2019-2020 Coronavirus pandemic
Ulsan Hyundai's players celebrate with a trophy after the AFC Champions League final match against Persepolis in Al Wakrah, Qatar, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Hussein Sayed)
Asian Champions League announces pandemic-affected schedule

By John Duerden Jan. 25, 2021 09:27 AM EST

The Latest: Nebraska men's hoops vs Penn State postponed

By The Associated Press Jan. 22, 2021 05:15 PM EST
The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world: ___ Nebraska has announced that its...

A man and a woman walk near the Olympic rings floating in the water in the Odaiba section in Tokyo Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. The postponed Tokyo Olympics are to open in just six months. Local organizers and the International Olympic Committee say they will go ahead on July 23. But it’s still unclear how this will happen with virus cases surging in Tokyo and elsewhere around the globe. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Speculation over Tokyo Olympics: 2021, 2032 or not at all?

By Graham Dunbar Jan. 22, 2021 04:12 PM EST

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, second from right, speaks during a meeting of the coronavirus infection control headquarters at his office in Tokyo Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Suga, in a speech earlier, said the vaccine is “the clincher” in the fight against the pandemic and vowed to start vaccinations as soon as late February, when a health ministry approval of the Pfizer vaccine, the first applicant, is expected. (Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP)
Japan vaccination uncertainty casts doubts over Olympics

By Mari Yamaguchi Jan. 22, 2021 05:33 AM EST

FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2020, file photo, Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, speaks during the joint press conference between IOC and Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) in Tokyo, Japan. The International Olympic Committee is pushing back against reports that the postponed Tokyo Olympics will be canceled and will not open on July 23. The Tokyo Games were postponed 10 months ago at the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, and now their future appears threatened again.(Du Xiaoyi/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Amid cancellation talk, Tokyo Olympics `focused on hosting'

By Stephen Wade Jan. 21, 2021 09:51 PM EST

FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016 file photo, Belgium's Pieter Timmers holds up his silver medal after the men's 100-meter freestyle during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Belgian swimmer Pieter Timmers had planned to retire after Tokyo last summer. He's decided to stick to his timeline rather than disrupt his family's plans. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, file)
Some athletes shelving Olympic bids amid delayed Tokyo Games

By Ken Maguire Jan. 21, 2021 11:26 AM EST

FILE - This is a Friday, July 6, 2007 file photo, World Anti-Doping Agency chief Dick Pound as he gestures during a press briefing at the 119th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Guatemala City. In an interview with Japan’s Kyodo news agency published on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, Pound says the Tokyo Olympics can go ahead without fans. Pound says: “The question is — is this a ‘must-have’ or ‘nice-to-have.’ It’s nice to have spectators (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
Former IOC VP Pound says fans optional for Tokyo Olympics

By Stephen Wade Jan. 21, 2021 02:18 AM EST

A man wearing a protective mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walks near a banner of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at an underpass in Tokyo Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. The Tokyo Olympics are to open in six months on July 23. Interestingly, Tokyo organizers have no public program planned to mark the milestone. There is too much uncertainty for that right now. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Tokyo Olympics Q&A: 6 months out and murmurs of cancellation

By Stephen Wade Jan. 19, 2021 12:40 AM EST

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga delivers a policy speech during an ordinary Diet session at the upper house of parliament in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
Japan's PM vows Olympics will be proof of victory over virus

By Mari Yamaguchi Jan. 18, 2021 12:57 AM EST

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue perform during the free dance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Nathan Chen wins fifth straight US Figure Skating title

Jan. 17, 2021 06:56 PM EST

FILE - In this April 10, 2008, file photo, Senior International Olympic Committee member Kevan Gosper speaks at a news conference in Beijing. Gosper, a former International Olympic Committee vice president, is suggesting the United Nations might be the place to decide the fate of the postponed Tokyo Olympic. They are to open on July 23, 2021, but face mounting opposition at home as COVID-19 cases surge in Tokyo, across Japan and across the globe. (AP Photo/Greg Baker, File)
Former IOC vice president says UN could rule on Tokyo Games

Jan. 16, 2021 09:09 PM EST

Vincent Zhou competes during the men's short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Four-time champ Chen wins short program with ease

Jan. 16, 2021 06:02 PM EST

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2020, file photo, Taro Kono, newly appointed minister in charge of Administrative Reform speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's official residence n Tokyo. Kono has said “anything can happen” in regard to the postponed Tokyo Olympics, raising more doubts about the games beginning in just over six months. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
Japan minister says 'anything can happen' with Tokyo Games

By Stephen Wade Jan. 15, 2021 03:25 AM EST

Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier perform during the pairs short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Olympic medalist Knierim, new partner lead US pairs

Jan. 14, 2021 07:59 PM EST

CONCACAF resets men's Olympic qualifying for March 18-30

Jan. 14, 2021 02:47 PM EST
MIAMI (AP) — Men’s Olympic soccer qualifying in North and Central America and the Caribbean was rescheduled Thursday for March 18-30 in Guadalajara, Mexico,...

FILE - In this Nov. 28, 2019 file photo Olympic Rings and a model of Misha the Bear Cub, the mascot of the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games, left, are seen in the yard of Russian Olympic Committee building in Moscow, Russia. In the report detailing its decision to shorten Russia's ban from the Olympics, the highest court in sports blasted that country's leaders for engaging in “a cover up of the cover-up” in a desperate attempt to deny their culpability, but reduced the punishment nonetheless, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, file)
'Cover up of cover-up' still led to downsized Russian ban

By Eddie Pells Jan. 13, 2021 11:01 PM EST

FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2020, file photo, a man wearing a protective face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walks with the Olympic rings in the background in the Odaiba section in Tokyo. Opposition to the Tokyo Olympics is growing with calls for a cancellation as virus cases rise in Japan. The International Olympic Committee and local organizers have already said another postponement is impossible, leaving cancellation, or going ahead, as the only options. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
To cancel or not?: IOC, Japan press ahead with Tokyo Games

By Stephen Wade And Yuri Kageyama Jan. 12, 2021 09:50 PM EST

FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2019, file photo, Stanford's Catarina Macario celebrates after scoring a penalty kick against North Carolina during a soccer match in San Jose, Calif. Macario, a promising prospect for the U.S. women's national team, has announced that she will forgo her senior season for a professional career. (Randy Vazquez/Bay Area News Group via AP, File)
Stanford's Catarina Macario turns pro with Lyon

Jan. 12, 2021 06:45 PM EST

FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2020, file photo, Orlando City midfielder Andrés Perea makes a penalty kick during overtime of an MLS soccer playoff match against New York City FC in Orlando, Fla. Perea is among several dual nationals at American training camp this week ahead of a Dec. 9 exhibition against El Salvador in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter will try to persuade them to commit to the U.S. program. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
Andrés Perea approved for switch to US from Colombia by FIFA

By Ronald Blum Jan. 12, 2021 04:58 PM EST

Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee President Yoshiro Mori delivers a New Year's address in Tokyo Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. Mori tried on Tuesday to reassure the public that the postponed games will open in just over six months. (Kyodo News via AP)
Tokyo Olympic president tries to reassure doubting country

By Stephen Wade Jan. 12, 2021 02:02 AM EST