Sports briefly: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman finally making concessions about not having enough time to complete regular season

For the first time since halting play four weeks ago, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman raised the possibility Tuesday of not completing the regular season in order to squeeze in time to award the Stanley Cup.

Bettman also acknowledged during an interview with NBCSN the league is considering having games played at neutral sites in the event not all teams will be allowed into their home rinks.

Bettman, however, stressed these are among myriad options being considered with nothing determined because it will take at least two more weeks to gain a clearer picture on how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the league's 31 markets.

"We're looking at all options. Nothing's been ruled in. Nothing's been ruled out," Bettman said. "The best thing and the easiest thing would be if at some point we could complete the regular season and then go into the playoffs as we normally do.

''We understand that may not be possible. And that's why we're considering every conceivable alternative to deal with whatever the eventuality is."

Bettman had not previously raised the possibility of shortening the regular season, which was halted March 12 with 189 games remaining.

The 16-team playoffs were scheduled to open Wednesday, though they likely won't begin until late June — at the earliest — and could stretch into August and potentially September.

UFC President Dana White told TMZ Sports he has made alternate plans for the upcoming UFC 249, which was scheduled for April 18 in Brooklyn before coronavirus shut down the city: a private island.

"We're getting the infrastructure put in now, so I'm gonna start doing the international fights, too, with international fighters. Because I won't be able to get international fighters, all of them into the U.S., so I have a private island and I'm gonna start flying them all into the private island and doing international fights from there," he said. "We have all our own planes and everything."

White said he's "a day or two" away from securing the island, where he plans to host weekly fights for at least two months.

He also promised tests for athletes before they fight to ensure they are "100 percent healthy."

• Former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki's farewell to tennis — an exhibition match against Serena Williams on May 18 — is being postponed.

• The Canadian Grand Prix, scheduled to take place June 12-14, has been postponed.

• NFL: Timmy Brown, a running back and kick returner who won an NFL championship with the Eagles in 1960, has died. He was 82. ... The Buccaneers are going back to their more traditional red, white and pewter uniforms similar to the uniforms the team wore from 1997-2013. ... The Chargers and Rams will appear on HBO's "Hard Knocks" this fall.

College basketball: Maryland sophomore forward Jalen Smith, Illinois freshman center Kofi Cockburn, UCLA junior guard Chris Smith, Duke freshman forward Cassius Stanley and Arizona freshman guard Nico Mannion declared for the NBA draft.

Auto racing: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards were among the new nominees for NASCAR's next Hall of Fame class.