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

You keep out of this he doesn't have to shoot you now.

 

Not surprised in the least that they said it. Entirely on brand. Just wish they had said, "I have to prepare as if everything will be normal because that's my job, but I encourage fans to pay attention to the experts and to trust and respect their advice." Then stop. Leave it at that. Don't go on some non-sequitur rant about how we're certain to beat this thing because Amurrica when:
1) The available evidence suggests the degree of national leadership that won wars and built cool products is lacking in this case;
2) The only recent declarations from institutional and conference officials re: timetables for return are cautious at best.
I don't expect them to bash their boy in the White House, and I don't want any football coach doing that, either. But rah-rah optimism, which works well with underdog football teams, can be dangerous in this circumstance when it is unsubstantiated and flowing from an unreliable source.

 

Nah. If anything, they'll be more eager than ever to return when given the all-clear. If it's a Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Neb., in October of 2021, the Husker faithful will be watching their football team and not the Premier League on NBC.

 

I think most of us can agree on this one: Whenever college football does return, the playoff has to expand to eight teams. In 2019-20, it looks like the Power 5 conferences got at least $66 million regardless of whether they had a dog in the fight.
Two years ago, former CBS exec Neil Pilson estimated an eight-team format would bump up the cash by 50%.
It won't solve all the financial problems that would result from a reduced or entirely lost 2020 season, but it's no longer something conferences can dismiss on philosophical grounds.
The SEC would get two teams in the thing every year and three teams on a reasonably regular basis if the format has one AQ for each of the Power 5, an AQ for the top-rated Group of 5 team and two at-larges.

 

This finally might be the thing it takes the NCAA to sponsor an FBS-level playoff. Lots of income was lost because of the basketball, hockey, wrestling and baseball tournaments being cancelled. All huge money-makers for the NCAA and some of that trickles down to the entire membership.

 

Turkeys, yeah. But fishing is the main thing until Labor Day. And feral hogs.

 

At least one sport is continuing. And controversy has ensued.

Cannonball Record Broken During Coronavirus - 26 Hours 38 Minutes

 

The greatest thing about that story is the subhead, which begins, "Cannonball purists ..."
There is nothing in this world more annoying than a Cannonball Purist.

 

Wolken:
College Football Playoff expansion could be how programs find revenue

 

Or they could add 2 rounds to March Madness, open it to all comers and do it Indiana style.