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

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Hamlin gets Wednesday win…NFL reinstates Aldon Smith…A’s have rent issues

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Denny Hamlin became the winner of NASCAR’s first Wednesday race in 36 years when rain stopped the event with 20 laps remaining at Darlington. The Daytona 500 winner was out front but out of fresh tires and trying to hang on when he got unintended help from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch. The reigning Cup champion caused Chase Elliott to crash eight laps earlier to bring out the caution. A furious Elliott waited for Busch on the apron of the track and flipped Busch the middle finger as he passed.

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The NFL has conditionally reinstated Aldon Smith from an indefinite suspension for off-field issues, allowing the pass rusher to take part in team activities with the Dallas Cowboys. Smith will be able to participate in the Cowboys’ virtual offseason program starting next week and can meet with teammates and coaches. He hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2015 and was signed to a one-year contract last month despite his uncertain playing status.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The head of the agency that oversees the Oakland Coliseum says the Athletics have informed him they had “no ability to pay” the annual $1.2 million rent on the facility. Henry Gardner tells the Bay Area News Group that the A’s say they’ve been unable to generate revenue because they haven’t used the Coliseum this season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gardner says the Coliseum is willing to negotiate and waive some items in the Athletics lease, but, “we can’t just say no rent.”

UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA Division I Council has voted to lift a moratorium on voluntary workouts by football and basketball players effective June 1. The decision comes as a growing number of college leaders express confidence that fall sports will be played in some form. Notre Dame and LSU are among a number of schools that have announced plans to reopen their campuses for the fall semester. A decision on other sports was pending.

HOUSTON (AP) — Stephen F. Austin has received postseason bans and agreed to several sanctions including probation, scholarship reductions and the forfeiture of wins for having low scores on the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate. The sanctions will bar the football, men’s basketball and baseball teams from postseason tournaments for one year. The three teams were on a nationwide list released Tuesday that faced bans for posting a four-year score below 930. The men’s basketball team had the lowest score of any team in Division I at 810.

(IHSAA and IGHSAU) – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday that summer athletic seasons may be conducted for high school baseball and softball following a two-month activities suspension due to COVID-19.

The announcement approved the reopening of school facilities and the start of practices for Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and Iowa High School Athletic Association sanctioned summer sports starting on Monday, June 1. Per the Iowa Department of Education, first contests may occur as early as Monday, June 15 and fans will be permitted at games.

The IGHSAU Board of Directors and IHSAA Board of Control met after the announcement and both groups voted to approve resuming the 2020 summer seasons under Iowa Department of Education guidelines.

Member schools are to follow reopening guidance entitled “Summer Sports”and “Use of School Facilities” as supplied by the Iowa Department of Education, with recommendations based on conversations with the IGHSAU, IHSAA, Iowa Department of Public Health, and the governor’s office. Dr. Ann Lebo, executive director of the Iowa Department of Education and member of the IHSAA Board of Control, is expected to join Gov. Reynolds at the daily briefing on Thursday.

“The IHSAA thanks Dr. Lebo, Governor Reynolds, Dr. Pedati, the IDPH and all who have worked diligently to develop these guidelines to help us conduct a baseball season for the young people in Iowa,” IHSAA executive director Tom Keating said.

“We trust that our administrators, coaches, umpires and fans will responsibly follow the guidelines in place to keep themselves and each other safe. This is terrific news and is a step toward getting our student-athletes reconnected to the activities that mean so much to them.”

Spring sports seasons never began and were ultimately canceled on April 17, following the cancellation of in-person K-12 schooling for Iowa’s 2019-20 academic year.

The original first practice date was May 4 for baseball and softball. .

“The guidelines laid out by the Department of Education and the Department of Public Health will enable us to safely move forward with a softball season this summer,” IGHSAU executive director Jean Berger said. “We are grateful for their leadership and support.

“We know the games will have different circumstances and that we will all have to work together to keep everyone safe, but we are confident that we are up to this challenge.”

The IGHSAU and IHSAA plan to issue further sport-specific guidance and FAQ lists early next week.

Both organizations currently plan to conduct their state tournaments at their previously announced venues, with IGHSAU softball at Harlan Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge and IHSAA baseball at Principal Park in Des Moines.

Per guidance from the Iowa Department of Education, coach-athlete contact for all in-person, out-of-season sports is suspended until July 1

IOWA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION GUIDANCE

Summer Sports

Use of School Facilities

LEAWOOD, Kan. (AP) — For the first time in nearly two decades, the Super Bowl champion Chiefs will have a new punter. Identifying who that will be in the midst of a pandemic is no easy task. The Chiefs have signed Tyler Newsome and undrafted rookie Tommy Townsend to compete for the job. But with healthy players barred from the practice facility, the organization is relying on videos of their private workouts to keep tabs on the race for the job.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa women’s volleyball program is on probation for one year and must vacate 33 wins over two seasons as part of its penalty for violations committed by former coach Bond Shymansky. The university’s athletic department also will pay a $5,000 fine to the NCAA as part of the negotiated resolution. Shymansky admitted making two cash payments totaling $2,000 to a prospective player during the summer of 2017. He was fired in June 2019. The 33 vacated wins came in matches in which the player appeared in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds paved the way for the possibility of summer high school sports at her press conference on Wednesday. She has granted approval for practices to begin on June 1st for high school athletics.

It will now be up to the Iowa High School Athletic Association and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union to determine if a plan for starting summer sports is feasible and what guidelines would have to be followed.

A lot of hurdles are in place for that to happen with scheduling, travel, crowd management, and shared equipment all posing difficulties.

The spring sports season was officially cancelled on April 24th when the pandemic ramped up.

(Radio Iowa) — The coronavirus pandemic may’ve led to a surge in the number of wild turkey hunters this year and a record harvest of the birds. Iowa D-N-R wildlife research biologist Jim Coffey says the season ended Sunday and hunters reported taking 14-thousand-600 birds. “This will be our highest number recorded from our modern records since 2007 when mandatory reporting came into effect,” Coffey says.  The total is well about the previous high for the turkey take of 12-thousand-173 back in 2016. Coffey says one thing stands out as the reason for the increase.”Most likely more hunters. We haven’t got all the data in yet and we will look at success rates — which typically range around 22 to 25 percent — but we are looking at almost a 25 to 30 percent increase in turkey hunters this spring,” according to Coffey.

The wild turkey hunt came as everyone was forced by the pandemic to stay at home and Coffey says that’s likely why more turkey licenses were sold. “That’s kind of the speculation — that you could social distance yourself outside with nature,” Coffey says.  Hunters bagged a bird in all 99 Iowa counties. Coffey says the increase in harvest comes as there’s been a decline in the wild turkey population. He says recent years of wet weather could be part of the reason for the population decline. “Timing of rains can be impactful to wild turkeys and then, of course, cold conditions as well. That might impact the production of insects, which are the primary food resource for the young growing poults,” Coffey explains “So, weather and habitat are always the main factors that are considered with any bird population. But we are always looking at other factors such as predators or disease that might be impacting the populations as well.”

He says the main habitat for wild turkeys is forest land. “Which is mostly found in the eastern third or the southern third of our state — that’s where most of our turkeys are harvested. But we do know that wild turkeys will live in those north-central, northwest areas along river corridor systems,” he says. Coffey says turkeys are smart and they make it very hard to have a successful hunt. He says the way the birds are hunted also makes it tough. “Males stay in one place and call the females to come to them. And as hunters, we act like a female and try to get the male to come to us. So, we are kind of putting ourselves at a disadvantage right off the bat in trying to mess with Mother Nature,” Coffey says. “So that makes success very difficult. And when we look at 20 to 25 percent success rates — that’s actually pretty good in most years for most hunters.”

Coffey says the decline in the turkey population is something that is also happening in other states and they are studying various issues to try and find a pattern to the population losses.

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

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NFL readying, diversity push…Nationals Series rings virtual ceremony…Shorter Belmont Stakes

UNDATED (AP) — Some NFL training facilities are reopening, while many are prohibited by government restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. Commissioner Roger Goodell gave the 32 clubs the go-ahead for limited re-openings as long as state and local municipalities allow them. Coaching staffs and all players, except those undergoing injury rehab, are barred from the facilities in the first phase of the league’s plan.

NEW YORK (AP) — Changes designed to enhance opportunities for minorities to get executive, head coaching and coordinator positions were passed by NFL owners. They include addendums to the Rooney Rule, which has fallen short in its goal of increasing diversity in the league. All clubs will now be required to interview at least two minority candidates from outside the organization for head coach vacancies.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Jazz say forward Bojan Bogdanović underwent surgery to repair a ruptured ligament in his right wrist. The procedure was performed Tuesday in New York City. The team says in a release that he’ll begin rehabilitation “at the appropriate time.” The NBA season remains on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. Bogdanović was averaging 20.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his first season with the Jazz. He signed a four-year, $73 million contract with Utah last summer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals will unveil their World Series championship rings during a “virtual” ceremony shown on television and online Sunday — an unprecedented approach brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Teams typically unveil their title rings at a home stadium packed with fans.

ELMONT, N.Y. (AP) — The Belmont Stakes will be run June 20 on Long Island in front of no fans as the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. This is the first year the Belmont will take place before the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. The Derby was moved to Sept. 5 and the Preakness to Oct. 3. The rescheduled Belmont will be a shorter distance of one and an-eighth miles instead of the race’s trademark mile and a half that has been in place since 1926.

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

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