Friday’s Sports

 

NFL

The NFL canceled the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame game August 6 that featured the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. The league will also postpone the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony until 2021. It is the first time the NFL has called off the first official preseason game. Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson and Defensive Back Cliff Harris were to be inducted this year into the Hall of Fame.

The NFL still plans to hold training camps on time, beginning in late July, though contingency plans are in place. Hours after the league canceled the Hall of Fame game that kicks off the preseason, the 32 team owners on Thursday received updates on a variety of issues, many dealing with working through the coronavirus pandemic. Most notably, according to NFL general counsel Jeff Pash, the owners were told about plans to reopen team facilities for training camp next month fully.

MLB

Phillie Phanatic, phenomenal, Mr. Met and Mariner Moose, marvelous, and Wally, the Green Monster, welcome back. Mascots are getting a reprieve from Major League Baseball. A month after being tossed out of stadiums because of health concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, the fuzzy and funny creatures will return as inside-the-parkers.

WTT

Venus Williams has signed up to play World Team Tennis for the 15th time, the league announced Thursday. She will be a member of the Washington Kastles, one of nine teams that will gather at a resort in West Virginia for a three-week season starting July 12. Matches usually are played at various sites around the country, but WTT decided to bring everyone to one location because of the coronavirus pandemic.

REGION XIV

Region XIV’s Lee College has suspended its athletics for the 2020-21 school year, according to the Baytown Sun Thursday. In Baytown, Lee competes in Region XIV’s South Zone with Tyler Junior College in men’s basketball and volleyball. Sheridan College (Wyoming) and Gillette College (Wyoming) of Region IX announced they are permanently cutting their athletic programs. Lee’s cut is currently just for the upcoming school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Region XIV basketball has recently lost Lon Morris College and San Jacinto College but has gained Bossier Parish Community College, Coastal Bend, and Victoria College.

HIGH SCHOOL

Tenaha ISD Athletic Department suspended its summer workouts until July 13. The athletic director, Jeremy Jenkins, said two student-athletes possibly became exposed to a COVID-19 off school property. Jenkins stressed the case was a person who does not live in Tenaha. The UIL also has a mandatory shutdown on July 3, 7, and 8. Tenaha was also not doing workouts on Friday.

Wolfe City, Caddo Mills, and Royse City are three playoff teams in football in 2019 who have earned preseason state rankings. Campbell picks the Wolves to finish first in District 6-2A-I, ahead of Rivercrest, Honey Grove, Alba-Golden, Cooper, Como-Pickton, and Celeste by returning ten starters on offense and nine on defense off a 2-8 team.