There’s a lot of unknown surrounding what will happen to the rest of the NHL regular season with it being on pause due to the coronavirus outbreak. But two prominent stars wouldn’t mind jumping right into the playoffs if and when the season resumes. Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby joined a video conference call Thursday…
There’s a lot of unknown surrounding what will happen to the rest of the NHL regular season with it being on pause due to the coronavirus outbreak. But two prominent stars wouldn’t mind jumping right into the playoffs if and when the season resumes.
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby joined a video conference call Thursday and shared how he felt about the current situation. “You try to get in as many games as you can,” he said, via Pens Inside Scoop’s Sam Kasan. I wouldn’t mind starting right at the playoffs. But there are a lot of guys in different situations. The more games you can play the better integrity of it. Get as many games as you can.”
Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin believes beginning the playoffs as as soon as possible is the way to go. “For us it is better for playoffs to start right now. We don’t want to play extra games,” he said, per the Washington Post’s Samantha Pell. “I would rather play playoffs right away. Sorry, guys.” Ovechkin’s Capitals would be guaranteed a playoff spot. But it isn’t as easy for teams like the New York Islanders, who were just outside of the playoff picture when the season paused March 12.
Even though no one can tell what the future holds, commissioner Gary Bettman is optimistic a Stanley Cup champion will be crowned this year.
ron James and his brand of basketball have become synonymous with many things. Amazing dunks, beautiful passes to open shooters exactly where they need it, chase-down blocks and tough shots to quiet down opposing crowds. But another thing that LeBron’s teams have always been known for is his intricate and expressive handshakes that are individualized to almost every teammate he’s had over the years.
Ever since his first stint in Cleveland, LeBron and several teammates have had special handshakes that he executes down the line before each game. However, the coronavirus pandemic and its ability to spread amongst people is leading to LeBron Handshake Reform. James told the Road Trippin’ podcast that he will no longer do high-fives and that his teammates will have some new handshakes that will presumably include social distancing.
The WNBA draft will go on. The league has let its teams know that the 2020 draft will be held, as scheduled, on April 17 – but it will be done virtually, in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. There will be no players, guests or media in attendance; instead, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will…
A message of support and encouragement in the wake of the coronavirus came from John Tavares via social media on Wednesday night.
“To all hockey fans in Toronto & beyond,” the note on Twitter from the Maple Leafs captain started, “let’s all play inside & play for each other.
“With this challenge comes great opportunity to enjoy quality time with family and loved ones. Let’s take care of each other by washing our hands frequently and practicing social distancing.
“To all the healthcare & frontline workers, thank you! Thank you for your courage, determination and hard work to fight this crisis. We are all extremely grateful.
“To Leafs nation, my teammates and I can’t wait until we get the opportunity again to put on our skates, and wear the Maple Leaf on our chest.
“Until then, let’s do everything we can to help each other by staying safe and healthy!”
Tavares’ message was accompanied by a photo of him holding son Jace, who was born last September.
The COVID-19 outbreak has millions of Americans staying home in an effort to curb the virus. That said, some people haven’t exactly been abiding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation to limit social exposure as the coronavirus spreads. And that does not sit well with Enes Kanter whatsoever. The Boston Celtics big…
There’s no clear answer as to if, and when, the NHL will return to action after the league paused its season March 12 due to the coronavirus outbreak. The playoffs were slated to start in April. But it’s unknown if the regular season will pick up where it left off or if the league will…
The playoffs were slated to start in April. But it’s unknown if the regular season will pick up where it left off or if the league will go into an altered playoff format. For what it’s worth, commissioner Gary Bettman is optimistic a 2019-20 Stanley Cup champion will be crowned. But could the league be looking at playing games late into the summer?
TSN’s Bob McKenzie on Tuesday alluded to such on “Insider Trading.” “Earlier (Tuesday), the National Hockey League did request from each of its 31 member clubs to provide available home dates for the month of August,” McKenzie said. Of course, teams would need to figure out how to handle players who contracts expire June 30 if games were to be played well into the summer. The NHL also reportedly asked its players to continue self-quarantining until April 6 — an additional 10 days than the original March 27 plan. Even if games go into August and beyond, the NHL still plans to have a full 2020-21 season.
Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac is stepping up in a big way. The 22-year-old is leading a relief effort to help feed children in the city of Orlando who are at risk of going hungry with school cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why Isaac is our VA Hero of the Week, proudly…
One week ago, it was business as usual for Magnolia High School graduate Adam Kloffenstein.
The right-handed pitcher was at spring training in Dunedin, Fla., along with other players in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. His second season — and first full one in the minor leagues — was less than a month away.
Then, along with the rest of the country, Kloffenstein’s situation began to change because of cancellations aimed to thwart the spread of COVID-19, the upper-respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.
“Everything was business as normal (last) Thursday,” Kloffenstein said in a phone interview. “A little bit more caution around hand washing and all that, but as far as activity, Thursday was full-go. On Friday, they said to just come in at noon for a meeting.”
That meeting was a check-in of sorts. After another off-day Saturday, there was a scheduled workout Sunday and another meeting set for Monday. But those plans, like so many others around the country and world, also changed.
“By Saturday morning, they said, ‘Go home,’” Kloffenstein said.
Kloffenstein went 4-4 and had a 2.24 ERA last year with the Vancouver Canadians, the Blue Jays’ Class A short-season affiliate. It was a good year for the 2018 third-round pick.
“I started off a little shaky, just kind of getting my feet planted,” he said. “After that, I had some success and was able to execute my plans a lot better and was a lot more clear on how to get guys out. I was just kind of simplifying the game. We had a fun team. We didn’t do all that great as far as record goes, but in the minor leagues, they’re not really too worried about that. We had some good, young talent up there.”
Kloffenstein was working toward a big change during the offseason. Had this season been a full one, he would’ve been making a jump from about 72 games to 144.
“That’s a long time and a lot of ups and downs to have to go through as far as mechanics and performance goes,” he said. “The biggest thing I was working on this offseason was really just trying to simplify things and figure out what my weaknesses are so I could focus on that and make adjustments.”
Physically, the 6-foot-5 pitcher was working on staying flexible and cutting a few pounds. It was all part of a plan to maintain health throughout a longer season.
It was looking like he’d be with the Lansing Lugnuts in Class A for the 2020 season, but the second-year pro hoped to work his way up to the Dunedin Blue Jays, the Class A Advanced squad in Florida.
Last Friday, when Minor League Baseball officially announced its season would not start on April 9 as originally scheduled, Kloffenstein was still a couple weeks from learning where he’d start.
Now, after a change of plans caused by the coronavirus, he hopes to stay sharp and gain an edge while he’s back at home in Texas with his parents for the foreseeable future.
“Obviously the first couple days, it was really weird, and it’s still kind of weird,” Kloffenstein said. “After the smoke clears here and things kind of get settled down, which for me, they have, you’ve got no other option other than to get better. My goal was to skip Lansing, and I view this as another chance to prove to them that I don’t need to go there. I think I’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
As of Thursday, neither Major League nor Minor League Baseball had announced plans for a return to training or play. Whenever baseball does resume, Kloffenstein hopes to come back better.
“It’s four, six, eight, 10 weeks, however long it is, for me to get an edge on whoever,” he said. “I have no choice but to keep to myself, so I’m just going to hang out with my family a little bit here and there and keep myself in shape. Hopefully, I can hit the ground running whenever this is all said and done.”
It has only been a week since the Raptors last took the court but it feels like much, much longer. Certainly the all-star break didn’t feel this long even if it was. Read More
Adam Silver said Saturday the NBA is considering all options — best-case, worst-case and many ideas in between — as it comes to grips with this new normal.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver finds himself almost constantly looking at financial numbers and projections. And like the rest of a world that is dealing with the seismic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, he still isn’t sure how bad things will get.
Silver said Saturday the league is considering all options — best-case, worst-case and countless ideas in between — as it tries to come to grips with this new normal. But definitive answers on any front are in short supply.
“It’s too soon to tell what the economic impact will be,” Silver said. “We’ve been analyzing multiple scenarios on a daily, if not hourly, basis and we’ll continue to review the financial implications. Obviously, it’s not a pretty picture but everyone, regardless of what industry they work in, is in the same boat.”
Saturday marked the 10th full day of the NBA’s shutdown, a stoppage that has cost the league 75 games and counting so far, a total that will reach triple digits on Wednesday and will eventually get to 259 on April 15 — the day the regular season was supposed to end. Play isn’t going to resume by then. The financial losses will be massive and will obviously just keep growing if this season cannot resume or if next season is affected.
“Adam is obviously cautious, cautiously optimistic,” Cleveland forward Kevin Love said earlier in the week. “We don’t know what the future holds but the NBA has been through a lot, we’ve seen a lot and I think we’ll be incredibly resilient. It just might take time.”
Players who are due to get their next paycheck on April 1 will get them. Whether those players will get their April 15 check is in some question; the league can exercise a clause in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that allows it to take back 1.08% of each player’s salary for each game missed in certain times — like war, or in this case, a pandemic.
That clause has not been exercised yet since, officially anyway, no game has been canceled.
“We’re exploring all options to resume our season if and when it is safe to do so,” Silver said. “Nothing is off the table.”
Besides, there are other bridges to cross first. The NBA — which was the first major U.S. pro league to say it would play games without fans and the first league to suspend its season once All-Star center Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive — has been extremely vocal in trying to get its massive fan base to take social distancing and other preventative measures seriously.
“Our focus right now is doing all that we can to support, engage and educate the general public in response to this pandemic,” Silver said. “We are also making sure that we are prepared to resume the season if and when it becomes safe for all concerned.”
The league has asked teams for building availability dates through the end of August, an indicator that this season — if it resumes — may stretch deep into the summer.
So far, there are 14 people within the NBA community, including at least 10 players, known to have tested positive for COVID-19. Of those positive tests, seven became known publicly on Thursday, and Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics revealed that he has the virus.
“Unfortunately, based on everything we know, significantly more positive cases in our league were inevitable,” Silver said. “So, Thursday’s results did not come as a huge surprise and just like everyone else, we’re just trying to take each day as it comes.”
For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
Entering Saturday, there were about 19,000 known positive cases in the U.S. and more than 250 deaths blamed on the virus. Globally, there have been nearly 300,000 cases diagnosed so far with nearly 12,000 deaths. The virus first exploded in mainland China, where the NBA has offices and about 200 employees.
What workers in China went through helped the league quickly grasp some sort of understanding of the severity. Silver made the decision to shut down the league before any public health experts advised the NBA to take that step. He even sounded the alarm publicly in mid-February at NBA All-Star weekend in Chicago — saying then it was “a major national, if not global, health crisis” that was taking place.
“We’ve learned a lot from our China office,” Silver said, noting that meetings have been of the virtual variety there for several weeks now.
Silver’s sixth full season as commissioner of the NBA started with the league getting into a major rift with China. His mentor and NBA Commissioner emeritus David Stern died two months later. Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash less than a month after that.
Now he is dealing with the biggest crisis of them all — a pandemic, affecting and threatening virtually every corner of the planet.
“It’s been a challenging season,” Silver said. “For all of us.”
The view from left field 