April Pro Sports In-Review
In a month where many professional and college athletic events would be held, this past April has been met with empty stadiums, and postponed seasons. Due to Covid-19, almost all major league sports have been put on hold.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) usually holds its postseason during April, but has had to suspend the season, and postseason indefinitely due to the pandemic and several players testing positive. Some, including Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, predict that the playoffs may end up being held as late as August. Others believe that the playoffs may happen even earlier, but with empty arenas. Either way, the season cannot proceed until all players are healthy and their teams have been quarantined.
Despite the NBA shutting down its season for the time being, players have organized plenty of online fun. A few current and former NBA and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players had a HORSE game over livestream, with Grizzlies’ Mike Conley beating Bulls’ Zach LaVine in the finals. Another event was the NBA2K Player’s Tournament, in which 16 NBA players competed over the video game, NBA2K. Devin Booker bested his Suns teammate Deandre Ayton for the championship.
The National Hockey League (NHL) was also set to start its playoffs in April, but had to end its season early. A proposal for an altered postseason is expanding the playoffs to a 24 team format, and holding it at one arena to reduce travel risks. This proposal has its critics. For example, Forbes sportswriter Shlomo Sprung called it “a mockery of the regular season,” arguing that it would be unfair to teams that fought for a seed in the standard postseason. But most seem eager to get back to business. “It’s not ideal,” Toronto Maple Leafs forward Kyle Clifford told Canadian sports network TSN’s Kristen Shilton, “but a Stanley Cup Playoffs that includes 20-24 teams is better than no playoffs at all.”
Major League Baseball (MLB) was scheduled to start their regular season on March 28, but had to postpone their season. MLB and their player’s association are considering several different options on how to proceed with the season once it is safe to play. The most likely plan is to start the season in late June or early July, with a shortened schedule of just 82 games, less than half of the regular 162. A less likely, but far more ambitious plan is separating teams for the duration of the season into three geographical hubs, Arizona, Texas, and Florida, where they would be isolated from the other groups and from the public.
As for a sport that has not quite suspended operation, several racing leagues have been holding online races on a video game that racers can play from home. Formula 1’s VirtualGP and IndyCar’s iRacer have been among the most popular. The games are similar to what is played in simulators to help racers train, although their setups at home are not as realistic as a million dollar machine.
The National Football League (NFL) had its annual draft in April over a live stream instead of in an auditorium event that normally takes place. The top overall pick was Louisiana State University quarterback Joe Burrow, who had a record breaking national championship season last year. He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals, who hope that he can turn their fate around after having the worst record in the league last year. While the whole world adapts to the pandemic, the sports world has to as well.