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“NFL–About to Feel Pain”

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I don’t know how they bridge all these gaps, but they will in day long negotiating sessions on Monday.

They… being the NFL and the Players Association.

Rookie orientation camps are scheduled to open on July 21st.  Preseason camps are to open on July 28th.

Five days away from the so called start of camps, and there are a myriad of problems everywhere.  Here’s a look:

TESTING…The NFL wants in-take testing for all players once camp starts and testing every third day.  The Union wants testing everyday to keep players safe.  The cost will be monumental.  And it would likely mean an overload for testing labs, to have to evaluate (2,650) player tests daily.

ROSTER SIZE…It was supposed to be 90-players in camp. There was talk at cutting it just to 75.  The Union wants to stay at 90 to give all players a chance at making a roster

PRESEASON GAMES…The NFL had planned for four…then dropped it back to two games.  The Union wants none asking the questions ‘if there is a health risk at 4-games-the health risks are the same at two’.

WORKOUTS…The NFL wanted a couple of weeks of camp then start playing preseason games.  The Union denounced that, saying they want a 48-day camp.  3-weeks of conditioning, two weeks of walkthrus and classrooms…and 2-weeks of pad-helmet practices and classrooms…Owners banned joint practices.  Now the Union wants to ban any 11-on-11 type scrimmages in workouts…The Union wants all team group meetings in an outdoor setting including 1-on-1 coach-players meetings….plus all classroom work done in virtual setting.

PAY SCALE…The CBA says if a player plays in one game his entire season salary is guaranteed.  The Union wants all contracts guaranteed, with no give backs.  The owners, facing the reality of no fans or limited fans in the stands, have asked the Union to defer 35% payment of salaries to help with cash flow to be repaid over five years in an escrow plan.  The players said no, especially since owners are getting their full Network TV contract payments.

EQUIPMENT…The NFL is working to develop. a full face shield that contains a mask for players…The union wants that to be an individuals choice.

TEAMS…There is reality now that teams, if they open stadiums to fans, will be playing at less than capacity.  The Rams are talking at 50-percent capacity.  The Ravens just 14,000 fans in 71,000 seat stadium.  The Packers and Chiefs informing season ticket holders at half capacity.  The Jaguars announcing 25-percent capacity.  More to follow, which means a huge drop in stadium revenues for each team.

There is alot to get done in a short period of time.  Keep in mind, the NFL developed not just a 16-game season, but a full season that could start in October, play thru January, then hold playoff games at neutral warm weather or domed sites.

Stay tuned.  Likely to get harder to pull off as we get closer to start of camps, then games.

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“College Football–Dominoes Are Falling”

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Is this the beginning of the end in college sports?

It seems that way in college football, and like the pandemic epidemic, it appears the virus of cancellation of seasons is about to break out.

The Big 10-Conference cancelled all non-conference football games this fall, saying the league will play just a conference schedule.

They wiped 42-non confence games off the schedule, including marquee  games like Ohio State-Oregon, Wisconsin-Notre Dame and Michigan-Washington.

The Big 10-move came hours after its experienced leader, Ohio State AD-Gene Smith said he was no longer optimistic any type of a season could be played.

The decision might be the first step, possibly buying the conference some time, to see if the virus-crisis can be tamped down, but that now is very uncertain.

The next move cming from the Big 10-headquarters, might be cancelling the entirxe season.

The Atlantic Coast Conference said it was considering eliminating it’s non conference schedule, and might look at an all ACC-slate.

The Pac 12 reportedly was looking at just a 10-game schedule, 5-home, 5-road, against conference only foes.

The high powered SEC and the Big 12 would only say they are considering all things possible.

All this came a day after the Ivy League shut down all fall sports, saying they might move football, Harvard-Yale and all things Ivy, to play in the spring.

The difference between being a fan of Dartmouth and being a fan of Alabama, is night and day.  The Ivy League takes in 30M in revenues for football.  Penn-vs-Princeton is still important.  But the Power 5-Conferences raise 1.05B a year in football revenue.  Alabama-vs-Auburn and all that carries, lots of importance for lots of reasons.

These decisions are more than just about football games.

It is also about player health safety, campus security, and student wide potential infections.

No one will say it, but the NCAA has failed its membership.  They have not devdeloped a nationwide college testing plan for all the schools.  That’s 130-Division i-schools.  It may be all complicated by cost.  It may be complex because state laws are different from one state to another.  It may be impossible with the horrid outbreak of the virus in the deep south and the southwest.

The NCAA could end this all, but they seem intent on dumping it at the front door of each state’s Governor, as if they don’t have enough problems already.

Mark Emmert can oversee the 795-page rule book, but he has failed to oversee the most important thing college athleteics has ever seen, a global pandemic.
Think back at how long it took him to finally close down the NCAA basketball tourney, just as it was supposed to start.

Where’s the across the board testing program.  Where is the unviersal date to open camps.  Where is the leadership.  College football does need a committee to look at this. They need the top exec to make the decisions.

The decision coming has to revolve around student health and safety, not money, never money.

So we wait to see how quickly other dominos fall, in which conference, and when.

Not an easy time.

Wouldn’t be a worse time Mark Emmert, if you go ahead and let teams play, and players get sick, or players die.

Cancel the season, reschedule in spring like the Ivy League may do.

Save the season.  Save people getting sick.  Save the threat of the worst case scenarios-someone dies.

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“NBA Uniforms–Messages”

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The NBA teams are gathered in Orlando.

By tonight, all will have been tested for the virus, all will go thru 48-hours of additional quarantine, then will be tested again.

Practices will start by Saturday, and there will be scrimmages in the next couple of weeks leading up to the start of the ‘Seeding Schedule’, eight games in all, to  to determine who plays who in the playoffs.

We will all pay attention to see if there is an outbreak within the Disnehy World Campus in Orlando.  Commissioner Adam Silver says his biggest fear is an infection outbreak within his bubble, even if all players from the 22-teams are clean once they enter the campus.

The Brooklyn Nets have been devastated already.  4-players testing positive on top of 4-others out with injuries or opting-out.  The Washington Wizards have health issues, more injuries than positive tests, with 4-key players missing.

Other players are talking about how uncomfortable they are with all this, the testing, the illness threats, the protocols.

And when they play, if there are no outbreaks between now and opening tip-off, you will see something else.

The NBA’s new logo…”Black Lives Matter” on the arena floors where the games will be played.  All part of the initiative from the 80-percent African Americans who are on NBA rosters.  A show of solidarity.

The league is going a step farther, letting players replace the name plate on the back of their jersey, with a social message to America.

Some wanted insignias.  Some wanted to put the names of George Floyd and others victimized by murder, on the jerseys.

The NBA instead wants messages and catch phrases, and will give the players a list to choose from.  It is varied, it is powerful, it has meaning:

What is about to happen in the NBA should be a strong message going forward.  Hoping the NFL-MLB-NHL can do the same.

As we try to restart sports, it is a hope we never have to revisit the horrors of what we have experienced.

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“Angels–New Era Begins-Joe Maddon”

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He comes with great credentials.

A long time Angels employee returns, coming off tremendous runs as the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, then the Chicago Cubs.

Now Joe Maddon takes over an Angels franchise that has lots of talent, but has not been in the put season in a while.  Their World Series win was a long time ago.

He inherits bats, must find arms, and compete against a loaded schedule featuring the Astros-A’s-Dodgers and more.

He spoke about challenges on the field, and in the real world.

Joe Maddon’s comments:

..Everyone in this camp must buy-in
..Must be the best teammate in their life
..Do not become cavalier about this health issue
..We are tightening up the bubble
..Need to follow all the protocols
..Told players to opt-out if you cannot do this
..Did Zoom meetings with players before arrival-this is the law
..I want my players to make informed decisions
..Yes there is trepidation
..I salute MLB-protocols are well thought out
..There are alot of layers involved with this situation
..It will take time to deal with all that is uncomfortable
..I talked to players about the civil unrest
..Open zoom meetings about what happening
..Want players to participate and discuss all
..Be part of the solution
..Alot going on in this nation..help solve it
..Make sure something like this never happens again
..Extensive talks with Mike Trout about his decisions
..Mike Trout-very 1st child-very significant
..I want him to arrive at his own truth
..Think for yourself-not have someone else tell you
..Do not know if there is protocol to opt out and opt back in
..The rules will likely evolve
..Shohei Ohtani-all systems are go
..He is strong and dedicated to his craft
..We had 10-players not arrive for varying reasons
..Julio Teheran is among those not here yet.
..We are split squad…Angels Stadium-Blair Field-Long Beach State
..We are tied for 1st place in July
..Get your playoff hats on..be in playoff mode now
..Not getting overamped on anything I see right now
..There is no comparison to this and spring training yet
..Intrasquad games-control workload of pitchers
..Try some creative things-create situations in game
..Please with staff-alot of communications
..Don’t know what games will feel like once they start
..Not exactly sure the pure adrenalin rush will be same
..Our test results are all caught up
..Players uncomfortable about going to Texas-be empathetic
..Curious to see how players react to no fans in stands
..Players not playing will likely sit in suites and boxes uptop

The Halos have bats.  They may have to win their games 9-8.

But with Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, Albert Pujols and more they should score runs.

They have pitchers with injury histories who will have to prove it.

Three weeks from the start, with a hard 60-game schedule infront of them, still alot of unknown questions, most of it pitching related.

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“Dodgers Baseball–Indeed Blue”

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The season has not yet started, but the defending National League Champion, the NL West lynch-pin, have already suffered a loss.

Big money pitcher David Price, who came in the blockbuster Mookie Betts deal, is not going to pitch this season.  An ace on any other staff in the game, he was slotted to be the number 3-starter behind Clayton Kershaw and Walker Beuhler.

He cited health risks to his family for the reason to ‘opt out’…the biggest name to step away the first weekend of the Summer Training camp.

But you cannot discount all he did in his career, stretching from Tampa Bay to Boston, a (180-50) career record with a (3.31-ERA) heading to his age 35-season.  This is a big time guy in your rotation.

The Dodgers are still loaded.  They have said all the right things about Price.  They have great praise for the other Red Sox star in the deal Mookie Betts.

Manager Dave Roberts comments about his team and the covid situation:

..The expanded roster-we have great depth
..Players have responsibilities to do this right
..We have leaders-this is about the real world…about listening
..It’s a bigger job now with the responsibility
..We have enough time to get ready-these players are in game
..We had conversations about opt-outs…David Price was in those
..Is playing a good idea?  Yes.  Must be aware away from facility
..There will be positive tests-we all know that.
..A 60-game schedule-there is a sense of urgency-we want to win
..We will work in 3-different waves with our pitchers
..We are working with social distancing-field-training rooms-clubhouse
..None of our coaches have indicated they might opt out
..Kershaw-Beuhler-Stripling already built up to 50-pitches-3 weeks left

..I am a cancer survivor-I am at no greater risk.

And so LA thinks it’s ready.  Losing a David Price talent is a blow.  They more than anyone else can probably weather a blow like this.

But the Dodgers have to be ‘blue’ over losing a talent like that.

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