By Dominic Alunni ‘22, Staff Writer
Spring is annually a big season for sports…but not this year.
Starting with March Madness and ending with the NHL and NBA playoffs. The MLB season kicks off, the UEFA Champions League resumes and there is always The Masters in Augusta to look forward to. However, none of these events will be held in the near future due to the COVID-19 virus spreading around the world.
The United States is working hard to eliminate any sort of spreading by closing non-essential areas, and limiting gatherings of people to a maximum of ten. This led to the pausing of the MLB, NBA, NHL, XFL, and all soccer leagues in Europe. It will be a harsh few months for the average sports watcher as these leagues may cancel all activities for 2020.
So what happens next for anything in the sports world? Well, NFL free agency is still currently underway as teams can communicate via phones and internet. For the other leagues, it may take months until another game is played.
The NBA and NHL are very similar schedule wise. Teams play 82 games from October to June. They’re both currently near the end of their seasons and are getting close to the playoffs. Both leagues have plenty of time to finish the season. Playoffs last around two months for each league. They have until October to figure something out. Some recommended playing games in empty arenas, but many athletes have spoken out against this idea as atmosphere plays a big part in sports, especially in basketball and hockey.
The MLB, whose season lasts 162 games from March to October, have been open to the idea of starting the season in May and eventually playing playoff baseball in the months of November/December. Who would ever think to have baseball during Christmastime? It’s certainly an interesting development. Since the season hasn’t started yet, and if the virus hangs around until maybe fall, there is always the option of having the season cancelled.
These are only options being discussed between all league officials. All seasons are paused until further notice, and there will only be moves made if the number of infected people in our country dies down a significant amount. One can only speculate at this point in the coronavirus timeline. As for the other leagues mentioned in this list, it’s all up in the air.
