Although many of us may be facing hardships during these unprecedented times, NFL players are helping ease the difficulties some are dealing with.
Here are just some of the wonderful things NFL players are doing:
Chicago Bears Allen Robinson knows that many students rely on schools to provide sustenance and with schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Robinson is making sure that these kids and their families do not go hungry. His foundation The Within Reach Foundation has started a fundraiser to ensure kids are given meals through the Chicago Food Depository. Robinson is even matching all donations up to $12,000 in honor of his jersey number. To donate go to https://givebox.com/12for12
Miami Dolphins Allen Hurns is trying to brighten the days of the class of 2020 through his foundation 88 Blessings. Hurns saw fit to send care packages to 17 students part of his S.O.A.R. campaign which helps those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with help from sponsors Eternal Water, Quest Nutrition, the Miami Dolphins, Become Athletics, Pajcic, and Pajcic law firm, UBS and The Boyce Foundation. Hurns also plans to hold a Senior’s Night Out event to celebrate the graduates when the pandemic is over. Be sure to visit http://88blessings.org/soar/ to learn more and find out how YOU can help.
Denver Broncos Von Miller has set up a campaign to help eradicate hunger due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fans can bid on awesome prize packages, with proceeds going to hunger relief efforts to provide meals for those in need with a goal of 580,000 meals provided. Get your bids in and help a great cause at https://vonsackscovid.org/
Carolina Panthers Seth DeValve is holding a free virtual seminar on June 11th, to aid student-athletes in the college recruiting process. DeValve will cover topics ranging from scholarships, how to properly conduct oneself both on and off the field, academics and so much more. To register, go to https://sethdevalvefoundation.com/current-events/seminars
Baltimore Ravens Calais Campbell provided 100 laptops for less-fortunate students. These laptops ensure that students get the proper education they need and deserve.
Former New York Giant Victor Cruz teamed up with Altice and ACER to provide 100 laptops to students in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey area to ease their distance learning troubles. Cruz never forgets where he came from and always gives back in any way he can.
Of course, these are just some of the amazing things NFL players are doing to help spread positivity and joy to those in need during these hard times. It is truly great to see that some good can come from such a negative event!
NASCAR returned in style on Sunday, as Kevin Harvick became the 14th driver in Cup Series history to earn 50 wins.
Live, team-oriented sports returned in style on Sunday, as the NASCAR Cup Series circuit staged the Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Kevin Harvick was the first victor, leading 159 of 293 laps en route to his first victory of the 2020 season/
Harvick, the driver of the No. 4 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing, also earned the 50th victory of his career. He join an illustrious list of 13 other drivers to earn that tally on NASCAR’s premier circuit.
“When you look at a win like this today, this is an organizational win because you have to have your car dialed in when you get here in order to win a race like this,” Harvick said in a Zoom video conference call after the race. “Our guys have just done a great job of putting all the pieces together. Today we were able to capitalize on that and win a race.”
The win, despite the historic weight attached to it, came with a sense of hollowness for Harvick, the first winner in the unusual times for NASCAR.
Sunday’s event was, in racing terms, run under caution in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The stands were empty and media invitations were kept to a minimum. Practice and qualifying were canceled, so drivers were embarking on an endeavor at a locale known as “The Track Too Tough to Tame” with literally no on-track preparation. Harvick’s victory lane celebration was perhaps best labeled by his posing with the race trophy under the protection of a facemask and no one else around, contrasting the normally raucous, confetti-spewing antics that ensue after a win.
“Usually you get out of the car and the crowd is screaming and yelling, react. Today out of the car it was like, well, I don’t really know what to do here,” Harvick said with a smile. “I got in my car, drove to Victory Lane. There were two photographers there, no team guys. I was able to kind of get my team guys a nice little elbow bump there as I left Victory Lane, tell them great job. Those guys didn’t get a chance to take a picture with their car. Just a lot of sacrifices that go into it.”
“But in the end, in the big picture of things, being able to do what we did today, and that’s race, is what everybody wants to do.”
But the veteran of nearly two Cup Series decades was proud to put on a show at a time the country needed it the most.
“There’s a lot of people that put a lot of effort into this,” he remarked. “I’m glad it went the way that it went. I hope people that watched for the first time liked what they saw. This is a unique racetrack here at Darlington. In the end, it’s just having that opportunity to present yourself to new people. Hopefully, you can make a lot of new fans as you go forward.”
Harvick has been by far the most consistent driver during the interrupted NASCAR season. He is the only driver to appear in the top ten in each of the five races run thus far and leads the points standings over Alex Bowman, whose No. 88 Chevrolet appeared in Sunday’s runner-up slot.
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – MAY 17: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford, leads Alex Bowman, driver of the #88 ChevyGoods.com NOCO Chevrolet, during the NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 17, 2020 in Darlington, South Carolina. NASCAR resumes the season after the nationwide lockdown due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
It was Bowman who gave Harvick his biggest challenge of the afternoon. The Hendrick Motorsports star and winner of this spring’s race at Fontana lined up next to Harvick on what became the final restart after a caution for Ryan’s Newman’s spin on lap 254. Harvick’s No. 4 team won the ensuing race off of pit road before its driver held off a furious challenge from Bowman and Kurt Busch. The Busch Light-branded Ford then drove off to Harvick’s first Darlington victory since August 2014.
“I feel like watching it back, I could have been really aggressive and cut the corner into one a little bit and maybe cleared him. I was already pretty aggressive with that,” Bowman said in another Zoom call. “Maybe I could have acted like I was going to clear myself and got him to lift. If he doesn’t lift, we both crash. In three and four I got loose under him. He did a good job of getting on my door, taking some side force away.”
“That’s tough. You’re racing one of the best in the business at one of the most technical, hard racetracks we go to. Just to have the opportunity to race him hard and clean like that was a lot of fun.”
NASCAR will remain at Darlington as they continue a quest to run all 36 races on their docket. The lower-tier Xfinity Series win run on Tuesday night (8:00 p.m. ET, FS1) before the Cup Series returns to action on Wednesday with the Toyota 500 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1). The 500-kilometer race will run for 228 laps around the 1.5-mile track.
Race Notes
The first lap of action provided instant fireworks, as Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 47 Chevrolet spun and hit the wall before completing his opening circuit. It brought out the first of ten Sunday caution flags. Stenhouse wound up finishing dead-last in 40th.
Included in the yellow flags was a competition pause shortly after the 30th lap. The field was frozen, allowing the teams to get extended adjustments on pit road while neither gaining or losing position.
Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson nearly won the first stage of the race, but a crash right before its finale at lap 90 ended his day early. Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet hit the way when he ran out room trying to put Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Ford a lap down. The 38th-place finisher announced earlier this month that the series’ pause would not change his plans to retire from full-time racing at the end of this season.
After Johnson’s wreck, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron took home the first stage. Byron’s day would likewise take a turn for the worse shortly after, as his No. 24 Chevrolet cut a tire and wrecked on lap 111. He would bring the car home in the 35th spot, 14 laps down.
The day wasn’t a total loss for Hendrick’s squad. Bowman finished in the runner-up spot while Chase Elliott finished fourth. Bowman recently signed a deal that would keep him with Hendrick through the 2021 season. He has driven the No. 88 Chevrolet full-time since 2018
Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas took up three spots in the top ten. Defending Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin rounded out the first five while Martin Truex Jr. finished right behind him. Erik Jones pulled off the trifecta at eighth.
Rookies had a banner day at Darlington, with Tyler Reddick (7th) and John Hunter Nemechek (9th) pulling off top ten finishes. Nemechek’s posting in the No. 38 Ford was the first top ten finish for the underfunded Front Row Motorsports at a track other than Daytona or Talladega since August 2017.
Veteran returns were a common theme as the series itself made a comeback. Matt Kenseth finished 10th in his first race in the No. 42 Chevrolet since replacing the disgraced Kyle Larson. Meanwhile, Newman recovered from his spin to finish 15th. It was his first race in the No. 6 Ford after being involved in a scary wreck at the end of February’s season-opening Daytona 500.
With qualifying canceled, the starting lineup for Wednesday’s event was set by inverting the top 20 finishers. Thus, 20th-place man Ryan Preece will lead the field to the green, while Ty Dillon (19th) lines up next to him. The positions outside the first 20 will be set by their Sunday finishing positions (i.e. 21st-place finisher Bubba Wallace will start 21st on Wednesday).
Set to return on Sunday, NASCAR updated their series schedule through late June. The slate includes visits to Bristol and Talladega.
As NASCAR inches closer toward returning, its front office announced its moves beyond May.
NASCAR unveiled a schedule update on Thursday afternoon, with each of its three national series set to continue action into late June. This second stage of revival will come after NASCAR completes a series of seven races over eleven days at Darlington and Charlotte Motor Speedway. The premiere Cup Series division is set to make its return from the COVID-19 pandemic pause on Sunday afternoon with the Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox).
“As we prepare for our return to racing at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, the industry has been diligent in building the return-to-racing schedule,” NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell said in a statement. “We are eager to expand our schedule while continuing to work closely with the local governments in each of the areas we will visit. We thank the many government officials for their guidance, as we share the same goal in our return – the safety for our competitors and the communities in which we race.”
The racing body has remained committed to running every race amongst its three national levels in the wake of the pandemic. Darlington and Charlotte are each set to host a pair of Cup races over the next two weeks, while the “minor league” Xfinity Series will run a single race at the respective tracks. Another lower-tier set, the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, will return on May 26 at Charlotte. The Cup Series has 32 races remaining on its slate, having run the first four prior to the virus-induced hiatus.
Under this new schedule, the series will descend upon tracks at Bristol, Atlanta, Martinsville, Miami, and Talladega. Much like the events at Darlington and Charlotte, these events will be run without spectators. In accordance with the new schedule, events in Kansas, Michigan, and Mid-Ohio were postponed and those at Iowa Speedway were canceled. The June visit to Talladega also sets up a return for the top division Automobile Racing Club of America, another lower-tier was bought out by NASCAR in 2018.
In addition to the schedule news, NASCAR also unveiled the starting lineup for the first race of the revival. Drivers were chosen at random in tiers based on their spot in the car owners’ standings. For example, the top dozen were assigned the top twelve positions, followed by those in the 13th through 24th-place slots. NASCAR has eschewed qualifying as it returns to action, but an exception will be made for the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte on May 24.
Brad Keselowski was the lucky winner of Sunday’s pole position, meaning he will start first at the Real Heroes 400. The driver of Roger Penske’s No. 2 Ford is currently tied for eighth with Matt DiBenedetto in the points standings. He has finished no worse than 15th in each of his last five Darlington Cup events, which includes a win at the 2018 Bojangles’ Southern 500. Alex Bowman will start alongside him in the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
Other notables in the Darlington field include Matt Kenseth at 12th. The 2003 Cup Series champion will be making his first start since November 2018 in place of the disgraced Kyle Larson in the No. 42 Chevrolet. Meanwhile, Ryan Newman will start 21st in his first start in the No. 6 Ford since missing three races with injuries sustained in a scary crash at the end of February’s Daytona 500. Points leader Kevin Harvick will start in the sixth position.
Recognized as one of the most active Brooklyn Nets on Twitter, Spencer Dinwiddie had a few drinks on Sunday night and decided to share his thoughts on the NBA possibly salvaging the rest of this season. Here are a series of Dinwiddie’s tweets from Sunday night:
So uhhhhh it’s Mother’s Day, and the wine has been flowing. Unfortunately… or fortunately this has led to me stewing on our current predicament. LBJ says play. Shaq says pack it up…
If a vaccine won’t be readily available for 12-18months (could be wrong), why wouldn’t we cancel the season? Especially since any championship won this year will have a major asterisk and we don’t play for JUST the regular season. But Maybe that’s the #LastDance talking.
Regardless, it also seems like a return to play results in a quarantine bubble scenario. If that’s the case you’re asking guys to leave their families for several months and remain in an enclosed area which seems difficult at best.
Assuming you do go down this route and our desire not to conflict with football you could get the Christmas start date that executives have wanted for a minute and avoid the moral hazard of forcing play during peak contagion.
Would probably look like renting out a section of Disney world and allowing 5-10 or so family slots per player to make it desirable. Test to get in. Organized entry dates if there are people that exit. And do a complete season.
Almost aau/summer league style. Play games from 10am-10pm. Would dominate tv considering the lack of live sports and assuming it would be difficult to continue reality tv shows as well people at home wouldn’t have many alternatives.
Can also make games more interactive, trivia, QR code’s etc that present rewards to encourage active viewership and participation which I would guess would actually boost revenue. (Call me @NBA y’all know I got ideas 🤙🏾)
So according to Dinwiddie, saving this season is not worth it the reasons he listed. He also has a very creative thought process as to how the NBA could play next season without fans. I personally find Dinwiddie’s plan for the NBA extremely feasible and really think the NBA could stand to gain something from listening to his and other players’ suggestions.
Denny Hamlin completed a bookend of victories in NASCAR’s virtual setup. Afterward, he talked about the circuit’s return to real racing.
Denny Hamlin has accomplished plenty over 16 seasons of FedEx-branded racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. His trophy case holds three Harley J. Earl Trophies (earned by the winner of the Daytona 500), the 2006 Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award, and the laurels from 54 other races over NASCAR’s three national series. He added another victory on Saturday afternoon, winning the North Wilkesboro 160 virtual event on the iRacing platform.
His most cherished racing memory, however, might be a last-place finish.
The moment came when the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was competing in an eNASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series race at a recreation of Talladega Superspeedway last month. Hamlin’s day was ended by no competitor, but rather someone bearing his name.
His seven-year-old daughter Taylor accidentally turned off Hamlin’s monitor during the race, putting him off the pace and relegating him to a posting of 39th in the event labeled the GEICO 70.
I had so many questions about what just happened.. then we found 2nd hand footage at the end. I cannot believe it. pic.twitter.com/BfN1sNAsg8
Taylor’s gaffe, as well as her father’s exaggerated reaction, immediately went viral. On Saturday, Hamlin declared he wouldn’t have traded the comedic sequence for anything on the track.
“To see Taylor’s shenanigans reaching huge media outlets in L.A., here, everywhere, on TMZ, that’s good,” Hamlin said in a conference call. “Even though I’m (angry) because my day is over, I wouldn’t have traded that moment for anything. I would take that moment and keep it versus winning Talladega.”
“To me, it was just something that I enjoy talking about. Taylor gets such a kick watching it, the highlights and everything that’s been put together about it. It’s just a life moment that, hey, even though we didn’t win, it didn’t turn out well results‑wise, it still was a life moment that was really good for both of us.”
The eyes of the nation will turn to NASCAR under more serious circumstances this week. Most North American sports organizations have been mired in “one step forward, two steps back” stagnance as the continent tries to reclaim some semblance of normalcy during the COVID-19 pandemic. NASCAR, on the other hand, has embarked on an ambitious plan to move forward.
Over the next few weeks, the NASCAR Cup Series will descend upon two of its most renowned tracks to restart its engines. The reopening begins on Sunday afternoon at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox).
Myrtle Beach’s Darlington will host a second race next Wednesday night before the circuit holds another pair of races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Among the latter track’s offerings will be the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24, continuing a Memorial Day weekend tradition dating back to 1961. The race is the longest event (600 miles) on the Cup Series ledger. NASCAR also plans to run races from its lower-tier national circuits, the Xfinity and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, at the tracks as well.
(Photo by Nick Laham/NASCAR via Getty Images)
Hamlin knows the series will be watched with great scrutiny as one of the first major leagues to return on the wake of the ongoing situation.
“I have two kids. They run a temperature all the time. It’s a little nervous for me knowing that you could get a fever or something like that, and it maybe will scare you into thinking you have something that you don’t,” Hamlin said. “Obviously, there will be a huge microscope on how we’re doing things, making sure it’s done in a safe manner. For all of us, (there is) just the unknown of making sure we’re doing it the right way.”
The Ultimate Fighting Championship showed just how hard a return can be. While many fans relished the proceedings in Jacksonville on Saturday night (held in an empty VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena), not everything went off without a hitch. Champion fighter Ronaldo Souza and two of his cornermen each tested positive for COVID-19 but the event was able to press on.
While on-track racing will make its return, it’s apparent the events over the next two weeks are the first phase of a full-on welcome back. After all, using Darlington and Charlotte as de facto bases of operation eliminated events at tracks like Sonoma Raceway, Chicagoland Speedway, and Richmond International Raceway.
The races will be run sans spectators and there will also be no qualifying (with the exception of the 600-mile Cup race) or practice sessions. Social distancing protocols will continue to be maintained. Hamlin, in fact, joked that the required six-feet of separation may be perfect for aggressive racing, as the heated confrontations seen after on-track get-togethers may have to be put on hold until the health situation is further under control.
“If there’s ever a time to be aggressive, probably ruffle some feathers, this is probably the time to do it,” Hamlin said with a laugh. “You don’t have to face consequences right after the race.”
Jokes aside, Hamlin’s confidence was a common theme of his call.
Directly declaring that “we’re going to be able to do this and it should be pretty effective”, Hamlin stated that NASCAR is a bit of advantage due to its status as a non-contact sport…at least in terms of bodies and not sheet metal.
“I’m pretty certain that no matter what, we’re in an advantage because we’re a non‑contact sport, especially with the players themselves,” he said. “I’m confident that we can go from our street car that we drive to the racetrack, into our racecar, not be within six feet of anyone, except for the person that is on the window net.”
Hamlin currently sits 11th in the Cup Series standings with 32 races remaining on the 36-event docket. He’s more or less guaranteed a spot in this fall’s postseason thanks to a win in February’s Daytona 500. Kevin Harvick is the current leader by a single tally over Joey Logano.
The virtual proceedings gave Hamlin a bit of momentum going into the resumption. Saturday’s victory allowed Hamlin to sandwich the Pro Invitational Series with a pair of victories, having also won the opening event at Homestead-Miami Speedway’s recreation back in March.
It should be perhaps no surprise that Hamlin was one of the more successful drivers during the simulations. He had made over 160 starts and had won 30 prior races before iRacing went mainstream.
Virtual races allowed NASCAR to maintain an audience on the networks of Fox Sports during the shutdown of sports. The Food City Showdown at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 5, for example, drew 1.3 million viewers. With team budgets rendered meaningless on iRacing, several new faces breached the top of the leaderboard. For example, Timmy Hill was the de facto “winner” of the Pro Invitational Series, determined to have been leading the points standings had they been kept. Hill is the driver of the No. 66 Toyota for the underfunded MBM Motorsports and has over 1,600 iRacing events under his belt. He finished in the top three (including a runner-up finish at North Wilkesboro) in all but one race.
iRacing also briefly brought some legends of the circuit of retirement. Four-time Cup Series champion and current Fox commentator Jeff Gordon ran the Talladega and North Wilkesboro events, while 2000 Cup champ Bobby Labonte worked as Hamlin’s teammate in a return to Joe Gibbs Racing. Other popular competitors included Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle. North Wilkesboro itself was another blast from the past, given a virtual resurgence after hosting its last NASCAR in 1996.
Hamlin believes the competition during the pixelated races will only up the excitement factor on the track.
“Throughout the entire week, guys are running hundreds and hundreds of laps at these tracks to get better because they want to put on a good showing, they want to be competitive. That’s what drives us to be the racecar drivers that we are in real life, is the fire to want to be better.”
“You have to use the same techniques that make you good in iRacing that make you good in real life. It’s not like playing Madden or NBA 2K where you’re using your hand‑eye coordination pushing the buttons. You’re using the gas, brakes, running two at the same time, steering wheel. Everything is the same.”
“I take pride in that. Hey, if everything is equal, I’ve won a couple of times, I feel pretty good about where I’m at as a driver. Certainly, I think there’s some confidence that will spill over for a few weeks.”
The real track will look a bit different once we get back underway. Returning to the track will be Ryan Newman, who restarts in Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 Ford. Newman was involved in a scary wreck at the end of the aforementioned Daytona 500 but walked away with relatively minor injuries.
Also due for a return is 2003 Cup Series victor Matt Kenseth, but his return comes under less pleasant circumstances. Kenseth will take over Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 Chevrolet after its regular driver, Kyle Larson, was caught using a racial slur during an iRacing streaming event.
Hamlin, a close friend of Larson’s, condemned his comments while mentioning there could be a spot for his return in the future.
“Obviously he put himself in a really bad spot saying something that was totally inappropriate. But, you know, people make mistakes. A lot of people make mistakes. Hopefully, he’s back in Cup racing sooner than later,” he said. “I think if he wants to come back, there is a path for him back. He’s been doing all the right things as far as what I’ve heard.”
But the focus is now on the present, where Hamlin will look to chase down an elusive Cup Series title. He has finished in the top four of the final standings in four separate years, including a fourth-place finish last year.
The championship can wait for now. He’s only looking forward to the first laps at Darlington, as a green flag will signal not only the start of the race, but a potential step forward for a reeling nation looking for any semblance of good news.
“I trust my crew chief and team with Joe Gibbs Racing, we have enough smart people that we feel like this is a place where we can get an advantage,” he said. “Everyone thinks that, with all organizations. Hey, I trust my guys, and I like the unknowns.”
According to reports, the MLB is beginning to work out the final details for the 2020 season. On Monday, the league will be on a conference call with representatives from all 30 teams, and the proposal could be sent to the players union as early as Tuesday. From there, a vote will decide whether the league goes forward with the plan.
From what we are hearing, the season will be about 80 games, so about half a regular season. If the league starts in early July, that will end the regular season around the same time as usual. From there, a 14 team playoff format would be adapted.
The regular season will feature three divisions; the East, Central, and West. The AL and NL teams of each division will combine to form the divisions. For example, the Yankees would be in the same division as usual but combined with the NL East. Regular season games would be against division teams only, and in as many home ballparks as possible. If the Postseason is indeed in October, home stadiums should still be feasible in terms of weather.
Also, ending the season around when it would end usually will be good in the fact that it won’t shorten the offseason and push back 2021 Opening Day more. Opening Day in 2021 will likely be pushed back anyway, with it being a World Baseball Classic year (WBC).
Something that Dr. Anthony Fauci has mentioned before is the possibility of limited attendance at games. Fans would have to space out around the ballpark to social distance, but it may be a way for teams to make some revenue and allow people to see a game.
It’s great to hear that the MLB is nearing a plan, and hopefully, it’s a plan that the players association will approve.
Jeff Passan reported on Wednesday on SportsCenter that several MLB teams are telling their players to “get ready.” Passan said that right now, there isn’t an official date, but there is increased speculation about a Spring Training report date of June 10th with Opening Day on July 1st. Former MLB player Trevor Plouffe tweeted that he’s heard those dates of late.
Passan also said that “the expectation is that MLB is going to be coming to the Players Association with a plan in the coming days, to a week-plus or so.” This basically means that if approved by the Players Association, the season will be set.
However, several executives are becoming a bit worried about increasing coronavirus numbers in states that are relaxing restrictions, per Ken Rosenthal. Severe enough outbreaks could shutdown the season again, making it “difficult for baseball to resume.”
Cases will likely increase in most states as they open up, at least for some time. With so many people needing to work to support their families, most states have had no option but to reopen. Strict social distancing and travel guidelines in reopened states need to be enforced to slow the spread while making the economy function.
If states open and they can’t control the spread with guidelines, then everything will have to get shut down to regain control of the situation. That would include baseball and other sports, at least in those states.
Even with increasing cases in some states, the MLB is still planning to go ahead with the season. We have no idea how long the season will be, but it will be better than nothing. Baseball will have an opportunity to be the center of attention again and try to gain back fans they’ve lost along the way.
Like most other sports, the New York Rangers and the NHL are trying to figure out ways in which their season can resume sometime in 2020. The leagues and teams face many hurdles to this happening, and recently, the NHL/NHLPA Return to Play Committee met and expressed the concerns of some players regarding proposed plans to resume the season.
Some players are not in favor of quarantining for months at a time
During their podcast on TSN, Ray Ferraro and Darren Dreger reported that numerous NHL players have voiced their concerns about any scenario that sees them being away from their families for an extended period of time. This comes as the latest plan in which any return to play would focus on centralized locations. This would see any return to play happen in just a handful of cities, and require players and staff to be away from people that are not involved in playing or running the games. Some of these scenarios would not involve the New York Rangers, such as a situation in which the NHL would just start their 16 team playoff this summer. The Rangers would not qualify for that scenario.
The latest idea to address the player’s concerns would have teams going back to home arenas. This may mean that the NHL would not open until later in the summer as there are many potential teams who are in cities that are hotspots for the current pandemic. In addition to New York, officials in California and Toronto have expressed concerns about having such events.
Testing and Travel remain major concerns
Testing remains a major issue to reopening in any form as the league grapples with matters including the availability of test kits, cost, reliability, and speed of results. In addition, leagues are wary of taking away resources from the general public, something that would not make the league look good. Also, the league would have to factor in any and all travel considerations and the means with which to test players and attendant personnel who live in locations that have different rules and laws concerning these situations.
Like the NBA, another scenario being floated is to allow immediate families in these “biospheres”, so players would not have to be separated from loved ones. While this is a viable option, it does add to the concerns that have already been listed. These are not easy decisions, but like everything that we have seen so far, nothing is easy.
Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai has not only done a great job on the court, but he recently has begun to prove he does the right thing off the court as well. Tsai, in combination with the Piston’s owner Tom Gores, recently donated 350,000 KN95 masks and 100,000 medical goggles to the city of Detroit. According to the NY Post article, their plan is to send the masks to “COVID-19 testing centers, homeless shelters and frontline workers of transportation and police departments.” The Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation were responsible for the donation to Detroit after they imported the supplies from China.
Tsai and his wife, Clara, have been heavily active in the fight against Coronavirus. Clara Tsai represents the Nets on governor Andrew Cuomo’s reopening board. “Many cities in America have been hit hard by the pandemic. Clara and I wish to help the people of Detroit get through these difficult times, and we are grateful that Tom and his organization readily stepped up to help us distribute the supplies,” Tsai said in regards to his contribution. “We have a history of friendship with Detroit and I want to thank Mayor Duggan for directing the PPE to where they are needed most.”
Along with his donation to Detroit, Tsai has also been a mega factor in providing PPE and ventilators to hospitals in New York, New Jersey, and California. He is one of the owners in the NBA who has promised to pay all his employees, both part-time and full time, who work at the Barclays Center. This expense will cost Tsai around $6 million dollars when all is said and done.
As certain states in America begin to loosen restrictions on their stay-at-home order, it seems as though the NBA will allow certain team facilities to begin opening in the next few weeks. While Adrian Wojnarowski reported this news on Saturday, Shams Charania broke down the news further earlier today in several tweets.
Sources: If an NBA team facility’s city is no longer subject to stay-at-home order, it may make facility open potentially starting May 8:
– Individual workouts; no more than four players permitted at facility at one time
– Max of one team staffer in person
Teams were also informed today that players are not allowed to use any practice/training facility for workouts other than his NBA team. https://t.co/AKaXnfmJoe
Marc Stein tweeted shortly thereafter the guidelines regarding the opening of practice facilities in specific states. The restrictions stated in the memo include no more than four players being permitted at a facility at any one time, no head or assistant coaches can participate, no group activity meaning practices or scrimmages, and players remained prohibited from using non-team facilities such as public health clubs, gyms, etc.
Even with restrictions being lifted in certain areas of the country, there are still several franchises pushing back against the NBA initiative. The Atlanta Hawks, who play in a state (Georgia) where restrictions have been lifted, are hesitant to send players into the team facility as early as next Friday. Woj details the reason why the Hawks and other NBA franchises are not keen on opening the facilities so soon in the tweet below:
NBA has received significant pushback from teams about idea of re-opening practice facilities in selected states and municipalities, team officials tell ESPN. Competive balance hasn’t been issue — player/staff safety has. Teams are still awaiting a more detailed NBA plan today.
It is yet to be determined if the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks would be among the teams allowed to return to their practice facilities on May 8th, though they will most likely not be, since the Covid-19 pandemic has hit New York harder than anywhere else in the country.
