Major League Baseball clubs choosing not to ignore health and safety guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to search for the best ways to safely fill ballparks with paying spectators without spreading COVID-19 cases.
On Wednesday, the Miami Marlins announced a partnership with Florida Pest Control and parent company Rentokil for a drone disinfection program. According to the release, the drone technology will cover open areas with "a fast-acting formula" that "inactivates pathogens within four (4) minutes of the drone application, including coronavirus, norovirus, H1N1, SARS, MRSA, swine flu, E. Coli, Salmonella and more."
The Marlins currently intend to cap attendance for home games at roughly 25%.
"As we prepare to welcome our fans back to Marlins Park, we continue to add health and safety measures that will enhance our guests’ 2021 experience," Marlins head of experience and innovation Michael Shaw said in the prepared statement. "This partnership with a longstanding industry leader in Rentokil allows us to utilize their state-of-the-art technology to enhance our disinfection process."
The Texas Rangers are the only team, to date, set to welcome fans at 100% capacity for Opening Day next month.
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Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora appeared to tamper with Kyle Schwarber on Tuesday. Cora’s Red Sox were in the middle of a three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies, which is why the subject of Schwarber came up. Phillies Nation reporter Destiny Lugardo asked Cora about Schwarber’s upcoming free agency. The Red Sox manager said he would be “very, very intrigued” to see how Schwarber’s free agency plays out. Lugardo took that to mean that Cora will be advocating for the Red Sox to try to sign Schwarber. However, Cora acknowledged that Philadelphia has been great for the slugger. I hate to say it, but (Philly) is a perfect place for him,” Cora said, via Lugardo. Schwarber, 32, was a trade-deadline acquisition by the Red Sox in 2021. He batted .291 with a .957 OPS in 41 regular-season games with the team. The Red Sox lost in the ALCS that year with Cora as the manager. During that offseason, Schwarber signed a 4-year, $79 million contract with the Phillies, which has worked out well. Schwarber has slugged 164 home runs over his four seasons with the Phillies with an .849 OPS. He has been such a good fit with the Phillies that the team might not want to let him go. The problem is, Cora even just describing himself “intrigued” over Schwarber’s free agency may be enough to be considered tampering with a player who is under contract with another team.
Caitlin Clark might be the most popular figure in women's basketball right now, but she continues to draw shots left and right, both on and off the court. The Iowa product has stayed even keeled and mostly unrattled, but that doesn't mean she won't fight back. That's why, in the light of Kelsey Plum's recent comments, she decided to take matters into her own hands and clapped back at her with a simple, six-word message. Plum shared a picture of her during the WNBA's All-Star Weekend, which showed half of a Nike logo in the background. Clark was quick to spot it and just wrote "Thank u for the Nike ad." This happened just hours after Plum seemingly took a shot at Clark and her Team Clark teammates for reportedly not getting involved in their pre-game protest. “The T-shirt was determined this morning. Not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that,” Plum revealed. “That really needed to be mentioned,” Sabrina Ionescu added while both laughed. WNBA All-Stars warmed up with a T-Shirt that read 'Pay us what you owe us,' ahead of their new CBA agreement, which is expected to be signed in the offseason. WNBA players get around 9 percent of the league's revenue, and they're asking for a bigger share since most of them also have to play overseas during the offseason because of the salary disparity. Plum is the vice president of the WNBPA, so it's not surprising to see her so involved in the protest and the demands. Then again, it's hard to understand the reasoning behind the tattle telling, as not only does it show that there might not be a united front ahead of these negotiations, but it also drives attention away from where it should be.
The Boston Celtics' priorities were already apparent before making the trades they did. Because they wanted to get under the NBA's second tax apron, the Celtics were willing to downgrade some of their players to get under it. That's why the Celtics traded Jrue Holiday for Anfernee Simons and Kristaps Porzingis for Georges Niang. It is a talent downgrade, but it helped Boston achieve their goals of getting under the second apron, even if those players aren't as good as Holiday or Porzingis. However, those trades only helped Boston get closer to being under the NBA's second tax apron, but it didn't get them under completely. Boston signed a few more players this offseason, including Luka Garza, Josh Minott, and Hugo Gonzalez. While these players are on inexpensive contracts, combined, they are enough to keep the Celtics above the NBA's second tax apron. That's why Boston isn't done making moves. Spotrac's Keith Smith revealed in an interview with a Boston Celtics executive that more trades will follow because they are still above the NBA's second tax apron. “Still figuring it all out. As you’ve noted, we’re still above the second apron. We won’t finish there," the Celtics exec told Smith. As far as how the Celtics will do that is anyone's guess. They may trade Anfernee Simons for someone who makes less than him. They may trade Niang's contract to a team that can absorb it via trade exception. They may even trade Sam Hauser or Payton Pritchard to do it. Regardless, more moves are coming for the Celtics.
Malcom-Jamal Warner, who portrayed the beloved character Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” died at 54 in Costa Rica in a drowning accident, according to the Associated Press. The report claimed that Warner drowned on Sunday afternoon on a beach on the country’s Caribbean coast. He was swimming at Playa Cocles in Limon province when a current pulled him deeper into the water. Following his death, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2002 inductee Magic Johnson mourned his passing. “Cookie and I are sad to hear about the passing of our dear friend Malcom-Jamal Warner,” he wrote on X. “We were both super fans of the hit Cosby Show and continued to follow his career on shows like Malcom and Eddie and The Resident.” Warner was on “The Cosby Show” from 1984-92. He also appeared in television series such as “Jeremiah,” “A Different World” and “Here and Now,” while Johnson led the Los Angeles Lakers from 1979-91 before making a brief comeback in 1995-96. “Every time I ran into Malcom, we would have deep and fun conversations about basketball, life and business,” Johnson added. “He will truly be missed . Cookie and I are praying [for] his family and close friends during this difficult time.” Warner was in films such as “Drop Zone” (1994), “Fool’s Gold” (2008), “The Tuskegee Airmen” (1995) and “Tyson” (1995). He also received a Grammy Award for Best Traditional R B Performance for the song “Jesus Children” alongside Robert Glasper Experiment and Lalah Hathaway. On the other hand, Johnson became a successful businessman after his NBA career ended by becoming a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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