It Is All About The Squirrels, Isn't It?

Hockey has a something of a plan. Basketball is heading towards one. The NFL thinks it should be business as usual by the time the season begins. Baseball is having a lot more difficulty in getting to a point where games can be played.

Let’s briefly look at the NHL’s model. The NHLPA and the the NHL agreed upon a 24 team playoff system with some wrinkles within. The top four teams in each conference play a round robin small tournament to decide seeding for the next round. Meanwhile, the remaining 8 teams are seeded 5 through 12 and play #5 versus #12, #6 against #11, #7 takes on #10 and #8 and #9 clash. All may be best of 5 series, although the length of the first two rounds has not been set.  What is unresolved is if there will be a reseeding in the next round in case there are upsets.

What is my level of interest in this? Curious at best. I hope that no one gets sick during the playoffs, although I feel that is an unlikely scenario. Playing without fans will be different; will there be piped in noise? 

A number of sites have been identified as possible locales—some of them are home to playoff teams and it is unclear if any team will be playing in its home arena. The likelihood is slim that one of those cities will be in Canada given the current 14 day quarantine rules; the league and Canadian government are engaging in ongoing talks. For certain, according to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, all of the Eastern Conference will congregate in one Eastern Conference city while the same will occur with the Western Conference. It is unclear where the Stanley Cup Finals would be held. 

The entire operation is dependent upon what happens with the COVID-19 virus. The NHL knows it isn’t going away. Each team will travel with 50 personnel, including players, coaches and staff. There must be sufficient testing ability and governmental approval for the chosen hub cities. Thus, in announcing this plan, Commissioner Bettman stated  “(W)hile nothing is without risk, assuming health and safety has been central to all of our planning so far  and will remain so.”

There are significant questions with this proposition. Besides a lot of decisions on how the series will be played, there is little direction when this might occur.  Bettman noted : “At this time, we are not fixing dates because  the schedule of our return to play will be determined both by developing circumstances and the needs of the players.” All I have read is that practicing might happen near July 10, at the start of phase 3 of the Return to Play Plan.  

I haven’t read anything about what will happen if a player tests positive during the playoffs and how this would affect his team. Disqualifying any team would de-legitimize the integrity of the plan. What about masks worn by the players? Nothing has been said on that topic. And will there be more or less fighting given the gravity of the situation?

Bettman also left open the possibility that home arenas could be used if circumstances warrant them and fans might be admitted. That is overly ambitious and reeks of trouble. 

The other professional sports are reviewing the NHL plan to see if they can incorporate aspects into their visions for resuming play. But they must keep an eye out for what is happening with the virus, too. There are some states where hot spots exist that didn’t just last week. It is a fluid situation, for lack of a better term. 

One more thing on the NHL. The New Jersey Devils failed to make the playoffs, losing to Pittsburgh in their final game played before the suspension of play. This allowed Montreal to take the 12th and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. A late run towards respectability got New Jersey to .500 before the loss to the Penguins. It might have been fun to see how the Devils would have fared. While the teams are seeded by their winning percentages, it will be like a whole new season, with each team starting with no wins. Handicapping this playoff format using what has happened so far will not suffice. 

The NBA is still trying to determine if it will conclude the regular season with some games, or like the NHL, go straight into a 16 team playoff, or include New Orleans (Zion Williamson) and a few others in a 20 or 22 team version with some regular season contests. Like their NHL counterparts, the players want to play and determine a champion, if at all possible. Nothing has materialized and the sport is weeks away from beginning whatever the NBAPA, headed by Houston guard Chris Paul, and Commissioner Adam Silver and the league propose.

Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey are permitting pro athletes to enter team facilities and begin working out. The readiness of the players to go to the gyms and fields is obvious. What isn’t so sure is when coaches will be allowed to conduct more formal practices and meetings. The Giants and Jets have not yet opened their facilities. I have read that the Yankees prefer to keep their team in Tampa when players start to report.

I am not going to get into the 2020 NFL outlook because their arrogance is distasteful. Others might call it positiveness about playing at full capacity. There are always at least two sides to each debate. Just remember that the Boston Marathon won’t be run for the first time ever. That foreign soccer teams play before empty stands. The X Games are gone for this year. Movie theaters are not open and many film festivals and concerts aren’t going to happen as planned. Especially with a second wave in the minds of the medical professionals.

Colleges are all over the place on allowing athletes to return. I saw that UNC is having them come back in stages. The University of Alabama plans to have the athletes on campus and students in the fall—except that the ER’s are overflowing in Montgomery, Tuscaloosa and Birmingham with a recent spike. On the other hand, the head of the University of Michigan is a medical doctor and his approach is more cautious and reasonable—no students if they would be endangered, and if the students don’t come back , the players aren’t either and they will not play any games. Again, this is another situation which cannot be calculated, even if the NCAA has released a comprehensive protocol for student-athletes returning to campuses. Governor Phil Murphy has opened up New Jersey enough that Rutgers fall sports can return as early as June 22.

Thus we are left to discuss the baseball situation. Some say it is simply posturing. Others say there is real hostility emerging between the players and the owners. The cause of all their animosity is money. Not surprisingly. 

The owners are looking to maximize their profits and have reneged on a March agreement to compensate the players on a proportional share basis. They want to underpay stars like Mike Trout to pay a little more to some of the lower-salaried players. 

Except that the MLBPA and super agent Scott Boras are not having any of what MLB has to say. It is clear that baseball is cutting back on everything—not paying employees and in some instances not paying money to minor leaguers. For it is highly likely that the 2020 minor league season, normally a highly profitable venture, probably will not be played and many players are being jettisoned or kept on a meager $400 compensation through the end of what would have been the minor league season. (Kudos to the Yankees, who are paying their minor leaguers in June and David Price, the new Dodgers pitcher, who is generously paying $1,000 to 200 LA minor leaguers out of his own pocket—and he hasn’t played in a real game for the Dodgers) Fan Y pointed out to me that he was outraged that a Wall Street Journal article showed that the billionaire ownership of Oakland A’s was unwilling to pay $1 million to their minor leaguers by already ending the aforementioned $400 allotments. 

The pundits feel that the players and the owners have too much to lose by reaching an impasse in their negotiations. They remind us about prior labor stoppages and how the players and the owners had to work overtime and with a bit of luck, recapture the fans. Except that the fans won’t be heading to the stadiums this year due to the coronavirus. 

I am on the players side. I always have been. They have had to scratch and claw their way to the salaries they can command, as ludicrous and disproportionate they might be. There is a ton of money at stake. The product is a very good one. The players deserve their share of the large pot. They, not the owners, are the attraction. 

No matter what happens, baseball will survive. Even if bastardized with the formation of artificial divisions for supposed travel purposes, the fans will watch. The ratings might suffer a bit now, but the goal is to get to next year intact and welcome the fans back into the seats at the exorbitant prices found at major league parks. 

This holds true should the 2020 season go by the wayside. Both side will be blamed. In my mind, the owners are the ones who reneged and they will be the real losers. The millions of unemployed in this country aren’t going to sympathize with the greed and avarice multi-millionaires show during this startling economic crisis borne out of a plague of unimaginable proportions. 

I tend not to venture into the political arena with this blog. I am deeply troubled with the horribly tragic George Floyd/police encounter in Minneapolis. It is another flash point in our terrible saga of race relations, which comes at a time when discontent is higher than ever. I have seen too many times the abuses of the police which were routinely denied and the horrible fate of unjust imprisonment suffered by young men of color.  

`Seemingly a couple times per year we read and watch episodes of excessive force used by police or armed civilians. Yet somehow, the perpetrators of the injustices don’t receive the punishment they deserve.

During this pandemic, we have seen a young black man shot and killed in Georgia when he was jogging. Now we have George Floyd, accused of a non-violent crime, punished inhumanely for over 8 minutes until he died. We have also seen men armed with assault rifles on the steps of the Michigan State Capitol. A supposed liberal white woman who didn’t have a dog on a leash called for the police because she was approached about the dog by a black man who happened to be a bird watcher.

No matter how much we crave justice for these terrible acts, we are not going to see it universally applied in these times when violence and racial tension are applauded by the most powerful. It is a corrupt society right now, and we need to find a way to locate our equilibrium. 

The violence of this week—both the actions of the Minneapolis police and the rioting thereafter, just like the horrific school shootings in Connecticut and Florida as well as the gunning down of innocents in Las Vegas, are part of a profound dilemma which must be addressed. I wish I had the answers. I suffer with all those who cry out for decency.

George Floyd was a man seeking redemption. Once a promising athlete in high school and a college basketball player in Florida, his life turned in his native Houston with a five year term for an armed robbery. He sought a new life in Minnesota, working as a bouncer. 

But COVID-19 swallowed up his job and consequently his life. So sad and so maddening. Violence begetting violence is not one of the answers we seek.

With so many people flaunting their resentment for governmental restraint over the COVID-19 policies by gathering in groups and not wearing masks, do we think that reform really has a chance? Too much selfishness and very little social consciousness causes this attitude. Which isn’t going to change very soon. 

Unfortunately, there will be more George Floyd and Eric Garner incidents with the police. Race and money are at the center of our misconduct. When a President who acted Presidential is disparaged repeatedly with the not too subtle subtext of his race, the message of hate is clear. This country is in shambles with selfishness and unemployment at all time highs during a chilling pandemic that has caused over 100,000 deaths. 

Flattening the curve has many meanings. Once we achieve it with the coronavirus, then with our economy, we need to flatten the curve of hate and racism. Unfortunately, time is not an ally. Without that, what good are the other two prongs? 

While we painfully see this tragedy play itself out, I bide my time at home, watching the squirrels run around recklessly, ripping up gardens, tearing off tree branches, establishing their turf with reckless abandon. I want to reach out and do something but I can’t. There are more of them and they are quicker than I am.

Observing squirrels is complicated. We would be at a loss without their machinations. They frustrate me and I abhor them. And they are seemingly immune to the pandemic, but mindful of heir own worth. Squirrels are fascinating and entertaining at times.

For it is the same in sports and in life, too. It is all about the squirrels, isn’t it?

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: I Wish I Could Stop Thinking Of COVID

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: I Wish I Could Stop Thinking Of COVID: I am so tired of harping about the inherent dangers of opening professional and college sports in this tenuous time, when surges might eas...

I Wish I Could Stop Thinking Of COVID

I am so tired of harping about the inherent dangers of opening professional and college sports in this tenuous time, when surges might easily occur and without the necessary safeguards advocated by the top medical professionals. If this Memorial Day passes without a significant  uptick in the number of new COVID-19 cases, the pros and the colleges will feel emboldened.

Perhaps they will be right, for now. Maybe we will get through this phase of the pandemic without a serious recurrence of the havoc we witnessed in the last 3 months, for which we were so unprepared. And for which we still are unprepared should areas of the country experience major spikes. 

I guess it is like taking hydroxychloroquine. Despite the dire warnings for its use, there are those who believe it protects against the COVID virus. They’d better be right—lives depend on it. 

All I see on TV sports news are the return dates and activities surrounding the different professional sports and fall college athletics. Of course, those and subsequent articles dwell on the major financial losses which will occur if the games aren’t played this fall. 

But let’s look at the human component. On Friday, it was disclosed that Patrick Ewing, former Knicks great and current head basketball coach at Georgetown, his alma mater, has been hospitalized with the coronavirus. 

While the news is upsetting given the icon Ewing is in New York and D.C., this exemplifies the problems facing the decision makers about opening schools and permitting sports—with or without fans, as some are proposing.  Both Washington and Baltimore have been identified as hot beds of the virus, especially in cities which are predominantly homes to minorities. 

Epidemiologists from the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania have identified places where the pandemic will continue with great force or where there will be surges in infections. Besides the Baltimore-Washington area, Houston is expected to face increases in the number affected by COVID-19. The state of Tennessee is another place they identified. States which reopened earlier, like Florida, Georgia and Alabama are seeing surges of infected individuals. That’s SEC territory—the same conference which has assented to student/athletes working out on campus. And Florida is where the NBA may set up shop to conclude the 2019-20 season, the Buccaneers will hold practices and MLB will play games or hold some second spring trainings. 

We all wish for a full and complete recovery for Patrick Ewing. How many others will be similarly affected is entirely up to those driven by staving off financial peril. Good luck. I mean it. Because with the plans put there, luck is all that they have working for them. 

Friday was also a very sad day for many NBA fans, especially in Chicago and Utah. Jerry Sloan, former Bulls great and one of the best coaches in NBA history with the Jazz, has died from complications of Parkinson’s Disease and dementia. He was 78. 

Sloan is in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Head Coach of the Utah Jazz for 23 seasons, he spent a total of 34 years with the organization. His teams featured tough, in-your-face defense, which was a hallmark of his playing days with the Bulls. His teams, first in Chicago for 3 seasons and then in Utah, won 1,221 games. Presently, that places him fourth all-time in wins. 

He coached two Hall of Fame players. Karl Malone and John Stockton are as synonymous with the Utah Jazz as was Sloan. The trio made it to two NBA Finals, losing to the Michael Jordan-led Bulls on both occasions. 

Sloan was a winner. He understood what it took to win, both as a player and a coach. While his Bulls teams never reached the NBA Finals during his playing days, it was clear that his tenacity and fiery disposition separated him from other players. 

He was known as “The Original Bull,” having been selected by the franchise in the 1966 expansion draft. In 11 years with Chicago, the former Evansville star averaged 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 785 games over 11 seasons. He was a two-time All-Star and a Defensive Player of the Year. He still is the only NBA player to average more than seven rebounds and two assists per game. These are the reasons why his number 4 jersey is retired in Chicago.

Sloan was revered by his peers as well as those who played for him and against his teams. He was a leader on the Bulls teams, coalescing a group of players whose names are familiar to those who followed the NBA in the ’60’s and ’70’s—Bob Love, Chet Walker and his antagonist turned friend, Norm Van Lier. 

Van Lier and Sloan battled during a game and it carried into the stands and corridors. They were sworn enemies on the court. When the Bulls had the opportunity to get Van Lier from the Cincinnati Royals, Sloan was all in on the trade, citing Van Lier’s similar competitiveness. 

One of the NBA greats has passed away. His legacy with my generation of Bulls fans and for multiple levels of Jazz fans will persevere. 

Again, this Sunday, there will be limited live sports entertainment. NASCAR will be running the Coca Cola 500 in North Carolina, without fans. 

Golf will given us a “dream” team matchup of Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning  versus Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady. Playing an alternate ball format, the shots are going to be wild, with the on-the-course bantering being far more entertaining. I might even tune in for a look see. 

The Jets made a wise investment in signing former Super Bowl QB Joe Flacco as a high priced backup to the oft-injured Sam Darnold. His base salary is less than what Dallas is paying Andy Dalton to backup Dak Prescott. Flacco is expected to be fully recovered from of season neck surgery. 

All Pro safety Jamal Adams and the Jets see to have reached an impasse in extended contract negotiations. Rumors abound that Dallas remains interested in acquiring the shut down DB. A fair asking price has been estimated to be first and third round draft choices. 

Yankees left hander James Paxton has announced that he is fully ready to return when and if baseball starts up for the 2020 season. That is very good news for New York. 

Meanwhile, the MLBPA has answered the 67 page document forwarded by MLB about the 2020 season. The players find a lot of the structure to be unrealistic.

Aaron Judge’s name popped up this week. For a good reason. He has donated headphones to New York and California schools. Students in New York and fourth graders at Linden Elementary School in his hometown will also receive free streaming music lessons. In his message about the gift, Judge  said: “Stay positive, stay focused and we’ll get through this together.” How can you not like this guy?

Then again, I wonder if the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest will be on tap for July 4th? New York’s Mayor Bill DeBlasio will have his hands tied with that one and social distancing.  ESPN will be very upset without that event on its list.

So I return full circle to COVID. I recognize that the major college sports leaders estimate losses in the range of $4 billion without football. I saw an article that recalled in 1918, the Spanish flu wreaked havoc with college football. Pittsburgh and Michigan tied for the mythical National Championship based on a season of 5 games, with a deadly second wave shutting down sports. Army and Navy didn’t play that year. 

It is Memorial Day. A time for reflection and remembrance. As well as a time for barbecues and trips to the beaches and  lakes, baseball, golf, tennis and the Indianapolis 500,  as the unofficial start to Summer is upon us. 

Except that these are far from normal times. While beaches are open, they come with restrictions of many types. Thankfully in the Northeast, Saturday is a soggy day, eliminating the mess which is bound to occur. 

The days thereafter will be sunny and warm, which will bring throngs to the shore, since so many are out of work and people are absolutely chafing from cabin fever, as related to me by Fan X. Unfortunately, we know that they will not all abide by social distancing or wear protective masks. Which could lead to tragic results.

I hope that the sports powers that be watch what is happening and are flexible with their thoughts and plans. I hope that they don’t fall into the trap that Americans believe—that we are conquering the war against the coronavirus as we reduce the numbers of infections and death.

Make no mistake—this virus is resilient. If history is our guide, we are in for a second, more powerful wave. I would like to be up and about without restriction. That simply is not the case.

Which is why we don’t have sports right now and why we hold our breath hoping to see our heroes compete in safe environs.

That is why I wish I could stop thinking about COVID-19. Not only is it a pandemic, it has created an epidemic in my mind which I can’t seem to eliminate.  

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Show Me The Money!

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Show Me The Money!: A glimpse of summer heat. Air conditioning was on full blast. Jersey Shore beaches were open. Friday night T-storms. The Yankees were play...

Show Me The Money!

A glimpse of summer heat. Air conditioning was on full blast. Jersey Shore beaches were open. Friday night T-storms. The Yankees were playing at the Stadium before an almost packed house.

Don’t be fooled. While the heat furnace that Friday offered is a one day event as is the use of the air conditioner, none of the rest is the way it should be. 

Although the beaches were open, only for walking and swimming were permitted. The boardwalks were fuller, but they were populated by the curious who were socially distancing and wearing masks to protect the spread of the coronavirus. 

And no, the Yankees were not playing, and are nowhere near playing this season, if at all. MLB has given the MLBPA a proposal which entails an 82 game schedule and a 50-50 split of revenue. 

Rays star pitcher Blake Snell was  the first to signal that this was unacceptable. A bit over dramatic, Snell pointed to the fact that the players would be grossly underpaid in the MLB proposal. 

Previously, the owners and players agreed to a pro-rated payment of salaries. That is off  the table and the rank and file of the union are not very pleased. Rightly so.

This is the owners trying to make as much money from a season where they are going to take a big financial hit. It is also a ruse—the owners have been attempting, seemingly forever,  to establish a salary cap on players salaries. To them, this is an opportunity to try once more to control the players and enhance their own revenue stream, amidst the clamor for baseball in a society looking for the normalcy which major league baseball offers. 

I don’t know if this is maneuvering by both sides with a middle ground available for baseball to be played in 2020. Not that I am necessarily for it, based upon the risk factors Snell cited in his interview and which medical professionals have warned us about. 

What is certain is this—the players and the owners are at a place which could determine if baseball is played this Summer. A lot more must be discussed and agreed upon. It is mid-May. Time is not an ally for either side. 

Meanwhile, good news from Yankees GM Brian Cashman about a number of injured stars. Aaron Judge is healing as expected; the team does not anticipate his return until mid-summer, which would coincide with the proposed schedule. Aaron Hicks ,rehabbing from shoulder surgery, is on schedule to return this summer. Lefty pitcher James Paxton is throwing simulated games, which means he is healed from his surprise back surgery.

Perhaps the most surprising Yankees news was a picture of a slim, muscular C.C. Sabathia which surfaced on the Internet this week. This prompted speculation as to whether C.C. could come back for a limited season. Naysayers believe that he would not be as effective with his new-found chiseled body. No one has said that C. C. Is throwing or that his knees are better. If those questions are answered, then he might give it a shot. Otherwise, he is still slated for the broadcast booth. 

Another Internet piece involved Mike Tyson. Video of the 53 year old former heavyweight champion showed his speed and agility in the gym, along with Tyson’s famous power. 

This prompted another former heavy weight champ, Evander Holyfield, a mere 57 years old, to state that he is willing to fight Tyson once more, in an exhibition with the proceeds to go to charity. Since Tyson bit Holyfield’s ear in a previous title bout, there was instant interest in this. People sure are desperate for sports these days.

NBA facilities are slowly reopening. NFL facilities are going to be unlocked and be without staff in locales where permitted. Yet the virus persists and children are now falling ill and dying. Plus there are varying degrees of compliance with ways to prevent further infections—it depends on who gives the information and what people are willing to believe. A lot of individuals and groups have their own agendas. 

All of this posturing affects how sports will be played in the upcoming months. If at all. Remember, the NFL schedule is loaded with contingency plans, with makeup dates available  in case the season is unable to start on time. After all, the NFL cannot afford to lose televising those 5 prime time games with Tampa Bay and Tom Brady, or the 4 games in Las Vegas. Plus that unfair advantage given to New England—they have two consecutive games in Los Angeles within 10 days, while the Rams, their second opponent, has to fly to Arizona for a game. A consolation prize for losing Brady?

Speaking of the Rams, they unveiled their new uniforms and logo for 2020, to commemorate the new stadium they and the Chargers will share. The best way to describe the uniforms is to say they are hideous, a sacrilege to the history of the franchise, and very much panned by their former star running back, Eric Dickerson. Plus the logo looks more like it belongs to the Chargers than to the Rams.

What has still got me going is the landscape of college football. The California State system has stated that there will not be any on-campus classes this fall. One would surmise that there would then be no athletics for the predominantly DII schools, which led the California Collegiate Athletic Association to announce that fall sports would be canceled. 

Not so fast said the bigger schools. San Diego State, San Jose State and  Fresno State have a different interpretation. The chancellor’s edict allowed for exceptions after “thoughtful consultation” with a bevy of interested parties, taking into account health considerations. The leaders at each of the aforementioned schools cited programs which would be exceptional and would permit the schools to potentially field football teams.

The parent Mountain West Conference, which had fallen in lock step with NCAA President Mark Emmert’s stance about no students on campus meaning no sports, has now taken a wait and see position.

The bigger schools—UCLA and the University of California are going to meet next week to discuss their future in terms of the Chancellor’s statement. You know that they too want to play football.

As does the Pac 12, which has had internal discussions about playing a conference-only schedule. In Oregon, Governor Kate Brown has banned large gatherings in her state. This directly impacts a scheduled meeting between Oregon and Ohio State. Rumors abound that  talks will begin about locating an alternate site.

So what is the driving force behind this mania to play football this fall, as conferences like the Mid-American and Southern look to trim their fall sports schedule? A pair of articles from reporters for The Washington Post point to what is the cause for this hubbub.

It is money. Schools across this country are suffering staggering losses form the pandemic. In New Jersey this week, Division III Rowan University announced that they lost $33 million in projected revenues. Legislators are clamoring for refunds to students and administrators are arguing that they don’t have the cash on hand to accomplish such.

That’s where football comes in. Football money drives the universities, not tuition, room and board. No President of a school wants to anger the alumni and at the same time not run a top flight university. The billion dollar college football entity somehow makes the academics workable, even if the money is not shared and some schools, like the University of Georgia, that have a $100 million reserve fund for athletics or conferences have also saved money for a rainy day. 

So as one writer referred to “college sports’ craven system,” college football money is part of a “trickle-down financial model”  for athletic departments. In the meantime, coaches and administrators are hell bent on finding a way to make football happen—without losing their salaries. 

Jerry Brewer a columnist at the Post and author of this most informative article wrote that maybe a delay until January might solve the problem. Or that the second wave will be “tame.” Or perhaps the third scenario—that the virus is as bad or even worse than advertised—brings a recognition that sports including college football is not a good thing.

He opined that playing sports with a vacant campus is a “firm no.” He said that the health of the players is foremost. Stop treating the kids like they are pros. The intentions of the adults running the show is clear. Brewer, simply ended his column with this: “No school. No ball. No excuses.”

So I guess this isn’t a good time to say that Rutgers landed a high profile graduate transfer QB from Nebraska by way of UCF who has 2 years of eligibility left. Nope.

I leave you on this note as to why money is so important. The Philadelphia Eagles have offered free wedding ceremonies at Lincoln Financial Field for frontline workers who had their weddings postponed due to COVID-19. The normal fee for the ceremony alone is $30,000.  Couples still have to pay for the reception at rates between $50-$70 a head. 

Not to worry. Philadelphia still has a ban on large gatherings. And there remains a pandemic. 

To quote from the movie “Jerry Maguire”: “Show Me the Money!”

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Risky Business (Or Another Saturday Night Without ...

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Risky Business (Or Another Saturday Night Without ...: Another week and I am still disinclined to have sports continue on a normal trajectory. I feel I am in the minority. Fan X sent me a link ...

Risky Business (Or Another Saturday Night Without Sports On TV)

Another week and I am still disinclined to have sports continue on a normal trajectory. I feel I am in the minority. Fan X sent me a link about opening baseball ASAP. We know where his thoughts are. But I will get to that topic in a bit. 

This was a week with much going on. The NFL schedule came out on Thursday. Some flexibility reportedly exists, should the league have to await October to be cleared to play. Or course, flipping the first four games means January games and, bite my tongue, February playoff games with the Super Bowl moved to later February or early March. I can just imagine games at Met Life Stadium, Green Bay or in Kansas City during the tough Winter months. If those are the venues, let there be no fans attending any of the games. Please!!

The New York Jets have the second toughest schedule before the season begins. Prognosticators believe that NYJ will go 7-9. There are three jaunts to the West Coast for games against Seattle, the Rams and the Chargers. Sam Darnold and company must play in Kansas City against Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs. The other road contest besides the three divisional road games is in Indianapolis. New York opens the season in Buffalo on September 13 and ends the season in early January at New England. There is no Tom Brady meeting on the 2020 schedule. There are two Monday night games—one versus Denver in October and one over Veteran’s Day weekend when the Patriots make their annual trek in. And the home opener has the San Francisco 49 ’ers traveling East to play the Jets.

For now, team facilities are still locked. The NFL has ambitiously set out a plan to start activity at team headquarters if the particular state permits such. Both New York teams train in New Jersey. The Bills are subject to whatever restrictions are in place in New York. Plus there are two teams in Los Angeles and one in San Francisco, subject to some of the strictest restrictions in the United States. Those restrictions might not be relaxed any time soon.

Sticking with the NFL for a few more moments, the sports world sadly mourns the passing of the legendary Don Shula, who coached the Baltimore Colts and the Miami Dolphins in the Super Bowl. Shula was known for his no nonsense approach. It was quite successful.

Even if his heavily-favored Colts team lost to Joe Namath and the Jets in Super Bowl III, his Dolphins team made history, which includes the only undefeated team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl and record a perfect mark. He and his players are so proud of that achievement. 

Shula helped produce Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Johnny Unitas, Bob Griese and Dan Marino, all with differing styles, were successful with Don Shula as their coach. No wonder Shula is the winningest coach in NFL annals, with only one losing season in his storied career. He put the Miami Dolphins, a struggling expansion team born in the 1960’s, on the map with his take no prisoners approach that placed Shula in the pantheon of NFL head coaches. 

There is one anecdotal story about Don Shula. He is 1-0 lifetime against Bill Belichick. Shula had no patience for Belichick and his ways. By referring to the Patriots skipper as “Belicheat” and openly rooting against the Tom Brady-led undefeated teams, it showed that he played by the rules and remained highly competitive up to his death. 

Plus, I liked his steakhouse outside of Cleveland. Not too pretentious. 

Sadly, the mother of the Johnson brothers who own the New York Jets and a great philanthropist, Betty Wold Johnson, died at age 99. She fondly called the Jets players her “grandchildren.” By all accounts, she was a phenomenal woman.

We have endured virtual NASCAR, Secretariat winning a virtual Kentucky Derby and Will Ferrell crashing a Seattle Seahawks Zoom meeting, impersonating TE Greg Olsen. ESPN is promoting the hell out of South Korean baseball; I am not interested. 

In other NFL news, former Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton, displaced by Joe Burrow, was released and signed on as a backup in Dallas. Sportswriters and TV personalities are advising Cam Newton to not become a backup when he is signed as a free agent. Marshawn Lynch said his people are talking again with the Seahawks. Logan Ryan, a DB out of Rutgers, knew his time in Tennessee was over when the team assigned his number to a recent draftee. Plus the four International games on the 2020 schedule have returned to the United States due to the pandemic.

Brett Favre became embroiled in a Mississippi scandal when he took $1.1 million for a no-show speaking engagement through an indicted former state official. Favre is returning the money. It must be nice to easily return $1.1 million dollars. He faces no charges. 

Then there was the story about Pete Rose. Groundskeepers in Montreal claim that Rose, the disgraced all-time hit leader, corked his bat while he was with the Expos. If that is true, he certainly does not deserve to be in Cooperstown. 

A solid basketball player at Wake Forest has decided to leave the school, transferring to the University of Kentucky, one of the basketball blue bloods. Wake’s coach queried the wisdom of going to Kentucky to graduate and leaving a prestigious school like Wake where his upcoming degree was worth more. He said so with “no disrespect” to Kentucky.

As a postscript, the NCAA is looking to make the existing transfer rules easier. I guess that is a formality, because a heck of a lot of players get waivers and do not have to sit out the mandatory one year presently enforced. 

Some other notable events include a Skins match to benefit the American Nurses Foundation involving four of America’s top golfers. The NCAA has found much egregious conduct occurred within the basketball programs at Louisville and Kansas. Coaches Rick Pitino (now at Iona, who claims they anticipated this and stand by their man) and Bill Self will have a lot of answering to do. 

Sixty basketball coaches have divided into Team NY and Team NJ and have made videos with encouraging words to students, players, and those on the front line. C. Vivian Stringer, the Rutgers women’s head coach and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, is an imposing figure in her video.

People have taken up running and walking during the stay at home period. Virtual poker games are the rage. Yet sports fans long for information about when baseball is going to begin, what is happening with the NBA and NHL. 

I know that to fill some of the void, I listened to a podcast called J.B & Goldwater out of the Low Country in South Carolina. Darren Goldwater is a play-by-play broadcaster who lives there. He is also the son of my wife’s cousin. The show gives a different perspective to those outside of the immediate area they live in. Pretty darn enjoyable. Check it out if you have some free time. 12:00-2:00 P.M. Monday thru Friday.

Some NBA players have entered gyms under strict conditions. This means very little at the moment. Until the curve is really flattened and there is demonstrative proof that they can open without compromising the health and well-being of so many others, what is happening with the NFL schedule is just a tease. 

Baseball has come up with a plan that allows for 10 team divisions and 8 game home stands against the same opponent. How would you like to be the Yankees and draw Max Scherzer twice on a trip to DC? I get that they are trying to salvage a season with limited or no fans—teams are hemorrhaging  concession and other money. 

Fan X would be all for this. Alas, we won’t have enough safety measures in place to make this realistically work. The fact that the dates keep being pushed back for the start of the season, with a new training period, the shortening the MLB Draft to only 5 rounds, and the pushing back of the NHL and NBA Drafts from their original dates highlight the problems inherent in making a go of a new reality for professional sports. For the Brooklyn Nets, they have to decide if injured star Kevin Durant should make his team debut after his post-NBA Finals surgery and risk aggravating his rehabilitated  Achilles Tendon or do they opt to wait until the 2021 season for him to wear a Nets jersey?

I don’t like the Dolphins proposal to let 15,000 fans into Hard Rock Stadium for home games. How can they do that and not endanger people, no matter how far apart they may be seated and whatever other so-called precautions they take?

Two sane people spoke this week on college athletics. Val Ackerman, the Big East Commissioner, bluntly said that there will be no Big East sports unless students are on campus. Mark Emmert, the head of the NCAA, said fall sports are likely a no-go if campuses aren’t open. 

This counters the idiocy of Penn State Head Football Coach James Franklin who said that the Big Ten should go forward and play even if some schools aren’t having students on campus or if there are certain schools which cannot play because of state government edicts. That kind of mentality exists in the SEC and the Big 12. Let’s see if those schools have successful openings and if they try to go forward with fall sports without students on campus. 

Take a step back, people. Hey Fan X—I miss baseball, college hoops, Steph Curry and the Jets. I am going to be 70. My wife and I are high risk. I would choose not go to a game under these conditions. And to play the games without fans serves what purpose other than to remove some lethargy for a short while? 

COVID-19 has invaded the White House. No place is really that safe. Why tempt fate—even with no fans?

This is risky business. 

Hope you had a great Mother’s Day. Maybe next year we can actually hug our children again without fear of infection. Got to go watch The Last Dance and Run.  I can’t read about the claim that Zion Williamson and his family took money from numerous sources including Duke… 

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: More COVID Dilemmas

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: More COVID Dilemmas: It is both sad and good to see that the Little League World Series and the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies have been canceled. ...

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: More COVID Dilemmas

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: More COVID Dilemmas: It is both sad and good to see that the Little League World Series and the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies have been canceled. ...

More COVID Dilemmas

It is both sad and good to see that the Little League World Series and the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies have been canceled. Two rites of summer destroyed by the ravaging COVID-19. For good reason—imagine the masses descending on Williamsport for the LLWS? A more massive throng would have ventured to Cooperstown to cheer on Derek Jeter. Yankees fans would have shattered the 82,000 record for Cal Ripken, Jr.’s induction.

These are prudent measures given the place the U.S. is at with its fight versus the coronavirus. I salute California Governor Gavin Newsom for closing the public beaches in Orange County after hordes of people congregated along the Pacific Ocean last weekend seeking relief from the Southern California heat.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy faces enormous pressure to reopen New Jersey. He has started the process by allowing golf courses to open and for people to enter New Jersey State Parks, albeit without available lavatory facilities. He has warned that if social distancing isn’t properly applied, he will shut the parks down and close the golf courses. 

The biggest pressure on Governor Murphy comes from the Jersey Shore. When it comes to New Jersey economics, the beaches and the revenue derived from rentals, amusements, food, etc. is huge, especially with the State in a budgetary deficit as a result of the pandemic. 

But what about the lives at stake here? How many asymptomatic individuals from New Jersey and other states will travel to the Jersey Shore? Will beachgoers eschew masks for the even tan on their faces? 

It is a delicate balance for Governor Murphy to achieve—the safety of the people against the economic reality that much of the seasonal Jersey Shore industries—hotels, rentals, amusements, restaurants, etc.—may not survive if shuttered this summer. 

Governor Murphy is not the only one with such a headache. All governors with shorelines, lakes or scenic locals face the same questions and search for the right formula to make the summer happen without a raging recurrence of the pandemic. For the alternative is stark—we sit home and continue to self-isolate until a vaccine is developed. 

We see how professional sports keeps inching back to competition. NASCAR is going to conduct races in May without spectators. I thought that a big part of the event was to go and party, suffer a horrible sunburn and root for your favorite driver. I guess the economics of auto racing is such that the crowds who attend the races can be kept away for a year without too much financial peril. 

The NBA keeps floating ideas about competition and opening practice facilities. An idea to house everyone at Disney World where there would be no spectators while the teams play out the season/playoffs is the latest hot rumor. Meanwhile, where it is appropriate, team facilities would be opened to players and personnel for non-team functions. 

I have a few thoughts on that. First, how is social distancing going to be enforced? I went to physical therapy today for the first time in a week for my balky back and ankle. It was just me and my therapist for 40 minutes, with plenty of hand sanitizer and cleaning solution. And I will only go once a week under those conditions, instituting a home program due to my vulnerable age. 

Second, will the teams invest in antibody testing as well as other comprehensive measures to ensure that there is no further spread of the virus? I can only imagine the number of players eager to get back to the gym and use the weights, training staff, etc. Who knows who they might come into contact with?

Thirdly, this puts teams in less infected areas way ahead of those teams such as the Celtics, Knicks, Nets, Warriors, Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Trail Blazers, Sixers, Wizards, Pistons, Pelicans and Bulls. Of course, there are governors like Georgia’s Brian Kemp, who should have no problems with players form the Hawks heading to the gym given his opening of all gyms in his state. Same in Texas, where the Mavericks, Rockets and Spurs will likely have full access to their facilities. Florida would be another likely locale, giving the Heat and Magic an advantage. 

I have said it before and it bears repeating—the economics are so enormous that the professional sports are certain they cannot afford a shut down. ESPN published an article projecting collective losses to be over $12 billion. 

Do not feel sorry for Roger Goodell not taking his salary. He has had enough $30 million years for a while. It is other NFL executives and team personnel who will take a huge financial hit with their salary reductions. Remember, the NFL still has the mindset that the games will be played this fall—even if it is without fans in the stands. The 2020 schedule will be coming out next week.

NHL teams have started to call back their players in anticipation of workouts for teams which would be at least playoff-bound. Of course, the NHL would be faced with the same questions and logistics that the NBA faces. 

Baseball now has a new approach. Three 10 team leagues to cut down on travel. With games in the geographical areas to start at 7:00 local time. For the fans’ convenience. If they still have the money for cable TV. 

Travel? Are you kidding me? This places an enormous strain on the infrastructure and places so many personnel at risk because the player are coming into contact with many people as they journey to away sites as well as arrive in their home airports. Ask the flight attendants who are screaming about mandatory masks for people flying and eliminating leisure travel.

Maybe the executives at MLB haven’t read about how many TSA officers have been felled by COVID-19, or what it has done to first responders such as the police, firefighters and EMT personnel. Take a look at how the Orthodox Jewish worshipers congregate in Williamsburg and Lakewood, needlessly exposing the officers by not social distancing. 

I miss baseball. A lot. But why go through all of this when the risks are so high for so many people who work in and around the game and  players to protect their safety? To say that America is strong and has not given into the virus? Or to help the economy, which is in tatters right now, with lines for free food abundant in so many states?  It makes no sense to me.

I will abandon my COVID soapbox to discuss a few other things. As a result of the airings of four parts of The Last Dance, old hatred between the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons has resurfaced. Detroit was a bunch of thugs who physically intimidated teams en route to two NBA crowns. The Bulls finally took the Pistons down when they won their first of six NBA crowns. 

Michael Jordan dislikes the Pistons. Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer are not his favorite people. Thomas does not rate Jordan as the the G.O.A.T. Jordan was accused of not wanting Thomas on the 1992 U.S. Olympic “Dream” Team. Which is not true—at least 9 of the 12 team members didn’t want Thomas with them, despite the desires of Chuck Daly, the Pistons Head Coach who was also the Head Coach of the Dream Team. Daly learned that the collective harmony of his bunch of superstars could not be sacrificed for one individual. 

This renewed Pistons-Bulls rivalry will run its course with the end of the documentary. In this entertainment and sports-starved world, this became big news. 

Finally, I read on Friday about a freshman TE coming to Rutgers, and his mother. His father works in an essential business and lives in part of the house. His mother, who has been  a respiratory therapist at Hackensack University Hospital for 17 years, is on the front lines of the pandemic, working 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. She resides upstairs. 

Her son lives with family 20 minutes away and gets to see his mother periodically, employing social distancing measures. He calls her multiple times a day.

When you recognize what truly is at stake, this mother is a hero, as her son who is strong and supportive. It puts all of the rest of the machinations by the sporting world, along with the decisions that governors have to make to protect people who obviously don’t see the inherent dangers in their actions, into perspective. 

Such are the COVID-19 dilemmas.