French Open organizers today announced that they "would move" the event to Sept. 20-Oct. 4, adding that the "current confinement situation in France made holding the tournament on its normally scheduled date of May 24 'impossible.'" The targeted dates "collide with a number of events already on the tennis calendar," including the Laver Cup and WTA tourneys in China. The new timeline also sees Roland Garros "begin just a week after the US Open is due to conclude." Players "immediately responded to the latest surprise, making it clear there was little, if any, communication between the ITF, tours and its competitors" (TENNIS.com, 3/17).

All 30 MLB teams today pledged $1M each to "help cover the lost wages of ballpark employees who have been affected by the coronavirus crisis' postponement of the big league season." MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred in a statement said, "Motivated by desire to help some of the most valuable members of the baseball community, each club has committed $1 million." He added, "The individual clubs will be announcing more details surrounding this support effort in their local communities. The timing of these announcements will vary because of the need to coordinate with state and local laws as well as collective-bargaining obligations in an effort to maximize the benefits realized by each group of employees" (ESPN.com, 3/17).

NASCAR President Steve Phelps today emphasized the series will do all it can to run the full 36 Cup Series points races. NASCAR has suspended its season until early May, and Phelps said NASCAR is naturally game planning several scenarios but that its current goal is to re-start at Martinsville Speedway. Phelps said NASCAR would like to race with fans in the stands but could have to evaluate re-starting the season with spectator-less races if the situation calls for it.

Phelps said NASCAR is considering a host of ways to work the seven postponed races in later this year, ideally before the playoffs start and with the championship finale remaining at Phoenix. NASCAR has told teams that it could have a revised schedule done as soon as the end of this week. Phelps noted that as of now, NASCAR is still moving ahead with planned changes to next year including to its schedule and in introducing a new car. “It’s not easy on anyone who works in this industry. We’re not the only ones who this is hard on -- you have people who are contracting this illness and dying from it," he said. "We’re trying to do it as smartly as we can." 

Boxers Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin have "verbally agreed on financial terms to stage their trilogy fight," according to sources. Multiple parties have been working to "finalize an official announcement regarding the postponement" of Alvarez’ planned May 2 bout against Billy Joe Saunders. Sources said that Alvarez "still intends to first fight Saunders" at T-Mobile Arena, "followed by Golovkin." The "hope is for the trilogy bout to take place on Sept. 12 at AT&T Stadium." However, an "extended postponement of the planned Saunders fight" reportedly could "sway the parties to skip it and move directly to Alvarez-Golovkin 3 in September" (THEATHLETIC.com, 3/17).

In the newest installment of "SBJ Unpacks," our Bill King is joined by William Hill CEO Joe Asher to discuss COVID-19’s impact on sports betting.

Indiana Univ. is going to "promote from within" for its next AD, with Scott Dolson to be named to the position after "more than three decades working his way up the ranks." Dolson has served as IU Deputy AD since '09, after spending seven years as Varsity Club Dir. In his most recent role, he "oversaw all internal and external operations within the department including marketing, media relations, ticketing, game management, broadcast services, strategic partnerships and fundraising." He also has been "integral in coordinating" several facilities projects. He is replacing the retiring Fred Glass (THEDAILYHOOSIER.com, 3/17).

USA Diving today named Lee Michaud its next president, and he takes over in the midst of a public health crisis that has American NGBs scrambling to adjust their Olympic qualifying procedures. USA Diving has suspended all events for 30 days, but still plans to host its Olympic Trials as scheduled on June 14-21 in Indianapolis. Michaud said USA Diving’s leadership is currently finalizing contingencies, and he expects a firm plan to be in place no later than Monday.

Michaud will report to USA Diving BOD Chair Dave Gascon, filling a vacancy created when Terry Bassett resigned in February after just over four months on the job. Michaud says he plans to remain with USA Diving for a long time, and that he expects his tenure to return stability to the organization’s leadership ranks. Michaud: "We’ve weathered the storm, and I think we’re going to demonstrate that to our constituency and to the public.”

Christian Dawkins, who served as a runner for former NBA agent Andy Miller, is the star of a new HBO Sports documentary that exposes how "several of the most successful college basketball teams in America thrive on illicitly paying top dollars to top recruits." The doc titled, "The Scheme," was made available today to reporters and will "air for the first time on March 31." The film presents "recordings of coaches talking oh-so-frankly of cash-on-the-barrel recruiting." The audio, "collected through wiretaps, was not used" at the federal trial last spring that led to Dawkins being sentenced to six months in prison. The film's "strength lies in its strand-pulling, building a narrative that allows viewers to make sense of the recruiting game" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/17).

The SEC announced that "all regular season conference and non-conference competitions are cancelled" for the remainder of the '19-20 athletic year, "including all Spring FB Games and remaining SEC championship events, due to continuing developments related to the coronavirus" (TWITTER.com, 3/17).

The CBC will be hosting a special "Movie Night in Canada" on Saturday amid the suspension of the NHL season in place of "Hockey Night in Canada." The network this week will air, "Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story" at 7:00pm ET, followed by "Goalie" at 9:00pm (CBC).

The latest monthly ESPN Cover Story is on Oregon G Sabrina Ionescu. Content on the women's hoops phenom, including video and written features, will appear across ESPN platforms (ESPN).

"You look around, I got friends in the NHL, they’re getting paid. The guys in the NBA are getting paid. How’s it going to look if we’re the only major sport, and the richest sport bringing in the most revenue, and we’re the only ones not getting paid?’’ -- Padres CF Tommy Pham, on the uncertainty of whether or not MLB players will get paid while the start of the season is suspended (USA TODAY, 3/17).

“I had started hat shopping. I like the Kentucky Derby, but we all understand. Good decision” -- CBS’ Gayle King, on the Derby being postponed until September (“CBS This Morning,” 3/17).

After Kentucky Derby announcement today, we are in active discussions to POSTPONE the Preakness Stakes until September.

— Mike Ricci (@riccimike) March 17, 2020

Who know where we'll be tomorrow, much less months from now, but could you imagine a fall like this:

The Open in late July
FedEx Cup playoffs in August
US Open in mid-September
Ryder Cup at end of September
The Masters in late October or early November

Would be pretty amazing.

— Ryan Ballengee (@RyanBallengee) March 17, 2020

It might have been the right football move to part ways with Cam Newton. But the #Panthers loved this soap opera. Hell they made an actual soap opera. And then they did the best player in franchise history dirty. That smell is gonna linger in the Carolinas for a long time.

— Nick Carboni (@NickCarboniWCNC) March 17, 2020

Tallahassee media reporting Tom Brady to Florida State is a done deal.

— Jason Kersey (@jasonkersey) March 17, 2020

If you had to pick 1 NHL player, current or retired, to spend 2 weeks in quarantine with, who would it be?

— Jeremy Roenick (@Jeremy_Roenick) March 17, 2020

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

Turn Sound On For
Gruden Coronavirus Safety Tips pic.twitter.com/8dFjZy6ONz

— Frank Caliendo (@FrankCaliendo) March 16, 2020

$5.7M -- Amount the Missouri Development Finance Board approved today in tax credits toward construction of an MLS stadium in St. Louis. The approved figure is "significantly less" than the $30M "originally sought" for the $461M project (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/17).