FOOTBALL
The NFL has informed teams their training camps will open on time.
League executive Troy Vincent sent a memo to general managers and head coaches on Saturday informing them that rookies are to report by Tuesday, quarterbacks and injured players by Thursday and all other players by July 28.
The league and the NFL Players Association are still discussing testing for the coronavirus and other health and safety protocols. Union leadership expressed several concerns in a 90-minute conference call with reporters Friday.
However, under the collective bargaining agreement, the NFL can impose report dates.
The players’ union wants players tested daily for the virus. A joint committee of doctors, trainers and strength coaches formed by the NFL and NFLPA recommended testing every other day.
Other outstanding issues include the number of preseason games. The league has planned to cut the exhibition schedule from four games to two, while the union wants none.
Both sides are also negotiating economic issues, and questions remain about players’ rights to opt out of playing.
BASKETBALL
NBA: The first exhibition games of the NBA restart will go a little more quickly than usual.
The NBA is tweaking the rules for those initial matchups, going with 10-minute quarters instead of the usual 12 minutes.
Exhibitions start with a four-game slate Wednesday and continue through July 28. Each team will play three exhibitions, and the last two for each club will have the traditional 12-minute quarters. Plans call for all 33 exhibitions to be televised by some combination of local TV, national TV, NBA TV or NBA League Pass.
The Celtics play their first scrimmage at 5 p.m. Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. All three Celtics scrimmages will be televised by NBC Sports Boston.
SOCCER
FA CUP: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored both goals as Arsenal ended Manchester City’s FA Cup title defense with a 2-0 semifinal win in London.
Aubameyang poked in Nicolas Pepe’s cross in the 19th minute and added another goal in the 71st minute as Arsenal ended a seven-match losing streak against Manchester City.
AUTO RACING
FORMULA ONE: Lewis Hamilton beat Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to take pole position for the seventh time at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Hamilton has won seven times at the Hungaroring, and the veteran British driver needs one more win to equal Michael Schumacher’s single-track record of eight wins, when the French Grand Prix was held at Magny-Cours.
NASCAR: Kyle Busch celebrated a 10th NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Texas Motor Speedway, then had it taken away.
Busch failed postrace tech inspection after finishing ahead of Austin Cindric, who was declared the winner for his third victory in a row.
It would have been the 98th career Xfinity win for Busch. Instead, Cindric got his fifth in 83 career starts despite crossing the finish line 0.949 seconds behind Busch.
• Busch did get the victory in his second race of the day, winning the Trucks race in a 1-2 finish for the team he owns.
Busch made a final green-flag stop with 36 laps to go, when he had to slam his brakes on entry to pit road to avoid a penalty. He then almost pulled into the wrong pit stall, initially pulling toward the No. 18 markers – the number of his Cup car – instead of the No. 51 Toyota truck.
Busch finished 0.777 seconds in front of 19-year-old rookie Christian Eckes, the driver of that No. 18 Toyota that Busch owns.
INDYCAR: Josef Newgarden led nearly wire-to-wire to win at Iowa Speedway, giving team owner Roger Penske a sweep of the doubleheader and his fourth victory across three series this weekend.
Newgarden, who started on the pole, thought he had the best car in the opener Friday night, and he was irate when a series of misfortunes left him fifth and well back of winning teammate Simon Pagenaud. But the two-time series champ left little to chance in Race 2, leading just about all of the 250 laps for his 15th career victory and first since last year’s race at Iowa.
Will Power finished second after wrecking out of the doubleheader opener. Graham Rahal was third for his first podium in more than a year, while Pagenaud again came from the back to finish fourth and series leader Scott Dixon was fifth.
HOCKEY
NHL: Edmonton Oilers defenseman Caleb Jones says he tested positive for the coronavirus before training camp but was asymptomatic.
The 23-year-old Jones is the second NHL player to acknowledge a positive test in a media interview. Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews also revealed his positive test.
The NHL is not releasing the names of players who test positive.
GOLF
EUROPEAN TOUR: Joel Stalter of France closed with a 2-under 68 for a two-shot victory in the Euram Bank Open in Ramsau, Austria.
Stalter had gone 80 tournaments worldwide since his only previous victory as a pro, in 2016 at the Swedish Challenge. He rallied from a four-shot deficit, finishing at 14-under 266.
Richard Mansell of England shot 71 and was alone in second.
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