Sports and The Pandemic

He wouldn't have gotten the nickname Snot Boogie if he had worn a mask.

The NFL: "Of course everyone is going to be wearing a mask!"

Also the NFL: this Eagles hype video

The Cespedes disappearing situation was funny.

NFL is up to 42~ people opting out from my last count with Thursday 4pm being the deadline.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/n...

Not sure how the Pats have 8 players whereas some teams 0. That's got to be more than a coincidence. The next team is the Cowboys at 3.

The current seasons are going to be largely remembered as meaningless, even if completed. The lack of games and schedule balance makes comparing them pointless. And winning the virus sweepstakes and having the deepest full roster of available players just isn’t going to be all that dramatic. Throw in the possibility that a mild case could still do enough lung damage to limit or end your career, and it boggles my mind the number of guys playing.

I’ll give Mahomes a pass, even if it is asinine for Andy Reid to allow it, because he signed a half-billion dollar contract with a massive injury buy-out. That’s a lot of pressure to not be the face of opting out. But still...

NFL Training Camps During Covid

Some coaches have been the biggest rule-benders

One team employee may have summed it up best: “I could have probably reported [my head coach] 10 times by now for doing things he’s not supposed to be doing.”

...

“[The head coach] goes the opposite way of the [hallway] arrows all the time. I don’t think he even pays attention to them,” one team employee said. “He was hugging all the players when they first got in [to the facility]. He’s close to people pretty much all the time. He’s definitely the biggest rulebreaker. Pretty much everyone else is following the rules. Even the players have been really good about it. But a lot of the coaches are doing things they’re not supposed to.”

Added another team employee, “The coaches, it’s always going to be looser with the rules. We have some coaches who don’t even believe this is a real thing, so you know those guys aren’t going to be following everything.”

And another: “I’ve seen our defensive coaches with their masks pulled down, working like shoulder-to-shoulder together. Which, you know, we’ve been told over and over to absolutely not do that. I don’t even know how that’s possible with the GPS [trackers], unless they haven’t been keeping them on.”

What could possibly go wrong?

Jayhawker wrote:

The current seasons are going to be largely remembered as meaningless, even if completed. The lack of games and schedule balance makes comparing them pointless.

I don't think a shortened season would automatically invalidate it. Two of Joe Gibbs' three Super Bowls were the 1982 strike-shortened year and the 1987 strike-interrupted-with-replacement-player-games year, and him and those teams are still held as Super Bowl winners without asterisks.

But it's the potential for COVID to affect teams disproportionately that could impact things. Although if teams suffer in their ability to compete due to behaving irresponsibly, then I'm inclined to say "that counts" and let their losses be treated as fully substantiated. Not much different than losing players to non-pandemic irresponsible behavior.

The teams who suffer because they played against the irresponsible teams, though, is where that principle starts to fall apart.

Jack Del Rio needs to shut up again, basically giving the "I can't say what I really think or I'd get fired" answer to the question of his thoughts on players opting out of the season.

His Twitter continues to be a right-wing conspiracy garbage train wreck.

Ugh I cheered for that moron for years.

I shoulda quit the Jags back when Mark Brunell did.

*Legion* wrote:

His Twitter continues to be a right-wing conspiracy garbage train wreck.

Ugh I cheered for that moron for years.

Same.

Hey Mississippi finally issued a statewide mask mandate:

From Governor Tate Reeves:

"I want to see college football. The best way for that to occur is for us all to realize is that wearing a mask, as irritating as that can be & I promise I hate it more than anyone watching, is critical."

State with the 5th highest case per 100K, 11th highest death per 100K... but hey we'll do it for College Football now that we're just a month away from when it is supposed to start. I wonder if the SEC just cancels football will he just tell everyone sorry it didn't work, feel free to take your masks off again.

Carlbear95 wrote:

Hey Mississippi finally issued a statewide mask mandate:

From Governor Tate Reeves:

"I want to see college football. The best way for that to occur is for us all to realize is that wearing a mask, as irritating as that can be & I promise I hate it more than anyone watching, is critical."

State with the 5th highest case per 100K, 11th highest death per 100K... but hey we'll do it for College Football now that we're just a month away from when it is supposed to start. I wonder if the SEC just cancels football will he just tell everyone sorry it didn't work, feel free to take your masks off again.

Is life even worth living without college football? /s

In Mississippi? Probably not.

DSGamer wrote:
Carlbear95 wrote:

Hey Mississippi finally issued a statewide mask mandate:

From Governor Tate Reeves:

"I want to see college football. The best way for that to occur is for us all to realize is that wearing a mask, as irritating as that can be & I promise I hate it more than anyone watching, is critical."

State with the 5th highest case per 100K, 11th highest death per 100K... but hey we'll do it for College Football now that we're just a month away from when it is supposed to start. I wonder if the SEC just cancels football will he just tell everyone sorry it didn't work, feel free to take your masks off again.

Is life even worth living without college football? /s

The prophecies state that if Cal were to ever go to the Rose Bowl it would signal the coming Armageddon. This year has the combination of best Cal and worst Pac-12 in years. Covid-19 preventing Cal from going to Rose Bowl has actually saved billions, so in this case yes.. life IS living because there will be no college football. Governor of Mississippi has no idea what he may unleash if his "3-months-too-late" mask mandate saves college football like he think it will.

D2 and D3 fall sport championships cancelled now too. What I can't tell is if that's just the playoffs or all regular season games. Seems weird to cancel playoffs because of safety but keep the regular season.

Ohio trying to pretend the pandemic doesn't exist and it's really serious

OHSAA announces 6-game regular season for football, expanded playoffs

Power 5 conferences beginning to leak that football...might not happen.

Football players now asking for a players association...for all college athletes.

DSGamer wrote:

Ohio trying to pretend the pandemic doesn't exist and it's really serious

OHSAA announces 6-game regular season for football, expanded playoffs

Why expand the playoffs you ask? Why, so OHSAA can still deliver the number on broadcast games for their radio and streaming contracts, of course.

UpToIsomorphism wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

Ohio trying to pretend the pandemic doesn't exist and it's really serious

OHSAA announces 6-game regular season for football, expanded playoffs

Why expand the playoffs you ask? Why, so OHSAA can still deliver the number on broadcast games for their radio and streaming contracts, of course.

Internets are saying Big 10 is out. Detroit Free Press reporting a conference official, "It's done."

But actual meeting at 6pm.

Rumors yesterday that Michigan, Ohio St and others may play with Big 12.

I mean if ND can be in the ACC for a year why not?

Just a sports reporter desperate for clicks. It’s a shame there isn’t a way to take my click back b nothing like using the NCAA’s muddled response to the pandemic to go hyperbolic.

Drew Magary is far more than just a sports reporter!

Ego Man wrote:

Just a sports reporter desperate for clicks. It’s a shame there isn’t a way to take my click back b nothing like using the NCAA’s muddled response to the pandemic to go hyperbolic.

Do you have thoughts beyond "desperate for clicks"? Do you think 18 year old kids who don't get health coverage for brain injuries should be playing for free during a pandemic?

PAC 12 postponing football and also no basketball games in Nov/Dec.

I would love to see actual, system change come out of all this.

Break the big money sports teams away from their universities and have them be what they really are: minor leagues for the pros. Give players representation, pay them, install relegation rules and be done with "amateurism" outside of small colleges.

We can start by distributing the enormous paychecks going to coaches and sharing that with, you know, the players (labor) we actually tune in to watch.

DSGamer wrote:
Ego Man wrote:

Just a sports reporter desperate for clicks. It’s a shame there isn’t a way to take my click back b nothing like using the NCAA’s muddled response to the pandemic to go hyperbolic.

Do you have thoughts beyond "desperate for clicks"? Do you think 18 year old kids who don't get health coverage for brain injuries should be playing for free during a pandemic?

Meh, you dumped a joke of an article without any comment, why do you expect deep analysis?

But to answer your question, I do think the Football players deserve much better health insurance and insurance to help cover any loss of income stemming from injuries. They deserve to be paid above and beyond the considerable value they receive already through tuition, room and board, meal plans, tutors, ect.

All of this does not cancel my initial judgement on the joke of a article.

Top_Shelf wrote:

I would love to see actual, system change come out of all this.

Break the big money sports teams away from their universities and have them be what they really are: minor leagues for the pros. Give players representation, pay them, install relegation rules and be done with "amateurism" outside of small colleges.

Juniors leagues, not minor leagues. Otherwise, +1 to most of this.

Hockey in Canada kinda works this way, at least the paying players and being separate from universities parts. There's three major juniors (age 16-21) leagues, which pay stipends to players (and thus, by NCAA rules, are considered professional leagues). When kids reach draft age (will turn 18 by the start of the season for that year's draft), they may be drafted, at which point they might continue to play in juniors for another couple of years if they aren't pulled up to a minor league squad or the drafting team's roster.

From what I understand, these stipends are still kinda piddly, but Canadian junior hockey doesn't pull in what college football does.

I think for the sake of interest, juniors football needs to retain the relationship with colleges. Once you split away from that and create standalone juniors leagues, the level of fan interest plummets and the money plummets. But there is no reason football players cannot be paid stipends the way a doctoral candidate is, and beyond. There is no need to treat amateur status as some virtuous state of being.

*Legion* wrote:
Top_Shelf wrote:

I would love to see actual, system change come out of all this.

Break the big money sports teams away from their universities and have them be what they really are: minor leagues for the pros. Give players representation, pay them, install relegation rules and be done with "amateurism" outside of small colleges.

Juniors leagues, not minor leagues. Otherwise, +1 to most of this.

Hockey in Canada kinda works this way, at least the paying players and being separate from universities parts. There's three major juniors (age 16-21) leagues, which pay stipends to players (and thus, by NCAA rules, are considered professional leagues). When kids reach draft age (will turn 18 by the start of the season for that year's draft), they may be drafted, at which point they might continue to play in juniors for another couple of years if they aren't pulled up to a minor league squad or the drafting team's roster.

From what I understand, these stipends are still kinda piddly, but Canadian junior hockey doesn't pull in what college football does.

I think for the sake of interest, juniors football needs to retain the relationship with colleges. Once you split away from that and create standalone juniors leagues, the level of fan interest plummets and the money plummets. But there is no reason football players cannot be paid stipends the way a doctoral candidate is, and beyond. There is no need to treat amateur status as some virtuous state of being.

I would agree that severing the ties to the university would severely damage college football and would most likely hurt the players who aren’t talented enough to go pro but are still playing for the opportunity to go to college or for the love of the sport. I would also bet that it would change the fundamental structure of colleges as colleges use big sports to recruit people, students, and donors.

Ego Man wrote:
*Legion* wrote:
Top_Shelf wrote:

I would love to see actual, system change come out of all this.

Break the big money sports teams away from their universities and have them be what they really are: minor leagues for the pros. Give players representation, pay them, install relegation rules and be done with "amateurism" outside of small colleges.

Juniors leagues, not minor leagues. Otherwise, +1 to most of this.

Hockey in Canada kinda works this way, at least the paying players and being separate from universities parts. There's three major juniors (age 16-21) leagues, which pay stipends to players (and thus, by NCAA rules, are considered professional leagues). When kids reach draft age (will turn 18 by the start of the season for that year's draft), they may be drafted, at which point they might continue to play in juniors for another couple of years if they aren't pulled up to a minor league squad or the drafting team's roster.

From what I understand, these stipends are still kinda piddly, but Canadian junior hockey doesn't pull in what college football does.

I think for the sake of interest, juniors football needs to retain the relationship with colleges. Once you split away from that and create standalone juniors leagues, the level of fan interest plummets and the money plummets. But there is no reason football players cannot be paid stipends the way a doctoral candidate is, and beyond. There is no need to treat amateur status as some virtuous state of being.

I would agree that severing the ties to the university would severely damage college football and would most likely hurt the players who aren’t talented enough to go pro but are still playing for the opportunity to go to college or for the love of the sport. I would also bet that it would change the fundamental structure of colleges as colleges use big sports to recruit people, students, and donors.

Fair points.

So, let's call it junior football, keep it a subsidiary of Big Business University. We can still do away with fake-ass amateurism and screw the millionaire bosses that run their system of indentured servitude.

Bomani Jones was talking about how corrupt college football is on his podcast this week and how much power the coaches have over these poor kids.

Let's even out the power imbalance, get athletes representation, insurance and an actual paycheck and create a...level playing field. No reason Saban or Dabo or f*cking Steve Sarkisian (who just signed a $2mm contract in the middle of a pandemic) can't give that money to the performers we want to see.

I don't go to the symphony...and expect the orchestra to get paid in nice instruments.
I don't go to off-Broadway shows...and expect the singers/dancers to get paid in costumes and room/board.
I don't go to the movies...and expect Senior Spielbergo to get my money while the actors get a stipend.

Enough with this corruption.

Ego Man wrote:
DSGamer wrote:
Ego Man wrote:

Just a sports reporter desperate for clicks. It’s a shame there isn’t a way to take my click back b nothing like using the NCAA’s muddled response to the pandemic to go hyperbolic.

Do you have thoughts beyond "desperate for clicks"? Do you think 18 year old kids who don't get health coverage for brain injuries should be playing for free during a pandemic?

Meh, you dumped a joke of an article without any comment, why do you expect deep analysis?

Sorry. I submitted it without comment because I agreed with it. What’s the joke?

Ego Man wrote:

But to answer your question, I do think the Football players deserve much better health insurance and insurance to help cover any loss of income stemming from injuries. They deserve to be paid above and beyond the considerable value they receive already through tuition, room and board, meal plans, tutors, ect.

All of this does not cancel my initial judgement on the joke of a article.

What’s the joke?