Because of their day-to-day experiences with traffic flow, crowd control and project management, arenas and stadiums proved practical as Covid-19 testing sites and food banks.,To help with dispensing, food centers were established by charities and organizations at stadiums nationwide.,Stadium parking lots in the spring and summer, filled in years past by tailgaters, staff and street vendors, instead became home to pop-up tents for Covid-19 testing.,Arenas and stadiums across the country opened their doors in the fall for an additional purpose: polling locations during the 2020 election cycle.,David Ortiz, public information officer for the LA City Fire Department, told CNN's Paul Vercammen that working with the Dodgers and using their stadium lot is a boon for the county's vaccination efforts.

Hiring the longtime college coach with three national championships signifies a new direction for a franchise that has lost 105 of 144 games since Khan took over in 2012.,In other NFL news:

—Quarterback Jared Goff will start the Los Angeles Rams’ playoff game at Green Bay on Saturday, and John Wolford will be inactive.,—Four stars from Alabama’s national championship team, including Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback Mac Jones, are leaving early to enter the NFL draft.,Keller was charged Wednesday in federal court in Washington after a video emerged that appeared to show him among those storming the Capitol last champion Rollins-McNeal suspended in doping case read more

Before the Rockets agreed to send James Harden to the Nets as part of a blockbuster four-team deal, the 76ers were long considered the favorites to acquire the former MVP because they had a piece no other team could offer: Ben Simmons.,Houston had reportedly been seeking a young franchise cornerstone as part of any Harden package, and Simmons fit that description better than any other player that was realistically available.,The Rockets reportedly wanted Simmons, picks and other players in a potential deal with the Sixers — Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle were part of discussions — and even for a superstar like Harden, that’s a high asking price.,He was told Irving could hypothetically be part of a transaction that allows the Nets to obtain multiple first-round picks, or he could only be attached in a trade as filler.,Now Brooklyn will move forward with a “Big Three” of Harden, Irving and Kevin Durant, while Philadelphia will focus on building around Simmons and Embiid.

He’s the newest member of the U.S. Men’s National Team but if you have been following the upper echelons of domestic soccer in recent weeks, Tristan Blackmon’s name already may seem familiar.,Three days before Christmas, Blackmon and LAFC were beaten 2-1 by Tigres UANL of Mexico in the CONCACAF Champions League Final also played in Orlando, in a bubble, amid the COVID-19 crisis.,Bob Bradley, the LAFC coach and former coach of the U.S. national team, had cautioned the LAFC players about letting Tigres get a fast break going in transition.,So now Blackmon finds himself competing for a spot on the national team, which is quite an honor, too.,Blackmon is one of 38 players from whom Berhalter will choose and the only new one added to the senior roster of World Cup eligibles.

Virtual slime cannons go off in the end zone after a touchdown during Nickelodeon’s kid-focused broadcast of the NFL wild-card playoff game between the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints at the Superdome, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021 in New Orleans.,The positive reviews for Nickelodeon’s kids-focused broadcast of last Sunday’s NFL playoff game showed the potential of alternate broadcasts of sporting events.,(CBS/Viacom via AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Brian Robbins directed “Varsity Blues” and was the producer of “Coach Carter,” but both of those might have been eclipsed last Sunday with Nickelodeon’s successful kids-oriented broadcast of an NFL playoff game.,Even a couple days after last Sunday’s game, the president of Nickelodeon as well as everyone associated with the broadcast are still receiving accolades.,CBS and Nickelodeon weren’t the only ones to use multiple networks during Sunday’s playoff games. read more

NFL-NEWS

Goff to start for Rams in Green Bay read more

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Getty Images read more

NBA-NETS-HARDEN TRADE

Multi-team deal sends Harden to Nets read more

In Arizona and Florida at MLB spring training, both minor- and major-league players don't know what's next.,While there was a 60-game MLB season in 2020 and teams could also have prospects at alternate sites, the minor-league baseball season was canceled, and most minor leaguers did not get a chance to play in organized games.,Several Angels players told Advocates for Minor Leaguers, a non-profit advocacy group working to provide a voice for minor league baseball players and improve working conditions, that they "didn't see a dime" certain months and have charged their organization for failing to pay.,According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, team officials claim "a vast majority of the players likely would have been released toward the end of spring training even if baseball hadn't been halted by the coronavirus pandemic.",MLB clubs also granted players the option of playing in independent baseball leagues despite many of those teams canceling seasons of their own.