The Big Ten conference announced Tuesday it is postponing football and all other fall sports due to the coronavirus pandemic. The conference has the hope of playing in the spring, and it will make a decision about basketball and other winter sports at a later date. Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said there was too much uncertainty regarding the medical risks and that the health and safety of student athletes comes first. The Big Ten released a conference-only schedule consisting of 10 games each just last week.
The Indiana Pacers take on the Houston Rockets Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. Eastern from the NBA’s bubble in Orlando. The matchup is Indiana’s second-to-last seeding game before the playoffs begin next week. So far, the Pacers are 4-2 in Orlando, but are coming off of a 114-92 loss at the hands of the Miami Heat. Houston has beaten the Pacers in five straight matchups, including a 111-102 decision in November.
Practice begins Wednesday for the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500. Veterans will be on track from 11 to 1 and then again from 3 to 5:30, while rookie orientation and refresher tests will take place from 1 to 3. The pace car for next Sunday’s race will be unveiled at 10 a.m. Qualifying is set for this weekend with the Greatest Spectacle in Racing to be run Sunday, August 23rd.
Indiana basketball assistant coach Bruiser Flint is leaving to join John Calipari’s staff at the University of Kentucky. He joined Archie Miller’s staff in 2017 when Miller was hired from Dayton. Flint has past ties with Calipari and was an assistant under him at UMass from 1989 through 1996. When Calipari left to take the New Jersey Nets job, Flint succeeded him as head coach at UMass. Flint was at UMass until 2001, and then spent 15 seasons as the head coach at Drexel.
The Chicago White Sox jumped on the Detroit Tigers with four runs in the first inning and went on to a 8-4 win Tuesday night at Comerica Park. Eloy Jimenez slapped a three-run home run in the first inning, his fourth long ball of the year, and drove in a fourth run in the sixth. Edwin Encarnacion returned from a shoulder injury and crushed a solo home run in the fourth inning. The win brought the White Sox to .500 at 9-9 and snapped Detroit’s four-game winning streak.
Chicago Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward drove in four runs, including a three-run homer as the Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians 7-1 Tuesday night at Progressive Field. The Cubs improved to 11-3 on the season in their first game since Thursday. Chicago had their weekend series with St. Louis postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak on the Cardinals. Jon Lester earned the victory with six strong innings in the rematch of the 2016 World Series.
Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto crushed a walk-off double to center field to lift the Reds to a 6-5 10-inning win over the Kansas City Royals Tuesday night at Great American Ballpark. Votto’s game-winner was the first walk-off for Cincinnati this season, which improved to 8-9 with the victory.
