WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE ZONE.....

NBA News - LeBron James, Ben Simmons

Posted by sportszonechicago — Thu, 6 Aug 2020 20:40 GMT

LeBron James: Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is out for Thursday's game against the Houston Rockets because of his right groin, the team announced. James, 35, missed 27 games last season because of a groin injury suffered Christmas Day. This season, he sat out games in December and February for the same reason. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29608527/lebron-james-play-vs-rockets-lakers-cite-sore-groin Ben Simmons: Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown did his best to put on a brave face as he spoke to the media Thursday afternoon. But in the wake of learning that All-Star Ben Simmons would be out indefinitely with a subluxation of his left patella, Brown couldn't help but admit the obvious frustration over the situation. "This one stings, for sure," Brown said. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29608271/76ers-ben-simmons-partially-dislocated-kneecap

MLB Tightens Health And Safety Protocols

Posted by sportszonechicago — Thu, 6 Aug 2020 16:57 GMT

Major League Baseball has made several strict changes to its health and safety protocols in the wake of recent Covid-19 outbreaks, according to a league memo. The memo, which was sent to clubs Wednesday, cites the Miami Marlins' outbreak. "MLB investigators have now conducted a thorough investigation of the factors contributing to the spread of the virus within the Marlins traveling party, and our decision to revise the protocols ... is based on many of the things that we learned," the memo states. Click below to read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/06/us/mlb-safety-protocols-covid-19-outbreak-spt/index.html

MLB - Cubs, White Sox Recaps

Posted by sportszonechicago — Thu, 6 Aug 2020 11:51 GMT

White Sox vs. Brewers - Dallas Keuchel saw the potential in Adrian Houser when the two were coming up with the Houston Astros. Outings like this were just what he envisioned. Houser dominated over seven innings and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the White Sox 1-0 Wednesday night to snap Chicago's six-game win streak. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225845 Cubs vs. Royals - Yu Darvish pitched seven sharp innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the skidding Kansas City Royals 6-1 on Wednesday night for their sixth straight victory. Javier Baez drove in two runs for the Cubs (10-2), who handed Kansas City its sixth consecutive defeat. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo each had two hits and scored twice. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225848

Players Wearing T-Shirts Opposing Dream Owner

Posted by sportszonechicago — Wed, 5 Aug 2020 15:10 GMT

The backlash against Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler is growing, with many WNBA players wearing "Vote Warnock" shirts ahead of their games on Tuesday night. The shirts refer to Democrat Reverend Raphael Warnock, who is running against Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler in the 2020 special Senate election. Click below to read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wnba-players-wear-shirts-supporting-warnock-opponent-of-atlanta-dream-co-owner-kelly-loeffler-in-georgia-senate-race/

Chicago Sky vs, Dallas Wings Recap

Posted by sportszonechicago — Wed, 5 Aug 2020 14:18 GMT

The Chicago Sky continued their good performance in close games with an 82-79 win over the Dallas Wings on Tuesday night at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The Sky, who improved to 4-1 to remain in a first-place tie with the Seattle Storm, are 3-1 in games decided by three points or less this season. Click below to read more: https://www.swishappeal.com/wnba/2020/8/5/21354648/wnba-chicago-sky-dallas-wings-cheyenne-parker-courtney-vandersloot-allie-quigley-azura-stevens-arike

MLB - Chicago Sports Recap

Posted by sportszonechicago — Wed, 5 Aug 2020 13:46 GMT

These don't appear to be the same old Chicago White Sox that have stumbled through seven consecutive losing seasons. Jose Abreu hit a tiebreaking two-out single in the seventh inning, helping Lucas Giolito and the White Sox edge the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 on Tuesday. The White Sox have won six straight games for the first time since April 2017. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225835 Jason Heyward, Jason Kipnis and Willson Contreras homered and the Chicago Cubs overcame another shaky outing by closer Craig Kimbrel to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 Tuesday night for their fifth straight win. Kimbrel took over to begin the ninth inning with a 5-2 lead, but struggled again and allowed two runs and two hits while getting only one out. He's yielded six runs in 1 2/3 innings in three appearances this season. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225830

UConn 1st Team To Cancel Football Season

Posted by sportszonechicago — Wed, 5 Aug 2020 13:10 GMT

UConn, which last month officially left the American Athletic Conference, announced Wednesday that it's suspending its football program for the 2020 season because of the coronavirus pandemic. UConn, which went 2-10 in its final season in the AAC, is the first FBS program to suspend its football team because of the pandemic. The Huskies were expected to play as an independent this season. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29600577/uconn-becomes-1st-fbs-team-cancel-football-season-due-coronavirus

Chicago Sports Recap

Posted by sportszonechicago — Tue, 4 Aug 2020 14:18 GMT

White Sox vs. Brewers - Jose Abreu hit a tying, two-run homer in the seventh inning, Leury Garcia scored on a wild pitch in the eighth and Yoan Moncada added a solo shot in the ninth to lift the Chicago White Sox over Milwaukee 6-4 in the Brewers' belated home opener Monday night. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225823 Cubs vs. Royals - Kris Bryant homered in his return to the lineup and Alec Mills pitched seven effective innings, helping the Chicago Cubs beat the Kansas City Royals 2-0 on Monday night for their fourth consecutive win. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225819 Blackhawks vs. Oilers Connor McDavid recorded his first playoff hat trick to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 6-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, tying their best-of-five qualifying series at one game apiece. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/nhl/recap/_/gameId/401230360

Rock-Solid Buy: Ex- WWE Star, Group To Own XFL

Posted by sportszonechicago — Mon, 3 Aug 2020 19:48 GMT

A group including actor and former WWE star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has agreed to purchase the XFL for approximately $15 million, according to a news release issued Monday morning. The XFL declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy April 13 and has been seeking a buyer for the past three months, marketing itself as a made-for-TV product that could transition as early as 2021 to a bubble concept during the coronavirus pandemic. It is unclear when Johnson and his investors -- who include his business partner and ex-wife, Dany Garcia, along with RedBird Capital Partners -- plan to revive the league. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/xfl/story/_/id/29588303/dwayne-rock-johnson-investor-group-agree-buy-xfl-15m

Budenholzer, Donovan Tie For NBCA's Top Coach

Posted by sportszonechicago — Mon, 3 Aug 2020 19:21 GMT

The Milwaukee Bucks' Mike Budenholzer and Oklahoma City Thunder's Billy Donovan were voted the National Basketball Coaches Association co-coaches of the year, the organization announced Monday. "I am honored and humbled to be recognized by the Coaches, they are a great group of people that I admire and respect," Donovan said in a statement. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29588590/bucks-mike-budenholzer-thunder-billy-donovan-tie-nbca-coaching-award

WCC Invokes Bill Russell With Minority Hiring Rule

Posted by sportszonechicago — Mon, 3 Aug 2020 14:53 GMT

Bill Russell, the 11-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics, has endorsed a measure that will make the West Coast Conference the first Division I league to require all schools to include a minority finalist for job openings in athletics, the league announced Monday. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/29587872/wcc-creates-russell-rule-encourage-hiring-minority-candidates

Eagles Coach Doug Pederson Tests Positive For Virus

Posted by sportszonechicago — Mon, 3 Aug 2020 14:27 GMT

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has tested positive for Covid-19, the team announced in a statement Sunday. Pederson is "asymptomatic and doing well," the Eagles' statement read. He is in self-quarantine and in communication with the team's medical staff. Click below to read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/03/us/philadelphia-eagles-head-coach-doug-pederson-coronavirus-spt-trnd/index.html

Heats' Jimmy Butler Out; Virus Hint

Posted by sportszonechicago — Mon, 3 Aug 2020 14:08 GMT

Jimmy Butler was not with the Miami Heat for practice Sunday, and one of his teammates suggested that he was quarantining away from the team. The Heat said only that Butler, who scored 22 points in Miami's restart-opening win over Denver on Saturday, had "an excused absence." But Heat teammate Jae Crowder indicated that it wasn't just a day off for Butler. Click below to read more: https://www.foxnews.com/sports/butler-misses-heat-practice-teammate-hints-hes-isolating UPDATE: After missing Sunday's practice, Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler is expected to play in today's game against the Toronto Raptors in Orlando. During pregame media availability, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Butler is ready to go. The team refused to comment on why Butler missed practice other than it was an excused absence. On Sunday, forward Jae Crowder hinted Butler was dealing with a COVID-19-related issue. Click below to read more: https://www.si.com/nba/heat/miami-news/miami-heat-jimmy-butler-status-update

MLB - Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals; Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Recaps

Posted by sportszonechicago — Mon, 3 Aug 2020 00:06 GMT

Nick Madrigal was starting to lose sleep after two frustrating games without his first big league hit. Once the top prospect finally got it, they kept right on coming. Madrigal followed his first career hit with three more on Sunday, pacing the Chicago White Sox to a 9-2 romp over the Kansas City Royals. The 23-year-old infielder had a pair of hits in a seven-run seventh inning, when he scored the go-ahead run and had his first career RBI, and barely missed out on a 5-for-5 day on a ground ball in the ninth inning. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225808 Javier Baez singled through a drawn-in infield in the 11th inning, scoring David Bote from third base and giving the Chicago Cubs a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. Bote, who made the last out in the 10th, started the inning on second base as mandated by Major League Baseball's extra-inning rule for the pandemic-shortened season. He advanced to third on a deep fly to right by Anthony Rizzo and jogged home on Baez's first career game-ending hit against Cody Ponce (0-1). Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225805

Mets' Yoenis Cespedes Opting Out After Sunday No-Show

Posted by sportszonechicago — Sun, 2 Aug 2020 21:27 GMT

The New York Mets' Yoenis Cespedes has opted out of the 2020 season after he did not report to Truist Park for Sunday's game against the Atlanta Braves, according to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. Van Wagenen addressed Cespedes' decision with reporters after the Mets' 4-0 loss. The general manager said Cespedes was doing so over "COVID-related issues" and that the team had not previously known of the possibility that he would opt out. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29584055/mets-unable-get-contact-yoenis-cespedes

Cubs' Kris Bryant Out With Illness, Tested Negative

Posted by sportszonechicago — Sun, 2 Aug 2020 17:42 GMT

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant is out of the lineup for a second consecutive day on Sunday due to health protocols after he self-reported a stomach ailment on Saturday morning. "He really needs to be commended for going in and getting checked out," manager David Ross said Sunday morning. "We're trying to take the right precautions to keep everyone safe." Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29583716/cubs-kris-bryant-illness-tested-negative-coronavirus

MLB - Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals; Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Recaps

Posted by sportszonechicago — Sun, 2 Aug 2020 13:40 GMT

Gio Gonzalez made his first start for the hot-hitting Chicago White Sox more than 16 years after they drafted him, and the veteran responded by holding the Kansas City Royals scoreless into the fourth inning of an 11-5 rout Saturday night. Click here to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225793 Tyler Chatwood matched a career high with 11 strikeouts in another terrific performance, and the Chicago Cubs used the long ball to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Saturday night. Click here to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225790

MLB - White Sox vs. Royals, Cubs vs. Pirates Recaps

Posted by sportszonechicago — Sat, 1 Aug 2020 11:44 GMT

Adam Engel hit a three-run homer in the second inning Friday night, and that was all the offense the Chicago White Sox needed in a 3-2 win over Kansas City that spoiled the Royals' home opener. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225778 Yu Darvish and Craig Kimbrel looked like they did at the end of last year. Talk about a mixed bag for the Chicago Cubs. Darvish pitched six shutout innings, Jason Heyward hit a key two-run single and the Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 on Friday night. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225775

Rob Manfred Warns Union That Season At Risk

Posted by sportszonechicago — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 22:41 GMT

Major League Baseball's season could be in jeopardy if teams and players can't contain the coronavirus, commissioner Rob Manfred is warning, just a week after opening day. And the shutdown could happen as soon as Monday. Click below to read more: https://sports.yahoo.com/report-rob-manfred-warns-that-mlb-could-shut-down-by-monday-if-it-cant-contain-coronavirus-210743171.html

NFL Gives Antonio Brown 8-Game Suspension

Posted by sportszonechicago — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 22:36 GMT

The NFL has come to a decision regarding Antonio Brown. The league announced Friday that the free agent wideout will be suspended without pay for the first eight games of the 2020 season. The 32-year-old's suspension will begin Week 1, even if Brown is not on an NFL team. The NFL can extend Brown's suspension depending on what happens in Brown's civil suit, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Click below to read more: https://sports.yahoo.com/report-antonio-brown-will-be-suspended-for-eight-games-by-nfl-183121670.html