The National Hockey League has announced it will abandon the rest of the regular season and proceed directly to a 24-team playoff staged in two hub cities.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the revised schedule would "produce a worthy Stanley Cup champion" after a season that has been put on hold by the coronavirus pandemic.

However, Bettman offered no fixed date on when play would resume, while the two cities due to host the playoffs were also yet to be decided.

Formal training camps won't open until 1 July at the earliest, he added.

The NHL season has been on pause since 12 March, and all players currently remain under league-mandated quarantine.

Image source, Getty Images

The 2020 Netball Superleague season has been terminated with immediate effect because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The season was suspended on 15 March after only three full rounds of fixtures.

Governing body England Netball made the "difficult decision" following consultation with the league's board, all 10 teams and stakeholders.

More on the story here.

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As our last post states, Bayern Munich landed a key win over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.

Dortmund head coach Lucien Favre says it will be "brutally difficult" to now stop Bayern retaining their Bundesliga title.

Joshua Kimmich's wonderful chip from 20 yards just before half-time was the only goal at Signal Iduna Park.

Bayern are seven points clear of their second-placed opponents with six matches to go.

"Seven points in six games - it will be very, very difficult," said Favre.

There is more on the win here.

The Times also says players have dropped concerns over contact training.

Robert Lewandowski is seen celebrating after Bayern Munich's win over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.

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The Sun says Premier League players have given the green light to the resumption of contact training.

We should find out the exact results of a vote on the issue later today.

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The Daily Express says there could be five matches back-to-back on television screens on Saturday and Sunday when football returns.

Newcastle's takeover is also in doubt according to the paper as "TV piracy issues" could "scupper the deal".

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The Star features tales on Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool and former Manchester United forward telling Paul Pogba to up his game.

But the main story highlights a potential football bonanza on television screens when the game returns.

Image source, Reuters

Good morning friends.

There were plenty of elbow taps as the goals flew in in the Bundesliga last night.

We will bring you the very latest on the return of sport in this live text so keep checking back for all there is to know.

First up, the papers.