The Maple Leafs’ ECHL championship farm team won’t get a chance to defend its title.
But that’s the least of the problems for management of the Newfoundland Growlers, who had to recall the team from a road trip two time zones away, deal with the cancellation (not just postponement) of its entire season, then test and get its players off The Rock before borders and flights shut down.
“It’s disappointing for our people here, but as we live every day, you see how big (COVID-19) is globally,” Growlers Chief Operating Officer Glenn Stanford told Postmedia on Wednesday. “This is bigger than the sporting world.
“We were in the Toronto area, scheduled to play in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Thursday (March 12), made the decision to stay where we were and were instructed by the league to go home Saturday (on a commercial flight).”
The 26-team league’s board of governors and the Professional Hockey Players Association decided to end the regular season and playoffs that day.
National Basketball Players Association Executive Director Michele Roberts expressed optimism the league will return to play, but also admitted more players eventually could test positive for the coronavirus.
Roberts revealed her thoughts to USA Today on Tuesday and said she is trying to keep the players informed of what will happen in the weeks and upcoming month about the pandemic.
“I was mortified any of our players would test positive. But the more I learned about the likelihood of fatalities among all of us given our ages and pre-existing conditions, I have learned to embrace the probability that many of our players will be positive for the virus,” Roberts said.
“They want to understand exactly what the health risks are. So whatever information we can impart, we do. We are (as) vigilant as we can and try to update them.”
While the coronavirus outbreak in the NBA seems bad, with seven cases reported that we know of, the situation in San Francisco’s metro area is far worse. That’s why the Golden State Warriors have declined to use up valuable COVID-19 tests. “We’ve been told that testing’s in short supply,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers said…
While the coronavirus outbreak in the NBA seems bad, with seven cases reported that we know of, the situation in San Francisco’s metro area is far worse.
“We’ve been told that testing’s in short supply,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers said on a conference call, per USA Today’s Mark Medina. “We’re treating ourselves like people, which is what we are. We’re not better than anybody. We’re not worse. We’re just a basketball team, like any company. Right now, we’re not interacting with anybody. I’ve been told by our doctors that we shouldn’t be testing asymptomatic people in California.”
Still, six Bay Area counties announced “shelter in place” orders for their residents, requiring everyone to stay inside their homes for the next three weeks as of Monday, March 16. This is the strictest measure taken in any city in the United States so far.
Head coach Steve Kerr’s mentality was that if none of their players show symptoms, the tests should go to those who actually need them.
“If any of our players do come down sick or any of our employees do, we’ll do our best to get them a test,” Kerr said. “But there’s definitely frustration that we don’t all have access to them. But there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Major League Soccer is shut down, but that doesn’t mean Toronto FC players are sitting in their rec rooms all day kicking a nerf ball around with their kids. Read More TFC players staying home, but staying fit — Toronto Sun
Major League Soccer is shut down, but that doesn’t mean Toronto FC players are sitting in their rec rooms all day kicking a nerf ball around with their kids. Read More
Bob Baffert trains three hot Kentucky Derby hopefuls in Authentic, Nadal and Charlatan. All three are unbeaten and showing no signs of slowing down as the Hall of Fame trainer seeks a record-tying sixth Derby victory. But if he’s despondent over Churchill Downs’ announcement Tuesday that the 146th Kentucky Derby is being pushed back to…
Monday was supposed to give thousands of delirious Raptors fans the chance to relive the happiest memory of their hoops fandom. Golden State was slated to be In Toronto for the first time since last June, when the Raptors set off a huge celebration across Canada by bringing the NBA title north of the border […]
According to a player source for More Than Baseball, an organization focused on assisting minor league players, the Rays will give every one of their minor leaguers $800 in a one-time payment to help with expenses while operations are shut down because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While it is certainly better than nothing, and it’s great that the Rays acted on their own without waiting for a league directive, it is not enough.
The Rays have nine minor league teams, though the lower level teams play fewer games and have fewer roster spots. As a very rough estimate, we may be talking about 250 players, which amounts to a $200,000 overall expenditure for the Rays. Even the small-market Rays have a team value in excess of $1 billion, according to Forbes. A 15-year TV deal with Fox that began last year will pay the Rays $87 million per year on average.
$800 helps, but it barely covers a month of rent, even if a player is sharing an apartment with others. Considering all of the other expenses players have — utilities, Internet, food, transportation/gas, etc. — like all of us, they will tear through that $800 in the first month just for basic living necessities. And they will still be expected to remain in shape despite not being allowed to use team facilities in order to slow the spread of the virus (the right call).
Every team should be following the Rays’ lead here, but the amount given to minor leaguers needs to be much greater than $800. Frankly, the Rays and the 29 other teams can’t afford not to provide more. Some — probably many — of their minor leaguers will have to take public-facing jobs in the interim in order to keep the lights on, like giving instructions, stocking shelves, driving for a rideshare app, etc. In doing so, they become vectors for spreading the infection, making it harder for us to flatten the curve. That’s why some, including Ilhan Omar, have suggested an emergency universal basic income (UBI). There was already a moral imperative before to pay minor leaguers more, but there certainly is now as we stare down the barrel of a pandemic.
The first countries in Asia inflicted with the coronavirus appear to be set for a return to pro basketball, though their games likely will be played in empty arenas.
Donovan Mitchell on Monday provided a fascinating update on his COVID-19 recovery. The Utah Jazz guard tested positive last week for the new coronavirus, which has caused a global pandemic and a total upending of United States sports. Mitchell, fellow Jazz star Rudy Gobert and Detroit Pistons big man Christian Wood are the only NBA…
It took three days, a torrent of public criticism on social media and a fundraising campaign by an embarrassed fan, but the Winnipeg Jets are finally doing the right thing. Perhaps being linked to Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk was what finally pushed the Jets to reach the land of common sense. On Thursday when the […]
Tests for COVID-19 currently are limited in the United States, but Karl-Anthony Towns is hoping to help change that. The Minnesota Timberwolves star has donated $100,000 to the Mayo Clinic to help fund testing for the coronavirus amid the recent outbreak. Towns took to Twitter on Sunday to announce the decision four days after the…
The view from left field 