Will COVID-19 be the needle that finally bursts the sports bubble?

Shit. $200K probably won't get you a strength coach at a Power 5 program.

This is from last year I believe

College Football Strength Coach Salaries - USA TODAY

 

One other thing, and I actually think it justifies the practice: If you've got football players in dorms with other (non-football) students on a Friday night, it's gonna be hard for the players to get a decent night's rest while everybody else is partying. Or coming back in at 2 am after partying elsewhere.

 

The Bowling Green Massacre.

 

Most, if not all, upperclassmen live off-campus.

 

I have been renounced, and I denounce myself.

Uncle.

 

It would be tough for a student-athlete taking a full load to avoid all Friday classes. That would mean either all Tuesday-Thursday classes, which means four long classes in a row starting at 8 a.m. to be through by early afternoon to get to practice. Those kinds of days suck, because I had a semester like that when I was an undergraduate so I could work more hours. Or there are some Monday-Wednesday classes, but they usually meet in late afternoons and that would overlap with practice time.

I've had plenty of athletes in my classes over the years, and when they're in season, they just miss a lot of Friday classes. Most -- most -- of them do a pretty good job of working ahead or getting what they missed as soon as they get back on Monday.

And baseball players miss a bunch of Wednesday AND Friday classes, because of mid-week road trips and weekend conference trips.

 

Give the Pawtucket Red Sox, the AAA affiliate, credit for imagination. It's the franchise's last year of existence, as the team is moving to Worcester, and there's no baseball anyway. As Rhode Island gradually reopens, they are planning out how to turn the stadium into an outdoor restaurant for the summer.

 

FTFY

 

I wonder if some of these sports, like volleyball, tennis and gymnastics will go the way of track & field and have weekend invitational meets/tournaments instead of just traveling to compete against another program, they can compete against multiple teams to get a full schedule in without as much of the travel.

 

Word on the streets is that the NHL will re-open facilities on June 1 in prep for a short training camp. The isolation date expired Friday I believe and there is unlikely to be an extension of it.

 

Major League Baseball has laid out a "first draft" of its return to play guidelines.

New MLB rules: shower at home, don't spit, Mr Met stay away

Some seem workable, some are WTF? level changes that would fundamentally alter the game and don't seem to make a ton of sense -- or seem impossible to enforce -- such as:
• The traditional exchange of lineup cards would be eliminated
• Hitting in indoor cages is discouraged, batting gloves encouraged.
• Batting practice pitchers are to wear masks
• Dugout telephones are to be disinfected after each use.
• Players may not touch their face to give signs, and they're not allowed to lick their fingers.
• Fielders are ''encouraged to retreat several steps away from the baserunner'' between pitches.
• First and third base coaches are not to approach baserunners or umpires, and players should not socialize with opponents.
• Restaurants are off limits on the road, including the ones in hotels, as are hotel fitness centers.
• Scoreboard video is prohibited but music allowed.
• A ball will be thrown away after it is touched by multiple players, and throwing the ball around the infield will be discouraged.
• Use of Uber, subways and public buses is banned on road trips. Private airports encouraged and if not available, teams are to use private aviation facilities to board and exit.
• Lower floors are to be used if possible at hotels, so stairs can be used instead of elevators, and private areas arranged for entrances, exits and check-in.

 

These rules are insane, and are designed to be insane so that when some player tests positive, MLB can say it was the players' fault for not following the rules. A ball will be thrown away if touched by multiple players. That's like a new ball every time there's a play that's a strikeout or a walk!