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MEXICO CITY - Soccer in Mexico will look nearly normal this weekend. Fans will be in the stands, with no repeat from a week ago when every stadium was shuttered and only players, reporters and officials were allowed inside.
There will, however, be some unusual twists as health officials take precautions following the swine flu outbreak.
Under guidelines by the Mexican Football Federation, every other seat and every other row in stadiums across the country will remain empty. Families will be allowed to sit together, though the rules released Thursday say nothing about friends.
Fans must wear facemasks, wash their hands when entering and walk to their seats in single file. And everybody will be quizzed about their health as they enter. Concession stands selling beer and snacks will apparently operate as usual.
“I think it will be a relief, but if they enforce all the restrictions, it might look a little ridiculous,” said Guillermo de Pablo, an Argentine walking in downtown Mexico City on Thursday, wearing a Barcelona jersey with “Messi” embossed on the back.
“The passion of football has to do with people being close together and singing. Singing behind facemasks — it’s going to an odd feeling.”
It’s estimated that shutting fans out of the stadiums last weekend cost the 18 first-division teams about $2 million in lost ticket revenues.
“Opening the stadiums is a reflection that the contingency level has been lowered,” federation president Decio de Maria said. “What remains is to keep working and following recommendations of government health officials.”
Three first-division games around Mexico City two weekends ago were also played without fans, but the total closure last weekend — 176 games from first to third division — reflected the spread of the virus and government steps to slow it.
Forty-four people in Mexico are known to have died from swine flu, with two other deaths in Texas.
This a crucial weekend for clubs looking to advance to the playoffs, and for others playing to avoid relegation. Playoffs begin next week.
Opening the stadiums may also allow two first-division teams — San Luis and Chivas Guadalajara — to play at home in the final 16 of the Copa Libertadores. The last 16 involves home and away games.
San Luis was to host Nacional of Uruguay, and Sao Paulo of Brazil was to have played at Chivas in the first leg. Those matches were delayed to next week, and may now be played in Mexico rather than being moved abroad. The other leg will be played in Brazil and Uruguay.
De Maria said the same rules would apply if the Copa Libertadores games were allowed to go ahead in Mexico. He said South America’s governing body of soccer had been told of the proposed changes, with a response expected soon.
“We’ve signaled and we repeat that we are ready to host those teams in Mexico, so that Chivas and San Luis can play in their stadiums,” De Maria said.
The soccer federations of at last three South American countries — Colombia, Chile and Ecuador — had offered to host the Mexican teams. In two cases, health officials in Colombia and Chile turned down the overtures.
The same stadium precautions will apply to Tuesday’s CONCACAF Champions League match in Cancun between Mexican clubs Cruz Azul and Atlante. Atlante leads 2-0 after the first leg. The winner of the home-and-away series qualifies for the FIFA Club World Cup in December in United Arab Emirates.
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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
