MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that the season "will not begin on April 9 and players are being urged to leave spring training sites and get to a place where they can spend 'an extended period of time' and to get there 'as soon as possible.'" Manfred said, "Obviously with the CDC announcement we’re not going to be playing April 9." Manfred's comments, which reference the CDC's recommendation of avoiding gatherings of 50 or more people for 8 weeks, "push opening day back to at least mid-May, and if there are two weeks of workouts between the return and opening day a late May or June start is likely." Manfred today also "updated owners on the ongoing negotiations with the players' union for how players will be compensated" and what a shortened schedule looks like. A topic of discussion is a "roster freeze during this stoppage of all baseball activities" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 3/16).

Meanwhile, MLB and the MLBPA today announced a joint donation of $1M to help fight hunger as a result of school closures and quarantines stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. The donation will be split evenly between Feeding America and Meals on Wheels America (MLB).

The NBA and NBPA have reached an agreement to "not subject players to drug testing during the hiatus caused by the coronavirus," according to sources. Players typically undergo "six random, unannounced urine drug tests during each season and off-season," as stated in the league's CBA. Sources said that this "rare agreement is only temporary." The league's program includes disclipline for both drugs of abuse and PEDs (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/16).

About a hundred people working in MLS, USL, NWSL and reps from each league's clubs will take part in a conference call this afternoon to "discuss the next steps for American soccer in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic." Sources said that the call "will focus on proper protocols at team facilities and the timeline to return to full-team training." Likely points of discussion include "best practices at team offices and training grounds, task forces to keep up to date on information from government agencies and how to approach the coming months." An MLS source "estimated that it may be another two or three weeks before teams begin training again" (THEATHLETIC.com, 3/16).

NASCAR held a conference call with team owners this morning to discuss the issues around completing the '20 schedule later this year, as more races are poised to be postponed due to the coronavirus. NASCAR has only announced that last weekend's race at Atlanta and this weekend's race at Homestead-Miami are postponed, but the industry is bracing for a more prolonged suspension of the season following the new CDC guidelines recommending major events not be held for at least eight weeks. The next two NASCAR race weekends following this weekend are at SMI tracks in Texas and Bristol, and the final two races in April are NASCAR tracks in Richmond and Talladega. IndyCar has suspended its season through April.

Sources said that NASCAR held a conference call this morning to gauge the challenges teams are facing from this situation and make sure teams are on board to do what it takes to complete the slate this year. Options for postponed races would include running midweek events for tracks that only had one race, like Atlanta and Homestead, or possibly doing some sort of doubleheader for tracks with a second fall race later this year like Texas. NASCAR has yet to make any comments or public announcements today. Teams are nervous about the coronavirus postponements as they rely on races not only for league revenue but also to showcase and host their sponsors. Teams make about 75% of their annual revenue from sponsorship and about 25% from league revenue.

The Univ. of Pennsylvania has canceled the '20 Penn Relays, which were set to run from April 23-25. One of the country’s biggest track and field events, the Penn Relays have run continuously since 1895. Penn is planning to host a one-day track meet in late May or early June as a replacement event. “Without the Penn Relays, springtime in Philadelphia will not be the same,” said Event Dir Dave Johnson in a statement. Ticket orders will automatically be credited toward the '21 event, with refunds available by request.

The Spurs and Magic today became the latest NBA teams to create compensation funds for arena workers as the league goes dark. Magic owners the DeVos family today announced a $2M fund for hourly workers with the NBA team, Amway Center, G League Lakeland Magic and ECHL Orlando Solar Bears. Approximately 1,800 part-time employees will receive paychecks for missed games through what would have been the end of the regular season, based on data related to previous individual games worked.

Spurs Sports & Entertainment today announced a fund of more than $500,000 that will pay the organization’s part-time employees through the end of the Spurs' and AHL San Antonio Rampage's seasons. Those teams join a growing list of NBA franchises and players in creating funds to pay arena workers who are idle due to the suspension of the NBA season.

ESPN personalities talked about the NFL's options for presenting the Draft next month, with Marcus Spears saying, “It would be cool if the NFL was to put a spin on it, like everybody does it possibly from their facility, try to create some kind of a whirlwind of these guys making picks, showing the war rooms and the decisions being made.” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith: “As long as you are following the advised protocols in terms of limiting the amount of interaction and limiting the crowds drastically, I don’t have a problem with it being televised.” ESPN’s Max Kellerman: “As with everything in sports, the question is, can we make a TV show out of it … and can you do it safely?” Kellerman said “absolutely yes” it can be a TV production, “even in the time of coronavirus” (“First Take,” ESPN, 3/16).

In the latest installment of "SBJ Unpacks," our Bill King and Ben Fischer talk about how COVID-19 outbreaks are disrupting Olympic qualification events and what that may mean for the Tokyo Games.

Dish and Cox Media Group said that they are "suspending their retransmission dispute so that subscribers can get news and other information during the coronavirus crisis." The agreement covers 10 markets "where the stations have been blacked out since Jan. 18" (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com, 3/16).

The demolition of old expo centers at the Nashville fairgrounds to make way for the new MLS stadium is underway today after a judge last week "denied a motion seeking an injunction to stop the project" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 3/16).

The Olympic flame handover ceremony, which is scheduled for March 19, "will be done without an audience." The torch transfer "will still go ahead" as the National Olympic Committee of Greece "hands the ceremonial flame" to the Tokyo Organizing Committee at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/16).

"It felt like a movie. You're watching a thriller, someone's trying to deactivate the bomb and time is ticking down -- how much time is on the clock? Make the decision right now, otherwise they're tipping and then you've got another set of issues" -- Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade, on the time and decisions that went into canceling the conference tournament last week (ESPN.com, 3/16).

"To look at anything shorter than 60- or 90-day scenarios doesn’t make a whole lot of sense" -- Hawks CEO Steve Koonin, on when NBA games might return (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/16).

“The NBA could look a lot different a year from now, and that may actually end up being a good thing” -- ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, on NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wanting to revamp the league schedule and move the free agency period (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 3/16).

Some non-roster players (and all non-40 man minor leaguers) will not receive $1,100 per week union will provide through 4/9 to those returning home or to team’s home city. NRIs not on MLB roster to end 2019 season are ineligible, and some are former dues-paying members of union.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 16, 2020

Coyotes Owner, Chairman & Governor Alex Meruelo announces a support plan for Coyotes and Roadrunners (AHL) part-time/hourly staff. He and his family have also partnered with Gila River Arena to assist game-night arena staff. #Yotes

— Alexander Kinkopf (@AEKinkopf) March 16, 2020

If you're in the sports business and you're complaining about the NFL going about doing sports business -- by phone, videochat, whatever -- your position makes no sense. If league were putting anyone in jeopardy, you'd have a point. But ... well ... you see any of that?

— Michael DeCourcy (@tsnmike) March 16, 2020

Words can’t describe how proud I am of @GetUpESPN team putting on a damn good show today in very challenging conditions. We’ll be with you every morning as long as we can trying to bring some normalcy to your day. Thanks for all the support and kind feedback, it means a lot.

— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) March 16, 2020

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

“Let’s look out for each other.”

A message from @MagicJohnson: pic.twitter.com/cjcb4CbbOG

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 16, 2020

WWE's Friday night edition of "SmackDown" on Fox featured a unique intro as Triple H welcomed viewers to an empty-arena version of the show at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

23,000 -- Average viewers for yesterday's stream of "The Replacements 100," an iRacing esports event that featured drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr., William Byron, Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace (TWITTER.com, 3/16).