The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
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IndyCar made the first pandemic-related change to its 2021 schedule Thursday and moved the prestigious Grand Prix of Long Beach from April to September because of California restrictions.
Long Beach, second only to the Indianapolis 500 in prestige and popularity on the IndyCar calendar, was shifted to Sept. 26 and will now be the season finale.
The race was originally scheduled for April 18 but California has tight COVID-19 regulations and construction on the temporary 1.968-mile circuit through the downtown streets of Long Beach begins months ahead of time.
Long Beach was canceled outright in 2020 after 46 consecutive runnings. Long Beach is considered a crown jewel among global street races for its longevity, competitive racing and street festival atmosphere. A three-day race weekend can draw close to 200,000 fans.
With Long Beach as the season finale, IndyCar will close its schedule with a three-race, three-weekend West Coast swing. IndyCar will race at Portland International Raceway, Laguna Seca in California and then Long Beach. All three events were canceled in 2020.
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The playoffs in the newly renamed Billie Jean King Cup are moving from February to April as part of a pandemic-restructured, tentative 2021 tennis calendar.
Eight qualifying matchups in the women’s team competition will be held April 16-17, instead of Feb. 5-6.
The International Tennis Federation announced the change Thursday, a day after the ATP said the Australian Open would be moving from a Jan. 18 start to Feb. 8 because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Billie Jean King Cup — formerly known as the Fed Cup — will have its finals April 13-18 in Budapest, Hungary. The 2020 finals were called off because of the pandemic.
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Virginia has added a men’s basketball game against top-ranked Gonzaga as the 17th-ranked Cavaliers prepare to restart their program after a 10-day shutdown because of COVID-19 issues.
Virginia announced Friday that it will play the Bulldogs on Dec. 26 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Cavaliers (3-1) had four games canceled or postponed because of COVID-19, including Saturday’s scheduled matchup with No. 7 Villanova at Madison Square Garden. That game would have featured the past two NCAA champions and will not be made up.
Virginia’s home game against William & Mary was rescheduled for Tuesday. The Cavaliers plan to return to practice Saturday. The team paused all activities on Dec. 9.
Virginia also had matchups with No. 4 Michigan State and Wake Forest postponed.
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New York Giants offensive coordinator and former Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has tested positive for COVID-19.
The team announced the result Thursday and said Garrett will continue to work remotely.
The Giants will not practice Thursday for Sunday night’s game against Cleveland. Tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens will call the offensive plays against the Browns, who fired him as their head coach last season.
The Giants are working with the league’s chief medical officer to determine close contacts. The Giants were not in their facility on Monday or Tuesday, and most of the coaching staff worked remotely. The team practiced Wednesday.
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