HOCKEY

Governors from the six New England states and New Jersey have extended the suspension of interstate youth hockey through the end of March.

The suspension of interstate competition was first announced on Nov. 12 and now has been extended twice. It also applies to high school and prep school teams in addition to youth hockey, but does not include college or pro teams. Junior teams, including the Maine Nordiques based in Lewiston and Twin City Thunder based in Auburn, have continued to play interstate games.

NHL: Joonas Korpisalo made 31 saves and Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and an assist, sending the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 2-1 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago.

• Minnesota Wild forward Kevin Fiala was suspended for three games without pay for boarding Los Angeles Kings defenseman Matt Roy.

BASEBALL

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MLB: The St. Louis Cardinals are on the verge of acquiring Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado according to multiple reports, though Arenado has a no-trade clause and must approve the deal.

• Free agent outfielder Eddie Rosario, who spent the past six seasons with Minnesota, agreed to a one-year contract with Cleveland.

GOLF

PGA: Viktor Hovland birdied his final hole for a 7-under 65 on Torrey Pines’ tough South Course on a rainy, miserable day, giving him a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Famers Insurance Open in San Diego.

Hovland leads a group of six at 8 under, including first-round co-leader Patrick Reed and Jon Rahm, who won this tournament in 2017 and finished second to Marc Fleishman last year.

Reed shot an even-par 72 on the South Course after firing an 8-under 64 on the easier North Course. Rahm shot a 5-under 67 on the North Course.

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Also at 8 under were Tony Finau, who had a 5-under 67 on the North; Ryan Palmer, who carded a 2-under 70 on the North; Adam Scott, who had a 3-under 69 on the South; and Lanto Griffin, who shot 2-under 70 on the South.

The weather is supposed to clear up for the weekend rounds on the South Course, which will host the U.S. Open in June for just the second time.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Tyrrell Hatton bounced back from an opening-round 76 with eight birdies and an eagle for an 8-under 64 to easily make the cut at the Dubai Desert Classic and move into contention for back-to-back titles.

Hatton, who won in Abu Dhabi last week to move up to a career-high No. 5 in the world, was 4 under overall – six strokes behind leader Thomas Detry (67). Robert MacIntyre (68) was a shot back in second place, with Tommy Fleetwood (68) in a three-way tie for third with Justin Harding (70) and Kalle Samooja (68).

• The Oman Open scheduled for March 4-7 on the European Tour has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. It is the first event of the 2021 golf season lost to the pandemic.

The tour says the decision was made “following an announcement by the Omani government that all gatherings, international functions and sporting events are to be stopped in the country with immediate effect.”

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The tour says organizers are looking into the possibility of rescheduling the tournament but “there are no definitive plans at this stage.”

BASEBALL

MLB: Free agent outfielder Eddie Rosario, who spent the past six seasons with Minnesota, agreed to a one-year contract with Cleveland.

OLYMPICS

TOKYO GAMES: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, despite growing uncertainty as coronavirus cases rise at home, renewed his determination to host the postponed Tokyo Olympics this summer as a symbol of human victory over the pandemic.

Suga, speaking from Tokyo at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum, also called for a transparent investigation by the World Health Organization into the pandemic, saying it is key to learning lessons to prepare for future pandemics. He also promised to expand an initial $130 million contribution to a fund to help developing countries acquire coronavirus vaccines.

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“We are holding the Olympics and Paralympics this summer,” Suga said. “I am determined to achieve the games as a proof of human victory against the pandemic, a symbol of global solidarity and to give hope and courage around the world.”

Olympic officials have repeatedly said the games will be held in July as planned after a one-year postponement, though various scenarios including the holding of events without spectators are being considered.

Suga repeated his resolve to achieve a “safe and secure” Olympics and pledged to get infections under control in Japan as soon as possible.

“We must learn lessons from this pandemic and be prepared for future crises,” he said. To do so, “a scientific investigation by WHO must be firmly carried out in a transparent way.” He did not say if he was referring to a current visit by a WHO team of experts to Wuhan, China, where the virus was first detected.

At home, Suga has been criticized for delaying virus measures until daily cases surged to new highs in late December. He eventually declared a partial state of emergency in early January, issuing non-binding requests through Feb. 7 for people to avoid crowds or eating out in groups and for restaurants and bars to close early.

New cases in Tokyo have dipped but experts say they have not slowed enough, indicating that the emergency measures could be extended for several more weeks.

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SOCCER

MLS: Major League Soccer has extended its deadline for negotiating adjustments to the existing collective bargaining agreement until Feb. 4 and warned it is prepared to lock out players if a deal isn’t reached by then.

“Given the impact of COVID-19 on how clubs will need to operate during preseason, we must finalize an agreement in the coming days in order to provide teams and players adequate time to prepare for the opening of training camps,” the league said in a statement Friday.

The union proposed extending the current collective bargaining agreement through the 2026 season.

The league’s proposal includes playing players their full salaries in 2021 in exchange for an extension through the 2027 season.

“In our discussions with the MLSPA, we have emphasized the importance of the two-year extension to allow the league and clubs to recover a portion of the losses incurred in 2021 as a result of the pandemic while protecting the long-term health of the League by providing stability which promotes ongoing investment,” the league said.

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MLS has said it lost nearly $1 billion last season due to the pandemic as it played in mostly empty stadiums and with increased costs for testing and charter flights. The league invoked a force majeure clause last month to reopen negotiations over the CBA, citing ongoing uncertainty because of the COVID-19 crisis.

The league’s new season is set to open April 3, with preseason training camps allowed to begin on Feb. 22.

HORSE RACING

HORSE OF THE YEAR: Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Authentic was honored as Horse of the Year at the 50th annual Eclipse Awards on Thursday night.

The ceremony was held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Authentic received 224 out of 238 first-place votes. Monomoy Girl received seven votes. Swiss Skydiver, the filly who beat Authentic by a neck in the Preakness, finished third with six votes. Vekoma received one vote.

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Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Authentic also won 3-year-old male honors. The colt won five of seven starts last year, including a 1 1/4-length victory in the Kentucky Derby over odds-on favorite Tiz the Law. Another Baffert-trained colt, Improbable, won the Eclipse for older dirt male. A third Baffert trainee, 3-year-old Gamine, was honored as female sprinter of the year.

Baffert was nominated for trainer of the year, but lost to Brad Cox. Other human winners were: Irad Ortiz Jr. as jockey of the year; Alexander Crispin as apprentice jockey; Godolphin as owner of the year; WinStar Farm as the year’s top breeder.

SAILING

AMERICA’S CUP: American Magic has its back to the wall after losing its first two races in the best-of-seven semifinal match against Italy’s Luna Rossa in the America’s Cup challenger series.

It’s not an unfamiliar position.

The New York Yacht Club team has been on the back foot since its racing yacht Patriot capsized and came close to sinking during a round-robin race against Luna Rossa 12 days ago. The fact it was on the start line at all Friday was a triumph of its teamwork and determination.

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As if it hadn’t been through enough, American Magic had to face what Luna Rossa helmsman Francesco Bruni described as “the hardest conditions in which we ever sailed these boats.”

The wind was constantly near the upper limit in which racing can take place in the 75-foot monohulls which race on narrow foils and are often on the very edge of balance and stability. Luna Rossa won Friday’s races by convincing margins of 2 minutes, 33 seconds and 3 minutes, 7 seconds.

American Magic had an especially nervous moment in the first of Friday’s two races when it came into the top mark at 61 mph and briefly lost control, flirting with disaster before continuing.

In a new trial, winds for the next two races on Saturday are expected to be close to the low end of the scale — between 6 and 9 knots — and American Magic will be tested again by a new extreme.

Skipper Terry Hutchinson was pressed after Friday’s race on what messages he might deliver to rally the U.S. team ahead of a day on which it could be eliminated from the America’s Cup regatta.

“I hate losing. It’s no more complicated than that,” he said. “Nothing gets you going more than having your teeth kicked in. That’s me personally. The message to the team is we can’t change a thing. They’ve done a really good job to get us this far and when I say not to change a thing we’re going to go and debrief our racing with a critical eye and come out a better sailing team tomorrow.”

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SKIING

WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: The World Cup race planned Saturday in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany has been rescheduled due to weather conditions, meaning Sofia Goggia will take her four-race winning streak in downhill to the world championships next month.

The International Ski Federation said Friday that the downhill cannot take place because difficult weather conditions at the German resort prevented a mandatory training run this week. The Garmisch weekend program is now super-G races on back-to-back days, with its downhill pushed back to Feb. 26 at Val Di Fassa, Italy.

Goggia has won four straight World Cup downhills, joining Lindsey Vonn as the only racers to achieve the feat in the past 25 years.

LUGE

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Germany won five of the nine available medals on the first day of luge’s world championships Friday in Konigssee, Germany, including a podium sweep in the women’s sprint race.

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Julia Taubitz was first, Anna Berreiter second and Dajana Eitberger third for the Germans in the women’s sprint. Natalie Geisenberger was fourth, giving Germany a 1-2-3-4 finish. Summer Britcher was the top U.S. finisher, placing seventh.

In the doubles sprint, Germany’s Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt won the gold, followed by Latvia’s Andris Sics and Juris Sics, with Germans Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken taking third.

The men’s sprint world title went to Austria’s Nico Gleirscher. In second place was Semen Pavlichenko, a Russian who competed as a neutral entrant because Russia is currently banned from using its name, flag and anthem at major events like Olympics and world championships as part of the sanctions from a doping scandal. Olympic champion David Gleirscher of Austria was third.

Tucker West was 12th in the men’s sprint for the U.S.

FIGURE SKATING

SYNCHRONIZED WORLDS: The International Skating Union has canceled the World Synchronized Skating Championships scheduled for April, but still plans to hold the individual worlds. The synchro event was set for Zagreb, Crotia on April 9-10.

Stockholm is scheduled to hold the world event for singles, pairs and ice dancers from March 22-28. American Nathan Chen would be seeking his third straight world title; the 2020 worlds were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The ISU Council confirmed that the other pending ISU events of the 2020-21 season remain scheduled as planned, subject to pandemic developments and no quarantine requirements and or prohibitive/extensive entry restrictions,” the governing body said.

The 2021 worlds are particularly important because they serve as a qualification competition for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Additionally, the Grand Prix of Figure Skating calendar for next season has been approved. That series begins in October and concludes in December.

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SKELETON

WORLD CUP: Latvia’s Martins Dukurs wrapped up his 10th World Cup men’s skeleton season championship Friday in Igls, Austria, without doing anything. Austria’s Janine Flock had to work a bit harder on the way to clinching her second season-long title.

Flock was second in the women’s skeleton World Cup season finale, more than good enough to give her the points crown. Flock also won the season-long title in 2014-15. Russia’s Elena Nikitina won the race, followed by Flock and Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands. Katie Uhlaender was 13th for the U.S., with Kendall Wesenberg 15th and Sara Roderick 16th in her World Cup debut.

Dukurs didn’t even race Friday and was still assured the season title since most other top contenders joined him in skipping the race to prepare for the world championships. They start next weekend in Altenberg, Germany. Dukurs has won the World Cup title in 10 of the last 12 seasons.

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