Will COVID-19 be the needle that finally bursts the sports bubble?

Football only. Soccer is defined as moderate risk by the NFHS but high by NCAA. Curious.

 

The NCAA doesn’t want nor need fall sports.

The basketball tournament is a different story. Without that, the NCAA may not last another year.

There will be a basketball tournament.

 

This is interesting. The Athletic blasts the SEC for not commenting on its reasons for going forward.
Kendall: Silence from the SEC medical advisors is unacceptable
Kendall: Silence from the SEC medical advisors is unacceptable

That was yesterday. Must have worked. Posted in the last hour is a long, long Q&A with one of the few experts in infectious diseases on the SEC panel.

 

Changes in youth soccer in Massachusetts this season.

 

Have the Big Ten or Pac-12 commented on their reasons for not playing? I've heard all about the apparently terrifying report they showed the coaches and ADs, but I'm not sure I've seen any of the presidents answer questions at length.

 

Which is going to be odd, because basketball seems like a much higher risk than football:
• Indoors vs. outdoors
• Much less room for players to spread out, both on the bench and on the playing field
• There is arguably more close contact in basketball than football, over the course of a game. Other than the linemen, football players are next to opponents in short bursts for a few seconds at a time and more separated than you think most of the time. Basketball players that are running up and down a smaller court are typically only a couple of feet apart most of the time.
• If any fans are allowed, they are in closer proximity to the players
• A lot more travel
Honestly, in covering high school sports over the next few months, I'm much more concerned about basketball season than I am about football.

The conferences that have nuked football have also nuked the first half of basketball season. It'll be interesting to see how they pick teams for a national tournament when there aren't going to be any non-conference games.

 

PAC 12 had a detailed response. Big Ten? Nah. Nothing since the vague announcement on Tuesday.

 

Yeah, but have the presidents or commissioner -- the ones that ultimately made the decision -- sat down with anyone?
I know Jim Warren did some interviews, but as far as I know the Big Ten presidents were pretty quiet.

 

Basketball and volleyball seem inherently problematic to me.