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Sports Headlines: 3/17/20

Sports

March 17th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have placed the nonexclusive franchise tag on Chris Jones. That raises the possibility that the Pro Bowl defensive tackle will remain with the Super Bowl champions for at least one more season. The nonexclusive tag means Jones must be offered a one-year contract for no less than the average of the top five salary cap hits at defensive tackle for the previous five years. It also means that if Jones signs an offer sheet from another team, the Chiefs can match that offer or let him go and receive two first-round picks as compensation.

NEW YORK (AP) — Monday was supposed to be the night that women’s college basketball got put in the national spotlight with the NCAA Tournament bracket reveal. But the tournament was canceled because of the new coronavirus. So instead of celebrating a spot in the NCAAs, teams and coaches across the country were left to think about what might have been. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley broke the news to her players via text. Oregon coach Kelly Graves got to talk to some players who were still on campus when the tournament was called off. He says it’s “unfortunate” but “there’s a lot bigger things going on that put it in perspective.”

UNDATED (AP) — Before fears about the coronavirus scrubbed sports for the foreseeable future, Sunday was supposed to be the Big Reveal in college basketball. Selection Sunday. The day when Americans gathered around a TV for an hour to watch the brackets being revealed. But there will be no NCAA Tournament this year. No upsets. No Sweet 16. No Final Four. No office pool. Now all sports fans can do is guess what might have been. The Kansas Jayhawks were steaming toward a top seed. Right behind them were Gonzaga, Dayton and Baylor. But as everyone knows, the tournament never goes to form. That’s why they call it March Madness. This year, though, “March Sadness” feels more like it.