National Sports

It's going to require some change to preparation, but trainer Mark Casse is good with Tuesday's decision to postpone the Kentucky Derby until September amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NCAA made more than $1 billion last year, almost $867 million from the men's Division I basketball tournament, and most of that from a massive television rights deal with CBS and Turner that runs through the 2032 tournament.

Vasek Pospisil was in Indian Wells, Calif., last Sunday practising for the BNP Paribas Open when the tournament, one of the biggest on the tennis schedule, was cancelled over COVID-19 concerns.

It was after midnight Tuesday in Novosibirsk, Russia, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadians abroad to come home. Ruth Hamblin, who plays basketball for WBC Dynamo Novosibirsk in the Siberian city, stayed up to watch the news conference.

After losing a fight Saturday some 7,300 kilometres away before an empty arena in Brasilia, UFC lightweight John (The Bull) Makdessi is back home in Montreal — in self-isolation.

GENEVA — Taking a tough decision that became more inevitable by the day, the governing body of European soccer postponed its marquee championship for one year on Tuesday.

NEW ORLEANS — The Saints and record-setting quarterback Drew Brees have agreed on a two-year, $50 million contract, a person familiar with the situation said.

WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers signed defensive back Damian Swann and quarterback Dru Brown on Tuesday. A six-foot, 190-pound Swann was drafted in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints out of the University of Georgia.

The COVID-19 pandemic has Canadian tight end Antony Auclair channelling his inner Sylvester Stallone as he prepares for the upcoming NFL season.

Toronto Wolfpack star Sonny Bill Williams underwent a minor knee procedure Tuesday, ironically taking advantage of rugby league's hiatus due to COVID-19 to get healthy.