Morning roundup: Networks, conferences delay announcing early-season college football games

COLLEGES

Networks, conferences delay announcing early-season football games

College football conferences and television networks have agreed to hold off on announcing start times for early-season games.

CBS Sports, ESPN, Fox Sports and their affiliated networks typically announce early game times for the Football Bowl Subdivision conferences on June 1.

The two sides decided to wait a few weeks for the 2020 season as sports like the NHL and NBA work toward returning after shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The college football season is scheduled to begin with a handful of games on Aug. 29 and a full slate of games the following week.

A handful of conferences have plans in place to allow athletes in all sports to return to campus for voluntary workouts starting next month.

OKLAHOMA STATE: Kaden Polcovich played just 18 games for Oklahoma State, but that was enough to be named to Collegiate Baseball’s All-America third team. Polcovich, a junior infielder, posted a .344 batting average, leading the team in four offensive categories with 21 RBIs, 19 walks, 20 runs and nine multi-hit games.

TEXAS TECH: Guard Davide Moretti is skipping his final season to turn pro with Olimpia Milano is his home country of Italy. Moretti ends a three-year Texas Tech career that included a school record in free-throw accuracy at 90.6% (213 of 235). Moretti played a strong supporting role in helping the Red Raiders reach the NCAA championship game during the 2018-19 season. Texas Tech lost to Virginia in overtime. Moretti shot 46% from 3-point range and averaged 11.5 points per game.

HOCKEY

NHL to have 24-team playoff

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has announced the league is moving ahead with a 24-team expanded playoff format if it's able to resume play and award the Stanley Cup.

The plan was approved by the NHL's board of governors, and comes days after the NHL Players' Association's executive committee gave the plan a green light.

Bettman stresses the plan's approval doesn't guarantee the resumption of games. The league and players must still determine safety protocols and solve other issues, including where to play. There have been discussions of having two hub cities, one in the Eastern Conference and one in the Western Conference.

Under the expanded format, the top four teams in each conference will play for seeding while the other 16 face off in a best-of-5 series. The league has been shut down since March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In going ahead with the top 12 teams in each conference, the decision officially ends the seasons of the league's bottom seven teams. They are Anaheim, Buffalo, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Ottawa and San Jose.

AUTO RACING

Kyle Busch wins Xfinity race

Kyle Busch passed Austin Cindric on the final lap in overtime to win his 97th career Xfinity Series race in dramatic fashion Monday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.After a crash involving several cars sent the race into overtime, Cindric passed Busch on a restart starting at the inside lane of the front row. But Busch battled back and pushed the pedal to the floor, passing Cindric on the last lap to earn his 18th overall win at Charlotte Motor Speedway across NASCAR's top three series — the most of any driver.

NBA

Jordan refused to play with Isiah

There’s audio evidence that Michael Jordan refused to play with Isiah Thomas in the Olympics. In his documentary “The Last Dance,” Jordan denied involvement in Thomas being left off the Dream Team. However, longtime Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum, who penned a book on the collection of NBA superstars who wowed the world at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics, unearthed the following audio from his interview with Jordan in 2011:“When they called me to ask me to play, Rod Thorn called me,” Jordan said. “I said, ‘Rod, I won’t play if Isiah Thomas is on the team.’"

Jordan and Thomas were rivals in the late ’80s and early ’90s. It turned more personal when the Pistons refused to shake hands after being eliminated by the Bulls in 1991. Even 40 years later, Jordan didn’t want to hear Thomas’ explanation for walking off the court.

Wire reports