I would be
contagious at this point. Totally
recovered!”
The Australian newspa-
per published an online story
headlined “US tennis ace
sparks Aus Open virus worry.”
Tennis Australia moved to
clarify the situation in a state-
ment Thursday that outlined
players who’ve previously
tested positive to COVID-19
were “required to provide ad-
ditional and highly detailed
medical information as proof
they are a recovered case and
no longer infectious or a risk to
the community.”
Tennis Australia added: “In
the case of Tennys Sandgren,
who has self-disclosed that he
previously tested positive in
late November, his medical file
had to be reviewed by Victo-
Pittsburgh in exchange for cash.
National League
lOS anGeleS dOdGerS — agreed to terms with rhP
dylan Floro on a one-year contract.
MiaMi MarlinS — named raquel egusquiza vice
president of diversity, equality and inclusion.
neW yOrK MeTS — agreed to terms with inF/OF Jose
Martinez on a one-year contract.
San FranCiSCO GianTS — Signed lhP alex Wood to
a one-year contract.
BASKETBALL
National Basketball League
BrOOKlyn neTS — acquired G James harden in
exchange for C Jarrett allen, F rodions Kurucs, G Caris
leVert, F Taurean Prince, the draft rights to F aleksandar
Vezenkov, a swap of 2021 1st round picks, a 2022 of 1st
round pick (BrK own), a swap of 2023 1st round picks, a
2024 1st round pick (BrK own), a swap of 2024 2nd round
picks, a swap of 2025 1st round picks, a 2026 1st round
pick (BrK own) and a swap of 2027 1st round picks.
CleVeland CaValierS — acquired C Jarrett allen, F
Taurean Prince, the draft rights to F aleksandar Vezenkov
and a swap 2024 2nd round picks in exchange for G dante
exum, a conditional 2022 1st round pick (Mil own) and a
TPe. rennounced free-agent exception rights for C ante
Zizic and F/C Channing Frye.
COlOradO rOCKieS — agreed to terms with rhP
Mychal Givens on a one-year contract
hOuSTOn rOCKeTS — acquired G dante exum, F
rodions Kurucs, G Caris leVert, a swap of 2021 1st round
picks, a 2022 1st round pick (BrK own), a conditional 2022
1st round pick (Mil own), a swap of 2023 1st round picks, a
2024 1st round pick (BrK own), a swap of 2025 1st round
picks, a 2026 1st round pick (BrK own), a swap of 2027 1st
round picks and a TPe in exchange for G James harden and
a TPe. Waived F Bruno Caboclo. announced termination
of 10 day contract with G yogi Ferrell.
FOOTBALL
National Football League
CleVeland BrOWnS — activated Wr Khadarel
hodge from the reserve/COVid-19 list.
deTrOiT liOnS — Signed dB Godwin igwebuike, de
robert McCray and Te hunter Thedford to reserve/futures
contracts for the 2021 season.
KanSaS CiTy ChieFS — Signed QB Jordan Ta’amu, Wrs
antonio Callaway and Chad Williams to reserve/futures
contracts for the 2021 season. Signed de austin edwards
to the practice squad. released C darryl Williams.
PiTTSBurGh STeelerS — Signed P Corliss Waitman, Te
Kevin rader, Wrs anthony Johnson and Cody White, OTs
anthony Coyle, John leglue and Brandon Walton, S John
Battle, lB Tegray Scales, de Calvin Taylor, dT demarcus
Christmas, lS Christian Kuntz and CB Trevor Williams to
reserve/futures contracts for the 2021 season.
TenneSSee TiTanS — Signed OlB davin Bellamy
and dl daylon Mack to reserve/futures contracts for the
2021 season.
HOCKEY
National Hockey League
ariZOna COyOTeS — named Jay Varady, from Tuc-
son, assistant coach.
BOSTOn BruinS — designated C Par lindholm for
assignment taxi squad. recalled C Jack Studnicka from
the taxi squad.
BuFFalO SaBreS — designated F Jack Quinn for as-
signment taxi squad.
CalGary FlaMeS — recalled C derek ryan and G
louis domingue from the taxi squad.
CarOlina hurriCaneS — Waived G anton Forsberg.
edMOnTOn OilerS — designated d evan Bouchard
for assignment taxi squad. recalled G Stuart Skinner to
the active roster. assigned lW Tyler Benson to Bakers-
field (ahl).
MOnTreal CanadianS — designated C Jake evans
for assignment taxi squad.
PhiladelPhia FlyerS — assigned d linus hog-
berg, lW david Kase and rW Maxim Sushko to lehigh
Valley (ahl).
ST. lOuiS BlueS — Suspended F Sammy Blais for two
games, without pay, for an illeghal check to the head on
Colorado d devon Toews on Jan. 13.
WaShinGTOn CaPiTalS — Signed G Craig anderson
to a one-year contract and designated him for assign-
ment taxi squad.
WinniPeG JeTS — recalled G Craig anderson from
the taxi squad.
SOCCER
Major League Soccer
hOuSTOn dynaMO —Signed F Tyler Pasher.
la GalaXy — Signed G Jonathan Bond from West
Bromwich albion (ePl).
neW yOrK red BullS — named Jyri nieminen goal-
keeper coach.
PhiladelPhia uniOn — Traded homegrown player
rights for MF Kalil elMedkhar to FC dallas for general al-
location money, future sell-on fees and addition GaM if
he meets certain performance-based metrics.
TOrOnTO FC — named Chris armas head coach.
in viewers compared to what
aired in that spot last year.
What also made the Nick-
elodeon broadcast successful
is that appealed to parents and
kids. It introduced a younger
age group to the basics of the
game but also focused on the
action happening on the field.
Some alternate broadcasts have
fallen short because the on-
field action was often ignored.
McManus said a point of em-
phasis leading up to the game
was making sure that covering
the game remained the priority.
The explanations of penalties
from Iain Armitage of CBS’
“Young Sheldon” and virtual
slime cannon animations for
touchdowns added to the game
instead of taking away from it.
“There is a certain integrity
we needed to respect. We never
wanted to cross the line,” Mc-
Manus said. “I have received
so many emails and texts that
they just loved the experience
of watching with their kids. It
was fun and educational. It ref-
erenced other kids shows but
never got to the point where
it was pandering. Hopefully
it created some new fans and
made the viewing experience
something they could enjoy.”
McManus and Robbins said
nothing is off the table as far as
what the next alternate presen-
tation might be, but that noth-
ing is imminent. With ESPN
having the NBA, MLB and
NFL rights, there is a possibil-
ity of a kids-oriented telecast
with Disney down the road.
The MegaCasts are often on
all the ESPN networks as well
as its app, but Sunday’s playoff
game did have a watch party on
Freeform.
With the CBS-Viacom
merger, McManus pointed to
possibly branching out to other
networks. If it is with Nickel-
odeon again, he would have a
willing partner with Robbins.
“A lot of people want to have
conversations. I am a huge
sports fan. I would do this all
day,” Robbins said.
rian (state government) health
authorities. Upon completion
of that review he was cleared
to fly.”
The Australian Open has al-
ready been delayed three weeks
because of restrictions in place
for the COVID-19 pandemic,
and is set to open on Feb. 8.
On Wednesday, nearly
12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles)
from Melbourne, the qualify-
ing tournament was completed
for the tournament, with 16
men and 16 women set to join
the singles main draw.
Due to the Australian re-
strictions, the men’s and wom-
en’s qualifying tournaments —
in Doha, Qatar and in Dubai
— were held outside of Austra-
lia for the first time.
The women qualifiers in-
clude two-time Australian
Open and Roland Garros dou-
bles champion Timea Babos
of Hungary and British player
Francesca Jones, who has a rare
genetic condition.
Jones has ectrodactyly ec-
todermal dysplasia, which re-
sulted in her being born with
three fingers and a thumb on
each hand, three toes on her
right foot and four toes on her
left.
On the men’s side, the qual-
ifiers include 17-year-old ATP
newcomer of the year Carlos
Alcaraz of Spain.
Six women and six men will
also travel to Australia as lucky
losers and undergo mandatory
quarantine like the rest of the
international players, hoping
to get a place in the main draw
as cover for injuries or with-
drawals.
There are 104 direct en-
tries based on rankings for
the men’s and women’s singles
main draw, plus wild-card en-
tries and the qualifiers.
The 15 flights will be at no
more than 25% capacity, and
will arrive over a 36-hour pe-
riod ending early Saturday.
Once a negative result has
been returned, players can
train within a strictly super-
vised environment for five
hours per day, and players and
their teams will be tested every
day during quarantine.
The Australian Open draw
will be held on Feb. 4, four days
ahead of the start of the main
tournament, which ends Feb.
21 with the men’s singles final.
Novak Djokovic is the de-
fending men’s champion and
Sofia Kenin is the women’s de-
fending champion.
Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and
Serena Williams will be among
a group of players involved in
an exhibition event in Ade-
laide, South Australia state, on
Jan. 29. All other tournaments
will be in Melbourne, includ-
ing the 12-team ATP Cup
starting Feb. 1 and two WTA
events in the week leading into
the Australian Open.
Continued from B3
Tennis
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
FOOTBALL
Audience
BASEBALL
utive Theo Epstein has been hired by Major League Baseball
as a consultant for on-field matters and will evaluate possible
rule changes. Epstein will work with baseball Commissioner
Rob Manfred, the owners’ competition committee and ana-
lytics experts, MLB said Thursday. MLB is considering pos-
sible rules changes such as expanding the designated hitter to
the National League. The DH was adopted by the American
League for the 1973 season and was used by the NL as an ex-
periment last year during the pandemic. Manfred would like
to speed to pace of play.
no. 5 South Carolina 106, Vanderbilt 43
lSu 65, no. 7 Texas a&M 61, OT
no. 9 Maryland 90, Minnesota 73
no. 12 Kentucky at auburn, ppd.
no. 13 Michigan 69, Wisconsin 40
alabama 86, no. 14 Mississippi St. 78
no. 17 arkansas 84, Florida 80
no. 18 indiana 66, Purdue 45
no. 20 Gonzaga 71, Santa Clara 52
no. 21 Texas 79, Kansas 72
no. 22 northwestern at rutgers, ppd.
Georgia 67, no. 23 Tennessee 66
no. 24 Syracuse at Georgia Tech, ppd.
CBS/Viacom via AP
Nate Burleson, Gabrielle Nevaeh Green and Noah Eagle were part of
Nickelodeon’s kid-focused broadcast of the NFL wild-card game between
the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints in New Orleans on Sunday.