RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Sports Was Back...Temporarily

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Sports Was Back...Temporarily: I count this as a good week. Fan X did not bother me. Don’t get me wrong. I really like Fan X. His interest in my blog runs like the price...

Sports Was Back...Temporarily

I count this as a good week. Fan X did not bother me. Don’t get me wrong. I really like Fan X. His interest in my blog runs like the price of a barrel of crude oil this week. So. I take shots at him when he takes jabs at me. Kind of like injecting a disinfectant into somebody. 

If anything, I think Fan X needs more sunlight. I recently heard that it is good for you. He likes to tan. I think Fan X has developed a tolerance for the sun. It helps give him the sunny disposition we all love. 

Know that I was having some fun at the expense of the anonymous Fan X. It gets the juices flowing when I have writer’s block. 

Well, there actually was some sports to report on this week. And no further injuries to Yankees personnel have been announced.

Topping the list is the story of Rob Gronkowski un-retiring from the New England Patriots  to join his good buddy, Tom Brady, as they embark on a new football journey in Tampa. It sounds so compelling. Brady-to-Gronk, TD’s galore. A revitalized Bucs’ offense ready to carry them to the next level and contend, not just for the Division crown, but for the NFC title and a Super Bowl win. 

This kind of starry-eyed enthusiasm is good for selling tickets. Except that nobody knows if there will be fans inside Raymond James Stadium for the 8 Tampa home games. It is also good for filler, when there isn’t much for reporters and columnists to delve into. Ditto for the talking heads on TV and radio. 

Tampa has decided it is in a win now mode given Brady’s age. Bringing in Gronkowski for a 4th and 7th round draft choice in the trade with Patriots isn’t bad for either side. And the 1 year $10 million salary the Bucs will pay Gronkowski is fair value for a player who had been out  of the league and had a history of injuries. 

That move offsets two missteps by Brady. G.O.A.T. was seen working out in a Tampa park, in violation of the edict forbidding use of parks due to COVID-19. I guess that Derek Jeter’s house and property wasn’t suitable?

Then there was the second mishap. Brady went to see OC Byron Leftwich. He exited his car, walked in through the unlocked door and deposited his equipment on the kitchen floor. 

Except that Brady went into the wrong house. He went into the one next to Leftwich’s, surprising the owner by the sight of this mountain of a man in his kitchen. After realizing his error, Brady quietly called an audible, picked up his stuff and left. 

In Florida, Brady is lucky he wasn’t shot upon entry. This isn’t Massachusetts. 

So Tom Brady has a lot to make up for in his first few days with the Bucs. Are signs that Tom Brady is losing his focus? Perhaps Tom Brady needs Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft a lot more than he realized.

Of course, the other big story was an event I covered last week. The Last Dance premiered on ESPN on Sunday. I thought it was excellent and I am looking forward to the next two installments. Much more so than I did with the conclusion of Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America. 

I liked the depth of the interviews, which have helped us identify with the main characters in this story. I also appreciated Michael Jordan, sitting in his luxurious mansion, with a cigar and drink, offering some running commentary. 

I would have watched this even if there was plenty of live sports available. These rare glimpses behind the scenes are so very interesting to me, no matter how much editing is done. 

And I found out on Friday that Kobe Bryant documented his last year with his own film crew. They were granted unusual access to the Lakers and the video will be just as thrilling and exciting when it eventually airs.

I hope that a film crew wasn’t following Tom Brady around this season. If so, stop now!!

Muffet McGraw retired. For those who don’t know who she is, Muffet was an exemplary head coach of the women’s team at the University of Notre Dame, a winner of 2 National titles and she is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. 

McGraw coached with passion and emotion, which transferred to her teams, first at Lehigh and then on the much bigger stage in South Bend. She comes from the same suburban Philadelphia area and coaching tree as Geno Auriemma, the legendary women’s coach at UConn. They both coached for Jim Foster at St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia, with McGraw joining the St. Joe’s staff right after Geno left.

Once friends early in their careers, the friendship dissolved in the heat of their repeated battles over many, many years. That’s the way things happen in college coaching, especially in the women’s ranks, and particularly when they involve Auriemma and a woman who has experienced success—even more so when that success has led to triumph over UConn. 

McGraw ranks 7th in wins with 936 in 38 seasons. Her .762 winning percentage is fifth all-time. It is her nine Final Four appearances, seven championship game appearances and two National Championships which place her among the best ever to coach.

I didn’t like McGraw. Largely because I liked UConn much more. But her imprint on women’s game cannot be denied.

If I were to engage in the recent practice of naming a Mount Rushmore, the one for women’s collegiate coaches, Auriemma, McGraw and the late Pat Summitt of Tennessee would be my top three. Rounding out the group would be Tara VanDerveer, who still is active at Stanford.

The Yankees did receive an apology from the Red Sox for their part in the 2018 cheating scandal.  A Red Sox media person was suspended and the already-suspended  Alex Cora did not receive additional punishment. 

The NHL has floated a four site playoff rotation for its four divisions, which would optimally commence in July. The people of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Raleigh, Edmonton and a final Eastern destination should be thrilled.

Speaking of hockey, Wayne Gretzky and Alex Ovechkin, aided by others, managed to play to a draw in an NHL 20 simulated contest. Over $40,000 was raised to help in the pandemic.

Another crazy idea going around is a charity golf match between the pairings of Tom Brady (that name again) and Tiger Woods versus Peyton Manning and Phil Mickelson. Ugh.

Roger Federer kept his mind active. He suggested that this is the time for the governing bodies of men’s and women’s tennis to unify as one. Players from the women’s tour have agreed that this would help the sport.

In other worldly news, Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson will be the cover person for Madden 20, the NFL video game. Jackson seemed unfazed about any jinx associated with being on the cover.

Lest I forget, the NFL Draft started on Thursday night with Roger Goodell sequestered in his Bronxville, New York basement to read the names of the selections. Courtesy of the people at Budweiser, the time-honored practice of booing the Commissioner at the Draft was preserved via pre-recorded videos. Goodell cheerfully went along with the gag. 

Ratings were the highest ever for the event. They peaked at just before 9:00 P.M. when Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa was drafted by Miami. Then the wives took over and the husbands watched the finale of Will & Grace.

An oddity of the first round was that the first three drafted all played at Ohio State under the current head coach, who was an assistant there before being elevated to the top job. Green Bay traded up for a QB who will be the heir apparent to Aaron Rodgers; the Chargers went for a QB to replace the departed Philip Rivers, and Dallas stole the best available wide receiver. And I heard that Bill Belichick’s dog stole the show  in the second round when New England was ready for a pick.

Both New York teams went with linemen. The Giants wanted to be able to spring prized RB Saquan Barkley for dazzling runs. The Jets wanted protection for QB Sam Darnold. Solid, not flashy choices. 

Philadelphia secured a backup QB for Carson Wentz in the second round. I can just imagine the boo birds at Lincoln Financial Field if Wentz gets hurt. That, of course, should be no earlier than 2021.

Not to leave the local NBA scene dry—the Nets are considering former star player Jason Kidd and former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy as the next head man. I hope they can keep the egos of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in check.

Two university heads differed on the notion that there will be college football this fall. The President of the University of Connecticut doubted very much if football would be played in 2020. The Chancellor of the University of Missouri spoke in absolutes about the prospect that football would start this autumn. He is from an SEC school—football is everything to those schools. UConn seems to be more prudent. 

I saw that Alabama suffered a $21.2 million shortfall in 2018-19. That is because of changes in the tax laws—revenue of $164 million wasn’t too paltry. Do not feel sorry for the Crimson Tide. It is merely an accounting procedure. 

Fellow SEC members Auburn and LSU respectively had profits of $13.2 and $8.8 million dollars, while Texas recorded a $16.5 million profit. No wonder Missouri wants to play this year. Should we be hearing about the bulging bottom line for college football when so many have filed for unemployment? 

Those millions would be better used elsewhere. Rutgers is deducting a 5% salary reduction from coaches Steve Pikiell, Greg Schiano and C Vivian Stringer as well as 

AD Pat Hobbs. All capital construction projects have been halted. Rutgers, like most colleges and universities, does not make a profit from football like the big boys and there is going to be a serious deficit for the 2020-21 academic year.

Finally, Vikings owner and Springfield resident Zygi Wilf donated over $5 million for pandemic relief in New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, across the U.S. and Israel as part of the NFL’s Draft-A-Thon. Which reminds us that the aforementioned sports items are merely diversions from reality. Which remains the long fight ahead against COVID-19. 

Sports was back…temporarily.

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Blogging Without Fish

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Blogging Without Fish: I am not going to go into the machinations of those eager to start MLB, the NBA, NFL, NASCAR, WWE, UFC and the NHL. I cite some data. Two ...

Blogging Without Fish

I am not going to go into the machinations of those eager to start MLB, the NBA, NFL, NASCAR, WWE, UFC and the NHL. I cite some data. Two out of three surveyed don’t want a relaxation of the protective standards in place until there is at least some universal testing.  Given the fact that the testing has reached 1% of the population, the outcry for loosening the reins and starting up sports or for that matter any group activities, is ludicrous. 

Once more I restate that this is a pandemic and a quick cure is not in the offing. This is not the invasion of Grenada where we faced no resistance. It is a World War, and last time I looked, it took a lot of time and bloodshed before those wars concluded. Ditto the Civil War. 

COVID-19 is a humbling beast, the full measure of its capabilities are still unknown. The strategies are piecemeal attempts that can only work so much. And the true impact of how sick the population is remains uncertain.

With non-alarmists warning that extremely infectious second and third waves are likely, offset by a segment that just does not care about anything but themselves, great problems loom ahead. Prudent thought, not knee-jerk reactions, must prevail. 

This killer has not affected the wide swath of people who rail against restrictions and disregard our discerning thoughts to the contrary. When New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says that things might not relax until July, intelligent and concerned people must heed that message. 

When star linebacker Von Miller of the Broncos was one of two NFL players who tested positive for COVID-19 this week, these results should not be sealed in a vacuum and isolated like an infected player. This is real and we are dealing with lives—every one of which matters, unlike the stupidity emanating from the lips of celebrity doctors like psychologist Dr. Phil and medical doctor, Dr. Oz who see acceptable losses of life. I doubt that those on the front lines in the ER and ICU units share those opinions. And I doubt that they care that sports may not come back right now or in the near future.

As I said, my position is unchanged. I do not want to rant weekly about this. It isn’t healthy and it doesn’t prove too much. Plus I avoid getting too political or laying blame on those individuals others see as the villains no matter how upset I feel—unless it is in a sports context. For that is the nature of this blog—sports.

Fan X poked his head into my world again this week, citing the lack of sports news. He opined that I ought to go fishing instead. 

First, I don’t fish, although I have a friend who fishes in the reservoirs of Jersey City and enjoys it immensely. It offers him solitude and satisfaction. And I do miss the fishing section in the Star-Ledger, where I could monitor the activity of fluke, blues and a whole lot of fish in the seas off of New Jersey. That industry must be hurting just like many others—social distancing isn’t possible on a fishing charter.

So what then, Fan X, should I talk about? Maybe my days, which have a sameness to them with my staying home, reviewing my emails, Facebook posts and texts. Or that my wife and I have cleaned the majority of this house, leaving some projects for later. 

I can recount movies that we watched. Twisted ,and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood were our most recent ones. Our Netflix list is about 40 movies long; B movies galore. That should get me into football season and then some. We just concluded the 8 episodes of Modern Love on Amazon. I am on a Brad Pitt-Jennifer Aniston binge right now. But you don’t read this blog for my film and TV acumen.

If you like, I can detail my baseball exploits and recall basketball games I played in and watched. That could keep you riveted for a while. Just not today.

Look, I know that I should be watching a Yankees game right now, bemoaning the lack of pitching and hitting this early in unseasonably cold weather. Gary Sanchez would probably have have joined Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the IR, no doubt with another pitcher or two. And I would be sad, as I am now, when the Yankees would have held a pre-game program to honor Hank Steinbrenner, George’s oldest son, who passed away this week. One more year with a black arm band on a uniform sleeve.

With the absolute dearth of new sports programming except for the blathering of talking heads who make mountains out of mole hills to enhance their inflated stature, I anxiously await the ESPN documentary series on Michael Jordan, debuting this Sunday night. While the producers said Jordan was forthright and answered all of the questions posed to him, the fact that his people are Executive Producers casts a shadow over how truthful this documentary will be.

Jordan still remains an enigma. He was greater than life when he played. He still is. But Michael Jordan was human, with many flaws that paralleled his incredible way which he treated players, fans,Chicago Bulls management and anyone who got in his path.

Those who know his checkered life recognize that his quest for perfection was overshadowed by his lust for too many vices and a wanton lack of self-control that was not present in his basketball world. It was that way for Tiger Woods, and no wonder the two of them were fast friends. 

Maybe your opinion of Michael Jeffrey Jordan will change after watching the series. Perhaps viewing the series will make your feelings about him even stronger. Whatever you decide, there will be much discussion and disagreement about him from others. This is what we do to our greatest sports heroes, who we place on a pedestal because of their superior athletic prowess, even when they have moral weaknesses.

We did it to Derek Jeter. A-Rod, too—even more so now that he is engaged to J-Lo. Babe Ruth endured the same kind of scrutiny, but he loved the adulation. Tom Brady is always under a microscope. It happened to Muhammad Ali, too. LeBron is going through it now. We learned far more about Kobe Bryant after he stopped playing basketball and then after his unfortunate death.

Stardom is the greatest reward and it is the biggest curse. Athletes are not alone. John Lennon sought privacy, so bothered by the media. Only to fall prey to a deranged gunman taking him away too soon. Princess Di went through much of the same. 

Leaders of nations and captains of industry are measured on success and failure just like our athletes, all by the ever watchful eyes of the populace and reported by the highly-opinionated media. There never is universal agreement on how they performed under pressure, or how they reacted in their public and private actions.  

The insane money these stars earn becomes an attempt to insulate from the constant pressure. Escape is hard to come by. Success, apart from the competition and the displays of talent during their careers, is so fleeting and problematic beyond it. 

I am not trying to remove Michael Jordan from scrutiny. I am not trying to give him excuses. What I challenge you to do is see him in the light that you wish to see him, examine the information presented in the documentary, travel back in time to your memories and reach your own conclusions. Do some more research on your own if you like. Or choose not to watch at all. There is no right answer here.

After all, there are plenty of movies to select from Netflix, HBO, Showtime, plus streaming services which have plenty more available. There are books to read. Magazines. Facebook. Zoom. Possibly polish two sets of silverware.  Cleaning a shed is bountiful fun, etc. They all are diversions from the horrible current events broadcast everywhere.

Kinda like going fishing for a big fish, Fan X…Sometimes you hook them, and sometimes you don’t. Those rules always applied to Michael Jordan, the player, and Michael Jordan, the man.. Like they do in a pandemic. Like they do when writing a blog when there is no sports to report on. 

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: RetiredLawyerSportsOp: A True Lack Of Sense

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: RetiredLawyerSportsOp: A True Lack Of Sense: RetiredLawyerSportsOp: A True Lack Of Sense : I start my blog this week with the sober reminder that the entire sports world is foolishly tr...

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: A True Lack Of Sense

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: A True Lack Of Sense: I start my blog this week with the sober reminder that the entire sports world is foolishly trying to make something happen in this calend...

A True Lack Of Sense

I start my blog this week with the sober reminder that the entire sports world is foolishly trying to make something happen in this calendar year. LA Times veteran columnist Bill Plaschke says exactly that in his column on April 9, 2020.

What the heck are these moguls thinking? Do they really understand the depth of the problem? Rhetorically, are they so blind to making money that it is. hell bent exercise they engage in for the purpose of refilling their gigantic coffers. As the staff at the league headquarters and on teams start to take pay cuts while the NBA stars will be paid in full for 2019-20.

Just because the curve may be flattening ever so slightly, be cautious as to how sports goes forward. Experts warn us that going back too quickly to some semblance of normalcy could easily have dire consequences. Think of the support people involved—if the MLB plan of centralizing play in Arizona goes forward, there are hundreds of people who could invade the isolation that the teams promise to have. Those hotel workers and delivery people are not going to be sequestered and watched over by MLB or their employers. 

Any plans for a regular season or a tournament-like process are pipe dreams and could do way more damage than good. This doesn’t stop those who so want to get things up and running again to spout off grandiose ideas in the name of self-fulfillment. 

Mike Grundy, the erstwhile head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys football team almost demanded that his players come back to school for spring camp on May 1 because they must. They are healthy and young so they can withstand what others are so debilitated or killed by. 

He said that on April 3. By April 9 he was walking back his comments—as he should. 

Dana White, the head of the UFC, a sport I detest, first had UFC 249 on an island. Then at an Indian casino in California because state rules and regulations are not followed on tribal land.  ESPN, desperate for any new programming, finally came to their senses and aborted the idea on Thursday. Too many attendant problems would certainly arise—one of them the bloodletting and taking the injured combatants to a hospital. This simply is a greedy man enjoying his fame and trying to take advantage of the situation. Not when hospital beds are full and the dying continues. 

Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey refers to the ones who flaunt the edicts meant to save lives as “knuckleheads.” There is the civil disobedience fines they incur along with the shame that accrues when their misdeeds are noted in town-crier like fashion. 

Without better control of the situation, we simply cannot expose athletes or anybody else to the horrors of the coronavirus. A true vaccine is nowhere near completion or a successful trial.  Not a hoped for remedy without sufficient trials to warrant its use, one on which politicians and cronies stand to make a profit.

Seemingly every day a new idea is floated to ignite the sports world sooner to a premature start.  Placebo events like a H-O-R-S-E contest to be televised on the NBA Network and ESPN are like Battle of the Network Stars or the equally lamentable 1973 ABC program The Superstars, where heavyweight great Joe Frazier almost drowned in the first event, the 50 m swim. Garbage like that we don’t need to fulfill our prurient interests, do we?

Yet the NHL has floated an idea to bring together teams at the University of North Dakota in an attempt to salvage something from this season. North Dakota because it is isolated. North Dakota because there hasn’t been an outbreak of COVID-19. While it makes absolutely no sense, the Governor of North Dakota is all for it (think revenues here that the State never had dreamed of). He shouldn’t do it if he wants to keep the pandemic under control in his state. Perhaps the Colorado Avalanche isn’t invited because 3 members or their organization have tested positive. 

That same logic that surfaced when it was reported an emergency response team from the Federal government was heading to Wyoming because the coronavirus had not invaded that great, less-populated state and it could be controlled better this way. No. No! No!!

The Masters, a fixture the first weekend in April when the magnolias bloom in Augusta, is now scheduled for when the leaves fall in November and the trees are barren. There would be no spectators, and after all this nation and other countries have gone through, the event would be devoid of passion. 

Wimbledon knew this day would come. They paid insurance for a pandemic and now they are cashing in with the cancellation of this year’s tournament. The powers that be at the All England Club got this right—no tournament meant a financial windfall without harming the spectators, players and  everyone who makes the fortnight run so well. 

Roger Federer’s 100 volley challenge inside of a room is interesting. Captivating for the moment because Federer, Andy Murray and a host of others like Lindsay Vonn have joined his #tennisathome campaign, some wearing hats like Roger did in his video. All done for fun, in social isolation. There the priorities are straight. But then again, it is Roger Federer, not Dana White or super agent Scott Boras or Mike Grundy. 

Let’s be satisfied with the reruns on ESPN (like the grippingly-real Bobby Hurley E:60 from 2019 which aired on Wednesday night).  YES has a battle cry #YES We’reHere” for their newer programming involving their announcers. Straight from their homes, with player interviews conducted remotely via modern technology. Copied from the local newscasts originating form anchors and reporters homes. Saving lives in the process by socially isolating. 

For now we have to deal with politicians who blindly deal in another universe while not issuing stay-in-place orders to preserve lives. Or, with the holidays of Passover and Easter upon us, people flocking to seders or church where the chances for contamination with the virus are enhanced dramatically. As opposed to well-reasoned reactions of limiting the numbers of people in a supermarket at one time and making sure everyone is wearing some kind of face covering. 

We need clear and positive thinking to get through this dark chapter. We are nowhere near a vaccine that would assure us that COVID-19 will not come back more powerfully once we have turned the corner. 

What we don’t need are sports leaders who rejoice in their grandiose ideas which fly in the face of reason. Our nation deserves more thinkers like Bill Plaschke than those who float the ideas of returning to the fields of play. We can live without sports until it is safe for everybody to return to a normalcy that we are redefining. We don’t need to encourage those who just don’t get it or have other motivations to pursue sports. 

My editor chastised me for being so bleak last week. To that I say we are in the midst of pandemic of incredible proportions, with our resources stretched to their limits and beyond. That does not mean that there isn’t hope that a cure will come in due course. Patience is the key. Which is hard to apply diligently. 

We must exercise caution and think with our hearts and our minds in sync. If the all clear for sports doesn’t come before for 2021, then I am all for it. To do otherwise shows a true lack of sense. 

A Time For Reflection & A Time For Sports

The days stretch on monotonously. There is a rhythm to each one, but not a steady cadence or anything spectacular. 

To paraphrase, “it is not the best of times.” Hardly so. Life goes on for those so lucky thus far. Unfortunately we are in the infancy of a terrible spectacle which threatens the core of our soul and restricts the freedom of individuals by necessity and fiat. 

We are in an unfathomable pandemic of epic proportions. The experts and the politicians try to make sense of what is happening. Yet is only guesswork that they employ. No one really knows when the end of this plague will come, nor can we really speak of the devastating toll it will exact.

There is an aura of hope within the despair. A commonality of human emotion that takes as much as it gives. Mankind continues to persevere. 

Tremendous obstacles are ahead of us in the upcoming months. The challenge to stay focused in the moment and to recognize our frailty, bring together a nexus of thoughts, observations and intuition. 

A lot is at stake in the near future. Lives are on the line. For those brave enough to fight against unspeakable odds. 

As individuals we have one collective goal—survival. No matter who you are or what your station in life, the hostility of this virulent disease is affecting us all. 

Every day, the news reports are grim. With nothing but bad news now, the bleakness of the next few months is unmitigated. The time for healing and happiness is for much later. 

Many of us know someone who has been impacted by the unfolding events. How can we not? We know stories of those who are unfortunate and those who are heroic.

Today, I heard the sobering news that a dear friend is hospitalized and fighting the battle of his life. While he may be isolated and alone, he is never alone in the thoughts of we who care about him and those who are similarly fighting nog to lose the battle against this insidious monster. 

My friend is a sports fan. He would understand the reasons the sports world had to shut down. His optimism would relate to how his fervor for games and the players would be satiated at an appropriate time. 

What he would lament over would be secondary to those who are attending him and those similarly impacted. I hope his active mind is working overtime on some fun list of the greatest players for certain sports and some given moment, like the columnists who have nothing to write for except to try to entertain and distract form the pain our country and the world endures.

I dedicate this blog to him and the ones who carry COVID-19 in their systems. Along with those who try to make do with what little they have to battle this destructive force. 

Sports is full of heroes for their actions in the arenas and stadiums we populate. In the end, that allows us happiness and escape from the pressures of the real world.

Right now it doesn’t get any more real than this. Heed the seriousness of the coronavirus. Follow the instructions which are provided in an attempt to curtail the spread of the pandemic. 

If you have participated in sports, or just work out to stay fit, then you know what it takes to wage a war to become healthier. Do the right things. Don’t be stupid or relax your guard. None of us can afford to be seduced by the trap our minds play in a desperate attempt to deny the obvious and return to the status quo. 

Certainly I don’t have the answers. My fears of this invader are real and unfettered. Many others share the same fears and sadness emanating from a massive threat that has no  solution as of yet. 

Wallowing in the ocean of self-pity cannot provide any solace. Taking all prudent measures and living day by day to insure the best possible outcome is all we can hope for.

Yes, there was sports news. My first thoughts go to the Kraft family, specifically Jonathan Kraft, the son of the New England Patriots scion, Robert Kraft. He negotiated a deal, using personal money, with entities in China to access surgical masks which are critically needed in Massachusetts and New York. The team plane, with the Super Bowl trophies emblazoned on the tail, flew there to retrieve the masks.  Massachusetts General Hospital and other medical facilities in the surrounding area received their shipments yesterday. And at 6:00 a.m. on Friday a sole Patriots truck headed to New York City, protected by a Massachusetts State Trooper vehicle. 

Say what you want about him and his frailties. This is not the first time that the Kraft family acted philanthropically. Nor will it be the last. They get it. Their priorities are straight. 

For one day, we are all Patriots fans. Other teams’ fans can wait until there is another, much rosier day to hate the Pats. When we can go to stadiums without worrying about reprisal from the virus.

Of course there were the silly things that are diversions from our rigor. That Tom Brady will rent Derek Jeter’s mansion near Tampa as he assumes the mantle of QB of the Buccaneers. Ghat the Chiefs’kicker hit a 77 yard FG without a holder or snap while practicing. Or who is the greatest players of all-time at what position, a debate born my childhood not unlike who was the better centerfielder—Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays or Duke Snider. 

Wimbledon was rightfully canceled. Arthur Ashe Stadium is being used as a strategic hub in the New York City fight versus the plague, so the US Open for 2020 is in serious doubt.    

The NBA is hoping for a 16 team tournament in one location to close the 2019-20 season; that is a pie in the sky dream. The choice to continue the season would impact the 2020-21 season, and by my estimations, that is no certainty to start on time. MLB is discussing using stadiums in Florida, California and Arizona in a modified schedule, perhaps with no fans in attendance.  Those teams should hope that the 2021 season remains intact.

In a letter to its season ticket holders, the Denver Broncos talked about the upcoming season. While the NFL expects to conduct business as usual, the letter alluded to scenarios where the games are played before no fans or there is no season at all. I have also been told that in May, the New York Jets will not deduct a monthly amount from my registered account for my season tickets. 

Rutgers has three non-conference football games to start the 2020 campaign. They have clauses in the contracts which would cover cancellation for an event lsuch as we have been facing. The Big 10 has toyed with just playing the 9 game conference slate. I wonder how that will work with the Rutgers campus on lockdown until at least mid-August, if not later.

These are all signs that business as usual cannot proceed until there is a handle on the situation. I have repeatedly questioned how could players, personnel and fans enter a stadium or arena with the looming threat of the virus? Moreover, there is an anticipated second or third wave of COVID-19 which might prove to be at east as deadly if not more so. 

Besides, a stadium without cheering fans is anathema to the games themselves. We are seeing how comics struggle without an audience.

Prudently, it is likely that there will be no NFL for me for this season. I have certainly recognized that my avowed dream to visit the stadiums of all 30 MLB teams by age 70 is realistically on hold and now becomes a quest to finish the deed while I am still 70—if it is safe and a vaccine or medication can control the outbreak.  

The NCAA has extended an extra year of eligibility for those students who could not participate in spring sports. While a noble gesture, the ramifications on recruiting and scholarships will impact greatly on athletic budgets already stretched too thin. It is anticipated that schools will take a loss on revenues of 20% or more from this academic year, which may imperil some non-revenue sports.

Think of the impact on seniors ready to graduate high school. They have no clear direction as to what will happen as they head off to college, preparing for learning that may be on line and sports which will be on hold or a spring log jam created by the holdover seniors returning to play the lost season. What can we say to them—many who may have tragically lost somebody near and dear to them?

Then there is one other major factor that all sports will be facing. The pandemic is creating an economic crisis akin to the Great Recession or even the Great Depression. Probably 10-15% of the work force is unemployed. Those numbers will rise as the year goes on. 

Money to spend on sports will be unavailable. People will be hard pressed to afford luxury items like a baseball game for a family of four, season tickets or even cable TV and Internet bills. The derivative effect on sports will be devastating to the already fragile economy. 

It is going to take years to rebuild the successes we, as a nation, have nurtured. Sadly, this applies to sports and academia, for we are experiencing a challenge like no other that mankind has faced. That which was normal before has morphed into a “new” normal of masks, sanitizers and toilet paper shortages. This “new” normal will translate into a different America when the pandemic ends. What it will be will entirely up to conjecture.

Normally I would write more about the 5’5” point guard from Watchung Hills Regional High School, a relative of Fan Y, who was first team All-State in NJ high school basketball. Michael Bressler earned his honors by playing above his height, against behemoths who populate the sport and are headed to the blue blood basketball colleges. Michael received some interest from NYU. In the fall he heads to Maryland with no designs to play collegiate ball. 

Nonetheless, it warmed my heart to see someone who didn’t belong among giants, make the ultimate team with heart, determination and talent. Such a great story when it is so needed.

Perhaps we can take solace that we still cling to our devotion to teams as a release of frustration and anger that will continue to well up in our minds as the inevitable suffering is prolonged. And maybe we should continue to feel this way about our teams. It may be one way we re-emerge from the darkness of our plight. 

We have always looked to our sports heroes. Now, starting with that former Regis High 

School point guard, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has a bobblehead figure and T-shirts with his likeness on them for charity, we have a whole set of different priorities and people to relate to. 

I close with the words of the late Jim Valvano, Rutgers guard, Class of 1967, better known as the N.C. State men’s basketball coach who pulled a miraculous upset to win an NCAA title they never should have won. Fighting the battle with a cancer which consumed him, Valvano bravely went on stage to accept an award and vowed “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” 

We should remember that sentiment are a clarion call. Although we are in the darkness of COVID-19, there will be a day when we see the light at the end of the tunnel. .

Be well. Be safe.