I am a sports journalist, a fan, a participant. Sports have been at the epicenter of my entire life. But the notion that we “need” sports, is an extremely shallow outlook on life right now. You may desperately want sports back, we all do. We want to see Lebron James capture his 4th ring, Tiger Woods win another major, and a MLB season to be played.
What we NEED to do is wear masks and social distance during the pandemic. We NEED to stop killing black people for no reason. We NEED to end systematic racism. We NEED to unite.
But as a sports journalist, I know that sports are important to the majority of the country. So while not the main priority, I will continue to inform you of the updates.
In the past few days, the NBA has laid out part of their plan to resume play in July. When play resumes, it will take place at Disney World in Orlando Florida. All teams will be essentially quarantined on Disney grounds. Games will be spread out over time to limit congestion and overcoming. What we don’t know is the format, nor the number of teams that will return.
Damian Lillard spoke out, stating that he won’t play in games unless the Blazers have a fair chance to make the playoffs. He and the Blazers have a gripe if they get left out the playoffs. They are just 3 games out with 12 left to play, a gap they could overcome. But nothing is fair under the circumstances, so it won’t be the end of the world if the NBA decided to simply start the playoffs with the current teams in the playoffs.
Another discussed idea is reseeding the playoff teams 1-16, forgoing the idea of conference play. This has been a discussion amongst the NBA decision makers for years now, but travel across country for series has been a deterrent. With all 16 teams residing in Orlando, the NBA can use this as an opportunity to see if the proposal would get over with the fanbase.
I am on the side of giving it a chance. We have complained for years that the best teams seem to face each other in the Western Conference Finals and not the NBA Finals. In this scenario, we could get a Lakers-Clippers NBA Finals. Tell me that doesn’t sound intriguing.
As for the MLB, they have been completely tone deaf for decades, but let’s start with the most recent occurrence. During a pandemic, with families not knowing where their next meal is coming from, MLB stars and billionaire owners are arguing about how much of their salaries should be paid.
Forget trying to get a plan in place to return to play, these idiots are stuck on stupid arguing about money. Not sure if either camp gets this but neither will make money if they don’t get on the field and play. Maybe keep the negotiations on wages in house, and not in front of your fan base who is struggling with the basics of life.
Like I mentioned earlier, we all want sports back. Sports help us heal, gives us a chance to escape the realities of life for 3 hours. But please stop screaming “WE NEED” them because there are much greater things occurring that NEED to be done.
