Sports Briefs

NBA players will need time to get back in shape

Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego says he thinks some players could need "multiple weeks" to get back into true basketball shape if the NBA decides to return to action this season. The league hasn't played games in nearly six weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Borrego says unlike when there was a lockout - and players gathered routinely for five-on-five pickup games in gyms - he knows some players who don't have access to a court to work on basketball-specific drills. The Hornets staff is monitoring players and helping them with their conditioning remotely during the lockdown, but Borrego cautions the league needs to be "very careful" not to rush back too soon because "nobody wants to get hurt or injured in this time".

Borrego says when players return to practice, they'll be monitored individually by the training staff to determine their physical condition.

New dates for swim trials in Canada

Canada has rescheduled its Olympic swimming trials for April 7-11, 2021, in Toronto.

It will be shortened to five days instead of seven, which was the original plan for this year. Selection and nomination policies for the team chosen from the trials will be developed with the Canadian Olympic Committee.

The date change is a result of the Tokyo Games being rescheduled for July 23-August 8, 2021, because of the coronavirus.

Swimming Canada will hold its open water trials April 17-18, 2021, in the Cayman Islands.

Swimming Canada high performance director John Atkinson says that while swimmers are unable to train now, he's hoping they will resume in this fall.

Special invitation for World War II vet

A 99-year-old World War II veteran who has raised more than 28 million pounds (US$34.5 million) for Britain's health service during the coronavirus pandemic has been invited to perform one of British sport's quaintest traditions once the crisis is over.

Tom Moore will get the chance to ring the famous bell at Lord's Cricket Ground, signalling the start of a day's play, as a reward for his fundraising efforts that have become a national rallying point. The job is typically given to former cricketers or figures in the sport.

The offer was made to Moore, a cricket fan, by England captain Joe Root - a fellow Yorkshireman.

"I'd love you to give us a team talk at some point as well," Root said in a video conversation with Moore, "and get all the lads in the right frame of mind."

With the aid of a walking frame, Moore walked 100 laps of his garden in eastern England to support workers in Britain's National Health Service. He wanted to complete the mission before his 100th birthday on April 30, and his family initially set a target of raising 1,000 pounds.