The NBA  announced the restart schedule for the 2019-20 season with the Indiana Pacers playing the following eight games in Orlando:

                        Date                             Opponent                                            Time                 Court

                        Aug. 1                           vs. Philadelphia                                     7:00 p.m.           Visa

                        Aug. 3                           at Washington                                       4:00 p.m.           Visa

                        Aug. 4                           vs. Orlando                                           6:00 p.m.           Visa

                        Aug. 6                           at Phoenix                                            4:00 p.m.           Visa

                        Aug. 8                           vs. L.A. Lakers                                      6:00 p.m.           HP

                        Aug. 10                         at Miami                                               8:00 p.m.           Visa

                        Aug. 12                         at Houston                                            4:00 p.m.           Arena

                        Aug. 14                         vs. Miami                                              TBD                  TBD

                                    *All game times listed are EDT (Indianapolis local time)

                                    **All three courts listed (Visa, HP and Arena) are located on the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

“We’re looking forward to the resumption of play,” said Kevin Pritchard, Pacers President of Basketball Operations. “During this time we have been in constant contact with our players and coaches and are confident we will be ready to play.”

The Pacers game against the L.A Lakers on Aug. 8 will be nationally televised on TNT; and the game on Aug. 12 at Houston will be televised on NBATV. Pacers local television and radio coverage will be announced at a later date.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway will welcome fans to the 104th Indianapolis 500 in August but will limit attendance to 50% of venue capacity due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re committed to running the Indy 500 on Sunday, Aug. 23 and will welcome fans to the world’s greatest racing venue,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “We will be limiting attendance to approximately 50 percent of venue capacity, and we are also finalizing a number of additional carefully considered health and safety measures. We’ll unveil the specific details of our comprehensive plan in the coming weeks.”

IMS is communicating with ticketholders to learn of their intent to use their race tickets. Credits will be available to ticketholders who choose to adjust their order, according to IMS.

Individuals in high-risk groups are encouraged to stay home and return to the track in 2021.

IMS is also working on a plan of health measures that will be shared with fans in the near future.

The 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is set for Sunday, Aug. 23.

The Natural Resources Commission’s (NRC) Division of Hearings has scheduled two hearings to accept public comments on proposed rule changes.

Proposed rule changes include adding ruffed grouse and cisco to the state’s endangered species list, establishing new size and bag limits for saugeye taken on the Ohio River, and allowing air guns during the deer firearms hunting season. For a complete list of proposed amendments with additional information about each proposal, see wildlife.IN.gov/2362.htm.

The hearings are scheduled for:

• Wednesday, July 29, 6 p.m. ET, Mounds State Park, 4306 Mounds Road, Anderson, IN 46017. Fisheries Rules Hearing in the Nature Center, multi-purpose room. Wildlife Rules Hearing in the Pavilion.

• Thursday, July 30, 6 p.m. ET, McCormick’s Creek State Park, 451 McCormick Creek Park Road, Spencer, IN 47460. Fisheries Rules Hearing in the Sycamore Room. Wildlife Rules Hearing in the Oak Room.

Public comments can be submitted online at nrc.IN.gov/2377.htm. Locate the “comment on this rule” link in the Rulemaking Docket for the FW Biennial Fisheries Amendments or the FW Biennial Wildlife Amendments, whichever rule package the comment applies to.

Comments can also be mailed to:

Natural Resources Commission Indiana Government Center North  100 North Senate Ave., Room N103 Indianapolis, IN 46204

The deadline for public comments is July 30, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

The NRC will review the public comments before voting on final adoption of the changes later in 2020. Rule changes that are given final adoption must still be approved by the Attorney General’s office and Governor’s office, and filed with the Indiana Register before taking effect.

Summer is officially upon us and still not a single baseball game has been played as Major League Baseball owners and the MLB Players Association still appear to be miles apart on a plan to return to action for the 2020 season.

On Friday it was reported that a deal might have some legs, but over the weekend both sides agreed to postpone a vote on a 60-game plan.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred made some last-minute tweaks to the plan along with the players association wanting to gather more coronavirus testing data before proceeding any further in negotiations with the owners.

Both sides of the negotiations have taken some fierce criticism ever since the 2020 season was delayed in the middle of regularly scheduled spring training back in late March. Cincinnati Reds catcher and Brownsburg-native Tucker Barnhart said there is a bigger reason the players are holding firm on their demands.

"As much as it sucks to negotiate money during this time, it's been awful, it's been stressful, it's been everything, but we kind of have to play the long game with this one," Barnhart told The Dan Dakich Show on 93.5 and 107.5 The Fan.

Barnhart said with the current collective bargaining agreement expiring at the end of next year, both sides are holding firm now in order to have as much of a leg up as possible on the other once the time comes to negotiate a new CBA.

He said the players are worried the owners will try to use whatever is negotiated in this current deal to resume play in 2020, in the upcoming discussions over the new CBA. Barnhart acknowledges the owners have the same worry about the players.

"For the future of our sport and for the guys that are going to come after us, we've tried so hard as a union and succeeded in the past to holding firm to our kind of principals," said Barnhart. "Whether either side says they aren't going to use anything that we use currently in the next CBA discussion is flat out lying."

Barnhart said he expects both sides to use at least something from the current talks in the CBA negotiations whether they be beneficial or detrimental to one another. He said it would be a bad thing to cave right now given all those mitigating circumstances.

Private landowners who allow gamebird hunting opportunities on their properties can receive financial incentives and habitat management assistance through the Indiana Private Lands Access Program (IPLA).

Participating landowners are eligible for incentives up to $25 an acre for fall bobwhite, pheasant and woodcock hunting opportunities and up to $16 an acre for spring turkey hunting opportunities.

DNR biologists will work closely with each landowner to develop a wildlife habitat management plan and to schedule hunting opportunities for their land. Additional financial incentives and habitat management assistance are available for improving habitat on land enrolled in IPLA. Habitat teams are also available to assist landowners with implementation of habitat work on IPLA properties.

Landowners located within the program’s five focal regions are strongly encouraged to apply. For more information, including a description of the five focal regions, visit wildlife.IN.gov/9572.htm.

This past weekend was a big one for National Sprint Car Racer Justin Grant, driver for Rochester's own TOPP Motorsports. 

Grant, who's been driving for TOPP Motorsports since 2018, completed the weekend sweep Sunday night in Pevely, Missouri at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink- TOPP Industries-The Bow Foundation/Maxim/ Claxton Chevy. 

The win, coming less than twenty-four hours after his first National Sprint Car victory of the season at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. 

A promising start to Grant's 2020 racing season, despite having to deal with a schedule that's anything but normal because of the pandemic.With races being cancelled and subject to change, what's next and what's left of this season is left up in the air. 

Despite the uncertainty, Grant continues to stay positive, putting his full effort in, both physically and mentally, alongside his team. 

The hard work, an obvious attribution to last weekend's success, leaving high hopes for the team's future this season.  

It has been several months since we have seen any action in the sporting world.  IndyCar got started back Saturday night.  Here is the race recap from the IMS Radio Network.

Texas Motor Speedway winner Scott Dixon.

The IndyCar and NASCAR races on Fourth of July Weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be run without spectators.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway made the announcement Thursday morning, saying they made the decision after discussions with local and state leaders.

"While we certainly worked diligently to run our events with spectators, we reached a point where we needed to make a final decision because the race weekend is less than a month away," said Mark Miles, Penske Entertainment Corp. President & CEO. "Today, it's not possible to be confident that Indianapolis will be at Stage 5 of the state's reopening plan by Fourth of July weekend."

Mark Jaynes, from the IndyCar Radio Network, says it is disappointing that fans will not be in attendance.

"Because of the passion and enthusiasm that fans have, and bring to the track," he said. "I think it will be surreal for all of us who have a part in calling it."

Jaynes adds that every decision, and all the changes, that Penske Entertainment and IMS have made throughout the pandemic, have been proactive.

"I think they've done so fully and totally with the direction and input of state, local, and federal health officials," he said. "They haven't just freelanced these decisions. They've made these decisions based on the facts that are shared with them by the experts."

IndyCar's GMR Grand Prix and the NASCAR XFinity Series race will both be on Saturday, July 4, on the IMS Road Course. NASCAR's Brickyard 400 -- which will be renamed the "Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at the Brickyard" -- is Sunday, July 5, on the oval. IMS says they are renaming the race in recognition of the vodka company's efforts to make hand sanitizer for the public.

IMS also announced that the BC39 dirt track race scheduled for that week, and the Florida Georgia Line country concert have been canceled.

In the release, the track says they are looking forward to hosting fans for the Indianapolis 500 in August.