The Sports Impact of COVID-19

[AustinFromBoston]

NBA & NHL are going to wait until at least the end of June/beginning of July before they call the season

[Brian in Boston]

The latest status report from the world of collegiate summer baseball is as follows:

The Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, Cape Cod League, Golden State Collegiate Baseball League, Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League, New England Collegiate Baseball League, New York Collegiate Baseball League, Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, and Valley Baseball League have cancelled their 2020 seasons. 

CRCBL - 2020 Season Canceled!

Cape Cod League Cancels 2020 Season

GLSCL 2020 Season Cancelled

GSCBLCancels 2020 Season

 

HCBL Canceled for 2020

NECBL Announces Cancellation of 2020 Season

NYCBL cancels 2020 season due to COVID-19 pandemic

 

Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League Announces Cancellation of 2020 Season

The 2020 Valley League Has Been Cancelled

To date, the Arizona Collegiate Wood Bat League, Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, California Collegiate League, Coastal Plain League, Expedition League, Futures Collegiate Baseball League, MINK League, Northwoods League, Rocky Mountain Collegiate Baseball League, Southern Collegiate Baseball League, Sunbelt Baseball League, Texas Collegiate League and Western Canadian Baseball League have all announced that the start of their respective seasons will be delayed.

Further, several teams have announced that they will not take the field in 2020, regardless of what their respective leagues elect to do. The West Coast League's Bellingham Bells, Bend Elks, Corvallis Knights, Kelowna Falcons, and Victoria HarbourCats have all announced that they have canceled their seasons. Elsewhere, the San Luis Obispo Blues (California Collegiate League), Chillicothe Mudcats (MINK League), and Jefferson City Renegades (MINK League) will also be sitting out the 2020 season in their respective leagues. 

The Duluth Huskies (Northwoods League) and Lafayette Aviators (Prospect League) have both announced that they won't have access to their respective ballparks until at least July 1st. 

[BBTV]

1 hour ago, AustinFromBoston said:

NBA & NHL are going to wait until at least the end of June/beginning of July before they call the season

If they could work with the PA on changing when the league year end occurs (and therefore push off free agency), why couldn’t the NBA finish in September or even October? The players would have just had 5+ months off, so basically an offseason, and they’re used to starting in October anyway, so if they wrap up a playoff in October, have free agency, then start a truncated schedule after Christmas, it’s all the same to the players.  Not sure how a draft would work, but that ain’t my problem. 

Just saying for NBA. NHL might be a little tougher because they couldn’t play as many back-to-back games, and we’re talking about double the players. 
 

either league should not even consider finishing their regular season. It’s much safer to worry about only half the teams than it is to worry about all the teams. You’re basically shaving your exposure in half by skipping right to the playoffs. 

 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

The NBA has recent experience with truncated seasons, I think finishing/shortening the 2019-2020 and then also abbreviating 2020/21 (which may just be 2021) makes a lot of sense, and would satisfy the people who think the NBA season is too long. They could get back to the regular schedule in 2021/2022 (hopefully with a new Seattle team!).

 

What should NCAA basketball do? Fold and all the players good enough should be in the G-League.

[The_Admiral]

I don't think the players' hearts are even in coming back at this point, so the leagues may as well cancel the playoffs and hope spectator sports still exist going forward.

[BBTV]

1 hour ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

What should NCAA basketball do? Fold and all the players good enough should be in the G-League.

 

I feel for some of the players who might be seeing their shot at making millions just pass on by, but I couldn't care less about the NCAA or revenue-generating college athletics one bit.  Let them sign with a developmental or foreign league, and let go of the student-athlete charade.  Div 1 college football should just go away altogether.  If only there was a minor football league to send the players to... oh, rats.

 

 

21 minutes ago, the admiral said:

I don't think the players' hearts are even in coming back at this point, so the leagues may as well cancel the playoffs and hope spectator sports still exist going forward.

 

Good point.  How long is too long?  It was one thing when it was a few weeks and they're still focused on getting back, but now all the momentum is gone, they're way out of touch with their teammates and out of the rhythm of practicing, training, and playing.  I imagine it takes a while to build back up to that cadence, and would they even want to?  Nobody wants to leave money on the table, but someone should at least be asking if it's the right thing to do right now.

 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I hear what you're saying, but a lot of us were really excited to break the Warriors' hegemony and now it seems like they get to come back full strength (or better) in 2020/21 and pick up where they left off with a big, fact "VACANT" for the 19/20 season.

 

I know that's very small potatoes considering everything else going on.

[bosrs1]

1 hour ago, BringBackTheVet said:

 

I feel for some of the players who might be seeing their shot at making millions just pass on by, but I couldn't care less about the NCAA or revenue-generating college athletics one bit.  Let them sign with a developmental or foreign league, and let go of the student-athlete charade.  Div 1 college football should just go away altogether.  If only there was a minor football league to send the players to... oh, rats.

 

 

 

Good point.  How long is too long?  It was one thing when it was a few weeks and they're still focused on getting back, but now all the momentum is gone, they're way out of touch with their teammates and out of the rhythm of practicing, training, and playing.  I imagine it takes a while to build back up to that cadence, and would they even want to?  Nobody wants to leave money on the table, but someone should at least be asking if it's the right thing to do right now.

 

 

Yeah after 9 weeks, which we're approaching on Thursday, they've essentially had a good chunk of an off season lay off at this point. And they've been doing so without having team facilities to do much if any training at. At this point it almost seems a risk to players to begin playing again without them being able to ramp up through a full off season regimen. 

[Digby]

2 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

I hear what you're saying, but a lot of us were really excited to break the Warriors' hegemony and now it seems like they get to come back full strength (or better) in 2020/21 and pick up where they left off with a big, fact "VACANT" for the 19/20 season.

 

I know that's very small potatoes considering everything else going on.

 

I mostly feel awful for Liverpool fans this year, and for all non-Liverpool fans in years going forward.

[DEAD!]

I rarely feel awful for Liverpool fans  

[TrueYankee26]

Liverpool got 2019 European cup so not many people will feel sorry for Liverpool. Take it from a Manchester United fan a lot will hate Liverpool and want the worst for them like most do United. It is better to embrace the hatred than beg for sympathy.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

1 hour ago, Digby said:

I mostly feel awful for Liverpool fans this year

 

This assumes that Liverpool's league title won't be recognised.  But it was no longer a race; everyone had conceded that Liverpool couldn't be caught. If the Premier League can work out a way to declare Liverpool the champions yet call off relegation for this season, then that's what it will do.  So there's probably no reason to feel bad for Liverpool fans, because those self-important little pricks are likely to get their title.

[GDAWG]

UFC does well:

 

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2020/5/12/21255602/report-ufc-249s-early-estimates-have-it-drawing-over-700000-pay-per-view-buys

[monkeypower]

23 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

The latest status report from the world of collegiate summer baseball is as follows:
[...]
To date, [...] and Western Canadian Baseball League have all announced that the start of their respective seasons will be delayed.

 

The WCBL had previously said the earliest an opening day would be is late June/early July and the deadline for making a decision is June 8, with the season originally scheduled to start at the end of May. Okotoks' managing director said if they can't start the season by Canada Day (July 1), he doubts there will be a season and Medicine Hat's owner/GM said he feels the season is very unlikely to happen.

 

Alberta and Saskatchewan are both in the beginning stages of starting to open things up again, but Alberta has banned summer events of more than 15 people and I don't think a summer collegiate league has the pull to have that not apply to them. There's also the issue of filling out rosters if American players aren't able to cross the border. I fully expect the league to cancel the season when the deadline comes.

 

Two of the teams in the WCBL, Melville and Yorkton, had announced in the Fall they were both taking a leave of absence this season because of financial issues (from something I read back then, it appeared the league was ready to pull the plug on Melville until a last minute letter to the league board of governors from the Melville president and the WCBL president asking for the leave of absence instead). Now with all this, I don't know if they'll be back because I don't know how much money either team will be able to raise anytime soon.

 

The expansion Sylvan Lake (AB) Gulls are supposed to start in 2021, but the building of the stadium is now in danger because of the economic downturn. The original plan for funding the stadium was for the owners to co-invest with the town for half of the $7-million for the stadium, with the rest coming from private investors. The town would own the stadium in return for giving the Gulls a 25-year lease.

[Digby]

I don’t get all the people making firm pronouncements like “oh they’re just gonna call it on X date”? As if a a Facebook commenter (or message boarder) knows something that the marshaled resources of these leagues don’t. It’s freeing to just sit back and not know and hope for a sane, healthy outcome.

[Germanshepherd]

Silver announces timetable for the decision 

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1260403509620547589?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^tweet

[Brian in Boston]

The Washington Post is reporting that Major League Soccer has proposed having all 26 teams based in the Orlando area this summer, with competitive matches taking place without spectators at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. There is also the possibility that games would take place at other venues in the area. Personnel - players, coaches, and support staff - would live under quarantine at a large resort near Walt Disney World.

MLS Proposes all 26 teams come to Orlando to resume season this summer
 

[BBTV]

Sucks for they wives and kids.  Hope none have a family emergency that requires them to leave the bubble and then be quarantined for 2 weeks prior to re-entry. I don't know how much your average MLS guy makes, but a quick google search shows that some make under 100k.  I assume that means their spouse is working too (likely from home now), which means that he is probably needed to help with any kids, since it's not like you can get a nanny.  Seems like there may be more important things to consider than whether games can go on.  

 

Screw America for needing its SPORTS so bad that people get put in these positions.  Props to Zack Wheeler for giving MLB the middle finger (though he can afford to do so... there's lots of others that can't.)

[GDAWG]

5 hours ago, BringBackTheVet said:

Sucks for they wives and kids.  Hope none have a family emergency that requires them to leave the bubble and then be quarantined for 2 weeks prior to re-entry. I don't know how much your average MLS guy makes, but a quick google search shows that some make under 100k.  I assume that means their spouse is working too (likely from home now), which means that he is probably needed to help with any kids, since it's not like you can get a nanny.  Seems like there may be more important things to consider than whether games can go on.  

 

Screw America for needing its SPORTS so bad that people get put in these positions.  Props to Zack Wheeler for giving MLB the middle finger (though he can afford to do so... there's lots of others that can't.)

 

The PGA can easily do social distancing.  As for travel, most golfers do not travel every week.  

[Sport]

My wife and I sprung for Opening Day tickets this year and Stubhub's been holding our money ever since. They sent an email yesterday that the game was officially listed as cancelled and they're not going to refund the money, but we'll get a 120% credit towards future tickets. That's a little annoying because it'd be nice to have that cash right about now, but I guess I prefer that to holding $330 tickets to a random Tuesday night make-up game in late September. 

 

If you bought tickets to a sporting event or concert through a third party ticket site I'd look into how they're handling the refund.