The clock is ticking for 2020 sports schedules and events. The Open Championship (aka as the British Open as in golf) just canceled for mid-July and the Masters was pushed back to November. The US Open (as in tennis) is scheduled for late August and you have to figure the USTA has a month to decide on what they will do.
The NCAA has been discussing having college football play in the summer with no out-of-conference games (and no students for most of the games?). Their concern is another outbreak of COVID-19 in the Fall as the weather turns colder.
MLB is now toying with the idea of starting the season in May with all games being played in Arizona presumably with no fans present. Other than Tampa Bay which draws no crowds anyway, clearly not ideal. The challenge for baseball is that there are a lot of people that are involved other than the players and the coaches. You have athletic trainers, clubhouse attendants, the media, grounds crews, umpires, etc. that you will have to ensure don’t have the virus on a daily basis. The games can be played in the various spring training facilities in Arizona which is now home to about half the teams.
SU says the issue is testing: you would have to test everyone constantly and get the anti-body testing up and running. But wait: isn’t the US doing the most testing of any country in the world and don’t we have the best test? Er, nope and nope. SU trusts that MLB relies on its own experts rather than watching TV around 5:30 pm every day.
Now, if they can get the testing in place and if they can get the players to agree (which is not clear to SU), you might be able to start the season for a month or so with the hope of starting games in the regular cities by the end of June. Possible? Maybe. Better than nothing? Definitely.
SU still maintains that the PGA TOUR could do something similar with no spectators. If MLB launches, we may see some action there. For the NHL, MLS and NBA, it’s hard to see how they can move forward given the heavy player contact in those sports. The NFL is plowing forward but training camps usually open in late July and hard to see how that happens on time.
The USTA has announced a pause on tennis nationwide. The view is that players can pass the virus by touching the ball, net post, benches, etc.
Netflix/Amazon Update:
- SU watched Bodyguard in 2 nights – 6 episodes. Very good and suspenseful. Enjoyed that a lot.
- Started Goliath but struggling to get in the flow in season 1.
- Almost done with Tiger King. Interesting documentary and I will finish it but again, having some issues getting to the end.
- Enjoying the Plot Against America. May also read the book.
- Ozark Season 3 was excellent as mentioned before.
- Enjoyed the movie 1917 but not for everyone.
- Homeland continues to shine in its final season.
- Thinking of starting the Americans as I need a long series to occupy my time.
Check the SU Comments archives: some very good suggestions from the intergalactic subscriber base. And of course, add your suggestions here.
The Tennis Channel is starting to show matches from past French Opens and there was a good finals last night with Djokovic losing to Nadal in 2012. The clay matches are good as they take 4 hours and hey, we are all about filling time (and trying not to eat too much).
SU is always interested in your comments and this is a great time to hear from people who tend not to share. The floor is open!
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Golf is clearly made for social distancing and the crowds are not critical for the event other than at the Phoenix Waste Mgmnt event. I also don’t believe they make a significant part of their revenue from gate receipts and concessions compared to other sports so I think the economics work better too.
Golf seems like a no brainer. Use carts (no caddies), so the game would go much faster and no risk to players or caddies. Start out the first tournament with no fans – or limit to x fans per hole. If they wanted to be conservative, install systems in cups that would take balls underground (like miniature golf). Balls could be sanitized and returned to players every X holes (or contributed to charity – designate as the “Covid Balls). Players could initial each of them so they could become collector items. Since they would be driving, carrying 24 balls (18 for holes and 6 spares) would not be an issue.
Think of the ratings for the first live sport to come back. Think of what this could do for bringing more golf fans into the game.
Americans is terrific. Other long term recommendations-
Animal Kingdom, Banshee, Justified, Godfather of Harlem (only 1 season), Fauda, Breaking Bad, Yellowstone. Stay with Goliath- Billy Bob is great. Also, the Man in the High Castle was interesting.
I loved all of Justified but Season 2 is pretty much perfect.
Considerations for these sports is more than just the players on the field. To make a game happen takes crews of people on site and crews of people to produce the broadcast. And what are they making the TV content for? Advertising spends are way down. If car dealerships and Applebees and cruise ships aren’t open for business, are they going to be buying ad time during games. Seems like a lot has to change before enough things fall into place to make pro sports viable.
I’m not familiar with the NCAA discussions but the fact that they are not even pretending to be linked to the academic calendar and aren’t basing their decisions on whether classes/labs/students will be operating as normal, is exactly the behavior that should have all of us ignoring college sports.
I’m not a tennis fan but I know many here are. This is old news but Andre Aggasi’ memoir is fantastic. I’m only about 20% in but it’s a great read even if not a huge tennis or sports fan. This is a guy struggling with all sorts of issues and laying it all out there.
Agree on the Bodyguard, Homeland, and Plot Against America. The Americans was excellent . A movie the Invisible Guest was great also. Stay healthy.
Looks like Saxon Woods and Maple Moore Golf is busy… but you need to walk the course. Anyone want to hike or bike from a safe distance let me know. The roads and paths are relatively clear and the fresh air does help get you through the day. BYOB…
Baseball will start in neutral fields in late May.
I am actually excited if baseball could pull it off, but like you would expect a late June early July start. Perhaps July 4th week. If they find a way to make it work their TV ratings would be astronomical – even if they played games starting at 7 PM Pacific.
I was amused by the Notre Dame AD’s comments regarding the college experience for Irish fans and game attendees. I would think that people would welcome college football even if they had to watch on TV, but since ND is an independent perhaps their games could be cancelled without much fanfare or impact on those who are willing to play in front of empty stadiums. No word yet if NBC (Comcast) executives share his sentiment. All that being said, I think the NBA is the first to pull the plug on their season. Possibly as soon as next week.
Tiger King – perhaps I don’t get it. Was expecting something else and don’t understand the intrigue. Even though someone lost a hand (which ironically was the one time there was not a camera present and the recovery took 15 minutes) and there is someone sitting in jail accused of murder, it still appears to be too scripted to believe. Perhaps have a spin-off show that revolves around the on-site pizza restaurant using Wal Mart mystery meat (and possibly past show performers) as a topping…
Still no momentum with Hunters (too much downtime between action), and for some reason I am out of order with Schitt’s Creek – but find it entertaining regardless and Eugene Levy and family have great chemistry.
I’m getting psyched for:
Who wants to be a Millionaire tomorrow night