The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Ric Hanson.

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UNDATED (AP) — Pro hockey’s return is potentially three weeks away, and with it an assurance of labor peace through September 2026. In separate votes announced Friday, the NHL board of governors and members of the NHL Players’ Association ratified a return-to-play plan slated to have games begin in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, on Aug. 1. The voting process also included both sides approving a four-year extension to the current collective bargaining agreement which provides the league a comprehensive path out of the economic challenges raised by the new coronavirus pandemic.

UNDATED (AP) — The 22 teams participating in the NBA restart were all at the Disney campus together for the first time on Friday. None of them, however, made it to the Orlando, Florida, area with their usual travel party. Leaving families behind for several weeks or months during a pandemic isn’t the only hardship that teams are dealing with during this restart. Space limitations within the quasi-bubble at Disney also meant that teams had to cut their official traveling parties down to 37 personnel, including players. That means many people who usually travel with a club aren’t on this trip.

UNDATED (AP) — The Pac-12 has become the second major conference to shift to a conference-only fall schedule amid growing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement came after a meeting of the Pac-12 CEO Group, a day after the Big Ten opted to eliminate nonconference games for all fall sports. The Atlantic Coast, Big 12 and Southeastern conferences are still weighing options for fall sports. The decision covers football, women’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. Conference-only schedules will be announced no later than July 31.

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Collin Morikawa takes a three-shot lead into the weekend at the Workday Charity Open. He made nine birdies Friday for a 66 and leads over Justin Thomas and Kevin Streelman. Storms twice halted play at Muirfield Village, so the second round wasn’t completed. That means Brooks Koepka has to wait to see if his big finish allowed him to make the cut. Koepka birdied five of his last seven holes for a 69 and was one-shot outside the cut. Nearly three dozen players were to return Saturday morning to complete their rounds.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — On Richmond Virginia’s Monument Avenue, a monument to Black tennis legend and civil rights activist Arthur Ashe interrupted the collection of towering statues honoring Confederate veterans. But after someone painted “White Lives Matter” on Ashe’s statue, city officials considered a request from Ashe’s family to temporarily remove the statue to protect it. Ashe’s nephew said Friday that the request was a “contingency plan” and the statue isn’t going anywhere.

Baseball Scores

Abraham Lincoln 2 Glenwood 1

CAM 14 West Central Valley 0

Carroll 9 Underwood 6

Harlan 1 Denison-Schleswig 0

Lewis Central 14 Creston 2

St. Albert 5 Thomas Jefferson 1

Softball Scores

Bishop Heelan Catholic 3 Denison-Schleswig 1

CAM 5 West Central Valley 0

Kuemper Catholic 4 Carroll 2

Panorama 16 Coon Rapids-Bayard 6

Shenandoah 9 Stanton 3

Sidney 11 Bedford 4

St. Albert 7 Thomas Jefferson 6

Southwest Valley 8 Clarinda 7

Treynor 9 Red Oak 4

2020 FIFTH Softball Rankings
Compiled by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union
Thursday, July 9
FINAL Rankings for Class 1A, 2A, (Final rankings for 3A/4A/5A will be posted July 15)

Class 1A
School Record LW
1 Collins-Maxwell 14-1 1
2 Newell-Fonda 12-2 2
3 Clarksville 12-1 3
4 Lynnville-Sully 15-1 4
5 Wayne 13-3 7
6 Algona Bishop Garrigan 10-4 6
7 Akron-Westfield 13-2 5
8 Lisbon 16-3 8
9 Exira-EHK 12-0 11
10 Martensdale-St. Marys 13-4 15
11 Twin Cedars 17-4 12
12 Mason City Newman Catholic 14-2 10
13 Central City 9-4 13
14 AGWSR 8-3 9
15 River Valley 16-2 NR
Dropped Out: Winfield-Mount Union (14)

Class 2A
School Record LW
1 North Linn 20-0 1
2 Louisa-Muscatine 15-3 2
3 Ogden 15-3 3
4 Northeast 15-2 4
5 West Monona 16-1 5
6 Central Springs 12-3 7
7 Jesup 13-3 8
8 West Lyon 9-2 9
9 Earlham 16-4 10
10 Mount Ayr 7-4 6
11 Emmetsburg 10-2 13
12 East Marshall 12-2 NR
13 Wilton 10-3 NR
14 Interstate-35 6-4 11
15 North Union 10-3 14
Dropped Out: Sioux Central (12), Waterloo Columbus Catholic (15)

Class 3A
School Record LW
1 Albia 14-1 3
2 Davenport Assumption 13-4 1
3 Humboldt 15-1 2
4 Williamsburg 18-4 5
5 Mount Vernon 15-4 4
6 Algona 12-1 6
7 West Liberty 11-1 7
8 Anamosa 11-1 9
9 North Polk 14-2 8
10 Spirit Lake 10-2 10
11 Atlantic 14-1 11
12 Crestwood 11-0 12
13 West Burlington/Notre Dame 10-2 14
14 Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 9-1 NR
15 Estherville-Lincoln Central 5-3 15
Dropped Out: Solon (13)

Class 4A
School Record LW
1 Carlisle 15-3 1
2 West Delaware 16-4 4
3 North Scott 12-6 2
4 ADM 10-3 3
5 Charles City 10-2 7
6 Fairfield 18-1 9
7 Norwalk 15-5 10
8 Sergeant Bluff-Luton 14-2 6
9 Dallas Center-Grimes 14-7 5
10 Oskaloosa 12-7 8
11 Winterset 9-6 12
12 Western Dubuque 9-3 15
13 Ballard 7-6 NR
14 Burlington 14-4 NR
15 Harlan 12-4 13
Dropped Out: Bondurant-Farrar (11), Clear Creek-Amana (14)

Class 5A
School Record LW
1 Fort Dodge 23-3 1
2 Cedar Rapids Kennedy 17-1 3
3 Iowa City High 14-2 4
4 West Des Moines Valley 17-3 6
5 Waukee 20-2 2
6 Ankeny Centennial 17-8  5
7 Johnston 13-7 7
8 Muscatine 12-2 12
9 Bettendorf 12-2 13
10 Pleasant Valley 11-6 11
11 Ottumwa 12-7 10
12 Indianola 14-49
13 Dubuque Hempstead 13-5  8
14 Cedar Rapids Prairie 10-4 NR
15 Ankeny 15-9 15
Dropped Out: Iowa City Liberty (14)

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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Atlantic 9, Glenwood 5

Earlham 7, Audubon 3

Nodaway Valley 11, Stanton 0

Underwood 10, Clarinda 0

Hawkeye Ten Conference 

Harlan 11 Denison-Schleswig 3

Pride of Iowa Conference 

Central Decatur 8 Bedford 4

Missouri River Conference 

Bishop Heelan Catholic 6 Abraham Lincoln 1 (Game 1)

Bishop Heelan Catholic 7 Abraham Lincoln 1 (Game 2)

Bluegrass Conference 

Orient-Macksburg 14 Diagonal 4

Non-Conference  

Shenandoah 5 Fremont-Mills 3

Clarinda 23 Riverside 4

Lenox 8 Red Oak 2

Glenwood 4 Underwood 2

Lewis Central 11 Tri-Center 2

Atlantic 12 Missouri Valley 0

Kuemper Catholic 12 Glidden-Ralston 2

Knoxville 8 Creston 6

Woodbine 14 East Mills 1

Earlham 5 Audubon 0

Logan-Magnolia 18 West Harrison 0

Nodaway Valley 12 West Central Valley 3

CAM 6 Southwest Valley 0

Panorama 10 Boyer Valley 3

West Monona 11 Whiting 0

(UNI Press Release) – In an effort to balance a budget shortfall that is expected to exceed $1 million resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Northern Iowa Department of Athletics is implementing several cost-saving measures which began July 1st. UNI Athletics staff and coaches will take temporary salary reductions for fiscal year ’21, as part of expense saving measures. Additionally, all contract incentives for head coaches and Director of Athletics David Harris have been suspended for the fiscal year.

Salary reductions impact all employees making over $41,000 annually. The reductions begin at 12.5% for the highest-paid employees to 5% on the lowest tiers.

Estimated revenue reductions include NCAA and Missouri Valley Conference distributions, university general fund and student fee support as well as ticket and concession revenue based on reduced capacity in arenas because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The department will release information on guidelines and protocols for fans attending games during the upcoming year in the near future.

UNDATED (AP) — Full-scale practices inside the NBA bubble at the Disney complex have started. The Orlando Magic became the first team to formally return to the floor. By the close of business, all 22 teams participating in the restart were to be checked into their hotel and beginning their isolation from the rest of the world for what will be several weeks at least. And by Saturday, all teams should have practiced at least once.

MILWAUKEE (AP) Baseball has its answer to World Cup soccer’s penalty kicks, NFL overtimes or NHL shootouts. And it figures to stir just as much debate as all those other forms of tiebreakers. Major League Baseball will start each extra inning this season by putting a runner on second base. The minor leagues have used this extra-inning format since 2018. MLB is experimenting with the rule this year in part to prevent marathon games from causing long-term damage to pitching staffs in a pandemic-shortened season.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cody Bellinger is ready for whatever baseball’s shortened 60-game season brings. The All-Star slugger is looking to pick up where he left off after a stellar performance for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019. The reigning NL MVP batted .305 with 47 homers and 115 RBIs for the NL West champions last year. He says the season figures to be “a once-in-a-lifetime thing” because of the changes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Anthony Rendon mostly spent the first few months of his seven-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels changing his daughters’ diapers and throwing a tennis ball at a wall. The $245 million third baseman is more than ready to get to work earning his riches, and the World Series winner doesn’t think it will take long to get back into championship form. Rendon is getting to know his teammates again after his first spring with the Angels was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic before he even got a chance to play in Anaheim. The most coveted hitter on the free agent market even got his World Series ring this week.

SPARTA, Ky. (AP) — Austin Cindric won the first of two NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Kentucky Speedway, charging past Chase Briscoe on an overtime restart Thursday night for his first victory of the season and first on an oval. Cindric spent most of the first two stages chasing Noah Gragson, the pole-sitter who seemed poised to dominate all three segments. Cindric then took charge on a series of restarts in Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford Mustang. On the last one, he went around Briscoe on the outside and pulled away before a last-lap wreck ended the race. The 21-year-old Cindric had eight top-10s on ovals before breaking through on the 1.5-mile Kentucky layout. His only other series victories came last year on road courses at Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio.

The Atlantic Trojans softball team ended the regular season on a strong note with a 12-0 win over Missouri Valley in 4 innings of play Thursday night. The Trojans had a couple of big offensive innings in the 2nd and 4th to secure the win.

Atlantic took advantage of a couple of Missouri Valley errors in the 2nd and pushed across 4 runs. The lone hit of the frame was a 2RBI single by Caroline Pellett. Atlantic grabbed one more run in the 3rd on a sac grounder by Maleana Woodward that scored Kennedy Goergen who led off the inning with a double. Then in the 4th the Trojans really got going, scoring 7 runs on 5 hits. The big hit of the frame came from Madison Botos who cleared the bases with a triple to left field. Alyssa Derby then drove Botos in with a single to end the game on the 12 run mercy rule in the 4th.

Atlantic Head Coach Terry Hinzmann said they were hoping to play well in a number of facets of the game down the stretch run to prepare them for a postseason run and they accomplished that.

Coach Hinzmann said the team accomplished the goals they set for themselves for the regular season and now a new season begins with new goals.

Olivia Engler struck out 6 in the circle and the Trojan defense was efficient all night long. Atlantic finishes the regular season with a record of 15-1 and will now move to Regional play next week. The Trojans host Clarinda in their first round game on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. We’ll have that game on KJAN.