Batter Up!

Baseball will finally start next month, as MLB announced yesterday that a 60-game season would begin on July 23 or 24. The MLB Players Association agreed to report to training camps by July 1 and with the league’s health and safety protocols. Little has been leaked about the 76-page safety and testing protocols, but the league reportedly gave in to player requests for greater access to medical and training equipment. The proposed schedule will largely focus on divisional play, with teams also playing against their opposite league’s corresponding geographical division to lessen travel.

Other News: 

— Dallas and Pittsburgh have been told they’re out of contention as potential NHL hub cities, leaving Chicago, Edmonton, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Vancouver as cities still in consideration. The start date for the league’s 24-team tournament has yet to be announced, but training camps are still slated to begin on July 10.

— The NFL is planning on letting its teams set different attendance capacity limits based on local health guidelines when the preseason starts, meaning some teams could play in front of full stadiums while others could play in front of no fans.

— The FBI found that no federal hate crime was committed regarding the noose found in the garage of NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace at Talladega Superspeedway. The investigation found that the alleged noose was a previously placed garage door pull rope that had been misidentified.