Things Are Very Fluid

A word which has broad applicability is “fluid.” Webster’s II New College Dictionary has the fourth definition which we use in this instance: “easily changed or tending to change.”

No word can capture what is happening in this country more than the word fluid as defined above. It is interesting, at least to me, that the words “ flow,” “fluctuate,”and “fluent” are all in close proximity. Then again, “flue,” “fluff,” “flounder,” “fluke,” “flurry,” “flout,” “flourish,” and “flunk” are all nearby. Not to mention “flugelhorn” and “flush.”

Sports and the world we live in is in a continual transition to a place where we have not yet gone. What may have been the case yesterday has changed dramatically by today. There is no rule of thumb that can be safely applied other than the fact that the coronavirus is still out there and remains potent. 

No better examples of this uncertainty are the MLB talks, NHL camps and the NBA plan. And by the time I complete this blog, what may be in effect now could be old, eviscerated news. 

People thought that MLB and the MLBPA were en route to a settlement of their differences. MLBPA head Tony Clark’s ultimatum to Commissioner Rob Manfred about showing the union a place and time to show and play, followed by Manfred’s unprecedented flight to Phoenix for a face-to-face meeting with Clark led to a supposed framework for a deal. 

Except that it didn’t. MLB’s 60 game plan was countered by a 70 game offering from the players. Which has been rejected by the owners. Leaving the talks in limbo, along with the legion of fans hoping and praying for cooler heads to prevail. 

But there are hawkish owners who will not accede to anything the players want and who are willing to throw the season away rather than lose their leverage. These selfish owners, would be abandoning the fans and product, as well as the good which could come from a resumption of Our National Pastime. 

Time is closing in on the parties. To play into November with expanded playoffs is tempting fate according to Dr. Anthony Fauci. He knows that there will be an expected influenza outbreak in the fall. Plus, Dr. Fauci is very confident that there will be a second wave of COVID-19, and we cannot anticipate how virulent it is going to be. 

Baseball has not established a season. Any protocols for the players and individuals involved have not been shared. 

Which is why the shutdown of the minor league and training camps of the Blue Jays in Dunedin, FL and the Phillies in Clearwater, FL due to infected players was eye-opening. The same has happened to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL. As a result MLB has shut down all camps for “cleaning.” Great. You cannot cleanse a player who carries the virus. 

Cases of the virus are on the rise in an alarming rate in Florida, as well as in Arizona and Texas. California has mandated the wearing of masks. While New York has loosened its death grip on restraints to protect the public, if there is a repeat of the bar scene eschewing masks and social distancing this weekend in Manhattan, a shut down by Governor Andrew Cuomo 

is inevitable. 

What should be alarming to the MLB, if there is to be a season, is the fact that the aforementioned states are home to all of the training camps and 10 MLB franchises. How is there going to be a bubble which can adequately protect the athletes when they attempt to get ready for the season if the hospitalization rates continue to skyrocket?

For all of the posturing, MLB may not have a season because of what’s been the single, most pressing concern—COVID-19. And don’t think that the other leagues aren’t as upset over the way things are going—players in the NBA are wondering if it is prudent to play in Orlando for dual reasons—the political optics with what has unfolded in Minneapolis, Atlanta and too many other places, coupled with the specter of infection no matter how secure the league attempts to make the circumstances. 

Dr. Fauci has said that the NFL will be in real jeopardy without a protective bubble. And that may not be enough to prevent the ravages of the coronavirus. 

We see repeated signs that college athletes have been exposed to the virus in Texas, Alabama and other states which loosely enforced restrictions or avoided them for convenience. Now there has been the revelation that 23 Clemson football players and one PGA Tour member have tested positive. And with a President who is looking to fill an arena in Tulsa with his supporters and wants them to not wear masks and sign a liability waiver, the likelihood of his followers and others being exposed to the virus grows exponentially with their disdain. 

I saw an article about Babe Ruth in 1918. He was already legendary as a pitcher and hitter with the Boston Red Sox. Yet he almost died from the Spanish flu pandemic as he contracted the virus twice, the second time in conjunction with the practice in vogue of barnstorming—in this instance in New England—to let fans see him and to make more money directly. 

My stance is no different than before. Be prudent. Heck, Orlando is one of the hotspots in Florida and Orlando International Airport also has been so identified. I realize that the NBA season is a month away, but is there ever really going to be enough control over the coronavirus to insure the safety of the players?  

Thus, all the disagreements between MLB and the MLBPA may become moot. Is it that necessary to have games in empty stadiums playing on TV while exposing the players to potential harm?  I think not. 

I actually wasn’t going to write on the four major sports in this context. I was first going to discuss the Belmont Stakes. It is this Saturday. The Triple Crown is out of order, with the last race going first. It will be contested at a shorter distance than is traditionally run. No fans will be in attendance. There will be no backstretch, throaty, guttural New York roar to greet the horses and jockeys on the way to the finish line. Appropriately, a horse named ’Tis the Law is the favorite. The whole thing is going to be surreal.

This past week so many historical events took place in the sports world. Suffice it to say that we just reached the 26th anniversary of O.J. Simpson’s infamous Ford Bronco drive with former Buffalo teammate Al Cowlings through the highways and streets of Los Angeles. That was the same night the Knicks took a 3-2 lead on the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals. And Knicks fans know all too well how that turned out.

Governor Cuomo gave the green light for the U.S. Open to proceed sans fans and with reduced on court personnel such as ball boys and judges. While Serena Williams is looking forward to returning to Flushing Meadow, a number of top men and women do not share that enthusiasm and are on the fence about playing. Once more, I question the necessity of holding this tournament. 

I commend NASCAR for banning the Confederate flag at its races. The Good Old Boys mantra may still exist in the Deep South, but the symbol of the War Between the States, a war that was about retention of the Southern way of doing things and which of course meant continuing slavery, has been removed.

The Southeastern Conference has taken a bolder stance. By saying no SEC championships will be held in Mississippi until the Mississippi State Flag, with its “Stars and Bars”, a resounding rebuke by white supremacists to the rise of blacks in the Reconstruction South, is removed, the SEC echoes the need to cut the ties to the Confederacy. The difference is that this is economics tied to the sacred politics of one state. NASCAR is private, and it did not want to suffer the economic loss that might occur if sponsors withdrew their support. Either way, the time is right for change. 

`Sadly, vandals defaced a Richmond, VA statute of Arthur Ashe, the great African-American tennis player and activist. Conversely, statues for George Preston Marshall, the former Redskins owner and Calvin Griffith, the late Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins owner, symbolic of racism in D.C., have been removed. As much as we push forward, there will be enough blowback to deal with. It should never deter the need to restructure the prevailing climate. 

Not to overdo this blog with heavy-duty thought, I came across two lists this week. Remember, in this time of the pandemic and very little live TV sports, lists on web sites have become the filler norm.

First, there was a ranking of the Big Ten football stadiums. Even if Rutgers has been at the bottom of the heap on the field, High Point Solutions Stadium came in at #13, ahead of Ryan Field at Northwestern.  I am willing to bet that once fans are allowed back into stadiums, RU will easily surpass Maryland and could make it into the top 10. The complete list, from top to bottom:

1.   Ohip Stadium

2.   Beaver Stadium (Penn State)

3.   Camp Randall Stadium (Wisconsin)

4.   Kinnick Stadium (Iowa)

5.   Michigan Stadium

6.   Memorial Stadium (Nebraska)

7.   TCF Bank Stadium (Minnesota)

8.   Spartan Stadium (Michigan State)

9.   Ross-Ade Stadium (Purdue)

10. Memorial Stadium (Illinois)

11. Memorial Stadium (Indiana)

12. Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium

13. High Points Solutions Stadium (Rutgers)

14. Ryan Field (Northwestern)

Then there was the article about the top ten divisional rivalries in the NFL. Here’s the list:  

1.   Green Bay-Chicago

2.   Dallas-Philadelphia

3.   Baltimore-Pittsburgh

4.   Raiders-Kansas City

5.   Washington-Giants

6.   New England-Jets

7.   San Francisco-Rams

8.   Buffalo-Miami

9.   Atlanta-New Orleans

10. Chargers-Denver

Now some of them I buy into. The first two I agree with. I think the Raiders and Chiefs is the third choice. 

I know that there is a history between Buffalo and Miami through the years,. But Miami is ahead by 11 games and Miami had a streak of 20 straight wins from 1970-79.

I thought the Giants and Dallas had a better rivalry than the Redskins and Giants—NYG leads the series 103-69-4 and they are 31-18-1 since 1995. It was surprising to me that the Eagles and Redskins and the Eagles and Giants weren’t listed.

I would have put the Rams and 49’ers in 5th place. The Rams trail only by 4 wins.

Yes, the Jets and Patriots hate each other. As do the fans. It’s that Boston-New York thing. Bill Belichick is 31-11 against the Jets—and he lost the first three games his teams played against New York.

I thought that Chicago-Detroit, Detroit-Green Bay and Green-Bay-Minnesota might have made the list. Maybe Miami-New England instead of Buffalo-Miami. Buffalo-New England is a rivalry, too. As is Kansas City-Denver, probably more so than the Chargers and Denver. 

I thought about this for the NBA. All I could come up with are Boston-Philadelphia, Chicago-Milwaukee, Detroit-Chicago, Chicago-Indiana and maybe Dallas-Houston. The remainder were Knicks rivalries—and are the Knicks truly someone’s rival?

In hockey, you can argue about Rangers-Islanders, Montreal-Toronto, Edmonton-Calgary, Kings-Ducks, Black Hawks-Blues, Ottawa-Montreal, Detroit-Chicago, Rangers-Devils, Flyers-Rangers and Washington-Philadelphia. All merit consideration on a Top 10 divisional rivals list. 

That’s the beauty of these kinds of things. Arguments ensue over positioning or even inclusion. 

Because just like today’s current events, everything seems to be in flux. After all, things are very fluid in the sports world.