COVID sports updates: 3 more NHL games postponed; Miami out of Sun Bowl; Duke basketball will not play vs. Clemson, Notre Dame this week

The NHL was planning to return from its COVID/holiday break with a mammoth schedule today but all those games have been postponed, as have Tuesday's Blue Jackets-Blackhawks matchup, and Wednesday's Penguins-Maple Leafs and Bruins-Senators games. In college basketball, there have been too many postponements/cancellations to list, but No. 2 Duke will not play ACC games this week against Clemson and Notre Dame. Finally, the Sun Bowl scheduled for Friday will not feature Miami (Fla.), but bowl organizers are still hopeful of finding an opponent for Washington State.

As of now, the NHL is planning to resume with three games Tuesday: Canadiens-Lightning (even though Montreal has nine players in protocols and Tampa Bay put both top goaltenders on the COVID list Sunday), Golden Knights-Kings and Coyotes-Sharks. The league absolutely plans to play the annual Winter Classic on New Year's Day when the Wild will host the Blues at Target Field, home of MLB's Minnesota Twins.

The Miami Hurricanes are dealing with a COVID outbreak so they withdrew from the Sun Bowl on Sunday night, but Washington State is practically pleading for another school to step up. Marshall, which lost to Louisiana 36-21 in the Dec. 18 New Orleans Bowl, offered to play but logistics couldn't be worked out. Seems a long shot that bowl officials will be able to find at team on such short notice. Washington State already is in El Paso preparing for a bowl that may not happen. Miami was the fifth program to withdraw from a bowl game because of COVID-19.

There are probably going to be dozens of college basketball games canceled/postponed this week, and Duke's 247Sports site is reporting that the second-ranked Blue Devils are dealing with an outbreak and will not be able to play Wednesday at Clemson or at Notre Dame on Saturday. ACC games that are not able to played will be rescheduled, and if a new date cannot be found the game will be considered a no contest.

Some other major cancelations around college hoops as of now: Tuesday's game between New Orleans and Ohio State; Wednesday's ACC matchup between Virginia Tech and North Carolina; Wednesday's ACC game between Florida State and Boston College; Wednesday's non-conference game between Kansas and Harvard; Thursday's matchup from the Pac-12 between Oregon and Colorado. There will be MANY more. 

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