The NFL will cut its preseason in half and push back the start of exhibition play so teams have more time to train following an all virtual offseason made necessary by the coronavirus pandemic, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The pandemic forced teams to conduct their entire offseason programs via videoconference. So, teams will be gathering together for the first time when training camps open July 28.

Minus the usual minicamps, on-field practices and in-person weight training from April to June, players’ conditioning won’t be what it normally is. So, eliminating the first week of preseason games Aug. 13-16 will give them more time to ratchet up their football fitness.

Teams will now play exhibitions Aug. 20-24 and Aug. 27-31 during what were originally the second and third weeks of exhibition play with all 32 teams playing one home and one road game.

Most of those games will remain the same as originally scheduled although some matchups in that second slate will have to be changed so every team gets a game at home.

The exhibition finales on Sept. 3 were also scrapped, giving teams more time to get ready for the regular season, which opens Sept. 10 with the Texans against the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs in Kansas City, Missouri.

There are no changes to the regular season schedule.

The league continues to draw up protocols, not only for COVID-19 mitigation but for ramping up practices during the first few weeks of training camp.

The annual Hall of Fame Game pitting the Steelers and Cowboys on Aug. 6 was recently scrapped as the induction ceremonies were pushed back to 2021.

— Associated Press

$150M

Operating the three-month completion of the NBA season at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida will cost the league more than $150 million, ESPN reported. The NBA will house 22 teams plus support staff at three resorts and has arranged for seven practice courts and will play games at three arenas during the quarantine. It’s also providing meals, daily coronavirus testing and other medical support, security, transportation and entertainment for more than 1,500 people during the height of the event that starts late next month. Not included in this expense is the loss of revenue because teams won’t be selling tickets. The league is projecting to lose more than $1 billion in revenue because of the coronavirus.