Last week on the Hoops Adjacent podcast, hosted by David Aldridge and Wosny Lambre, Dallas Maverick coach Rick Carlisle voiced his optimism that the NBA season would resume this summer: It just feels like things are moving in what I would characterize as a ‘generally good direction’, in terms of our ability to test, control […]
“We’re going to find a way to make this work”: Rick Carlisle is optimistic about this season and the future of the NBA — e Things To Do
The Angels have opened Angel Stadium and their minor league facility in Tempe, Ariz., for limited workouts for players on the 40-man roster, general manager Billy Eppler said on Monday. Eppler also said the team would “prefer” to hold its formal workouts in Anaheim, instead of Arizona, if and when teams are cleared to begin…
Angels open facilities for limited workouts, ‘prefer’ to hold second spring training in Anaheim — Daily News
The NHL is planning to allow players to return to their home cities to begin small optional group skates and workouts in early June. Read More
NHL releases Phase 2 of return-to-sport plan; expects early June roll out — Winnipeg Sun
NHL releases Phase 2 of return-to-sport plan; expects early June roll out
Paul FriesenMore from Paul Friesen
Published:May 25, 2020
Updated:May 25, 2020 12:41 PM CDT
The NHL is planning to allow players to return to their home cities to begin small optional group skates and workouts in early June.
The plan is outlined in a comprehensive, 21-page document covering Phase 2 of the league’s return-to-play protocol, released on Monday.
It allows for players to travel back to their team cities if they choose to, where extensive testing and prevention guidelines will be in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The document covers everything from the number of players who can skate at one time to how their equipment is handled to where they should eat meals and have showers.
It also includes a warning.
“This Protocol, while very comprehensive, cannot mitigate all risk,” the memo reads. “A range of clinical scenarios exist, from very mild to fatal outcome. COVID-19 generally affects older age groups and those with previously existing medical conditions, moreso than younger, and otherwise healthy, individuals, and we recognize that Players and personnel have family and household members who may fall into these vulnerable categories.”
Players who travel back to their team sites commercially will be forced to self-quarantine for 14 days before taking part. Those travelling privately or by charter flight can avoid the quarantine period if local regulations allow.
NHL and AHL players will be compensated up to $1,500 U.S. for travel, and any who don’t have permanent residences will be put up in hotels, provided the hotels have strict cleaning and virus prevention standards and the amenities players are used to having on road trips.
The memo says all players and team staff will be subject to a COVID-19 test, but only if there is enough local testing capacity “so as to not deprive health care workers, vulnerable populations and symptomatic individuals from necessary diagnostic tests.”
If testing is not available, returning players and staff will have to quarantine for two weeks.
Players and staff will also be subject to daily temperature and symptom checks before being allowed to enter team facilities. Anybody developing symptoms will be tested immediately and, if positive, will be quarantined.
The NPB season will be played without fans. Teams can being practice games on June 2.
Japanese Baseball to begin June 19 — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
By Craig CalcaterraMay 25, 2020, 10:31 AM EDTLeave a comment
Japanese League commissioner Atsushi Saito announced that Japan’s professional baseball season will open on June 19. Teams can being practice games on June 2. There will be no fans. Indeed, the league has not yet even begun to seriously discuss a plan for fans to begin attending games, though that may happen eventually.
The season will begin three months after its originally scheduled opening day of March 20. It will be 120 games long. Teams in each six-team league — the Central League and Pacific League — will play 24 games against each league opponent. There will be no interleague play and no all-star game.
The announcement came in the wake of a national state of emergency being lifted for both Tokyo and the island of Hokkaido. The rest of the country emerged from the state of emergency earlier this month. This will allow the Japanese leagues to follow leagues in South Korea and Taiwan which have been playing for several weeks.
In the United States, Major League Baseball is hoping to resume spring training in mid June before launching a shortened regular season in early July. That plan is contingent on the league and the players’ union coming to an agreement on both financial arrangements and safety protocols for a 2020 season. Negotiations on both are ongoing. Major League Baseball will, reportedly, make a formal proposal about player compensation tomorrow.
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Double-A affiliate of the Twins, has listed its stadium on Airbnb, a creative way to create income during a pandemic.
Twins’ Double-A team lists stadium on Airbnb — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
Shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic have caused businesses across the country to get creative in order to remain in the black. Count Minor League Baseball teams among them. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos — the Twins’ Double-A affiliate — listed its home ballpark on Airbnb.
— Pensacola Blue Wahoos (@BlueWahoosBBall) May 23, 2020
Those who pay $1,500 per night can spend the night at the ballpark, gaining access to the field, batting cage, and clubhouse. The bedroom contains 10 beds and three bathrooms. If guests want to, they can play on the field as balls, bats, and helmets are included in the deal.
The Wahoos will have a stadium representative on site at all times to answer questions and ensure rules are followed.
Minor league teams are heavily reliant on gate revenue, which has vanished during the pandemic. It would not be surprising to see other teams follow the Blue Wahoos’ lead, listing their stadiums on Airbnb as a way to create a little bit of income.
Tampa Bay Lightning player representative Alex Killorn wants to make one thing perfectly clear, “Everyone on our team wants to play,” he said to Joe Smith of theAthletic.com. The Tampa Bay Lightning were one of two teams (Carolina was the other) to say no in a vote the NHLPA had to authorize the continuation of […]
NHL: An explanation of why the Tampa Bay Lightning voted no on NHLPA vote — Empire Sports Media
The last decade-plus or so haven’t been particularly kind to the Toronto Maple Leafs. For one, they’ve made the postseason just four times since reaching the second round in 2004, and all four appearances resulted in first-round exits. Three of said exits have been to the Boston Bruins (2013, 2018 and 2019), with the series…
Maple Leafs Get Roasted Over Potential Matchups In NHL’s 24-Team Proposal — NESN.com
The last decade-plus or so haven’t been particularly kind to the Toronto Maple Leafs. For one, they’ve made the postseason just four times since reaching the second round in 2004, and all four appearances resulted in first-round exits. Three of said exits have been to the Boston Bruins (2013, 2018 and 2019), with the series ending each time in a Game 7 at TD Garden. This Maple Leafs season has been plenty bumpy, but they started to look like they might’ve been getting on track a bit, as they were sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division when the NHL season paused. Had that result held, they would’ve avoided playing the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs for a change. However, the Covid-19 pause on the NHL has forced the league to get creative, and the players on Friday agreed to a 24-team playoff format. Based on what the reported seedings would be, the Leafs would have to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets in the “play-in” round in order to get to the traditional 16-team playoff. If the Leafs did that, do you know who they would face in what technically would be the first round? You guessed it, the Bruins.
Read more at: https://nesn.com/2020/05/maple-leafs-get-roasted-over-potential-matchups-in-nhls-24-team-proposal/
The NBA is in talks with The Walt Disney Company on a single-site scenario for a resumption of play in Central Florida in late July, the clearest sign yet that the league believes the season can continue amid the coronavirus pandemic. The National Basketball Players Association is also part of the talks with Disney. Games…
NBA in talks with Disney to resume season in Orlando — Press Telegram
It appears that the majority of NBA players want the season to resume sooner than later, but not all of them feel that way. The longer the (…)
James Harden not comfortable playing in games until pandemic has ‘calmed all the way down’ — The Sports Daily
It appears that the majority of NBA players want the season to resume sooner than later, but not all of them feel that way.
The longer the layoff goes, the more difficult it will be for players to just “flip the switch” and get back into game shape. It could be even more difficult for veteran players, as they’re not really built to transition back and forth so quickly. Younger players, however, are more suited to react to change on the fly, with their bodies cooperating, and responding well.
But not everyone is prioritizing time before everyone else, apparently.
Rockets superstar James Harden doesn’t want to play games until the coronavirus has “calmed all the way down,” which he told CNBC’s Jabari Young.
“I want it to be safe,” said Harden when asked about returning. “I want it to be entertaining for the fans and players to get out there and compete. As soon as we can get this ramped up, I’m ready to go. I feel like the majority of the players feel the same way.
He did add that he isn’t comfortable playing until the pandemic has “calmed all the way down,” and we commend Harden for putting the safety of himself and others before money. However, that may not happen until 2021, when there’s a vaccine, so by that logic, the NBA would need to cancel the 2019-20 season for Harden to feel comfortable. SHARE TWEET EMAIL
At least four teams are asking the NBA to have players travel directly to the league’s proposed “campus” site to resume training rather than having them first come to the clubs’ home cities, ESPN reported Friday. The NBA reportedly is looking at using one or a few venues to house multiple teams ahead of a […]
Raptors among some NBA teams that want to go straight to ‘bubble’: report — Canoe
At least four teams are asking the NBA to have players travel directly to the league’s proposed “campus” site to resume training rather than having them first come to the clubs’ home cities, ESPN reported Friday.
The NBA reportedly is looking at using one or a few venues to house multiple teams ahead of a resumption of play amid the coronavirus pandemic. Orlando and Las Vegas have been mentioned prominently as candidates to host teams in a bubble-like environment in which all players and staffers would receive regular COVID-19 tests.
At issue is the plan for teams whose areas have been hard hit by the pandemic.
According to ESPN, as part of a Thursday call with NBA general managers, the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors were among the teams who stated their desire to avoid having players come back to their usual team training sites.
In theory, some players might need a quarantine period of up to 14 days before they would begin training at team facilities. They then might be subject to another quarantine stretch when the team heads to the site where it would resume games.
Per the report, the NBA general managers discussed multiple restart options on Thursday. Continuing the regular season with all 30 teams ahead of the playoffs reportedly remains a possibility, as is a revised playoff format with a play-in round expanding the postseason field.
The New York Times’ Marc Stein tweeted Friday that the NBA is also leaning toward limiting teams’ traveling parties to the “campus” environment to a total of 35 players, coaches and staffers. Typical NBA road-trip parties feature more than 50 people.
The NBA suspended its season March 11 when Utah Jazz All-Star centre Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. Teams have played between 63 and 67 games in the 82-game regular
The Boston Celtics still haven’t been able to open their facilities due to Massachusetts regulations, and a few other teams in markets hit hard by the coronavirus are in the same boat. Meanwhile, players around the country are getting back into their buildings for voluntary workouts, and the NBA is hoping to have teams practicing…
NBA Rumors: Celtics Asking To Report Straight To Campus Site For Return — NESN.com
There is some real momentum now for a possible NBA return. The league has been looking into “bubble sites” such as Orlando’s Disney World as well as The Strip on Las Vegas. Orlando continues to gain momentum and traction as the spot for the league to resume and with the NBA allowing teams to begin to expand workouts beginning on June 1, there are now serious ideas for a resumption date.
Milwaukee Bucks co-managing partner Marc Lasry joined CNBC and he gave a rough timeline for when he thinks the league will resume:
I think we’ll have something, hopefully within the next 6 to 8 weeks, we should be playing.
A lot of people believe that whoever comes out on top as the champion in 2020 should have an asterisk next to it, but Lasry does not believe that as he added:
Everybody is going to talk about, ‘Well, it was difficult’. It was different. It was without fans. Yeah, but then you’re still an NBA champion. You’re still the champion.
The Philadelphia 76ers will be one of those teams fighting with the Bucks for a spot in the NBA Finals and a chance to eventually contend for a championship. It will be interesting to see how the teams look. Coach Brett Brown did say he does not want the Sixers to use the pandemic as an excuse to not be ready to go.
The view from left field 