Ex-Pirates infielder Kang banned 1 year by Korean league
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Korean Baseball Organization has suspended ex-Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang for a year and ordered him to perform 300 hours of community service over a series of historical drunk driving cases. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports the suspension for Kang will come into effect when he joins a KBO team. He applied to come off the voluntarily retired list last week in a bid to return to the Korean league. Yonhap said the 33-year-old Kang was in the U.S. and didn’t attend Monday’s KBO disciplinary committee hearing. Kang was the first position player to jump directly from the KBO to the majors when he signed with Pittsburgh in 2015.

The Hall of Fame basketball coach Jerry Sloan has died. His death was announced by the Utah Jazz, the team he took to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998. The Jazz say he died Friday from complications related to Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. Sloan spent 23 seasons coaching the Jazz, and the team finished below .500 in only one of those years. Sloan won 1,221 games in his career, the fourth-highest total in NBA history. Jerry Sloan was 78 years old.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates are trimming payroll while they await word on the fate of the Major League Baseball season. The Cubs are instituting pay cuts because of the coronavirus crisis, but there will be no furloughs through the end of June. The Pirates announced Thursday they are instituting furloughs for several employees in business operations beginning on June 1. A person with direct knowledge of the situation says the Cubs’ pay cuts were based on compensation. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein and president of business operations Crane Kenney took the highest reductions.

UNDATED (AP) — The NHL is taking a major step toward formulating the remainder of their season.

A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press the NHL Players’ Association’s executive board is voting on a 24-team playoff proposal as they return to play format. Results of the vote could be in as soon as Friday night.

Under the proposal plan, the top four teams in each of the Eastern and Western Conferences would play each other for seeding while the remaining 16 teams face off in a best-of-five series play-in round to set the final 16. That would mean byes for Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington and Philadelphia in the East and defending champion St. Louis, Colorado, Vegas and Dallas in West.

Even if the executive board votes to approve the format, the league and players union still need to negotiate other details, including health and safety protocols. But the format is a substantial piece of the return to play puzzle to award the Stanley Cup this season.

Wolf: Pocono Raceway may have to resume races without fans
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says NASCAR can hold its races at Pocono Raceway in late June if the coronavirus situation improves in the area, though the races might have to go off without fans. Pocono Raceway is in Monroe County, which currently is under Wolf’s strictest pandemic orders, or a red designation. But Wolf said that if Monroe County moves to yellow before the races, then NASCAR may hold the races June 27 and 28 as long as there are no spectators present and guidelines are followed to keep competitors safe. NASCAR resumed its Cup Series schedule Sunday at Darlington, South Carolina, without fans.

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Starling Marte announced on social media that his wife Noelia has died of a heart attack. Marte made the announcement on Monday night and wrote that he was “grateful for the expressions of esteem and solidarity in this difficult time.” The 31-year-old Marte has played his entire eight-year big league career with the Pittsburgh Pirates before being traded to the Diamondbacks during the offseason. Both the Pirates and Diamondbacks responded to Marte with condolences on social media.