Mitch Marner has one eye on July 10, the scheduled opening of training camps for 24 NHL playoff teams, and the other on a worsening COVID-19 situation in the United States.
Three months after the league shut down, could it be the dreaded second wave of the disease derails the methodical plan to finish the 2019-20 season? Marner, the creative winger on the Maple Leafs, has faith the league will take every precaution as it nears a decision on the two hub cities who will host the tournament, at least one of them expected to be south of the border.
“I think they’re going to do what’s best for their athletes and make sure that they’re willing to look after us and take care of us,” Marner said Thursday on a conference call with Toronto reporters.
As he spoke, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey reversed a previous decision and authorized local governments to require face coverings in public as his state was flagged as one of the current COVID-19 hot
Marner was asked about two key Leafs who are there in Scottsdale who’ve yet to come back for the workouts at Ford Performance Centre. Leading scorer Auston Matthews and house guest/goalie Frederik Andersen have been in Arizona almost since the start of the lockdown.
The duo’s reasoning is they’d rather stay in their regimen of daily workouts than come home and be unable to leave their residence for a full 14 days under the Canadian quarantine. As July 10 nears, they and others hope the Canadian NHL cities get a bit of a break from the government and that practice facilities would be designated as part of the players’ restricted zone for the 14 days.
“All that stuff’s voluntary,” Marner said of his friends preference to wait it out.
Toronto has been in and out of the running among 10 NHL cities initially identified by commissioner Gary Bettman as potential hubs. Together with Vancouver and Edmonton, there is a push to have the Canadian government alter the two-week quarantine rule so at least one of the cities can reap some economic benefits from empty hotels being occupied by up to 50 players and staff of the 12 teams. Las Vegas is believed to be a favoured American
Marner and five to six Leafs at a time continue to work out in preparation for the best of five opening round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets, like the others, tentatively scheduled for sometime in August.
As expected, the Jackets announced Thursday that star defenceman Seth Jones will be ready for the series, activated off injured reserve with fellow blueliner Dean Kukan.`
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The NBA might be resuming its 2019-20 season soon, but some staff members are worried about how it might impact their career.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is one of a handful of NBA coaches worried about how the league’s new COVID-19 restrictions “ould be restricted from leading their teams and some could face considerable challenges in resuming their careers,” per ESPN. In fact, the National Basketball Coaches Association worries the new rules could “severely jeopardize” some coaches’ future.
“The health and safety of all NBA coaches is our main concern,” the NBCA told ESPN in a statement. “However, we are also concerned with a coach’s opportunity to work and to not have their ability to secure future jobs be severely jeopardized. The league assured us that a coach will not be excluded solely because of age.
“We feel the medical review process is designed to flag only those individuals who pose significant threats of substantial harm to themselves that cannot be reduced or eliminated by the NBA’s considerable steps to create a healthy and safe atmosphere in Orlando.
“Adam (Silver) and the NBA have created a situation in Orlando that is likely far safer than in our coaches’ home markets. Absent a significant threat, we believe a coach should be able to understand and assume their individual risks, waive liability, and coach in Orlando.”
Popovich, 71, and other older coaches are among those considered among candidates at “higher risk” for COVID-19 once the NBA resumes play. But the doctor’s decision “will be final, binding, and unspeakable,” per the league.
How the 2020 season actually will play out, however, remains to be seen.
From hard-line owners to hard-done by players to frustrated fans, we’re long past the point of having a Major League Baseball season that would satisfy all of the senses. Read More
From hard-line owners to hard-done by players to frustrated fans, we’re long past the point of having a Major League Baseball season that would satisfy all of the senses.
But with news on Wednesday that MLB and its players association are finally negotiating face-to-face and in good faith, we can for the first time start imagining what such a season would look like and the potential implications for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Whether 60 games or 70 (and most likely closer to the latter given the indication from sources on Wednesday) the Jays will certainly be one of the most intriguing organizations to watch in whatever form 2020 takes.
Seen by many around baseball as a rapidly moving towards contention club, it is conceivable that the Jays could be a surprise factor given the reduced sample size whatever form of a protracted schedule may bring and the expanded playoff format that has already successfully been negotiated.
As is the case with all 30 MLB teams, an abridged season comes at a potential cost for Jays management, which for the most part feels it was on the right track before the COVID-19 pandemic intervened. But it also creates a unique set of circumstances that could benefit the Jays as much or more than many of its rivals.
Here’s a look at some of the concerns no doubt filtering through the minds of team president Mark Shapiro, general manager Ross Atkins and the rest of the baseball operations department as a season moves closer to reality.
PROSPECT PROSPECTUS
Firmly entrenched in the draft and development playbook, the Jays certainly have reason to be optimistic with some of the groundwork already in place.
But how will a 65-70 game season affect those on the accelerated path to becoming potential MLB stars?
It was difficult not to be captivated by the 2019 emergence of players such as Bo Bichette, Vlad Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.. And part of the excitement of 2020 was to track the continued growth of that group and others. Will that progress get stunted because of a shortened season and the reduction in at-bats and playing opportunities defensively? We shall see.
One of the great unknowns of 2020 — regardless of the big league season — is what will happen to the minor leagues. The consensus seems to be that there won’t be any farm team action, which could be devastating to a group loaded with prospects.
To their credit, the Jays by all accounts are among the more progressive organizations in terms of player development but it will take all that creativity and more to come up with ways to continue the progress shown by a group of players such as infielder Jordan Groshans, this year’s first-round pick Austin Martin, plus would-be stud pitchers such as Nate Pearson and Alek Manoah.
RYU THE DAY
When the Blue Jays braintrust was given clearance to break open the Rogers Communications bank on a four-year, $80-million deal for ace left-handed starter Hyun-Jin Ryu it was heralded as a signal that this management group was serious about winning now. Or very soon, at least.
Given that Ryu turned 33 two weeks after baseball (and the rest of the world) was halted, it’s not a stretch to suggest that the Jays anticipated the best performance years to be at the front end of that deal. A shortened season certainly has the impact to diminish the impact of the signing.
Having to pay Ryu a maximum of 40% of that first $20-million might assuage the Rogers beancounters, but they pursued Ryu in part to help accelerate the young core’s move towards contention.
As for the dreamy side of the Ryu influence, should the South Korean southpaw emerge as a true ace, his value in a shortened season may actually increase. Sure, he might top out at 15 starts, but if those turns in the rotation turn out to be virtual guaranteed win nights, the chance of the Jays being a surprise factor increases.
WHAT ABOUT NATE?
Other than tracking the development of Ryu and his young position player teammates, one of the highlights of the month in Dunedin (way, way, way back in February and early March) was seeing flame-throwing right hander Nate Pearson in action.
The first-round pick regularly hit triple digits with his fastball and showed every sign of being the Jays No. 2 starter in Grapefruit League play. The plan was always for Pearson to start 2020 in Buffalo, but with no triple-A season and an arm in need of innings, few would be surprised if Pearson was in that rotation at some point early on in the 2020 season 2.0.
The management and fan perspective would differ on Pearson’s season, but may have the same end game. The kid needs meaningful innings and the big leagues seem far and away the most viable option. And for the fans, having Pearson in the lineup is not only incredibly exciting, but significantly increases the team’s chances of being in contention.
Back to the Jays fans dream sequence: A Ryu-Pearson one-two punch in the rotation could be both fascinating and formidable stuff.
ROGERS THAT
Given the corporate structure of Jays ownership, we’re guessing it is a safe bet that Rogers Communications was not part of a minority group who favoured scrapping the season altogether.
Consider that it’s all one happy family — a baseball team, a TV network and a radio network — that thrives on the synergies and a reduced schedule is already exacting a price.
Television ratings were surprisingly strong the past two seasons, fuelled in part by the young guns and the nature of being ideal summer-time programming. It can be argued that few (if any) teams in baseball benefit more from its TV deal than the Jays given the inherent boon of 162 games of in-house programming with good numbers.
Lopping 100 or so off of that is no doubt a hit to Rogers Communications, so just like the players, the more games MLB is able to cram into the limited window, the better.
PLAYOFF CONTENDERS?
Shapiro and Atkins won’t publicly venture down this road, but fans sure will. So the question is a valid one: Are the above factors trumped by the fact that the Jays may actually be sitting on a superfecta of factors that make them one of the most intriguing contenders in MLB?
Online bookmaker sportsinteraction.com was among the quickest out with odds on the proposed MLB season. With a caveat of a minimum 60 games being played, the over/under on the Jays win percentage was set at 46.5%.
A shortened-season, expanded playoffs, Ryu and Pearson plus all the young guns certainly sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday released 1,000-plus pages of documentation tied to the helicopter crash that claimed the life of Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others as part of a “public docket” that does not include conclusions regarding the cause. The documentation released by investigators includes reports and interview transcripts but not…
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Three hours, without a minute to spare. That’s the amount of time each Maple Leaf gets for treatment, workouts and skating once he arrives at the Ford Performance Centre to voluntarily participate in Phase 2 of the NHL’s Return to Play plan. Leafs winger Zach Hyman laid out the new world order, for NHL players […]
That’s the amount of time each Maple Leaf gets for treatment, workouts and skating once he arrives at the Ford Performance Centre to voluntarily participate in Phase 2 of the NHL’s Return to Play plan.
Leafs winger Zach Hyman laid out the new world order, for NHL players in the midst the COVID-19 global pandemic, to reporters during a conference call on Tuesday.
“It’s pretty air-tight with time,” Hyman said, adding that his check-in time for Tuesday at the rink was slated for 12:15 pm.
“(After checking in), you see the doc, get your temp taken, and if it’s your testing day, you get tested.
“Then you go into the change room. You get ready, get treatment if you need it, and then you’re in the gym for probably 45 (minutes) to an hour.
“You rush over (to the dressing room), get changed to go on the ice, go on the ice for 40 minutes or so, then you hop off, you have to quickly shower off, take turns.
“And then you’re out of there. So it’s real quick turnaround — three hours in and out — and it sounds like enough time, but it’s tough when you’re trying to get everything through. It’s just great to be on the ice, so it’s worth it.”
Hyman and his teammates — in his small group are Alex Kerfoot, William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, Travis Dermott, Joseph Woll and Ian Scott — will take whatever they can get right now.
“Just getting out of the house and everything that goes with that,” Hyman said when he was asked what has been most helpful about taking part in Phase 2, which began last week for the Leafs. “Seeing the guys and feeling like it’s a little bit normal, even though everybody is wearing masks.
“Skating is the biggest (advantage). You can always work out wherever you are, you can modify your workouts, I was working out in my condo, so I felt I was in good shape, but you can’t modify skating.
“And you can’t modify interacting with people, interacting with friends and teammates. Actually interacting with your friends and being on the ice is the best.”
FITTING JACKETS
One of the unique aspects of the NHL’s Return to Play is teams in the qualifying round — assuming we get to that point in Phase 4 — will have known for months who their opponents will be.
Hyman doesn’t have any doubt about the Columbus Blue Jackets’ work ethic, but won’t take much for granted.
“The funny thing is, you never know,” Hyman said. “Things could change from a system perspective. Coaches in the off-season sometimes tweak their systems and this is the unknown.
“When you go from the regular season to the playoffs, you don’t really tweak too much. You just roll into the playoffs.
“This is a completely different beast where what you watched a couple of months ago may not be the team you are playing against in the summertime. It’s almost like a brand-new year with the same roster. It will be interesting to see how everything turns out around the league with the long layoff.
“I think the team that comes back the best in shape is going to have a massive advantage.”
We should count on the notion that the Blue Jackets, under coach John Tortorella, will be in tune physically and mentally from the opening faceoff of Game 1. That the Jackets managed to earn a chance to compete for a playoff spot, considering the losses last summer of Sergei Bobrovsky, Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene to free agency and then a raft of injuries during the 2019-20 regular season, is a minor miracle.
“Columbus was never a team that we envisioned playing,” Hyman said. “They’re a hard team. They upset Tampa last year, their style of play is a lot different than our style of play.
“I’m sure our coaching staff loved the fact they have a couple of months to prepare and watch video, and once we get back in the swing of things (at camp in Phase 3, scheduled to start on July 10), we’ll get caught up on all of that.”
LOOSE LEAFS
Hyman on the potential of living in a bubble in a hub city for an undetermined length of time, if and when Phase 4 starts: “It’s a tricky question. There are not many guidelines (yet) to what the bubble is. It’s going to be tough. These are circumstances that are difficult and affect everybody. If we’re going to have a chance to play, we’re going to have to be in a bubble and isolate and potentially not see our families for a period of time and that’s a decision that guys have to make.” … This, to us, from Ottawa 67’s general manager James Boyd on Leafs prospect Nick Robertson, who will try to earn a spot in the Toronto lineup for the Columbus series after scoring 55 goals for the Peterborough Petes last season: “He can make split-second decisions, which translates really well to pro, and he senses pressure. The coaching staff can go over it — ‘Watch Robertson, watch Robertson,’ — they can say it 100 times, but he scores the winner with no one within 30 feet of him. The pass is behind him, in front of him, in his feet, but he is going to get a shot off. He has that dexterity, even off back passes, he can let it go.”
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The league’s plan also spells out how training rooms and meeting rooms will be utilized, the procedures for practice-court usage – three-hour blocks per team, all scheduled, with one open hour in between sessions for cleaning and sanitizing – and even how team and player laundry will be handled.
y: The Associated PressPosted: Jun 16, 2020 / 10:19 PM EDT / Updated: Jun 16, 2020 / 10:19 PM EDT
A sign marking the entrance to ESPN’s Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World is seen Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in Kissimmee, Fla. The NBA has told the National Basketball Players Association that it will present a 22-team plan for restarting the season at Disney. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Here’s some of what awaits NBA players going to Disney next month: game rooms, golf course access, cabanas with misters to combat the heat, fishing areas, bowling, backstage tours and salon services.
It only sounds like vacation.
The NBA described very specific plans to players and teams for the restart on Tuesday, doing so in a memo and handbook both obtained by The Associated Press. With safety being of the foremost importance during the coronavirus pandemic, players were told they will be tested regularly – but not with the deep nasal swabs – and must adhere to strict physical distancing and mask-wearing policies.
The league and the National Basketball Players Association have been working on the terms of how the restart will work for weeks, all while constantly seeking advice from medical experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci, perhaps the best-known physician in the country when it comes to the battle against COVID-19.
“My confidence, it didn’t exist at the beginning of this virus because I was so frightened by it,” union executive director Michele Roberts told AP. “Now having lived, and breathed, and suffered through the hours and hours of understanding the virus, and listening to our experts, and comparing different alternative protocols, I can’t even think of anything else we could do short of hermetically seal the players that would keep them safe.”
Players must tell their teams by June 24 if they intend to play or not, according to a memo sent to NBPA members. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said that if a player does not feel comfortable playing at Disney – whether for health reasons or because of social causes facing the country right now – then he does not have to report with his team and will not be disciplined, other than losing salary for games missed.
Most teams will arrive in Florida on July 7, 8 or 9. A person with knowledge of the situation said the reigning champion Toronto Raptors, the lone NBA team based outside of the U.S., will be permitted to gather for some pre-camp workouts – under strict guidelines that other teams will follow in their own cities – before that arrival date. The Raptors are likely to train somewhere in Florida, said the person who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because no deal with a training site has yet been signed.
For the Raptors, it’s been an area of concern largely because of current Canadian government regulations that call for a 14-day quarantine for people returning to Canada. Some Raptors players are in Toronto right now; some are in the U.S.
Nobody on the NBA’s Disney campus, which has been loosely described as a bubble, will be allowed in anyone else’s sleeping room. The NBA also told players and teams that it will work with one or more outside health care companies to provide a medical clinic with X-ray and MRI capability on the campus – critical, since in theory the league would not want players and team staff leaving and potentially facing coronavirus exposure by going outside of the Disney property for such exams.
The league’s plan also spells out how training rooms and meeting rooms will be utilized, the procedures for practice-court usage – three-hour blocks per team, all scheduled, with one open hour in between sessions for cleaning and sanitizing – and even how team and player laundry will be handled.
It also addresses the polarizing issue of how the league and its players will be able to address social injustice and racial inequality — two issues of constant importance, particularly now across the country.
The NBA said it would be “a central goal of our season restart” to bring attention and what it called “sustained action to issues of social injustice, including combating systemic racism, expanding educational and economic opportunities across the Black community, enacting meaningful police and criminal justice reform and promoting greater civic engagement.”
The league said it remains in talks with the NBPA how best to make that happen. Some NBA players, such as NBPA executive board member Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard, have suggested that playing could take away from the movement to spur immediate and dramatic change on racial issues in the country.
Roberts lauded Silver’s willingness to work with players who may be uncomfortable restarting the season.
“The very fact that our players have the option of not playing, I think says a lot about the commissioner’s ability to appreciate how big an issue this is, not just for African-American players but for all of our members,” Roberts said. “There’s not been one ounce of skepticism about the sincerity of the players’ feelings about this.”
The NBA is planning on games in three arenas during the seeding-game portion of the restart, the ones where each of the 22 teams going to the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex will play eight games before the playoffs begin. Teams will be housed in three hotels, with between six and eight teams in each.
Other plans the NBA has for the restart include mental health professionals being available for players and coaches; pregame chapel services, done virtually; yoga and meditation; three meals a day and four meals on game days; and restaurant availability.
Teams can bring up to 35 people as part of the basketball operations group, which includes players, a senior executive, an athletic trainer, a strength and conditioning coach, an equipment manager and security.
The view from left field 