The FIM, IRTA and Dorna Sports regret to announce the postponement of the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, which was set to take place from the 3rd to the 5th of April 2020. Due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the event has been rescheduled for later in the season and will now take place from the 13th to the 15th of November.

The Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana will therefore be held from the 20th to 22nd of November 2020.

Washington Spirit forward Cheyna Matthews is experiencing just such anxiety. Her husband, Jordan Matthews, is an NFL free agent after stints last season with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. The couple have an infant son, Josiah.

Until things are more settled, Cheyna has decided to pause her soccer career.

“Two things can be true: You can absolutely love your job and love your family,” she said. “This is very true in my case, which makes stepping away from my NWSL club for a while an extremely tough decision to make.”

Although the National Women’s Soccer League does not have a specific pay policy for such situations, Spirit officials said they will continue to honor Matthews’ contract. She is expected to remain on leave until May, and at that time, the Spirit said it will allow her to resume her career elsewhere, if necessary.

“One of the wonderful aspects of our league is that we have athletes that are mothers,” Spirit majority owner Steve Baldwin said. “Our club celebrates that and is committed to doing what is best for families like Cheyna’s.”

Matthews, 26, appeared in 17 of 24 matches last season, starting nine and posting three goals and two assists.

“The 2019 season was challenging at times for Cheyna,” Coach Richie Burke said, “because Jordan moved multiple times during the NFL season.”

Cheyna Matthews also missed a large chunk of the NWSL campaign while on Jamaican national team duty at the Women’s World Cup in France. In the group stage, she started against Brazil and Australia.

Matthews is from Georgia and played at Vanderbilt and Florida State. She carries Jamaican citizenship through family ties. She was drafted by the Spirit in 2016 and did not play in 2018, because of pregnancy.

Jordan Matthews, 27, has 274 career receptions and 22 touchdowns since entering the NFL in 2014. Last year, he totaled four catches.

“Cheyna has a wonderful story and a terrific family,” Baldwin said. “It has been a pleasure to get to know her and Jordan, their son JoJo, and their extended family the past year. One of the highlights from our 2019 season was when Cheyna scored two goals [at Sky Blue FC] the day before her first Mother’s Day.”

U.S. superstar Alex Morgan, who is taking time off from the NWSL’s Orlando Pride to give birth this spring to her first child, went on Twitter to applaud the Spirit’s actions.

Entering its eighth season, the Spirit will open training camp late this week in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The season opener is April 18 at Audi Field against Megan Rapinoe and OL Reign. (The Seattle-Tacoma organization, formerly known as Reign FC, altered its name to reflect new ownership under French club Olympique Lyonnais.)

“I am confident that this is what’s best for my family, club and myself at this time,” Matthews said. “I’ve never been satisfied with anything less than 100 percent commitment in anything that I do and when that is possible for me again in the club environment, I will be back.

“I want to thank the Washington Spirit organization, my amazing teammates, and upper management for understanding and generously supporting my decision.”

Meanwhile, the Spirit announced a 31-player preseason roster, highlighted by U.S. national team members Rose Lavelle and Andi Sullivan and U.S. prospects Jordan DiBiasi, Aubrey Bledsoe and Ashley Hatch.

Six recent college players were invited for tryouts, including midfielder Lauren Harkes, who played at O’Connell High School in Arlington, then Clemson and Creighton. Her father, John, is a former D.C. United captain and U.S. star, and brother, Ian, last year moved from D.C. United to Dundee United in Scotland’s second flight.

The US$400,000 full field Asian Tour event was poised to become the richest professional golf event in Bangladesh and was initially scheduled to be staged at the Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka from March 25-28.

Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and CEO, Asian Tour said: “Several new cases of COVID-19 have recently been discovered in Dhaka and travel restrictions are being imposed on incoming and outgoing travellers for the immediate future to prevent further spread of the virus.

“In view of this global outbreak, a request has been made by the Bangladesh Golf Federation (BGF) to postpone the event and we have also decided that it is in the best interest of all the players, staff and officials to postpone the event.

“The Asian Tour will continue to work closely with the BGF to identify a new date for the event once it is deemed safe to travel.”

The 27-year-old Simsby, who earned his 2020 Asian Tour card after capping a commendable season on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) last year, opted for an aggressive style of play in his three trips down the 18th hole which clearly paid off for him at the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club.

He went for the green on the par-five, 565-yard hole but found himself in the right rough in regulation play. He then hit his third shot to the green and two-putted for par to sign for a closing two-under-par 70 and a 13-under-par 203 total.

Simsby, who played in the second last group, endured an agonising wait in the clubhouse before countryman Jarin Todd and Australian Andrew Dodt matched his efforts by carding rounds of 70 and 72 respectively in the prestigious US$1 million event.

The trio returned to the 18th hole for the sudden-death playoff which saw Todd bowing out after missing a 15-foot birdie putt while Dodt, who led the first two rounds, made his from eight feet and Simsby nailing his from three feet after hitting his lob-wedge from a tough angle.

Simsby and Dodt returned to the 18th tee for the second play-off hole and Simsby found the fairway again after opting to tee off with his driver instead of his three-wood which he used on the first extra hole. His aggressive play proved rewarding as his second shot landed just short of the green.

Dodt hit his tee shot to the left rough and had to lay up with an iron to the middle of the fairway before hitting his approach to 15 feet, leaving himself a tough putt for birdie. Simsby, on the other hand, chipped up to four feet and eventually won after Dodt missed his putt.

Simsby, a graduate from the University of Washington where he played alongside PGA TOUR champion C.T. Pan of Chinese Taipei, was thrilled to claim his career biggest win yet in only his 12th start on the Asian Tour and first this season at the Malaysian showpiece.

The lanky American, who hails from Carlsbad, California, is playing in only his second year in Asia. He came through the 2019 Qualifying School and plied his trade on both the Asian Tour and the ADT last season.

He finished 84th on the 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit to miss out on his playing rights for 2020 but a seventh-place finish on the ADT Merit rankings last season saw him regain his Asian Tour card for 2020.

Simsby will take home a winner’s prize purse of US$180,000 courtesy of his win and move to second place on the latest Order of Merit, where Australian Wade Ormsby extended his lead following a top-10 finish at the National Open of Malaysia.

Charlie Wi, former winner of the Malaysian Open in 2006, posted a 69 to share fourth place with Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino (69) and Kosuke Hamamoto (68) of Thailand on matching 204s while young guns Amir Nazrin and Shahriffuddin Ariffin emerged as the best Malaysian performers after registering identical 70s to tie in 38th place.

The Bandar Malaysia Open, which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and in partnership with the Japan Golf Tour Organisation, was reduced to 54 holes by officials on Saturday following several weather delays which saw more than 10 hours of play lost throughout the week.

The highly acclaimed Bandar Malaysia Open, which boasts a new tagline ‘Pride, Passion, Prominence’, is the flagship event for the Malaysian Golf Association (MGA). It returned to the Asian Tour schedule this week after a four-year hiatus.

Players’ quotes

Trevor Simsby (USA) – Final round 70 (-2), Total 203 (-13)

This is the biggest win I have had in my career so far. It’s just amazing where I am right now. We were just hoping to get a full round of golf in today, and just knowing that this is going to be the final round, we were just giving it our all.

The course is playing a bit harder today. You have to be really patient out there. It’s been a challenging week. I’m just ecstatic to win this. Walking off the 15th green, my caddie told me that we’re still in it. He was saying it all day but I didn’t really think so until I birdied 16th.

I thought we definitely have a chance. And then I made a really good par on 17. I played aggressively on the 18th hole today. For me, I think that hole sets up better with driver just playing it up the right now.

I like just the mindset that it gives me of getting down there where I have a chance to get to the green. That was the right foot I guess, it just happened to suit my eye. I was chipping the ball amazing all week. I had two chip-ins in the second round which were huge, and it’s just amazing how it all came together nicely today.

I missed the cut in the last event on the ADT last year and just barely snuck into the top-eight on the Order of Merit. I got really motivated when I got back home to California and I met up some friends who are succeeding on the PGA TOUR as well. I just worked very hard after that and I’m just excited for the rest of the season now. I hope to keep the momentum going.

I shouldn’t have hit driver in regulation probably but you know the mind was spinning a little bit and I knew I was tied for the lead and trying to play a smart role and permit drivers to play for sure when opportunity sets.

I was just excited to even have a chance on the back nine. I made a little mistake on the par-five and I thought I was a bit out of it but I just stayed in it mentally, and somehow managed to birdie 16th.

Andrew Dodt (AUS) – Final round 72 (even-par), Total 203 (-13)

It was a good week. Just disappointed to finish it like that but all in all, it’s still a solid week. Hats off to Trevor Simsby. I got off to a good start.

Thinking back about the double-bogey on 15th, I made a good bounce back with a birdie on 16. The birdie on 17th was also quite possible but didn’t make it.

I tried to be aggressive out there today. It just got really hard on the back nine, mentally and physically. Still a lot of positives to take from this week.

Jarin Todd (USA) – Final round 70 (-2), Total 203 (-13)

Sometimes, it just doesn’t work out, you know. I hit a really good shot in regulation. I think it made the pin. It might have been different. I made a good putt there but missed it. I hit another good wedge shot there but just didn’t come back off the hill.

Lots of positives to take home from this week. Nice to go home and be in a decent spot on the final leaderboard. Thrilled to mark my best result on Tour this week too.

Charlie Wi (KOR) – Final round 69 (-3), Total 204 (-12)

I played really well. I haven’t been in contention for a long time so I was a little nervous coming down the stretch. I guess it showed on the putt on 17th.  And I told my caddie I just slipped up and I got so anxious, but still, it was a lot of fun to be in.

I was surprised that I got up to the top. I thought Andrew got off to a good start and was wondering what happened to him. The anxieties set in then but that’s the reason why we play.

I thought that I was going to make that putt on 17. I really had a good feeling, but you know just not being in contention, it really showed that things got the best of me. So next time I’m in that situation, I’ll handle myself better. I’m getting into golf and I’m really enjoying it.

Amir Nazrin (MAS) – Final round 70 (-2), Total 211 (-5)

I will take the two-under today. I made an eagle on the first which was my 10th hole today. I tried to push myself to get more birdies out there but only managed one coming back. But overall, I’m very happy with my performance this week.

This is my first time playing in my own National Open. It’s been a good week. I love the course, the surroundings and the people. The weather hasn’t been great to us unfortunately but it’s still a great week.

I hit my driver off the tee and then an eight-iron downwind to the green. But the green was firm and I had an eagle putt from about a pin and a half which I fortunately made.

I took like three days off before my first practice round here this week. I didn’t touch the clubs. Just want to clear my mind and not stress myself with a good finish here. I love the way I hit my irons this week and also the way I putted. I could have driven the ball better.

He put his right hand on the bill of his gray Sounders FC 2019 MLS Cup champions hat. He sipped his beverage. He looked briefly at the television in a sports bar called “The Ninety,” an aptly named soccer hub near CenturyLink Field. It was about 75 minutes before his team – the defending champs – would face the Columbus Crew on an achingly beautiful Saturday night, a respite from winter’s gloom. For the 48-year-old carpenter, this was just routine March entertainment and bonding time with his adult son, Luke. But in an area regarded as the U.S. epicenter of a novel coronavirus outbreak, the typical act somehow felt extraordinary, awkward and maybe even dangerous.

Why are you outside having fun? For many, the worth of public enjoyment is a question now in Washington state, as the vicious covid-19 disease claims more victims. The local death toll had climbed to 17 as of Saturday night and the total cases here surpassed 100. Worldwide, there are now more than 100,000 reported cases and more than 3,000 deaths.

Sports are usually about diversion, fellowship and, above all, joy. There’s some trivial pain involved, too, particularly when your team loses. But for the most part, there’s no real suffering. There’s no real anything. You just relish the ability to get worked up over the blessed inconsequential spectacle of it all. It’s a wonderful shelter, but it’s not impenetrable. As the coronavirus spreads worldwide, sports cannot be the escape it is known to be.

In Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee has declared a state of emergency and encouraged social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus. Businesses and schools are closing. Movie theaters are empty. Reservations aren’t essential for fancy restaurants. Seattle is far from a ghost town, but the city sleeps currently – with one eye open.

Lamb shrugged.

“No worries, honestly,” he said. “Practice normal hygiene methods. That’s no different than the flu, and we deal with that every year.”

After I expressed concern that he was being too cavalier, Lamb hedged a little and acknowledged the risks. But he refused to panic.

“You can’t be scared of the unknown,” he said. “I run into people every day making bad decisions because they’re scared of the unknown.”

On Saturday night, Lamb was among an announced crowd of 33,080 fans who went to CenturyLink Field and did the most natural thing in this soccer-rabid region. They came to watch their beloved Sounders FC play. It was an entertaining match that finished with a 1-1 tie.

Most nights, people at home would be envious of what those spectators experienced. This time? Nah, probably not.

The announced attendance of 33,080 – which was likely a few thousand more generous than the actual number of attendees – represented the smallest MLS regular season audience the Sounders have had since their inaugural season in 2009. The previous Sunday, when details of the outbreak were just emerging, a crowd of 40,126 gathered at CenturyLink Field for the season opener. They reminisced and celebrated last season’s championship, as the franchise unveiled the second MLS Cup banner in team history.

As he talked with his father Saturday, Luke Lamb thought back to last November’s triumph and the energy pulsating through the city that day. Before the title match, thousands of fans overtook Occidental Square and the surrounding streets and participated in the team’s March to the Match tradition. And now, four months later, look at this. There were only hundreds of marchers Saturday.

“It was a different feeling,” the 21-year-old said.

Before the fans marched, the pregame host declared: “I don’t think there will be much of a line as you enter the stadium. So enjoy that.”

Minutes later, the marching crowd was singing one of its favorite songs, “Sounders ‘Til I Die.” Yes, it would be quite melodramatic to consider the chanting number some kind of metaphor. But in this current state, one in which even toilet paper is sold out at stores and every cough makes the heart beat a little faster, it was impossible not to have an eerie feeling listening to the lyrics. So irrational. So human, too.

Normal is weird, and normal is going to feel weird for quite a while. The Sounders FC game was the largest Seattle sports gathering for a single game over the past week, and the franchise had to operate with more diligence and collaboration than ever to keep adjusting to an ever-changing situation and make the decision to play.

Listen to the Sounders explain their process, and it illuminates the difficult choices facing every sports league in America and throughout the world. The priority is public safety, but business is a major factor. There’s also a civic responsibility to try to entertain during a difficult time. There are medical factors, political factors, societal factors and historical factors. There are so many possibilities to weigh. Play, postpone or cancel? Compete in an empty venue? How to send the proper message to athletes, fans and media? How to determine the right thing to do knowing that everything is fluid?

“It was an extraordinary week,” said Peter Tomozawa, the Sounders FC president of business operations. “It was anything but normal. We spent an incredible amount of time thinking through all the issues of hosting a game, the permutations and combinations of what might happen, with one thought: public safety. We recognize the responsibility that we have to the community. People are looking at us and how we behave here in Seattle.”

The organization seemed to handle the burden responsibly. It provided the public with more than two hours of diversion Saturday. It is normal for the Sounders this time of year, but now it’s a monumental feat. And just because it seemed to work for them on this day, there’s no telling what challenges tomorrow may present.

It seems inevitable that, at some point, a major American sporting event – or possibly a grander event such as the Olympics – will have to make the difficult decision to postpone, cancel or play without fans. It could be forced by civic leaders. Or it could be a proactive choice. Whatever the form, history suggests that moment is coming if the spread continues. And the sports world will just have to live with it. It’s better than the dire alternative of more people dying.

“In reality, what we’re doing is more of a hobby for everybody,” Sounders midfielder Gustav Svensson said. “We’re very fortunate to have it as a job. We understand that safety comes first.”

As he walked through the stadium Saturday, Tomozawa heard positive feedback. The fans who attended were enthusiastic. The precautionary measures, such as extra hand sanitizers and embedded tips to reduce risk for contracting coronavirus into every aspect of the game presentation, could not be ignored. The soccer was good for an early-season game. The Sounders left, at least for the night, without any bad news.

“One of the things people would say was, ‘Thank you for hosting this event tonight. It gave us and our city something to cheer about,'” Tomozawa recalled.

Here in the U.S. epicenter of the outbreak, sports managed to be sports Saturday night. In this time of health crisis, it seemed more remarkable than routine.

The whole afternoon was strange, ending in United’s 2-1 victory over expansion Inter Miami, thanks to a cracking goal by a 34-year-old center back.

But in the space of about 10 minutes, United went from an apparent two-goal deficit to a one-goal lead.

From a second consecutive home defeat to start the MLS season to a satisfactory three points. From wondering whether the new attacking pieces were going to take hold this spring to gaining some much-needed reassurance.

“It was a crazy game,” substitute Oniel Fisher said, “but we got three points.”

There was nothing straightforward about it.

United lost two starters to injuries before halftime. Miami lost Robbie Robinson, the first overall draft pick in January, to an injury in the first half. Those delays, plus other pauses, resulted in a combined 18 minutes of stoppage time (10 in the first and eight in the second).

The turning point came between the 51st and 61st minutes.

Miami had taken the lead less than two minutes into the match on Rodolfo Pizarro’s goal, the first in club history.

And seven minutes into the second half, Miami seemed to double the lead on Lewis Morgan’s deflected shot from 20 yards.

There was nothing controversial about Morgan’s goal, but a moment earlier and 70 yards away, Miami defender Roman Torres had gotten away with a handball in thwarting Julian Gressel’s run at the net.

In reviewing the entire sequence, the video assistant referee recommended referee Rubiel Vazquez take a closer look at the field-side monitor.

Vazquez not only disallowed the goal – because, had the handball been called, Miami wouldn’t have had the scoring opportunity – but he also issued a red card to Torres for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. Gressel was at Torres’s side and preparing to break free.

Morgan’s goal was disallowed, Torres was ejected and the momentum swung radically.

A few minutes later, United’s Edison Flores drew a penalty kick and Yamil Asad converted.

Two minutes passed, and Flores ripped a 30-yard free kick off the base of the right post. The rebound spun out to Frédéric Brillant, who had scored four goals the previous four regular seasons.

The Frenchman performed like a polished attacker, tapping the ball to himself and then unleashing a vicious, angled shot over goalkeeper Luis Robles in the 61st minute.

“What a banger,” defensive partner Steven Birnbaum said.

“I came at the right time,” Brillant said. “Robles was ready for the cross and that gave me the space to score.”

The goal was a necessary reply by Brillant, who in the first half had allowed Robinson to break loose and begin Miami’s scoring sequence. Morgan crossed to the unmarked Pizarro for an easy finish from 6 yards.

After United took the lead, its adventures were far from over. Despite the red card, Miami played like it had the man advantage.

“I certainly would have liked to dictate the game more up a man and seen the game out in a better fashion, but it’s important to win while you are still learning about your team,” Coach Ben Olsen said. “That is the situation we are in right now: We are still figuring it out.”

In his MLS debut, Estonian forward Erik Sorga had two opportunities to stretch the lead and, at the other end, United was too tentative.

“We weren’t dictating much,” Olsen said. “It was them dictating the game.”

Another scare came in stoppage time when goalkeeper Bill Hamid lost control of the ball as he attempted the throw it. As the crowd of 17,183 watched in horror, he recovered the ball before it bounced into the net.

There was no escaping the injury complications. Striker Ola Kamara was done after 15 minutes and left back Joseph Mora was replaced late in the first half by Fisher, who made his first appearance since recovering from a knee injury suffered late in the 2018 season.

When the final whistle sounded, an emotional Fisher fell to the grass.

The tears were “definitely flowing,” he said. “I couldn’t hold them back. It was surreal that I’m really back.”

Kamara and Mora join an injury brigade that includes attacker Paul Arriola (ACL surgery), defender Donovan Pines (ankle), backup goalie Chris Seitz (quadriceps) and midfielder Ulises Segura (groin).

“We have to look at that, what we’re doing and what the players are doing,” Olsen said. “It’s just too many.”

On the bright side, United dodged a second home defeat against non-imposing opponents.

“We showed character,” Brillant said, “and we are in a good [place] for the future.”

Notes: Because of coronavirus concerns, MLS gave teams the option of closing their locker rooms to reporters after matches. United left its open, Miami’s was closed. . . . NCAA men’s champion Georgetown was honored at halftime. . . . The day before facing the Washington Wizards, the entire Miami Heat team attended.

It’s a safe bet Cowan’s accomplishments will be addressed when he is introduced on senior day – 129 games, 4,355 minutes, 1,861 points, 576 assists and 89 wins – but Maryland fans will barely hear those numbers over the applause. A high school star at St. John’s in the District, Cowan stayed close and has been embraced during his entire career at College Park.

But for all Cowan has done with Maryland basketball, his most important task yet will come after the pregame festivities – in those next 40 minutes, when Maryland could earn a Big Ten title with a win over No. 25 Michigan, and in the weeks that follow.

The Terrapins haven’t won a conference title of any type since 2010, two seasons before Coach Mark Turgeon took over the program. Maryland hasn’t won a conference tournament since 2004. The team hasn’t earned better than a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament since 2002, when the Terps earned a No. 1 seed and won the national title. That was the last time Maryland advanced past the Sweet 16.

Cowan is keenly aware of the program’s recent failings.

“I want to win something,” Cowan said in October. “I want a ring. I want something that hasn’t been done around here in a long time.”

The senior made certain his teammates heard him say that, because he wanted them to believe. This month brings the opportunity to back up the statement, starting Sunday against the Wolverines (19-11, 10-9) in the Terps’ final home game.

No. 9 Maryland (23-7, 13-6) seeks to regain its footing after losing three of its past four following a nine-game winning streak that saw it surge to the top of the Big Ten. The Terps’ lone win during its recent stretch was at Minnesota, a team with a losing conference record. Maryland needed Darryl Morsell’s three-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining to secure that win.

Maryland lost at Ohio State, against Michigan State at home and, most recently, at Rutgers with an uninspiring defensive effort.

“We understand what’s at stake, but we also understand that at the end of the day, we’re playing basketball,” Cowan said after his team lost to the Scarlet Knights. “We’ve got to have fun with it.”

All season, even while Maryland played well, Cowan was quick to remind others that the team hadn’t accomplished anything yet. He repeatedly expressed variations of that sentiment when speaking to the media. Now, as Maryland hopes to regain its form from earlier this winter, Cowan will be looked to by teammates to spark confidence and get the group back on track.

“It’s definitely up to me,” Cowan said when asked about his role in rallying the team after recent difficulties. “It’s definitely something that I’m up to doing and I want to do. You don’t choose to be a leader when times get tough. That’s the biggest time to be a leader.”

Maryland’s struggles have mirrored Cowan’s shooting. Through the past four games, Cowan has shot 15 of 47 from the field, including 3 of 21 from three-point range. After Maryland’s loss last week against Michigan State, his third straight game without making a three, the senior insisted, “I’m going to get back to it.” Against Rutgers in the team’s next outing, he made 3 of 9 shots from deep.

Through the difficult stretch, Cowan has been “the same Anthony,” Morsell said. Cowan focuses on the big picture and rarely shows emotion. Even when he scored the final 11 points to lead Maryland’s comeback win at Michigan State last month, he hardly flashed a smile. After that game, he again emphasized that his team hadn’t won a title yet.

Turgeon said it’s his job to ensure Cowan isn’t letting expectations weigh too heavily on him. The team has enough talented players that the load doesn’t need to fall on him every night. Cowan just needs to relax, Turgeon said. He then referenced the win over Minnesota, during which Cowan only had 10 points but also finished with nine assists.

“There’s a lot on his plate,” Turgeon said. “But he can handle it. He’s had a heck of a year. If other guys step up and play well, that’ll take a little pressure off Anthony, too.”

Heading into the postseason a year ago, the oft-mentioned story line was that Maryland hadn’t won a game in the conference tournament or NCAA tournament the previous two seasons. In Cowan’s mind, that was an indictment of his own postseason performances. “Everybody knows that,” he said the day before Maryland played its first NCAA tournament game last season.

The Terps beat Belmont in the first game of the tournament, alleviating some of the pressure that came from the streak of three consecutive postseason losses spanning two seasons. Two days later, Maryland’s season ended with a loss to LSU.

But even with that weight lifted, Cowan played poorly in those tournament games, and took that into the offseason. That’s the time of year when leaders are supposed to be at their best, and Cowan knows he wasn’t. Before this season, Cowan remembered how his teammates stepped up, but said, “It was me who wasn’t totally there.”

So now comes Cowan’s final March in a Terps uniform. He’s the reason coaches want to have seniors; they understand what this all means and the disappointment that comes with falling short.

More often than not, Cowan has been the best version of himself in critical moments this season, hitting particularly important shots at Michigan State and Illinois. Cowan has made three-pointers more often than he missed in the final three minutes of games this season.

“He’s always been someone to play with a chip on his shoulder and felt like he’s got something to prove,” Morsell said. “He’s definitely proved that he’s one of the best guards in the country.”

Once Maryland tips off against Michigan, and the 40-minute campaign to earn a conference title commences, Cowan will begin his final stretch of games as a Terrapin. From here on out, each contest will carry major implications. And each one will allow Cowan the chance to be the version of himself Maryland so desperately needs.

Citing health guidelines for mass gatherings and community events, major sports leagues discussed plans to keep reporters out of players’ locker rooms until the virus has been contained, according to multiple media reports.

The NHL was the first to act on that guidance and at several games Saturday held media availability in news conferences. The NBA is reportedly considering a similar policy. It told teams to prepare to play games in empty arenas in the coming weeks, if the coronavirus does not abate.

Major League Baseball in a statement said it was “undertaking many precautions currently,” but did not ban reporters from team clubhouses.

“We are asking anyone – including media – who has visited a high-risk area, as defined by the CDC, within the last 14 days not to visit our facilities,” MLB said in a statement. “We are also discussing additional measures internally and with other leagues. At this time, we have not made changes to our media access procedures, and we will advise if we determine to take such steps.”

In the NHL, some teams acted on the league’s advisement immediately. The New York Islanders closed their locker room after their 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The San Jose Sharks, who have been proceeding to host games despite a recommendation not to from Santa Clara County, announced they’d conduct news conferences in place of locker room interviews after home games Saturday and Sunday.

The Washington Capitals dressing room remained open, though, as team officials communicated with the NHL on when a formal policy might take effect. The Philadelphia Flyers told the South Jersey Courier-Post that locker rooms would remain open for the time being.

D.C. United officials said Major League Soccer left the decision up to each team. United left its dressing room open to reporters.

Those discussions alarmed reporters, many of whom worried about both the short- and long-term effects of restricted access to players. In the days and weeks ahead, providing unique coverage could get more difficult.

“I think MLB taking precautions makes a lot of sense, but when it comes to banning media from the clubhouse, I think that’s a step that should not be taken,” Paul Sullivan, president of the Baseball Writers Association of America and columnist for the Chicago Tribune, said in a phone interview. “Obviously, this concerns everyone, and it’s understandable, but players can catch the virus from other players, they can catch it from everyone. Saying that media can’t be in the clubhouse is a major leap.”

Some sportswriters voiced concern about locker room access in the future and whether leagues would keep interactions limited even after the scare subsides.

“I have no problem with this, given the current health concerns, but I do fear leagues won’t reopen the locker rooms to media once we eventually figure out how to contain coronavirus,” wrote Memphis Commercial Appeal sports columnist Mark Giannotto. “Open locker rooms almost always result in the best stories for fans.”

“It will be functionally impossible for me to write the type of features I do off of general news conference style access,” tweeted Lindsey Adler, who covers the New York Yankees for the Athletic.

Journalists use locker-room access, an industry standard among American pro sports organizations, to conduct postgame interviews with players and also for more informal conversations. Locker rooms are frequently open to reporters before and after games and provide a space for athletes and the people who cover them to build relationships – even when the cameras are off and notebooks are stowed away.

It’s in private locker room conversations that reporters pitch players on personal stories and ask questions ill-suited to large, public news conferences. Players also use the locker room to hold journalists accountable and express their opinions about unfavorable coverage.

“If everyone only did interviews on a podium, all the stories would be covering the same ground,” Sullivan said. “It wouldn’t be good for baseball, it certainly wouldn’t be good for the reporters. We’re here to cover the games and provide information to fans, and that would be difficult to do without access to the players.”