B4 The BulleTin • Friday, FeBruary 5, 2021
ON THE AIR
SCOREBOARD
FRIDAY
BASKETBALL
High school,
Oak Hill Academy (VA) vs. Wasatch (UT)
High school,
Montverde (FL) vs. Sunrise Christian (KS)
Women’s college, Arizona at Oregon St.
Men’s college, George Mason at Dayton
Men’s college, Akron at Kent St.
Men’s college, Maryland at Penn St.
NBA, Toronto at Brooklyn
Men’s college, Monmouth at Manhattan
Men’s college, Boise St. at Nevada
NBA, Boston at L.A. Clippers
GOLF
PGA Tour, Phoenix Open
European Tour, Saudi International
HOCKEY
College, Notre Dame at Ohio St.
NWHL, Isobel Cup finals
SOCCER
Premier League, Aston Villa vs. Arsenal
Time
TV
noon
ESPNU
NFL playoffs
2 p.m.
4 p.m.
ESPNU
Pac-12,
Pac-12 (Ore)
4 p.m.
ESPN2
4 p.m.
ESPNU
4 p.m.
FS1
4:30 p.m.
ESPN
6 p.m.
ESPNU
6 p.m.
FS1
7 p.m.
ESPN
noon
1:30 a.m. (Sat)
1:30 p.m.
4 p.m.
Golf
Golf
Big Ten
NBCSN
4:25 a.m. (Sat) NBCSN
SATURDAY
SOCCER
Premier League,
Newcastle United vs. Southampton
Premier League, Fulham vs. West Ham United
Mexico Primera Division,
Monterrey vs. Pumas UNAM
Italian Serie A, Benevento Calcio vs. Sampdoria
Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur vs. West Brom
BASKETBALL
Women’s college, Siena at Manhattan
Men’s college, Seton Hall at Connecticut
Men’s college, Toledo at Ball St.
Men’s college, Alabama at Missouri
Men’s college, Iowa St. at Oklahoma
Men’s college, Virginia Tech at Miami
Men’s college, DePaul at Butler
Men’s college, La Salle at Fordham
NBA, Portland at New York
Men’s college, Kansas at West Virginia
Men’s college, St. Bonaventure at Saint Louis
Men’s college, Florida at LSU
Men’s college, East Carolina at Memphis
Men’s college, St. John’s at Providence
Men’s college, Wisconsin at Illinois
Men’s college, Texas at Oklahoma St.
Men’s college, Mississippi St. at South Carolina
Men’s college, Washington at Oregon
Men’s college, Air Force at UNLV
Men’s college, Pittsburgh at Virginia
Men’s college, Ole Miss at Auburn
Men’s college, Northwestern at Purdue
Men’s college, Creighton at Marquette
Men’s college, Colorado St. at Wyoming
Men’s college, North Carolina at Duke
Men’s college, UCF at Tulsa
Men’s college, Washington St. at Oregon St.
Thursday’s Games
utah 112, atlanta 91
Golden State 147, dallas 116
Portland 121, Phila. 105
houston at Memphis, late
denver at l.a. lakers, late
FOOTBALL
6:55 a.m.
9:30 a.m.
NBCSN
NBC
7 p.m.
FS2
3:25 a.m. (Sun) ESPN2
4 a.m. (Sun) NBCSN
9 a.m.
9 a.m.
9 a.m.
9 a.m.
9 a.m.
9 a.m.
9 a.m.
9:30 a.m.
10 a.m.
11 a.m.
11 a.m.
11 a.m.
11 a.m.
11 a.m.
11:30 a.m.
noon
12:30 p.m.
1 p.m.
1 p.m.
1 p.m.
1 p.m.
1:30 p.m.
2 p.m.
3 p.m.
3 p.m.
3 p.m.
3 p.m.
ESPNU
FOX
CBSSN
ESPN
ESPN2
Root
FS1
NBCSN
NBCSNW
CBS
CBSSN
ESPN
ESPN2
FS1
FOX
ABC
SEC
CBS
CBSSN
ESPN
ESPN2
Big Ten
FOX
CBSSN
ESPN
ESPN2
Pac-12,
Pac-12 (Ore)
Men’s college, Vanderbilt at Georgia
3 p.m.
SEC
Men’s college, Nebraska at Michigan St.
3:30 p.m.
Big Ten
Men’s college, Tennessee at Kentucky
5 p.m.
ESPN
Men’s college, Massachusetts at Rhode Island
5 p.m.
ESPN2
Men’s college, Prairie View A&M at Texas Southern 5 p.m.
ESPNU
Men’s college, Arizona at Colorado
5 p.m.
FS1
NBA, Golden State at Dallas
5:30 p.m.
ABC
Men’s college, UCLA at Southern Cal
7 p.m.
ESPN
Men’s college, Cal State Bakersfield at UC Irvine 7 p.m.
ESPNU
Men’s college, Utah St. at Fresno St.
7 p.m.
FS1
GOLF
PGA Tour, Phoenix Open
10 a.m.
Golf
PGA Tour, Phoenix Open
noon
NBC
European Tour, Saudi International
12:30 a.m. (Sun) Golf
HOCKEY
College, Notre Dame at Ohio St.
10:30 a.m.
Big Ten
College, Nebraska-Omaha at Denver
5 p.m.
CBSSN
HORSE RACING
America’s Day at the Races
11 a.m.
FS2
GYMNASTICS
Women’s college, Utah at Arizona St.
noon
Pac-12
Women’s college, Minnesota at Iowa
1 p.m.
ESPNU
Listings are the most accurate available. The Bulletin
is not responsible for late changes made by TV or radio stations.
SUPER BOWL
Sunday at Tampa, Fla.
Tampa Bay vs. Kansas City, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
Thursday’s Box Score
Trail Blazers 121, 76ers 105
America’s Line
SUPER BOWL
Open Current O/U
Sunday
31/2 3
56
Favorite
ChieFS
Underdog
Bucs
GOLF
PGA Tour
Phoenix Open Partial Scores
Thursday at Scottsdale, Ariz.
Yardage: 7,266; Par: 71
First Round
Matthew neSmith
33-30—63
Mark hubbard
32-31—63
nate lashley
31-33—64
Sam Burns
32-32—64
Steve Stricker
33-32—65
Tom hoge
33-33—66
Xander Schauffele
33-33—66
Ted Potter, Jr.
32-34—66
Keegan Bradley
31-35—66
Billy horschel
34-32—66
Kyoung-hoon lee
34-32—66
James hahn, 34-33—67. Carlos Ortiz, 31-36—67. andrew
Putnam, 33-34—67. Bo hoag, 32-35—67. Scott Stallings,
36-31—67. Scottie Scheffler, 33-34—67. adam hadwin, 32-
35—67. Michael Kim, 32-35—67. Jordan Spieth, 35-32—67.
Matt Jones, 33-35—68. russell Knox, 31-37—68. Brooks
Koepka, 35-33—68. J.T. Poston, 33-35—68. Zach Johnson,
35-33—68. Satoshi Kodaira, 34-34—68. Cameron Champ,
34-34—68. Kevin Streelman, 33-35—68. henrik norlander,
35-33—68. harold Varner iii, 34-34—68. John huh, 36-
32—68. Jon rahm, 33-35—68. Matthew Wolff, 32-36—68.
ryan armour, 35-33—68. Brendon Todd, 33-35—68. nick
hardy, 34-34—68.
emiliano Grillo, 34-35—69. Byeong hun an, 35-34—69.
daniel Berger, 34-35—69. Max homa, 34-35—69. Patton
Kizzire, 33-36—69. richy Werenski, 34-35—69. Pat Perez,
36-33—69. louis Oosthuizen, 34-35—69. Bo Van Pelt, 35-
34—69. Stewart Cink, 33-36—69. Chez reavie, 32-37—69.
Corey Conners, 34-35—69. Matt Kuchar, 33-36—69.
BASKETBALL
NBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W
L
Pct
Phila.
16
7
.696
Milwaukee
13
8
.619
Brooklyn
14
9
.609
Boston
11
9
.550
indiana
12
10
.545
Charlotte
10
12
.455
Cleveland
10
12
.455
atlanta
10
12
.455
new york
10
13
.435
Toronto
9
12
.429
Chicago
8
12
.400
Orlando
8
14
.364
Miami
7
14
.333
Washington
5
13
.278
detroit
5
16
.238
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W
L
Pct
utah
17
5
.773
l.a. Clippers
17
6
.739
l.a. lakers
16
6
.727
denver
12
8
.600
Portland
12
9
.571
Memphis
9
7
.563
Phoenix
11
9
.550
Golden State
12
10
.545
San antonio
12
10
.545
houston
10
10
.500
Sacramento
10
11
.476
Oklahoma City
9
11
.450
new Orleans
8
12
.400
dallas
9
14
.391
Minnesota
5
16
.238
Wednesday’s Late Games
new Orleans 123, Phoenix 101
Sacramento 116, Boston 111
GB
—
2
2
31/2
31/2
51/2
51/2
51/2
6
6
61/2
71/2
8
81/2
10
GB
—
1/2
1
4
41/2
5
5
5
5
6
61/2
7
8
81/2
111/2
Chiefs
Continued from B3
Nor should players over-
looked by every other NFL
team in the draft, including
those that have won far fewer
games, jump at the opportu-
nity to sign with Kansas City
when it would appear to be a
longshot to survive the cut.
Yet those are some of the
reasons why guys such as line-
backer Ben Niemann and de-
fensive tackle Tershawn Whar-
ton not only signed with the
Chiefs but carved out import-
ant roles.
They are surrounded by
some of the NFL’s best players
every time they step into the
locker room, and that often
forces them to raise their play
PORTLAND (121)
anthony 8-14 3-4 22, Covington 4-9 0-0 9, Kanter 7-14
3-4 17, hood 7-14 0-0 16, Trent Jr. 8-23 4-4 24, Giles iii
2-4 0-0 4, elleby 5-9 4-6 15, Blevins 0-2 0-0 0, Simons 4-9
4-5 14. Totals 45-98 18-23 121.
PHILADELPHIA (105)
harris 5-14 2-2 12, Korkmaz 5-14 2-2 13, embiid 14-21
9-9 37, Curry 0-1 0-0 0, Green 1-5 0-0 3, Bradley 1-1 0-0
2, howard 1-2 0-2 2, Milton 4-9 4-5 12, Poirier 0-0 0-0
0, Joe 2-3 0-0 6, Maxey 5-8 3-4 15, Thybulle 1-3 0-0 3.
Totals 39-81 20-24 105.
Portland
28 29 40 24 — 121
Philadelphia
28 29 19 29 — 105
3-Point Goals—Portland 13-31 (Trent Jr. 4-9, anthony
3-4, hood 2-2, Simons 2-7, Covington 1-4, elleby 1-5),
Philadelphia 7-27 (Joe 2-3, Maxey 2-4, Thybulle 1-3,
Green 1-5, Korkmaz 1-7, harris 0-2, Milton 0-2). Fouled
Out—none. Rebounds—Portland 53 (Kanter 18), Phil-
adelphia 37 (harris 11). Assists—Portland 17 (anthony
5), Philadelphia 19 (harris 5). Total Fouls—Portland 18,
Philadelphia 15. A—0 (20,478)
TOP 25 SCORES
Thursday’s Games
no. 1 Gonzaga 76, Pacific 58
no. 7 Ohio St. 89, no. 8 iowa 85
Women’s college
PAC-12
Conference
W L Pct
Stanford
12 2 .857
arizona
9 2 .818
uCla
8 2 .800
Oregon
9 3 .750
Washington St. 6 6 .500
Southern Cal
5 6 .455
Oregon St.
4 5 .444
arizona St.
4 6 .400
Colorado
4 7 .364
utah
3 10 .231
Washington
1 8 .111
California
0 8 .000
Friday’s Games
no. 5 uCla at Washington St., noon
no. 9 arizona at Oregon St., 4 p.m.
Colorado at no. 6 Stanford, 6 p.m.
utah at California, 6 p.m.
Southern Cal at Washington, 7 p.m.
arizona St. at no. 12 Oregon, ppd.
Saturday’s Game
uC davis at no. 12 Oregon, 6 p.m.
All Games
W L Pct
15 2 .882
11 2 .846
10 2 .833
11 3 .786
8 6 .571
7 7 .500
6 5 .545
8 6 .571
6 8 .429
4 10 .286
4 8 .333
0 11 .000
Thursday’s Games
Columbus 4, dallas 3
Toronto 7, Vancouver 3
n.y. rangers 4, Washington 2
Ottawa 3, Montreal 2
nashville 6, Florida 5, OT
Winnipeg 4, Calgary 1
arizona 4, St. louis 3
Chicago 6, Carolina 4
Buffalo at n.y. islanders, ppd.
new Jersey at Pittsburgh, ppd.
Minnesota at Colorado, ppd.
Friday’s Games
Boston at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.
detroit at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m.
nashville at Florida, 4 p.m.
los angeles at Vegas, 7 p.m.
San Jose at anaheim, 7 p.m.
DEALS
Transactions
Saturday’s Games
Washington at Oregon, 1 p.m.
Washington St. at Oregon St., 3 p.m.
arizona at Colorado, 5 p.m.
no. 21 uCla at Southern Cal, 7 p.m.
NHL Glance
NHL
East
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Boston
10 7 1
2 16 34 23
Philadelphia 11 7 2
2 16 38 35
Washington 11 6 2
3 15 40 38
Pittsburgh
10 5 4
1 11 30 37
new Jersey
9 4 3
2 10 23 26
n.y. rangers 10 4 4
2 10 29 28
Buffalo
10 4 4
2 10 30 32
n.y. islanders
9 3 4
2
8 19 24
Central
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Tampa Bay
8 6 1
1 13 29 17
Columbus
12 5 4
3 13 31 37
Florida
7 5 0
2 12 27 22
Carolina
8 6 2
0 12 26 19
Chicago
12 4 4
4 12 35 39
dallas
8 5 2
1 11 32 21
nashville
10 5 5
0 10 28 34
detroit
11 2 7
2
6 21 40
West
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Colorado
11 7 3
1 15 38 24
St. louis
11 7 3
1 15 39 36
Minnesota
11 6 5
0 12 30 30
Vegas
7 5 1
1 11 23 17
anaheim
11 4 5
2 10 19 28
arizona
10 4 5
1
9 27 29
los angeles
9 3 4
2
8 26 29
San Jose
8 3 5
0
6 22 31
North
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Toronto
11 8 2
1 17 40 32
Montreal
11 7 2
2 16 46 30
Winnipeg
11 7 3
1 15 39 32
edmonton
12 6 6
0 12 42 43
Vancouver
14 6 8
0 12 48 55
Calgary
10 4 5
1
9 27 27
Ottawa
11 2 8
1
5 27 50
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime
loss. The top four teams in each division will qualify for
playoffs under this season’s temporary realignment.
BASEBALL
Major League Baseball
American League
lOS anGeleS anGelS — acquired OF dexter Fowler
and cash considerations from St. louis in exchange for a
player to be named later or cash considerations.
TeXaS ranGerS — agreed to terms with rhP nick
Vincent on a minor league contract.
TOrOnTO Blue JayS — announced Charlie Montoyo
manager, dave hudgens bench coach, Guillermo Martinez
hitting coach, Pete Walker pitching coach, Mark Budz-
inski first base coach, luis rivera third base coach, Matt
Buschmann director of pitching and development and
bullpen coach, John Schneider major league coach and
Gil Kim player development.
National League
San FranCiSCO GianTS — agreed to terms with inF
Tommy la Stella on a three-year contract.
Minor League Baseball
Atlantic League
lOnG iSland duCKS — Signed C Sal Giardina.
American Association of Professional Baseball
BOard OF direCTOrS — announced Kane County
Cougars as new league member.
Frontier League
GaTeWay GriZZlieS — Signed lhP andrew Gist.
QueBeC CaPiTaleS — Signed OF Jhalan Jackson.
Tri-CiTy ValleyCaTS — Signed 3B Carter Maxwell.
FOOTBALL
National Football League
ariZOna CardinalS — Signed QB Cole Mcdonald to
a one-year contract.
ChiCaGO BearS — named Michael Pitre running
backs coach.
denVer BrOnCOS — named Chris Cook offensive
quality control coach.
San FranCiSCO 49erS — Signed lS Taybor Pepper to
a two-year extension.
Canadian Football League
edMOnTOn FOOTBall TeaM — agreed to terms with
Ol SirVincent rogers on a one-year contract extension.
TOrOnTO arGOnauTS — Signed dl Charleston
hughes to a two-year contract. acquired dl Cordorro
law in a trade with the Calgary Stampeders.
WinniPeG Blue BOMBerS — agreed to terms with r
Janarion Grant on a one-year contract extension.
HOCKEY
National Hockey League
COluMBuS Blue JaCKeTS — designated G Cam John-
son for assignment to the taxi squad. Promoted G Matiss
Kivlenieks to the active roster from the taxi squad.
dallaS STarS — Promoted F Jason robertson to the
active roster from the taxi squad.
FlOrida PanTherS — reassigned d alec rauhauser
from Syracuse (ahl) to Greenville (eChl).
neW yOrK ranGerS — Promoted d libor hajek to the
active roster from the taxi squad.
OTTaWa SenaTOrS — Promoted d erik Brannstrom to
the active roster from the taxi squad. designated d Braydon
Coburn for assignment to the taxi squad.
SOCCER
Major League Soccer
auSTin FC — Signed free agent F aaron Schoenfeld.
POrTland TiMBerS — Signed MF eryk Williamson
to multi-year contract extension.
National Women’s Soccer League
ChiCaGO red STarS — Waived d hannah davison.
OrlandO Pride — acquired rights to F Jodie Taylor
from north Carolina Courage in exchange for d Car-
son Pickett.
COLLEGE
eaST CarOlina — named Colby Bortles director
of operations and dennis Wilson strength and condi-
tioning coach.
to a level not even they thought
possible.
They are welcomed by a
group of players so confident
and secure in their own ability
that they are willing to pour
into them whatever knowl-
edge they can. And with Reid
in control, they have a coach
that has proven over several
decades that he can get the best
out of his players.
The result: 2020 fourth-
round draft pick L’Jarius Sneed
was among the highest-rated
cornerbacks in the league
this season, and 2019 sixth-
rounder Rashad Fenton has
become indispensable along-
side him and Sorensen in the
defensive backfield.
When injuries popped up
on the offensive line, the Chiefs
plugged a big hole with Nick
Allegretti, a seventh-round
pick in 2019. They also added
depth with Yasir Durant, an
undrafted rookie capable of
playing several positions.
“When they’re looking for
guys to add to our roster,”
Chiefs offensive line coach
Andy Heck said, “they’re look-
ing for guys that love football,
love to compete. Self-starters.
That would be true on the of-
fensive line. Guys that are ex-
tremely tough, guys that are
able to move onto the next
play, guys that are physically
tough and rugged.”
Reid deserves much of the
credit, but so does general
manager Brett Veach, who has
an uncanny ability to unearth
talent everywhere from junior
colleges and Division II schools
to the mighty Southeastern
Conference.
He needs to keep doing it,
too. Like any other NFL team,
the Chiefs can only afford to
carry the gargantuan contracts
of Mahomes and their other
pricey stars if they’re able to
stock the rest of the roster with
inexpensive talent.
“Brett does a nice job of
knowing what the coaches need
to be successful on both sides
of the ball,” Reid said. “He lis-
tens and weighs out what his
scouts believe, what he believes,
what the coaches believe, then
he comes to a conclusions. He’s
been strong on his conviction
with certain players that he
thought would boost us and
gone for it. And it’s worked out.”
Friday’s Games
Chicago at Orlando, 4 p.m.
new Orleans at indiana, 4 p.m.
Milwaukee at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m.
Toronto at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m.
utah at Charlotte, 5 p.m.
Washington at Miami, 5 p.m.
detroit at Phoenix, 6 p.m.
Boston at l.a. Clippers, 7 p.m.
Men’s college
PAC-12 CONFERENCE
Conference
All Games
W L Pct W L Pct
uCla
9 1 .900 13 3 .813
Southern Cal
8 2 .800 14 3 .824
Oregon
4 2 .667 9 3 .750
Colorado
7 4 .636 13 5 .722
arizona
7 5 .583 13 5 .722
Stanford
7 5 .583 11 7 .611
Oregon St.
5 5 .500 9 7 .563
utah
5 6 .455 8 7 .533
arizona St.
3 5 .375 6 8 .429
Washington St. 3 7 .300 10 7 .588
Washington
2 9 .182 3 13 .188
California
2 11 .154 7 13 .350
Thursday’s Games
utah 73, arizona 58
Stanford 70, California 55
Oregon St. 91, Washington 71
Washington St. at Oregon, late
arizona St. at Colorado, ppd.
Thursday’s Box Score
Oregon St. 91, Washington 71
WASHINGTON (3-13)
Brooks 0-1 0-0 0, roberts 3-3 0-0 6, Bey 2-6 8-8 13,
Green 1-7 0-0 2, Stevenson 5-11 4-4 14, Tsohonis 8-13
4-4 22, Wright 3-5 0-0 8, Bajema 1-3 4-6 6, Sorn 0-2 0-0
0, Pryor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-51 20-22 71.
OREGON ST. (9-7)
alatishe 7-13 1-2 15, Silva 6-7 2-2 14, lucas 6-12 2-3
19, reichle 4-9 7-7 17, Thompson 6-12 1-1 16, Calloo
2-6 2-2 7, Tucker 0-1 1-2 1, hunt 0-1 0-0 0, Silver 0-2
0-0 0, andela 1-1 0-0 2, Franklin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-
65 16-19 91.
Halftime —Oregon St. 47-35. 3-Point Goals —Wash-
ington 5-20 (Wright 2-3, Tsohonis 2-4, Bey 1-2, Bajema
0-2, Green 0-4, Stevenson 0-5), Oregon St. 11-24 (lucas
5-9, Thompson 3-7, reichle 2-4, Calloo 1-2, Silver 0-2).
Fouled Out —Silva. Rebounds —Washington 30 (Sorn
6), Oregon St. 27 (alatishe 11). Assists —Washington
10 (Bey, Green, Stevenson 2), Oregon St. 25 (reichle 8).
Total Fouls —Washington 17, Oregon St. 21.
TOP 25 SCORES
Thursdays Games
no. 1 louisville 97, Boston College 68
no. 2 South Carolina 77, auburn 58
no. 7 Texas a&M 54,. lSu 41
no. 8 Baylor 83, Kansas 50
no. 10 Maryland 84, Wisconsin 48
no. 11 Ohio St. 92, iowa 87
no. 13 Michigan vs. Minnesota, ppd.
Mississippi 72, no. 15 Kentucky 60
no. 16 arkansas 85, Missouri 80
no. 17 indiana vs. rutgers, ppd.
no. 18 Tennessee at no. 24 Mississippi St., ppd.
no. 20 dePaul at Seton hall, ppd.
no. 25 Georgia 83, alabama 76, OT
HOCKEY
NHL
SPORTS BRIEFING
BASKETBALL
NHL
Short-handed Blazers rout Sixers 121-105 — Already
without one All-Star, the 76ers held their collective breath as
another left Thursday’s game in the first quarter after land-
ing awkwardly on his right knee. Yet Joel Embiid’s departure
was brief before his dominant return. His teammates couldn’t
follow his lead. Embiid scored 37 points, but the Sixers (16-7)
lost, 121-105, to an undermanned Portland Trail Blazers team
in Philadelphia. The Blazers (12-9) pulled away with a 40-19
third quarter after the teams were tied 57-57 at halftime. Trail
Blazers’ Damian Lillard missed his first game of the season
with an abdominal strain and C.J. McCollum was out for his
eighth straight game with a left foot fracture for the Blazers.
Portland only had nine available players, but they got dou-
ble-digit scoring from seven of them, including 24 from Gary
Trent Jr. and 22 from Carmelo Anthony. Enes Kanter had a
double-double with 17 points and 18 rebounds.
Continued from B3
GOLF
NeSmith, Hubbart early leaders at Phoenix Open —
Co-leader Matthew NeSmith nearly made a hole-in-one on
the par-3 16th — and barely got a reaction from the few fans.
Xander Schauffele flubbed a chip — and couldn’t help but
hear a surprised spectator’s reaction. With attendance capped
at about 5,000 at sunny TPC Scottsdale — a fraction of the
usual turnout but the most for a PGA Tour event since the on-
set of the COVID-19 pandemic — the Phoenix Open began
Thursday with some very different sights and sounds. Ne-
Smith started on No. 10, and went through 16 in the morning
before many of the 2,000 allowed fans made their way to the
stadium hole. NeSmith and Mark Hubbard topped the leader-
board at 8-under 63, a stroke ahead of fellow morning starters
Nate Lashley and Sam Burns, and two in front of 53-year-old
Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker. Hubbard had his lowest
score on the PGA Tour, and NeSmith matched his career low.
— Bulletin wire reports
The Wild added another
player to the list Thursday to
get up to seven total and the
Sabres said 61-year-old coach
Ralph Krueger had tested pos-
itive and will enter virus pro-
tocol immediately. Vegas had
three coaches in the protocol
last week.
“The league is reacting to
what’s happening right now,
and it’s normal,” Pittsburgh
defenseman Kris Letang said.
“They’re trying to find ways
to make it safer and to just act
and try and find ways that we
can still get our stuff done but
in different ways.”
So far, 22 games have been
postponed affecting 16 of the
league’s 24 U.S.-based teams.
Only one of the 40 players
currently on the COVID list
is from a Canadian team, and
that is because Pierre-Luc Du-
bois is in quarantine after a
trade from Columbus to Win-
nipeg.
The Jets’ union represen-
tative, Andrew Copp, said
he understands some of the
changes but is particularly un-
happy with later arrivals on
game day, which he believes
will be challenged in the name
“(The league is) trying to
find ways to make it safer
and to just act and try and
find ways that we can still
get our stuff done but in
different ways.”
— Kris Letang, Pittsburgh
Penguins defenseman
Bruce Bennett/Pool photo via AP
Due to updated COVID-19 protocols, the glass has been removed from
behind the team benches as workers take measurements for addi-
tional safety methods prior to a game between the Capitals and the
Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday in New York.
of preventing injuries.
“It’s getting your mind right,
it’s getting your body right to
put out the best possible prod-
uct for the fans and trying to
lower injury as much as possi-
ble,” Copp said. “This is pretty
much the only place we’re al-
lowed to come. … I don’t see
what the difference is between
a 5:15 and 4:15 entrance for
guys.”
After completing last season
in quarantined bubbles in To-
ronto and Edmonton, Alberta,
the NHL planned for 2021 out-
side a bubble with 12 different
protocol documents spanning
213 pages. The rules call for
masks everywhere at team fa-
cilities, including locker rooms,
and coaches and backup goal-
tenders wearing them on the
bench. Teams were also shuf-
fled into four divisions and are
playing only division foes over
a shortened 56-game regular
season schedule to limit travel.
Being on the road at all may
be the biggest concern.
“Because you are going in
and out of hotel lobbies and
elevators with other people
around, it’s impossible to feel
as safe,” Bowness said. “You’ve
got strangers on the elevator. In
Carolina the other day when
we were getting on to an ele-
vator, a couple got off and the
woman did not have a mask
on, so we don’t know, was she
coughing in the elevator? Was
she sneezing? Who knows?”
Players, coaches and staff are
also limited to the hotel and
rink on the road.
“I think the protocols are
appropriate,” Philadelphia gen-
eral manager Chuck Fletcher
said Tuesday. “You can do ev-
erything right and still contract
COVID. I think we’re all trying
to be careful. I think the play-
ers recognize how fortunate we
are to be back playing, playing
games, competing for a Stanley
Cup and earning a paycheck.”