COLLEGES
Notre Dame and Iowa State each had three players selected to The Associated Press preseason All-America team, led by Fighting Irish defensive back Kyle Hamilton and Cyclones running back Breece Hall.
The preseason All-America team presented by Regions Bank was released Monday, five days before the first games of the season.
Eight teams have at least two first-team All-Americans, with seventh-ranked Iowa State and ninth-ranked Notre Dame leading the way.
Along with Hall, Iowa State is represented on the first team by tight end Charlie Kolar and linebacker Mike Rose. Hamilton is joined by Fighting Irish teammates Cain Madden, a guard who transferred from Marshall in the offseason, and running back Kyren Williams, who made the team as an all-purpose player.
Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler is the first-team quarterback and Sooners teammate Nik Bonitto made the team at linebacker.
Defending national champion Alabama is represented on the first team by outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr., and offensive tackle Evan Neal.
Clemson’s two first-team All-Americans were receiver Justyn Ross, who missed all last season with a neck injury, and defensive lineman Bryan Bresee.
Ohio State’s Chris Olave is the other first-team receiver, and Buckeyes defensive tackle Haskell Garrett made the preseason first team after being a second-team selection after last season.
LSU (cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and kicker Cade York) and Texas A&M (tackle Kenyon Green and defensive end DeMarvin Leal) each had two first-team All-Americans.
Hall and Northwestern safety Brandon Joseph were the only preseason All-Americans who are coming off first-team All-America seasons.
• The Big Ten is the latest Power Five conference to announce that a team must forfeit if it doesn’t have enough players available for a league game because of COVID-19.
The Big Ten said the team that forfeits will be assessed a loss in the conference standings and its opponent will be credited with a win. If both teams are unable to compete on the date of a scheduled conference game because of COVID-19, and the game can’t be rescheduled, it will be considered a “no contest.”
The Power Five conferences appear headed toward having similar forfeit policies, except the Atlantic Coast Conference is charging both teams with a forfeit if neither can play because of the virus.
Big 12 teams unable to play because of COVID-19, or any other reason, will have to forfeit and be given a loss in the conference standings. A no contest would be declared only if both teams are unable to compete, and there are no plans to make up any games not played as scheduled.
Pac-12 teams that can’t play will forfeit, but the conference did not directly address what happens if both teams are unable to play.
The Southeastern Conference has not released its policy, but Commissioner Greg Sankey has warned that teams that can’t play will forfeit and that games will not be rescheduled.
In the ACC, teams forfeiting games will be assigned a loss in the standings, and the team that was prepared to play will be awarded a victory. If both teams are unable to play because of the player shortages, both will be forced to forfeit.
FOOTBALL
CFL: Nick Volpe, who helped the Toronto Argonauts win two CFL titles in the 1950s, including the “Mud Bowl,” has died. He was 95.
The Argonauts confirmed his death in a statement but did not give details.
Volpe played for Toronto from 1949 to 1952, with the Argos winning the Grey Cup in 1950 and 1952. He kicked two field goals in the 1950 title game at Toronto’s Varsity Stadium, played on a mess of a field caused by snowfall and heavy rain. Toronto beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 13-0, the last shutout in the Grey Cup.
After his playing career, Volpe coached the Argos’ farm team, Toronto Balmy Beach, leading the club to a championship in 1953. He returned to the Argos in 1988 and worked in a variety of roles, including several years as head of Canadian scouting.
He is a member of the University of Toronto Athletic Hall of Fame. He worked on CTV football telecasts from 1972 to 1987.
TENNIS
U.S. OPEN: The two singles champions at this year’s U.S. Open will earn 35% less than in 2019, the last time the Grand Slam tennis tournament allowed spectators, while prize money for qualifying and the first three rounds of the main draw will rise as part of an overall increase.
A year after banning fans entirely because of the coronavirus pandemic and lowering prize money due to lost revenue, the U.S. Tennis Association announced it will be boosting total player compensation to a record $57.5 million, slightly more than the $57.2 million in 2019. The figure was $53.4 million in 2020.
The title winners in singles each will be paid $2.5 million, down from $3 million last year and $3.85 million two years ago. It is the lowest amount for the top prize at Flushing Meadows since 2012, when the singles champs each received $1.9 million.
This year’s singles runners-up will be paid $1.25 million, a decrease from $1.5 million in 2020 and $1.9 million in 2019 – and the lowest since $950,000 in 2012.
In 2020, U.S. Open qualifying was called off amid the pandemic. That part of this year’s event starts Tuesday – unlike for the main tournament, no spectators will be permitted – and will award nearly $6 million in all, a jump from about $3.5 million in 2019.
BASKETBALL
WNBA: President Joe Biden honored the 2020 WNBA champions Seattle Storm, celebrating their success on the court and hailing the four-time title holders for changing lives with their activism.
The visit marked the first time that an NBA or WNBA team has visited the White House since the Cleveland Cavaliers were feted by Barack Obama in 2016.
Presidents typically host college and major league sports champions for a White House ceremony. But the two big basketball leagues skipped such celebrations during Donald Trump’s administration as several prominent players and coaches were outspoken about their opposition to Trump’s rhetoric and policies.
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