SU is back from some R&R up in Cape Cod and has been checking out the baseball action.  Some early observations:

• SU likes the FOX broadcast where they (at least in Wrigley Field) show a fake crowd for any foul balls hit down the lines.  It’s a computer produced crowd of real people.  I suppose that they could also do this for home runs.
• The home ballparks are piping in crowd noise at the appropriate times.  Another good move.
• Too much A-Rod.  Ready to move on to the local broadcasters.
• SU hates the Yankee all right-handed line up.  Enough chatter of how big they are although Voit and Stanton clearly stayed out of the weight room for a number of months now.  Especially Voit who must have lost 50 pounds.  I can’t believe I am even saying this but they should start Tyler Wade at 2nd base and play LeMahieu at 1st base.  They have too many hitters that are clones of one another: Judge; Stanton; Sanchez; Voit; Hicks.  SU says it’s hard to win with only 2 left-handed bats in the line up (Hicks, Gardner).
• The Generational One is off to a great start.  The trick will be to keep him healthy now.  Paxton’s velocity on his fastball was down 5 mph from last year – not a good sign as he is still recovering from surgery on his back.  With Severino out for the year, one of the youngsters needs to step up.
• The Mets already had their first blown save from Diaz.  Glad to see him get that out of the way quickly.  SU says in a 60-game season, you cannot afford those nor the early exits like Paxton gave them last night.  You have to try and win every game.  Sure, the number of teams in the playoffs is expanded (which is great) but you also want to have home field for that first round 3-game series.
• Greg Bird was so bad in preseason that he did not make the Texas Rangers’ roster.  And to top it off, they have moved Todd Frazier from 3rd base to play 1st base.  Disappointing for SU but Bird earned it in his career.  No one to blame but himself or perhaps as some on this blog say he was never that good.

Bottom line: great to have baseball back and SU will ease into it.  But  Boone needs to sprinkle in the contact hitters to the line up like Tauchman and Wade (ugh, still hard to even say that).  Balance is key.

SU has tried to watch the MLS games but to be honest, I can’t hang in there for a 1-0 game.  I have watched several games and still have not seen a goal.  Excited about the return of the NBA.  SU predicts that with no fans in the stands, it will feel like a scrimmage and the pace of play will be very fast and up tempo.  Defense will be secondary.

Are you ready for some live games?  Or too funky for your tastes?

OK, so there is no love lost between MLB and the MLBPA.  No doubt there will be worse days ahead next year as they start to negotiate the next CBA.  But at least on paper we can now look forward to a 60-game season plus the post-season assuming COVID-19 does not interfere come the Fall.  SU has a few questions for you:

• Clearly, 60 games vs. 162 games requires a whole different strategy for managers and GMs.  Also, an accelerated spring training means you don’t want to burn out your big gun starters in July and August.  SU says this favors the teams with the strong bullpens.  Guys like Gerret Cole will be huge in October but you don’t want to mess them up with too many innings in the regular season.
• While a 60-game season is very short, it also means that managers can’t just blow off games by having starters chew up innings in lost cause games.  You need to get off to a good start to the season and every game matters.  It really does.
• What is the over/under for the number of games that Giancarlo Stanton plays?  SU puts it at 15.  He will immediately get injured in spring training in early July and then come back in September for the playoffs.
• The big wild card is COVID-19 and what happens if key guys test positive at any point in the season.  Btw, as a public service announcement from SU for the President, the “19” stands for the year 2019.  Sluggers can easily be replaced but your top starting pitchers can’t and being out for 14 days in October is the difference between winning and losing.  SU says teams need to really quarantine these guys in October – as in not having them in the dugout for games they are not starting and locking them  in their apartments.  Seriously.  And no more home run hugs in the dugouts.
• Should there be a Cy Young or an MVP this year?  Does a starter who goes 8-1 deserve an award?  SU says not.

Meanwhile, as a follow-up to the tennis tournament played in the Baltics the last 2 weeks, now Djokovic, his trainer, his wife, and 2 other ATP players have all tested positive.  So did the the Denver Nuggets star, Nikola Jokic, who attended the tournament in Belgrade.  What a mess.

The Yankees and Dodgers are the favorites to win it all from the Vegas experts.  The challenge for the Yankees is how to squeeze in all of their injuries in a 60-game season.  It will be interesting to see how the ratings are.  MLB lost a lot of fan goodwill over the past several weeks.  But fans are desperate.

So, any thoughts on the upcoming season?  We know long-time subscriber, S. Long, thinks there won’t be a season, and he may be right.  Anyone excited?

While all of the major sports and pro sports leagues are actively planning for the launching/relaunching of their seasons and major tournaments, there is not smooth sailing ahead.  Consider:

• SU fave Novak Djokovic created a series of 4 exhibition events in the Adriatic region where most COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.  His first event last weekend in Belgrade featured packed crowds, no masks and players embracing at the net and partying at night bare chested in night clubs.  I mean: what could go wrong?  On the 2nd leg of the tour this past weekend in Croatia, first Gregor Dimitrov tested positive and now Borna Coric has also although he only played this most recent weekend.  One of Djokovic’s trainers also tested positive and Dimitrov’s coach.  And everyone else got tested yesterday except Djokovic who returned to Monte Carlo as he had no symptoms.  Sigh.  If you watched on the Tennis Channel (as SU did along with 9 others globally) you saw that the press conferences featured all of the players side-by-side, basketball and soccer pick-up games with the top players and other events.  Not smart.  The only positive is that they will now have the antibody which hopefully provides some immunity from getting the virus again (still not confirmed that will happen but hopefully is the case).
• Will the US Open now allow these players who tested positive to come in August?  They need to self-quarantine for 14 days when they arrive and the calendar will be tight.  The US Open may end up being the really, really US Open with only American players.
• Meanwhile, MLB and the Players’ Union in addition to screwing around with the number of games is starting to have players test positive down in Florida which is having its own outbreaks in certain parts of the state.  They closed all of the practice facilities this weekend for cleaning.  SU says train in your home ballparks. around the country.  Not too many states are fairing worse than Florida now.  Why send all of your players down there for 3 weeks?
• Which leads us to the NBA and MLS which is having a tournament for all of its teams in Orlando in 2 weeks.  Now, Orlando, at least for the moment, is not a hot spot in Florida although Disney is re-opening next month.  No doubt the NBA is now questioning if Orlando was such a great idea for this.  Perhaps pick a couple of other cities that have much lower numbers?  Arizona, Florida and Texas are all spiking as we speak.    Not an easy call for Adam Silver who is the most capable of the Commissioners.  Keep your eye on this.
• The PGA TOUR is doing well as is NASCAR with their early events aside from the noose found in Bubba Wallace’s garage.  What a country.
• We are a month away from NFL training camps opening and we will likely know quickly how that is going to work.   SU says you are going to have to really do a lot more testing in the camps.

Bottom line: time to really, really get into watching golf and become a NASCAR racing fan.  Hard to see how these other sports are going to pull this off in the coming months although we are all desperately rooting for them (with the exception of baseball fans who are no doubt getting annoyed with the delays).

Keep those Netflix/Amazon suggestions coming…

SU has been quiet of late but we have been monitoring the slow and uneven progress of major sports readying themselves for live action with no spectators.  The latest:

• MLB is playing a brinksmanship game with the players.  By delaying an agreement, it just continues to reduce the number of possible games for the regular season.  Assuming that teams need at least 3 weeks of spring training, we are now past July 4th for the start of a season.  At the moment, it feels like a 50 – 70 game regular season with the likelihood at the lower end of that range.  As a fan, is this satisfying?  SU says that baseball has lost some goodwill with the fan base and the sniping and arguing over player salaries will have an effect on fan interest.  Not a good look.  But SU predicts that they will make a deal at the last minute as there is some money to be made.
• The NBA will start which is great.  All games in Orlando with no spectators.  If you have ever watched the Summer League games in Las Vegas, it will look like that in small venues.
• Will there be a tennis US Open?  SU has been monitoring this one.  The USTA has proposed that all players will stay in hotels near LaGuardia Airport and must self-quarantine for 2 weeks when they arrive and only 1 coach can accompany a player.  Djokovic is already balking at coming and says most players will stay away and ready for the clay season in Europe in September.  I must say the prospect of staying 3 weeks at a LaGuardia Airport hotel would be enough to keep me at home!  Of course, the bigger reality is that New York City is viewed as the epicenter for COVID-19 and no one wants to come here.  Federer is now out for the rest of 2020 and Nadal is also saying he likely won’t come.  The lesser players need the money and they will come.  The USTA should be making a decision next week.
• Golf is coming!  SU predicts that they will move to having spectators fairly quickly at least down in Texas and Florida and there is talk of even in Ohio for the Memorial Tournament.
• MLS will have a tournament in Orlando and the NHL will  be launching in select cities that are being determined now.  NASCAR is already racing and will soon allow spectators in some venues.
• The NFL is still on schedule to open training camps in July and a lot is riding on that.  SU still does not understand how this will work but the experts are working hard at making this happen.
• Finally, SU is hoping that colleges and universities open and at least give it a shot this Fall.  You need the campuses to be open for games to be played.  Probably fewer spectators in the stands but it feels like the NCAA will go forward with a reduced schedule.

SU stopped reading the sports section weeks ago and would like to resume.

A few recent Netflix shows to recommend to you:

• Halt and Catch Fire: a 4-season AMC Network series on the launch of the computer industry in the 1980s and 1990s.  Excellent.
• Sex Education: very funny; British.
• Fleabag: a couple of seasons; also British.  Also funny.
• Red Oaks: takes place in a country club.  Very good.
• Bodyguard: good action
• The Wire: most of you probably already watched it.  Thank goodness for closed captions.  SU is only on season 1 but really enjoying it so far.

All for now.  Sorry for the delay and hope to be more active in the weeks ahead.

Many thanks to long-time intergalactic SU subscriber, M. Levine, for tipping SU off to MSG’s rebroadcasting this week of all of the Linsanity games this week on the MSG Network.  Of course, Linsanity refers to the days of Jeremy Lin when he first joined the Knicks and they went on a 7-game winning streak.

SU watched the first 2 games last night – wins over the Nets and the Jazz (uh oh, did I give away the ending?).  Some may not recall that Melo was banged up then – he had a bad wrist in the first game and then pulled a groin early in the Jazz game.  The Garden was absolutely rocking both games.  Lin played 45 minutes against the Jazz.  The team was horrible – truly bad.  The front line was Melo, Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire.  Now, if you are the GM, who puts a front line together like that?  So immobile and how are they going to chase after smaller players?  Then, Melo gets hurt, Stoudemire’s brother is killed in a car accident and you are left with Billy Walker, Jeffries, Iman Shumpert, etc.

Watching that style of play with Lin was so uplifting – it reminded you what team basketball was all about.  It was funny in the first game as by the 4th quarter, when Melo got the ball on the wing and started doing the jab step move – once, twice, three times, etc., you could hear the fans shouting “Pass the Ball!!”  Tonight is the Laker game when Lin went off for 38 points I believe.  Must see TV.

And yet, and yet, what is new team President Leon Rose talking about doing for next season?  Bring back Lin from China?  Noooooope.  He may bring back Melo.  And there it is.  That’s why SU no longer pays attention to the Knicks.

If you google Youtube, there is an interesting recent conversation between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic weighing in on who the best players of their era are for serve, forehand, backhand, return, etc.  It’s about 11 minutes long and fun to hear some of their comments on their top competitors.  Here is the link if you are desperate for anything sports related:

OK, now to more important things.  SU has compiled a centralized listing for you of the top Netflix/Amazon/Hulu recommendations that have been showing up on the SU comments of late.  I can’t speak for many of these but I do trust the SU faithful – they would not steer you wrong.

• The Invisible Guest (movie – Spanish)
• Animal Kingdom
• Banshee
• Justified (recommended by a couple of people – but you have to watch through commercials so a little annoying but gets high marks)
• Godfather of Harlem
• Fauda (SU just finished season 3 – very exciting)
• Prisoners of War (Israeli; Homeland was based on this series – 2 seasons.  Season 1 was a little slow but things pick up in season 2 and SU is watching now)
• Yellowstone
• Man in the High Castle
• The Americans
• Peaky Blinders
• Jessica Jones
• Babylon Berlin
• Broadchurch
• Mind Hunters
• Money Heist (SU is watching now – comes highly recommended)
• Fringe
• PF
• Line of Duty
• Jack Ryan
• Goliath
• The Sinner
• Marcella
• Bodyguard (very good)
• Sex Education
• Fleabag
• Red Oaks

Never let it be said that SU was not worth the price of the subscription.

Finally, SU reads Sports Business Journal and the writer who has been providing evening updates was actually cautiously optimistic that college football would return in the Fall along with the opening of colleges.  Per John Ourand:

“During appearances on several radio shows last week, I expressed some skepticism over whether college football will be played this fall. As a parent of two college students who have been distance learning for the past six weeks, I felt there was a good chance they would be under my roof in the fall, too. And if students aren’t allowed on campus, it seems unlikely there will be football games. 

My view has changed. Not quite 180 degrees, but I am now more optimistic that students will be back on campus this year. Yesterday, the N.Y. Times printed a column from Brown University President Christina Paxson talking about how campuses “must” re-open in the fall. Earlier on Sunday, USA Today reported that Purdue President Mitch Daniels is pushing to have in-person classes. Today, CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd tweeted out a list of 11 schools that planned to have students on campus this fall. I still have a lot of questions about whether we’ll see even an abbreviated college football season in 2020. But I feel better about those prospects today than I did yesterday.”

Hope for the future?  Time will tell.  Stay safe everyone

Man, these are tough times for the sports fan.  We find ourselves appreciating the small things.  SU gave it some thought:

• Good news: if you live in Georgia, by Monday, you’ll be able to go out to dinner, go bowling and even get a tattoo.  What could go wrong?  You have to admire the governor there – clearly gave it some thought in terms of where might people be able to get infected at the highest rate?  SU says he came up with a good list then.
• The PGA Tour is re-opening with no fans in June in Texas.  SU feels that is the right move.  They will get huge ratings – even for the early rounds.  Plus they can then plan the next series of major tournaments – again likely with no fans – for the next few months.
• The USTA has to decide soon about the US Open in New York in late August.  SU says it’s hard to see this one happening as there are so many people who make these events happen, e.g., umpires, linesmen, drivers, cleaners, etc.  But here’s an idea: perhaps this is the time to go with no linespersons?  The technology is there and it’s apparently very accurate.  No need for them.  And, while you’re at it, get rid of the ball kids.  Let the players pick up their own balls and …. get their own towels to dry off between points!  SU makes this guarantee: if they had to chase down their own towels, that is going to stop right away.  The NCAA matches have no linesmen or ball kids.  Just an umpire.  Time to reimagine.
• SU believes that MLB will launch before the NBA and the NHL.   I think all three sports will move forward with some type of schedule with no fans.  What’s funny to think about is that you could pipe in the in-game entertainment music, clapping, crowd noise, booing, cheering.  Get creative.  And just think: no stupid camera shots of the crowd all the time.  Same thing for hockey and basketball.  Cheering for the home team and booing for the road team.

Netflix Update: 

• SU is almost done with season 3 of Fauda.  Very good although it has slowed down a bit from a great first half.  But SU definitely recommends.
• I have made it to the middle of season 2 of The Americans.  I have enjoyed it but too many of the episodes seem similar.  But SU will come back to it.
• Homeland is down to the final episode.  This has been an excellent last season.
• SU finished The Plot Against America.  I enjoyed it.  Going to read the book.
• The Last Dance: SU caught the first 1.5 episodes.  I know most people are loving it which is great.  I thought it was good but after the tension of Fauda and Homeland, it’s been a little too slow moving for me.  But I will certainly give it more time.
• Tiger King: made it to the last episode – I will get to it eventually but don’t feel the hype matches the actual show for me.

For those of you keeping score at home, there are some great recommendations in the Comments section of the last SU installment for video selections.  A treasure chest of choices!

As a long-time Novak Djokovic fan, SU got a chuckle out of this short video on Twitter.  Roger Federer had put something out showing him volleying a tennis ball against a wall for 100 times consecutively and then Andy Murray put out something keeping a ball in the air with his wife.  Djokovic and his wife have tried to best their record.  But check out his behind the back catch at the end of the video.

This is what entertains me at this point.

Did you see that the XFL announced that they would reimburse all of their sold tickets for games that were canceled and then laid off every employee the following day?  Another one bites the dust.  It’s hard to wonder if football will ever become a spring sport.

A health official in the Bay Area said he does not expect to see any live sports in that region until November at the earliest.  Ugh.

The YES Network finally broadcast the Yankees’ home opener from 2019 (always rewarding to see Greg Bird strike out 3 times).  Let’s see if they start showing games on a more regular basis now from 2019.  I mean how many times can you watch the 1979 game after Thurman Munson’s plane crashed?  Ridiculous.  You have the content – show the games.

SU is not feeling it for May baseball in Arizona with no fans.

Finally, if you haven’t looked yet, check out SU’s previous post in the Comments section for a slew of recommendations on what to watch on Netflix and Amazon.  Definitely several weeks worth of viewing are contained there.

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!

Uh oh, looks like there are cracks in the foundation.  Actually, SU thought Mike Francesa had retired — twice.  Apparently, he is still broadcasting from the basement.  Big Mike has been a long-time, loyal Trump supporter going way back.  But he is not happy at all this week.  See below:

At a time where there is really very little to talk about sports-wise (did you see that The Athletic ran a story yesterday about which NY Knick player all-time would win a one-on-one tournament against other all-time Knick players?), SU just wanted to pass this along.  Definitely not looking to start a political conversation here as it’s not why you come here.  But SU did find this to be of interest during these tumultuous times.

On a brighter note, SU finished Ozark last night capping off a terrific season 3.  If you haven’t been checking the comments, there were some great suggestions yesterday from the intergalactic subscriber base for what to watch and SU has made a note of them.  Worth a look as we may all be here for a while…

And, btw, I think Earl Monroe wins any 1-on-1 all-time Knick tournament.  No one better and more fun to watch than the Pearl.

Interesting quote here from Bob Costas on what MLB might consider for the 2020 season when it resumes: “Given the uniqueness of the situation, even fans who prize the continuity of the game, would understand that this is a … once in forever situation. … Now’s the time to put (ideas) on the table and experiment with some portion of them.”

SU thinks this is a great idea.  While baseball has so much history and more than any sport cherishes its statistics, this season will always have an asterisk associated with it and why not see what works and resonates with the fans?  SU says a few ideas come to mind:

• Shortened games – 7 innings.  And if it goes into extra innings, roll out what they are doing in the minor leagues by putting a runner on 2nd base to start the inning.
• Doubleheaders: if you go with 7 innings, why not?  You can even make them day/night DHs.  The fans may even like that as the crowds will be smaller as you know people will be skittish to return so soon packed into seats in 95-degree weather sticking to the dude sitting next to you.
• Pitch clock and the batter cannot step out of the box.  Get the OCD players to tighten those batting gloves one time only.
• Use technology to call pitches.  Surely, MLB can leverage something from the Astros – let them put their intelligence to good use.
• Keep in the new relief pitcher minimum number of batters (3).
• Make pitching changes from the dugout.  Do we really need to see the manager saunter out to the mound killing time?
• No visits to the mound by the pitching coach – or by the catcher.

SU agrees with Bob Costas.  This could be a fun season.  It’s not even about winning and losing.  It’s about entertainment at this point.

Netflix/Amazon Update:

• SU finished 3 seasons of Babylon Berlin.  First 2 seasons were better but interesting series.
• Season 3 of Ozark has been outstanding so far.
• The Invisible Guest recommended by long-time subscriber, T. Polak, was very good.  Spanish with sub-titles.  Movie.
• As mentioned before, BroadChurch was very good.  First 2 seasons out of 3 were better but highly recommend.
• And finally, Homeland has been very good this season.  Oh, and just started watching The Plot Against America and enjoying so far.

OK, thoughts on whether baseball should use 2020 to experiment?  Or is it business as usual with the shortened season?