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“Spring Training Camps–Same But Different”

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All 30-spring training camps have opened for this 3-week run-up to the 60-game season and the spring to a hopeful post season camp.

Everyone is dealing with the same thing.  Health protocols.  Testing for the Virus.  Players opting out.  Getting ready-preventing injuries.

But each came is indeed different.  Included is the Angels camp in Anaheim.

Same number of players, but with a new manager.  And a very different issue.

Mike Trout, the highest paid player in baseball (37M) is dealing with the virus from a different perspective.  Trying to get ready to play, trying to decide if he is going to play, with his wife in the middle of her first pregnancy.

Trout, the complete superstar, isn’t thinking about a (.334) season, or home runs, or even wins yet.  He is thinking about what is going on around him in that clubhouse, with that roster, and his family.

He would be missed, superstar status and all.  You don’t replace a guy who has hit (117HRs) the last three years.  Has 5-300 seasons in Anaheim.  A career (.305) hitter.  A Gold Glove-Silver Slugger guy.

Mike Trout:

..I still don’t feel comfortable about us playing
..Asking what is safest way to get thru the season with baby coming
..I worry about testing positive-then cannot see my wife or baby
..If there is an outbreak-have to reconsider my position
..Maybe wait till baby is born then report to play
..Why am I here..I love the game
..Everyone has to be trusted..be accountable
..1-Guy mess this up
..1-Positive tests could mean it takes 15-days to get 2-negative tests
..1-Guy could impact the entire 60-man roster
..We all have a responsibility in the clubhouse

..I did a lot of workouts outdoors..running-throwing at distance
..Seems like we are rushing to play
..I will play this by ear
..I like the schedule-limited travel
..I did not like the negotiations..too many leaks
..I liked the expanded playoff idea-creates interest
..Toughest part ahead-it’s not on field..it’s in hotel
..Do not leave hotel room on road-do not violate protocol
..Strange summer-with the team-but not with the team in clubhouse
..We are playoff team with Ohtani completely healthy

All these MLB camps are one and the same.
But each camp has a different storyline and a decision to be made.
Mike Trout’s decision might be the biggest.

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“Sports–Questions-Answers-Problems”

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Here comes the sports seasons, we think.

A member of the NFL Players Association said it best:

“For every answer you have, you get three more questions”.

So on a Thursday when over 10,000-positive cases were reported in Florida, and over 7,000 were hospitalized in Texas, and California bordered on having to step back to Phase 1, we don’t have solutions to anything yet.

But we do have questions.

The Angels’ Mike Trout, the Yankees’ Gerritt Cole, the Phillies’ Bryce Harper are trying to decide, play or opt-out?  We are talking guys making 30-to-37M this season, if we had played the full schedule.  Now they get a pro-rated share of the contract.  But the bigger issues in those households is not money, but health, or maybe more so risk.  Each of their wives is in the middle of a pregnancy.  Think about the burden of that decisions coming up.

Commissioner Rob Manfred said it simply.  We were never going to play more than 60-games.  The Union screamed about them trying to save money rather than the season, but Manfred’s reasoning was simple.  The CDC warned him of a bad fall outbreak of the virus again. Well the second wave came early and came hard, and is bad, is threatening everything now.

I don’t know I would say the NFL is in denial, but they continue plugging along with plans to open camps this month, and play the full 16-game schedule.  We’ll see what the governors of the most infected states have to say about that.  Bringing 90-players in, with all the support staff means a likelihood of 150-in each building for camp.  That means alot of tests, and alot of risks.

Pete Carroll of the Seahawks, always ahead of the curve, had the answer to social distancing in players meetings.  Take them outside and use canopies and the 3-different practice fields Seattle uses at their facility.  QB meetings, that corner of the end zone.  Running backs middle of end zone.  Wide recievers in that corner.  Defensive lineman at midfield on one sideline, the offensive lineman across midfield.  The linebackers and DBs in the other end zones.  Kickers in the parking lot.  Can be done, as long as it doesn’t rain in Seattle or reach 118 in Phoenix, or have a 3-figure heat index in Miami-Tampa-Atlanta.

Pro basketball will utilize 7-different practice courts in the Disney Sports Complex in Orlando.  There will be 3-different arenas to host games.  There will be staggered starts for practice times.  There will be just 17-players and coaches at those workouts.  There will be be 4-hotels.  Now they just need players not to try and go outside the bubble.

Hockey will host its playoffs in the Great White North, Edmonton and Toronto.  Lots of sheets of ice, lots of rinks to practice in.  Hotels next to the rinks where the games will be played.  The other intangible.  Hardly any virus outbreak now in Ontario or Northern Alberta.  They have a chance to get thru this.

College football scares me, whether you are at Penn State, Eastern Kentucky or Utica College.  You are talking about lots of players, having to be tested, living together.  How do you prevent that outbreak going forward?  In State College, they draw 107,000 for all 7-Nittany Lion home games.  That’s over 7M per home game in revenue at Penn State.  That’s a loss of 50M at least in gate revenue, if they don’t play, or play without fans.  In Richmond, Kentucky, the Colonels draw 12,000 a game, and are a money maker supporting all the other programs at that 1AA-school.  In upstate New York, Utica College draws 1500 per game for their Division III school.  Not a money maker but a piece of a good small college program.  Each has players, each has reasons to play, each at risk.  I think the NCAA has a huge issue on its hands.  And this decision cannot be about money.

Everytime you come up with an answer, how to test players, how to protect players, you then come up with three more questions.  Quarantines? Negative test requirements? Outbreaks? The other team?  And it goes on and on.

And so does the count nationwide, of those getting positive tests…those getting ill…those going to ICU….those dying.

The only words I do not hear right now from anyone except the doctors….”Universal Masks” for the next three weeks.  That’s the only answer I know to the questions that are out there everyday.

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“If I Were King…What I Would Do”

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We’re into July.

Baseball playes are headed back to each Stadium for Spring Training 2.0.
NBA teams go the Orlando and the Bubble Setup for the playoffs.
NHL teams open full camps July 10th with the playoffs to follow
NFL is still 4-weeks away with fingers crossed
College football, already beset by problems, may have a real problem coming.

The Virus-Crisis is out of control again in the US.

A look at what I would do with each sport.

MLB has 60-players in each camp, undergoing testing right now, with the hope workouts will begin shortly.  They have a 30-man roster and a 30-man taxi squad made of young prospects.

Would it not be better to split the squads, have all the prospects go to their Peoria spring training camp, and just have the 30-veterans go thru the next three weeks alone in San Diego?  If players get hurt, you can bring back a taxi squad player to replace him.

Do the math, easier to social distance 30 players plus staff than 60 and the increased staff it takes to run a full camp, isn’t it?

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NBA…They have only 17-players per roster and are testing them right now, with positive tests popping up daily.  They go to the bubble in Orlando, all 22-teams, to begin the ‘seeding schedule’ to see who gets to the 16-team playoffs.

The key here will be players keeping safe once they get inside the bubble complex.  The 22-teams will be whittled down quickly after the first play-in games and the first mini-round.  Once you get to 8-teams, the safety issue become less.

But keeping players from going outside the hotels and the restaurants into the Orlando area will be the key.

There will be 7-practice floors, three different arenas, and 4-different hotels on the Disney campus, to keeping them apart should work.

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NHL…They are preparing to have 24-teams report to two Hub Cities, likely Edmonton and Toronto because the Canadian cities seem health clean.  There will be testing before they arrive and a quarantine in the hotel complexes they plan on using.

Teams and players will need to stay in their hubs not to get infected.

The league needs lots of sheets of ice for practice, and hotel restaurants serving only the teams.

And the 24-teams will be cut pretty quickly with the best of 5-series starting, sending 12-teams home in the first week.

Clean players coming in, staying clean, is the key here.

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NFL…The nightmare has not started, but it might very soon.

Bringing 90-players into camp, with a staff of 60 more, coaches, trainers, doctors, equipment people, means 150-people to run a training camp.

You test them daily, 4500-tests in all, and put them up in hotels, and hope they don’t go out.

You fear, all these players working in close quarters, in meeting rooms, in staff meetings, meeting with positional coaches, don’t show signs once they get inside the building, then getting sick.

You could not handle all your offensive lineman getting sick because one player showed symptoms once camp begins.

Even if you follow thru and reduce camps from 90-to-75 players, you still have large numbers of players together.

Even if you cut the 1st and 4th preseason game, and just play two games, hoping to get to a healthy September, the risk of outbreak and spread is significant.

Might this idea work.  Delay the season and the opening of camp.  Wait till September to see if the spread comes under control.  Move the start of the season back to October 1st, and either play a 12-game season, or if you must go to 16-games, go October thru January,  push the playoffs into neutral sights and domes in February.

A real alternative, radical as it sounds, postpone the season till spring, open camps in Febrary, play a spring league in March-April-May.

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NCAA….Outbreaks in large numbers already as teams allowed players to come back for conditioning in early June.  Workouts stopped, facilities closed.  No one knows.  When you hear numbers like 23-32-37, the numbe of positive tests over a couple of weeks of conditioning drills, that becomes a red flag to me.

You are talking 85-players in every college camp, if not more.  You are not putting them up in controlled hotels, but rather dorms and apartments.

There is big risk involved about their ‘off time’ on campus.

College football can’t control this virus and its spread factor.  I’d think postponing everyone’s season and playing a spring schedule, makes more sense than pushing the envelope in a late summer camp, rushing into September, and hoping there is no outbreak.

This is all about the numbers, how many are together, and how quickly they could get sick.

If I were king, it would not be about the money, the fans, the sponsors, the TV deals, it should be about safety and health-morning, noon and night.

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“NFL Union–Letter to Players”

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The clock ticks, the pages of the calendar turn, some form of NFL training camp is coming, unless there is a shutdown.

Baseball has come thru 3-months of trench fighting with its Union, and has an uneasy settlement on a 60-game schedule.

The NBA and NHL are heading in the next week to the ‘Bubble’ or the ‘Hub City’ having worked out a deal on pay.

The NFL has a new President, in Cleveland Browns player JC Tretter.  On the job for 3-months, he has studied and observed alot in the other sports, as the NFL proceeded thru all of its off season plans.

Tretter has just penned an extensive letter to the players, about money, the teams owners, the virus-crisis.  It is part pep rally, part union meeting, part constitutional rights.

In essence, the players are not going to give the owners any money back, regardless of what happens to the number of games played in the season.  It is not just a message to fellow players, it is a shot across the bow of the owners.

An interesting read:

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“Any time there is uncertainty, a tough issue or even when we are at odds with the NFL, a few common narratives arise from the media and public,” Tretter writes. “Professional athletes in every sport have to regularly fend off criticism that our profession should be considered less of a job and that we shouldn’t fight for protections and benefits. As we begin our fight for necessary COVID-19 protections, these recycled misconceptions will be used to undermine the strength of our union and the legitimacy of your career.”
Tretter then addresses several of the misconceptions, beginning with a line that the Commissioner has rattled off from time to time in the past: “Playing in the NFL is a privilege, not a right.”

“It’s neither,” Tretter explains. “It’s your job. It is a highly sought-after job and a childhood dream, but it is a job, nonetheless. You worked your ass off to earn this job, and you have to continue to work your ass off to keep it. Do not allow anyone to undermine the work you put in day after day to earn a spot in this profession. The attempt to frame your occupation as a ‘privilege’ is a way to make you feel like you should be happy with whatever you get versus exercising your right to fight for more protections and benefits.”

Next, Tretter tackles the argument that players should play “for the love of the game,” and nothing more.

“I love what I do,” Tretter says. “I know a lot of my peers love what they do, too. There are people in all different professions who love what they do. Being passionate about your job shouldn’t prevent you from seeking better pay, benefits and work rules from your employer. Our careers are short and painful. Like every other worker, we should always work to maximize what we get for our services and realize our full value.”

Next comes a response to this plea: “Just go play! You’re young and healthy. You will all be fine. We need sports back.”

“We are not invincible, and as recent reports have shown, we certainly aren’t immune to this virus,” Tretter writes. “Underlying conditions like high BMI, asthma, and sleep apnea are all associated with a higher risk of developing severe symptoms and complications when infected with COVID-19. Those conditions are widespread across the league. NFL players are humans — some with immuno-compromised family members or live-in elderly parents. Trust me: We want to play football. But as a union, our most important job is keep our players safe and alive. The NFLPA will fight for our most at-risk players and their families.”

Then, Tretter addresses the argument that NFL players make too much money, with an explanation that should put that argument to bed forever.

“As employees of NFL teams, we put a product on the field that brings in billions of dollars,” Tretter observes. “The NFLPA collectively bargained for a percentage of that revenue. When the NFL and NFLPA split up billions of dollars, that leaves players in a position to make life-changing money. If less money was allocated to players, NFL owners would not turn around and gift the extra revenue to pay teachers, nurses, or other workers more money. The shaming of players (workers) to take less compensation will only further line the billionaire owners’ pockets.”

Finally, Tretter takes on the notion that, because other Americans have to return to work during the pandemic, football players should, too.

“It is the responsibility of the employer to provide a safe work environment,” Tretter says. “I encourage all workers to hold their employers accountable to high standards. More so than any other sport, the game of football is the perfect storm for virus transmission. There are protections, both short and long term, that must be agreed upon before we can safely return to work. The NFLPA will be diligent as we demand that the NFL provide us the safest workplace possible. . . . Our individual workplaces may be different, but we should support our fellow workers in pursuing gains instead of shaming them to come back to the pack. No worker should be complacent with their rights because they have what others outside their business deem ‘good enough.’ Instead of racing to the bottom, let’s push each other to the top.”

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“Patriots–Will Cam Be the Man?”

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The trip to the Super Bowl, the NFL-MVP Award, all those great games seems a long time ago.

Cam Newton knows it and so do the New England Patriots.  But that did not stop him from signing a 1-year free agent contract for an NFL veteran’s minimum of 1.1M with bonuses that could net him 7.5M if he winds up starting and driving the Patriots into the playoffs.

Bill Belicheck, ever the river-boat gambler on acquiring veteran players, needs to find the heir apparent to the since departed Tom Brady.

When the Patriots open camp in 4-weeks, Newton and his Carolina Panthers credentials, will come into camp to compete with young backup QB-Jarrett Stidham, three years removed from a sparkling career at Auburn.  The 3rd QB in the mix will be lifetime journeyman, Brian Hoyer, whose best days came on bad Cleveland Browns football teams.

Newton arrives having to prove his health, his football knowledge, and his on-field acumen.  He won’t be running the ‘read-option’ package that he used in driving Carolina to that one mystical (15-1) season in 2015.  That package led to shoulder surgery and foot surgery.  He no longer is what he once was physically.

The bigger debate is, what kind of quarterback is he intellectually?  Will he be able to consume the depth of knowledge Josh McDaniels demands from a quarterback?  Will the weird mechanical flaws that cropped up sometime, resurface?

The Patriots great success, the 6-Super Bowl rings, come from Belicheck’s defense, but also from Tom Brady’s brilliance.

You cannot ignore Brady’s (219-64) record as a starter.  Newton pales in comparison (68-55), and the reality he went (23-23) his last three years with the injury issues.

Brady left Foxboro with a (541TD-179Int) ratio over 20-years.  Newton has a (182-TD-109Int-55Fu) record stapled to his resume.

Brady finished his time in New England with (74,571Y) and career QB rating of (97).  Newton has accounted for (33,847) all purpose yards and a lifetime rating of 86.

In Brady’s tenure, 6X-he posted a QB rating over 100…including a career high 117 mark one season.  Newton’s highest ever was a 99-rating one time.

Newton is career (59%) completion rate-Brady (67%)

In what might be a comedown, Newton has to compete for the starting job, and his 18M-salary from a year ago is just 1.1M to start this year.  Talk about attitude adjustments.

Playing for the Patriots is more than just passing yards and touchdowns.  It’s about pre-snap reads, it is accuracy, it’s not turning the ball over.  It’s a pretty fierce atmosphere of intolerance to mistakes at that position if you are having your mail sent to Gillette Stadium, just off Route 1-in New England.

For all the flash and dance that Cam Newton displayed once upon a time in Carolina, there are still concerns about his mechanics, his arm slots, his footwork.  No doubts about his leadership or personality.  But this is a different time for sure, but there are so many things important to a Belicheck led team.

It’s been a long time since he had success.  It has been a long time since the Patriots experienced QB-failure, not since Brady replaced an injured Drew Bledsoe a long time ago.

Fascinating times ahead in July and August in New England, to see if Cam can be the man, since the man, Tom Brady, is no longer there to carry the franchise.

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