This may be hard to believe but I was a bit of a sports writer in my past life. I used to write articles on local football, basketball, baseball and golf. Just picture a guy with the stub of a cigar hanging out the corner of his mouth, a beat-up old fedora with a press tag stuck in the hat band, beating on a typewriter with a bottle of rot-gut at the ready. That wasn’t me, but I do fantasize. What I covered was local high school and college sports. They wouldn’t let a grizzled old guy like my secret persona get near teenagers anyway. I did love getting to play sports reporter every once in a while. So strap in and enjoy “Biff’s” (my new nom de plume) Sports Outlook!
There’s really not much sports to “outlook” right now due to the pandemic. A few sports have started up like NASCAR, Golf and UFC fighting but the others seem to be struggling to get out of the gate. I will do a short review on how each sport is trying to reopen and since there will be a lot of space left over, maybe a song and dance.
NASCAR. One of the first sports in the good ole USA to get back on track (like the pun?) was stock car racing. There are no fans in the stands and the circuit has decided to pack a bunch of races into a short amount of time. This sport has been dominating the news cycles. Not because of photo finish races or horrific crashes where cars tumble down the back stretch. NASCAR has been in the news because of Confederate flags and racism. Hard to believe a sport embraced by the deep south would come to the fore-front during our racial unrest (ya think). NASCAR officially banned the Confederate Flag from all it’s races. Considering there are no fans attending and the field of Confederate flag displaying motor-homes that crowd the infields at races do not exist right now, it was probably a smart move. They still hold their races but don’t have to battle those die-hards who attend every week. By the time fans are allowed back in, everyone may have moved on. If they banned beer, that would be another thing. On to the next race.
NASCAR also has only one African-American driver, Bubba Wallace. He’s been very vocal about the “Black Lives Matters” movement. So much so that he has been receiving pot shots from the President who doesn’t seem to like the guy. Wonder why? At the legendary Talladega Raceway, he was assigned a garage and his crew found a noose in it. At first, it appeared to be targeted towards Wallace but it turns out it was there from last fall but it was still very disturbing.
One more item launched stock car racing into the headlines when the premier name in the sport was diagnosed with Covit-19. Jimmie Johnson is now self quarantine and we wish him a quick recovery. This brings to the fore-front why many of these sports were sidelined in the first place. You just wonder sometimes how these guys can socially distance when they are racing door handle to door handle at around 200 MPH. Hope those helmets have surgical masks built in.
Basketball. Are they or aren’t they. I think they are coming back but I’m really not sure. The NBA plans say they will resume with all the games played at Disney World. According to officials, the players will be tested then kept in a bubble to prevent contacting someone who might have the virus…give me a moment, I should stop laughing soon. Professional athletes being in a bubble and under control. Really? Like all sports, some of these players just can’t keep out of trouble, even when they are allegedly being “watched over.” I don’t envy the person who has to try and stop some overpaid teenager from seeking out fun. It’s like trying to stop a three year old from sticking something in an electrical outlet. They will get shocked but come back and try it again. Good luck,
Baseball. Our American Pass Time is using the Pandemic and the reopening as a way of committing suicide. The game is already struggling with keeping it’s market share but instead of taking advantage of the sports vacuum, where sports starved fans will watch anything (including baseball from Korea – the bat flips are pretty awesome). Players and owners are fighting over money. By the time they get back to baseball, they will have lost their golden opportunity. Billionaire owners and millionaire players are nitpicking over minor points and true baseball fans, like me, are ready to find something else to follow. Has the curling league gotten back on the ice?
Football. The NFL appears to be on track to open on time in the fall. Even though football has been touched by the same issues facing other leagues, as usual, they have been able to dominate the off-season with news about player movement. For instance, the Chicago Bears signed Nick Foles so they could have two mediocre quarterbacks in camp. Let’s hope Colin Kaepernick gets a shot at returning to professional football (Are you listening Bears? Another quarterback in camp wouldn’t hurt).
Hockey. I guess I’m most excited about the NHL coming back. Even though my Blackhawks sucked all season, in the current NHL reopening plan, they will be a playoff team. How about that? Even though they will make the playoffs, due to some crazy twists in the draft lottery, they have a decent chance to get the top draft choice. Problem is, they will be playing a winter’s sport in the middle of the summer. I guess they will have to change from skates to flippers once the ice melts.
Golf. Nice to see it back but I would rather play it than watch it. Fore!
There are a lot of other sports I could comment on but I haven’t been paying any attention to them. Really Lacrosse and any kind of soccer? I have a sock drawer to rearrange.
Sports reporter “Biff” signing off.
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