Sports Are Back - Sort Of - Printable Version
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Sports Are Back - Sort Of - Genuine Realist - 04-10-2020
The German Bundesliga will resume play in May, in empty stadiums, and finish the season by June 30. At this point in time, these figure to be the most covered events in history.
Though I fully accept the social distancing, I diagreed with the cancellation of the NCAA basketball events. There aren't that many participnts - testing could have been managed. Seeing teams play in empty arenas. It would have been an indicia of some sort of normality..
Ditto the tennis tournament at Indian Wells, which (obviously) has even fewer participants. In that case, the cancellation may have been influenced by the fact that the prize fund could not have been funded without gate admissions - those tickets are super expensive. But I bet most of the participants would have acquiesced to reduced prizes.
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - magnus - 04-10-2020
Baseball starts in 5 hours!
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/professional-baseball-back-taiwan-where-robots-will-be-spectators-n1180561
Stream it free here
[Tweet]https://twitter.com/ElevenSportsTW/status/1248626253331984387?s=20[/tweet]
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - Mick - 04-11-2020
(04-10-2020, 08:57 PM)magnus Wrote: Baseball starts in 5 hours!
One option being considered by MLB is to play the season strictly in Arizona and Florida. You may have formerly heard of the idea to play all 30 teams in Arizona, now they're considering a realignment aimed at both spring training states. Teams would align along geographies, the season would be abbreviated and games could only be accessed via television; e.g., fans cannot attend.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/04/10/mlb-realignment-league-considers-radical-move-for-2020-season/5128935002/
https://arizonasports.com/story/2295https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/04/10/mlb-realignment-league-considers-radical-move-for-2020-season/5128935002/658/report-mlb-mulling-realignment-to-resume-season-in-az-florida/
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - OutsiderFan - 04-11-2020
Since the Giants' only interest to me is the development of Bart, Ramos, Luciano, Bishop, Corry, Hjelle, etc. not at the MLB level, my only concern is the farm system losing a whole year of development.
I'd way rather see the minor leagues playing than MLB if I had my druthers.
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - Snorlax94 - 04-12-2020
From last night’s SNL from home.
I’m still giddy from the out-of-nowhere win by top left kernel.
https://youtu.be/040dGF8qhrU
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - magnus - 04-12-2020
(04-12-2020, 02:41 PM)Snorlax94 Wrote: From last night’s SNL from home.Haven't watched the video yet, but your description made me think of this from last month.
I’m still giddy from the out-of-nowhere win by top left kernel.
https://youtu.be/040dGF8qhrU
[Tweet]https://twitter.com/davdchristmas/status/1239196410857340933?s=20[/tweet]
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - magnus - 04-13-2020
Probably more aptly titled, Sorta Sports are Back
https://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/29031903/wwe-deemed-essential-business-florida-mayor-says
Looks like Florida has deemed WWE essential business (to Florida's economy) and will being broadcasting live shows starting tonight (without fan attendance).
Wonder if that will mean it is more likely that MLB's proposal to have half the league play in Florida this summer will happen. (Guess if 14-16 teams are playing in Florida, that would be an impact to a state/local economy. As opposed to just the Rays and the Marlins hosting games, heh.)
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - Genuine Realist - 04-13-2020
(04-13-2020, 07:57 PM)magnus Wrote: Probably more aptly titled, Sorta Sports are Back
https://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/29031903/wwe-deemed-essential-business-florida-mayor-says
Looks like Florida has deemed WWE essential business (to Florida's economy) and will being broadcasting live shows starting tonight (without fan attendance).
Wonder if that will mean it is more likely that MLB's proposal to have half the league play in Florida this summer will happen. (Guess if 14-16 teams are playing in Florida, that would be an impact to a state/local economy. As opposed to just the Rays and the Marlins hosting games, heh.)
My 'sort of' in the title referred to the absence of scoring in futbol, other than guys at home with bored girlfriends.
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - magnus - 04-13-2020
(04-13-2020, 08:17 PM)Genuine Realist Wrote:Oh, interesting. I figured it just meant that you were questioning how "back" it was if it was playing to an empty audience.(04-13-2020, 07:57 PM)magnus Wrote: Probably more aptly titled, Sorta Sports are Back
https://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/29031903/wwe-deemed-essential-business-florida-mayor-says
Looks like Florida has deemed WWE essential business (to Florida's economy) and will being broadcasting live shows starting tonight (without fan attendance).
Wonder if that will mean it is more likely that MLB's proposal to have half the league play in Florida this summer will happen. (Guess if 14-16 teams are playing in Florida, that would be an impact to a state/local economy. As opposed to just the Rays and the Marlins hosting games, heh.)
My 'sort of' in the title referred to the absence of scoring in futbol, other than guys at home with bored girlfriends.
Anyway, my comment was not aimed at you, but rather I was just titling my contribution to the thread, figuring the WWE isn't exactly a sport.
Sorry for the confusion.
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - Genuine Realist - 04-13-2020
(04-13-2020, 09:08 PM)magnus Wrote:Oh, this is a tongue in cheek line. Plus I'm incredibly thick skinned.(04-13-2020, 08:17 PM)Genuine Realist Wrote:Oh, interesting. I figured it just meant that you were questioning how "back" it was if it was playing to an empty audience.(04-13-2020, 07:57 PM)magnus Wrote: Probably more aptly titled, Sorta Sports are Back
https://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/29031903/wwe-deemed-essential-business-florida-mayor-says
Looks like Florida has deemed WWE essential business (to Florida's economy) and will being broadcasting live shows starting tonight (without fan attendance).
Wonder if that will mean it is more likely that MLB's proposal to have half the league play in Florida this summer will happen. (Guess if 14-16 teams are playing in Florida, that would be an impact to a state/local economy. As opposed to just the Rays and the Marlins hosting games, heh.)
My 'sort of' in the title referred to the absence of scoring in futbol, other than guys at home with bored girlfriends.
Anyway, my comment was not aimed at you, but rather I was just titling my contribution to the thread, figuring the WWE isn't exactly a sport.
Sorry for the confusion.
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - SamuelMcF - 04-14-2020
ESPN is in talks about broadcasting the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) League, which will be starting up again soon. Of course, the 13-hour time difference might be a killer. But methinks the sports diehards (and especially baseball fans) will tune in at any time that isn't the dead of night.
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - BostonCard - 04-14-2020
I'm old enough to remember when ESPN regularly broadcast Aussie Rules Football matches. They were fun to watch.
BC
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - Farm93 - 04-14-2020
(04-14-2020, 11:13 AM)BostonCard Wrote: I'm old enough to remember when ESPN regularly broadcast Aussie Rules Football matches. They were fun to watch.Those were the good ole days for ESPN. Aussie Rules Football, mud pit races, and countless other sports with low cost broadcasting rights.
BC
ESPN absolutely needs content because this HORSE and virtual racing stuff is not going to be enough to justify their carriage fees. I don't think Korea and Taiwan baseball will get the desired ratings, but once the NFL draft is complete ESPN will lose one of their biggest daily topics.
In the baby steps back to normal I would expect golf to be first big time sport for the USA. The lack of a crowd will not be a big issue for the TV audience and the competitors do not need to be close to each other. Even if a player or two gets COVID-19, the show could easily go on as no one player is required for the event to start on a Thursday or continue to Sunday.
Tennis is better with an audience, but it should be possible for tennis to start early too. There would be a risk for a few COVID19 walkovers each tournament, but that should not be a major issue since walkovers happen at every tournament.
However, the team sports are more vulnerable to forfeits. If a team had any player test positive would that team need to forfeit games for a couple of weeks. The NHL and NBA had outbreaks, but the leagues were already suspended. If the schedule was active would they have forced those team to forfeit games? What if it happened in the playoffs. Imagine if before game #2 of a 7 game series a team had identified a couple of COVID19 positives. Would that COVID-19 team get eliminated? That could become a problem for the TV broadcaster.
College sports will remain a no go for months because the student-athletes are still students attending school with other students. Maybe Alabama or Clemson would be OK risking their students, faculty, staff and research efforts for TV football revenue, but my guess is Stanford wouldn't want to take that risk.
Imagine the fallout from an issue with a non revenue sport?
The women's field hockey and volleyball teams compete against dozens of schools in August and September. Could you imagine if a university is forced to implement emergency virtual learning for thousands of students because members of the field hockey team got COVID-19 while playing Ball State?
I just can't see most schools with any meaningful academic work risking university operations so a few girls can whack a ball on astroturf. And given title IX, I can't see how a school could permit football to move forward without allowing WFH and WVB to move forward too.
I guess we will see when the West Coast and East Coast states outline their path forward. My bet is the NCAA will see enough uncertainty to suspend the fall sports. We should know by 30 days or less.
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - teejers1 - 04-14-2020
(04-14-2020, 04:28 PM)Farm93 Wrote: Those were the good ole days for ESPN. Aussie Rules Football, mud pit races, and countless other sports with low cost broadcasting rights.
ESPN absolutely needs content because this HORSE and virtual racing stuff is not going to be enough to justify their carriage fees. I don't think Korea and Taiwan baseball will get the desired ratings, but once the NFL draft is complete ESPN will lose one of their biggest daily topics.
In the baby steps back to normal I would expect golf to be first big time sport for the USA. The lack of a crowd will not be a big issue for the TV audience and the competitors do not need to be close to each other. Even if a player or two gets COVID-19, the show could easily go on as no one player is required for the event to start on a Thursday or continue to Sunday.
Tennis is better with an audience, but it should be possible for tennis to start early too. There would be a risk for a few COVID19 walkovers each tournament, but that should not be a major issue since walkovers happen at every tournament.
Golf.
Tennis.
Baseball. (I don't see much transmission risk from the game itself - the logistics of getting half the teams in one locale and the other half in another; and supported by essential personnel for housing and meals; is far more risky (but not out of the realm of possibility).
If I had to bet, I'd agree that fall sports unlikely. But there is something incongruous about a policy of "we're willing to send kids back to schools for regular classes - even with seating distancing - and living," but no sports competition allowed. Is volleyball really a high-risk transmission sport? [Interestingly, it's the revenue sports that strike me as highest risk . . . but until there is a vaccine there will always be risk. Are you going to suspend those sports until there is a vaccine? If so . . . all college sports at risk].
I also think CA and Alabama may have very different approaches. And if the feds get involved in laws/rules, we might have some good old fashioned Commerce Clause/Supremacy Clause disputes decided on the fast track.
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - 2006alum - 04-14-2020
(04-14-2020, 05:13 PM)teejers1 Wrote: Golf.
Tennis.
Baseball. (I don't see much transmission risk from the game itself - the logistics of getting half the teams in one locale and the other half in another; and supported by essential personnel for housing and meals; is far more risky (but not out of the realm of possibility).
Gold and Tennis are truly global sports. Until global travel is back in place in a semi-normal capacity, that seems pretty risky to me, because each tennis player and golfer brings along an entourage of coaches, caddies, PT, family members, etc. And I can't see the PGA, ATP, WTA, or ITF condoning hosting tournaments where players from certain countries are banned due to the underlying conditions in those countries? For example, right now France has banned all non-EU travelers. I think the U.S. still has bans in place for China, the EU, and the UK and Ireland, right? Won't those all have to be lifted before you can even think of hosting international tournaments?
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - Farm93 - 04-14-2020
(04-14-2020, 05:24 PM)2006alum Wrote:Golf will be easier because a lot of the second tier USA players don't have big crews. I think you could set it up so that if you attend you can bring a coach and a caddie. That's it. If you don't like that deal, then you can't attend. Easy to secure country club set-up should make those restrictions enforceable.(04-14-2020, 05:13 PM)teejers1 Wrote: Golf.
Tennis.
Baseball. (I don't see much transmission risk from the game itself - the logistics of getting half the teams in one locale and the other half in another; and supported by essential personnel for housing and meals; is far more risky (but not out of the realm of possibility).
Gold and Tennis are truly global sports. Until global travel is back in place in a semi-normal capacity, that seems pretty risky to me, because each tennis player and golfer brings along an entourage of coaches, caddies, PT, family members, etc. And I can't see the PGA, ATP, WTA, or ITF condoning hosting tournaments where players from certain countries are banned due to the underlying conditions in those countries? For example, right now France has banned all non-EU travelers. I think the U.S. still has bans in place for China, the EU, and the UK and Ireland, right? Won't those all have to be lifted before you can even think of hosting international tournaments?
Tennis' top tier has a lot of support staff, but in the summer the players generally are cruising around the USA in prep for the US Open. I doubt the US Open will happen because of its location, but it should be easy to get some of those other events up and running. Again, it could be done so that a player can only get credentials, and therefore access, to one coach and a hitting partner.
Without fans it should be easy to get social distancing for the players and that smaller support group in both sports.
Remember both tours have to know their advantage is they are not team sports and they are not contact sports. If they could get on the air their ratings would be enormous. As every player in both sports is essentially a free agent, should anyone not want to participate they could opt out.
FWIW - College sports for the Fall 2020 season is almost done already. A lot of schools are already sending information to faculty and the media about preparing for remote/virtual learning for the start of the 2020-2021 academic year. If it is too risky for students to share the same classroom how on earth could colleges justify making their student-athletes train, practice and travel together in contact sports?
Starting and then stopping midseason has to be something the NCAA would like to avoid.
While here. Imagine a world where there is no football in 2020. Would it be possible for Stanford to allow Cal to host the 2021 Big Game? That way Stanford could finally get even and odd year balance while also being really charitable to UCB and the UCB AD.
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - BostonCard - 04-14-2020
I think it is a bit premature to write off fall sports. We are 143 from Stanford's kickoff against William and Mary. 143 days before today was November 22, 2019, and if Covid-19 was already spreading in humans, nobody knew yet.
I don't think the disease will be licked by then, but in even two months the landscape may look dramatically different, as it did from two months ago to today.
BC
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - stupac2 - 04-15-2020
(04-14-2020, 09:08 PM)BostonCard Wrote: I think it is a bit premature to write off fall sports. We are 143 from Stanford's kickoff against William and Mary. 143 days before today was November 22, 2019, and if Covid-19 was already spreading in humans, nobody knew yet.
I don't think the disease will be licked by then, but in even two months the landscape may look dramatically different, as it did from two months ago to today.
BC
Except that the things that are uncertain about the future from right now are basically political. Sports are conceivable if we have the test/trace/isolate paradigm in place, but probably not without it (except for some minor ones that allow social distancing). So your optimism about whether they can happen is basically your optimism about the capabilities of our politicians. So, uh, yeah, I'm not super optimistic.
Back in November the uncertainty about today was mainly due to "black swan" events. Of course one did happen, but the fact that it happened has no bearing on what we'd expect to happen going forward. We black swanned our way into this, but we're not going to black swan our way out.
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - Farm93 - 04-15-2020
(04-15-2020, 08:15 AM)stupac2 Wrote:Exactly stupac2!(04-14-2020, 09:08 PM)BostonCard Wrote: I think it is a bit premature to write off fall sports. We are 143 from Stanford's kickoff against William and Mary. 143 days before today was November 22, 2019, and if Covid-19 was already spreading in humans, nobody knew yet.
I don't think the disease will be licked by then, but in even two months the landscape may look dramatically different, as it did from two months ago to today.
BC
Except that the things that are uncertain about the future from right now are basically political. Sports are conceivable if we have the test/trace/isolate paradigm in place, but probably not without it (except for some minor ones that allow social distancing). So your optimism about whether they can happen is basically your optimism about the capabilities of our politicians. So, uh, yeah, I'm not super optimistic.
Back in November the uncertainty about today was mainly due to "black swan" events. Of course one did happen, but the fact that it happened has no bearing on what we'd expect to happen going forward. We black swanned our way into this, but we're not going to black swan our way out.
Governor Cuomo's conference today outlined just how impossible the testing and tracing will be for NY. If any single state is unable to do the testing, tracing and isolation required then the NCAA will likely need to skip the season for the entire USA. Maybe NCAA could skip over ND or SD, but not NY or MA or VA.
NY, PA, MA have a lot of colleges. If those states are struggling to do testing and tracing for critical industries, I just don't see them stopping those efforts to allocate resources to test college kids playing field hockey each week. And Title IX would suggest if a school/state can't provide resources for the women's sports then they can't do it for the men's sports.
We shall see, but unless there is a drug treatment for COVID19 patients I would be big money on....
1) College dorms remaining closed in at least a few states as they are essentially ground based cruise ships.
2) No field hockey, and therefore no other NCAA sports.
RE: Sports Are Back - Sort Of - stupac2 - 04-15-2020
(04-15-2020, 11:38 AM)Farm93 Wrote: 2) No field hockey, and therefore no other NCAA sports.
I assume you're using field hockey as a stand-in for all non-revenue team sports, because I'm not sure there's anything unique to it that wouldn't be true about soccer or water polo or a bunch of others. I know it's possible in theory to do competitions in golf or tennis or track safely, but I'm not sure you can do anything else about them safely, and I genuinely don't know how you have athletes in dorms but no one else.
Anyway, we'll see. I'm setting my expectation that we don't see any sports of any kind* until next spring at the earliest, but am willing to be pleasantly surprised if that's not the case.
*Excluding certifiably insane proposals like doing UFC fights on a private island.