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.
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