1. May has arrived.
You know how this works. June isn’t far away. July comes after that.
You probably catch my drift. Decision time is nearing.
Do college students return to campuses this fall? If the answer is no, well, college football isn’t happening. If the answer is yes (and for the love of all things holy, let’s hope it’s yes), that means student athletes can return to school and, presumably, practice.
What happens if there’s no unanimity? In other words, what happens if some schools open in the fall and others don’t? What happens if some schools decide to play sports in the fall and others don’t?
“That is the billion-dollar question we are dealing with,” a Power Five athletic director told The Stadium last week. “The hard stuff is coming now.”
Added another Power Five athletic director: “We’ve all been talking about that and engaging presidents in the mix. It’s a very real possibility — at least at this point.”
The entire story can be found here.
Talk to enough people around college athletics and it’s obvious everyone is hoping for a scenario where the coronavirus burns off this summer and playing fall sports with crowds is a no-brainer. But if that’s not the case, well, things get dicey.
College sports are played in conferences, obviously, but those conferences aren’t exactly local. As The Stadium pointed out, both the 14-team SEC and 14-team Big Ten have member schools from 11 different states. Conference USA has league members in 10 states, stretching nearly 2,000 miles from Norfolk, Va. to El Paso, Texas. The AAC has league members in nine states, reaching 1,500 miles from Philadelphia to Houston. The ACC, with schools in nine states, stretches 1,500 miles from Miami to Chestnut Hill, Mass.
“We cannot afford for a few boats to sink the fleet,” one Group of Five AD said.
In other words, those that can play are by-God going to play. Those that choose not to are going to be left behind.
“Those that don’t play probably won’t get their full share of media rights revenue,” a Power Five AD told The Stadium.
And that could lead to realignment and a changing landscape moving forward.
2. I keep coming back to this: What if some schools could play but others couldn’t — at least not yet?
Would the season be put on hold, running the risk of another spike that could stall things altogether? Or would it resume, letting Darwin’s theory run its course through college athletics?
My guess is if there’s a way to play an on-time or close to on-time season, it’s going to happen. Stragglers, I suspect, would be left to fend for themselves. There’s too much money on the line. There are too many jobs and careers on the line. If there is a window to play the season and satiate the television networks, it’s going to happen.
In that scenario — one in which some schools/conferences hit go while other schools/conferences can’t or won’t, the change moving forward would simply be massive.
Throw in different politics in different states and regions, plus differing experiences with the virus and things could get very ugly as Labor Day weekend approaches.
3. And that’s before we even discuss the prospect of playing college games without fans.
It’s an idea that is gaining serious momentum in professional sports. We’ll talk about that later in 10 Weekend Thoughts, but whether it’s Korean baseball, the PGA Tour, NASCAR, the NBA, Major League Baseball or even the NFL, games without fans is a very real thing, at least for a while.
However, get past the bravado of some college officials and dig into the details and college games being played without fans is deeply problematic. Sure, it’s a possibility for a week or two at the start of a season, but at some point, the question is going to be asked: If the games aren’t safe for the players’ families and they’re not safe for the students the players represent, how are they safe for the players, coaches and support staff? Further, if there’s no gate to be had, meaning there’s no way to make money off attendance and concessions and revenues produced on-site, why would smaller schools even bother to play games at a loss? The answer, certainly the long-term answer, is they wouldn’t.
Professional athletes are compensated. They’re also represented by players’ associations (unions), meaning their desires are represented in collective bargaining sessions. College athletes don’t have that benefit. They’re not paid and they’re not represented in a meaningful way.
What would happen if players — or their families — pushed back against the idea of games without fans?
Personally, I think the concept is so flawed that it never gets off the ground. I’m in the minority, but I’ve spoken to legal people who agree with me. The liability issue alone is a potential non-starter.
4. College sports’ best hope is some professional leagues get started here soon, have success and then slowly incorporate fans into the games.
NASCAR has put together a safety plan it believes will allow racing to resume. The stock car series plans to do it without spectators, tight social distancing regulations and only essential personnel.
“We’re an outdoor sport, we do have drivers with helmets, we are in race cars,” NASCAR executive Steve O’Donnell told the Associated Press. “There are some unique things about our sport that we did feel like provided us the opportunity to get back if we could, where we knew we were going to be safe.
We realize up front it’s a huge responsibility for us as a sport. We’re certainly going to learn as we go, but the process we put in place, I think gives the industry the confidence that we can be first.”
Darlington Raceway will host the first of seven races over 11 days, using both Darlington and Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, the Associated Press’ Jenna Fryer reported Friday. NASCAR worked with health professionals on a plan to meet federal guidelines and presented it to public health officials in the Carolinas. Suggestions were returned to NASCAR.
For at least the first seven races, O’Donnell told the AP, NASCAR wants to use venues located within driving distance of teams based in the Charlotte area to eliminate air travel and hotel use.
It’s critical for sports that NASCAR have success. It’s so much easier to follow than it is to lead. If NASCAR has success, look for the NBA and Major League Baseball to get even more aggressive about a return. MLB is targeting an early July return and the NBA is contemplating multiple options.
5. While all eyes are on NASCAR, most inside sports are keeping the closest focus on the big four sports leagues — NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA.
The NBA was first to close things down, forced into the decision by the positive test of Jazz center Rudy Gobert minutes before tipoff in Oklahoma City on March 11. Almost two months later, the NBA is still sorting out possible venues for a return. The MGM Grand in Las Vegas has been one of several suitors pitching a plan to host the league -- and perhaps the WNBA, too -- within three adjacent hotels, sources told ESPN.
Some are proposing pod ideas spread across different regions. Team practice facilities have been discussed. The possibility of Disney World in Orlando, where there are basketball facilities and hotels, has gained momentum.
Amid the pandemic, sources told ESPN, fan-less games could rely on robotic cameras with closer, innovative angles of the action. Television play-by-play and game analysts could call the games from remote locations. Discussions have included teams keeping essential personnel in the range of 30 to 35 -- including players -- on site.
Of course, that can’t happen until teams begin practicing again. That’s problematic in a league that traverses the country and includes a franchise in Canada. Per ESPN:
As the NBA finalized with health agencies and experts on the precautions and processes needed for teams to reopen practice facilities in markets loosening stay-at-home restrictions, officials shared the broad strokes of a plan in a memo to about half the league's owners on Saturday afternoon. Within a few hours, ESPN reported the news. Almost immediately, the league office felt blowback from teams. General managers spent Saturday and Sunday on the phone with each other and the league, trying to understand the purpose, the timing, the safety issues -- as well as alternatives for teams outside of those selected markets.
By Monday, following further conversations with teams, the NBA had pushed the date to May 8 and furnished teams with a 16-page memo on procedures required to bring back players into facilities.
6. Major League Baseball is eyeing a plan that would allow teams to play in their own stadiums, starting without fans, but hopefully including fans before the season ends. MLB could start in early July, play an 80- to 100-game schedule with the playoffs extending to Thanksgiving.
MLB wants fans in the stands. Here’s the truth: Everyone does, and games without fans, for any extended period of time, just don’t work — financially, aesthetically or otherwise.
Even the NBA, which has toyed with the aforementioned ideas, really just wants to buy some time. That’s why, inside the league, there is discussion of pushing the start of the 2020-21 season to December and going through July or August.
Per ESPN:
The further the NBA pushes back the start of the season, the better the odds they give themselves on getting fans back into arenas -- especially amid the CDC's projections of a second wave of the virus. Fears of packed arenas -- or even socially distanced space in stands -- will linger without a vaccine or treatments, especially in the hardest-hit regions of North America.
Until then, the NBA's internal conversation is revolving around committees upon committees: ownership finance committees, TV/media committees and the traditionally influential competition committee that includes owners, GMs and coaches.
Terms expire, members move on, but the crisis nudged the NBA to make a notable decision with the competition committee to recall the brainpower and credibility of two members whose tenures had recently lapsed -- San Antonio Spurs CEO R.C. Buford and Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri.
That group has become an advisory panel on return-to-play planning, so, for instance, when member Brad Stevens creates a detailed timetable for restarting training camps, it becomes an idea to be shared, dissected and discussed. There are no shortages of ideas in the NBA community; solutions are a different matter.
7. Colleges are planning as well, putting together plans for getting athletes back to campuses, conditioning them for the upcoming season(s) and acknowledging the presence and the threat of the coronavirus.
At Georgia, for example, UGA officials held a medical staff conference call this week with team doctors, trainers and other support staff to determine how to go about bringing the team together.
One plan, according to UGA Sports (part of the Rivals network), would have Bulldog players and coaches sequester on campus at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel and begin what was described as a “combination spring-fall camp.”
Visitors and press would not be allowed.
“Hopefully, this would be an option,” athletic director Greg McGarity said in a text to UGASports.
Details of how such a camp would work and exactly when schools could begin have not been finalized.
The SEC announced Friday via Twitter that the all in-person camps and coaches’ clinics for all conference schools would be suspended through July 31.
The tweet also stated, as previously announced, all other in-person athletics activities, including practices, meetings and other organized gatherings remain suspended through May 31.
On Thursday, UGA president Jere Morehead told Athens, Ga., radio station WGAU that he remains optimistic that the season will be played without much delay.
Morehead also said that it’s his “hope and expectation” that a full season could be played with fans in the stands, while maintaining that further developments regarding the pandemic could affect those types of decisions.
Earlier this week, Morehead said the University of Georgia anticipates all in-person instruction to begin at all schools in August of 2020.
From NASCAR’s start to professional sports to getting college athletes back to campus, it’s all related. Suddenly, with summer approaching, everyone seems to be feeling the ticking of the proverbial clock.
8. Of course, college football coaches have more to worry about these days than getting their teams back on campus and in shape for a season.
There’s the prospect of a one-time transfer exemption that coaches believe could absolutely further rock their summers.
From The Athletic:
On Thursday, the NCAA Board of Governors announced that although the one-time transfer exemption could be voted on as early as May, it was recommending against it right now during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The topic of the increasing flexibility for athletes to transfer usually is one that seems like a no-brainer for the NCAA in an era when athlete welfare is a top priority, but the coronavirus pandemic has complicated discussions of transfer policy. Yet the issue of the pending one-time transfer exemption — one that would allow college athletes to transfer once in their careers and have immediate eligibility at their new school — seems to be one of the few things almost all college football coaches agree on. And they agree that it could be full of unforeseen consequences.
“If they hear that they don’t have to sit out a season, a lot of kids will just say, I’m outta here, and then 75 percent of those kids will have nowhere to go,” said one Power 5 head coach.
While I’m generally pro-player in these situations, and I maintain that stance on this issue as well, coaches concerned about the ramifications of the legislation have a handful of good points.
Coaches desire offset legislation that creates more flexibility around the annual 25-scholarship limit. Without such an offset, players intent on transferring may not have a place to go because schools won’t have space for them in their annual scholarship cap.
“They have to give us more initials (or room under the annual 25-scholarship cap),” one Sun Belt coach told The Athletic. “They can’t do this rule without allowing us to replace guys. That’s what is happening with the portal now. There’s a lot of guys stuck in there now. Other schools probably have scholarships but they don’t have initials.”
Some coaches told The Athletic their concern isn’t just with the one-time transfer exemption going through.
Again, from The Athletic:
It’s also with it going through at the same time the country is going through a pandemic with campuses shut down and uncertainty about the resumption of competition pervading sports.
One veteran Big 12 coach predicted that if the one-time exemption rule was OKed in May and nobody was on campus because of the pandemic, it would become a “free-for-all” for third parties unaffiliated with college football programs.
Said Todd Berry, the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, “We’ve been trying to get rid of the influence of third-party people. And, if this went through now, you’ll just introduce more of them.”
I hate to break it to Berry, but that’s been going on for a while now. He’s right, though; it’s only going to get worse. And right now, with players away from campuses, likely for at least two more months, college football (and all college sports, really) is one piece of passed legislation away from a feeding frenzy in the craziest of times.
9. It’s time for a bite to eat. With that in mind, here’s our resident Parisian chef, Burton Webb, with Taste of the Place, Lesson 34 — Potato Cheese Balls.
You always remember good food. If you don’t eat it a restaurant ,albeit you can probably ask for the recipe and actually receive it.
I had the pleasure of attending a birthday party of a friend of mine a couple of months back and in the middle of the food spread were these little fried potatoes snacks. Also, to be honest in every bit of the word, his family can cook. I mean cook, well. So I asked his sister for the recipe and a few minutes later with a snap of my phone, voilà. Let’s talk about a few tidbits and this recipe that can be made within 10 minutes.
Tidbit #1: Microwaving potatoes. Yes, it is a real thing and works very fast. No, you don’t ever wrap them in aluminum foil before microwaving them. You have two options: 1-poke them with a fork around the outside to release the gas buildup and 2 - wrap in plastic wrap so as to steam the potatoes which will allow for easier skin removal.
Tidbit #2: When deep frying, how do you know your oil is hot enough without a thermometer? First test, sprinkle a tiny pinch of flour into the oil. If it sizzles on top, you’re good. Next trick is to place one small onion slice in the oil. It should sink to the bottom and then come back up to the top and start cooking. Both of these recommendations will have your oil between 350 to 365 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tidbit #3: You can make these balls ahead and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Pull when and how many needed and fry them up. Very simple.
Things you will Need:
2-3 People
Time of the day being Beer-30 or 5 o’clock somewhere
German-Style Pilsner
20 Minutes Maximum to Goodness
Equipment Needed:
Work Surface with a Small Chef’s Knife
Digital Scale
Measuring Cups of 1 Tbsp, 1 Tsp, and 1/2 Tsp
1 Microwavable Plate
1 Medium Bowl
1 Small Sauce Pot
2 Paper Towels
1 Fork
1 Slotted Spoon
1 Microwave
1 Stove Top Eye
Ingredients Needed:
400 grams of Potatoes
3 Tbsp of Whole Milk
80 Grams Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Tsp. Garlic Powder
1 Stick of Finely Chopped Celery
1/2 Tsp. Black Pepper
2 Pinches of Salt
80 Grams of Cornstarch
Some Canola Oil to Fry, 3-4 Cups
Directions:
Step 1: “Mise en place” of all your ingredients. Start by pouring your oil into the saucepot and turning the heat to medium heat.
Step 1.1: Place your potatoes on the plate and microwave until soft. Usually 4 -6 minutes.
Step 2: Place the rest of your ingredients except the cornstarch in the mixing bowl. When the potatoes are soft, place them into the mixing bowl and use your fork to mash them up. Mix all together.
Step 3 (Last Step): Add your cornstarch and mix with your hand until the dough is easy to shape. Make into little ball shapes and then fry it until golden brown. Around 1 minute for each round and then place on your plate with the paper towels.
Bonus Step: You can pair a lot of different sauces with this dish and I did a sour cream and Tabasco sauce: 1 Cup of Sour Cream, 4 dashes of Tabasco, 1 Pinch of Salt, 3 Grinds of Black Pepper. Also, you can add meat as well if you’d like to the inside of the ball. Anything you would like! For a little snack or a future snack, enjoy and from the Mississippian In Paris, Bon Appétit!
10. We’ll have coverage of something this week on RebelGrove.com. Monday’s Oxford Exxon Podcast will feature interviews I recorded Saturday with resident physician Dr. Michael Cunningham and Ole Miss soccer coach Matt Mott. We’re taping a Soft Verbal Podcast Monday as well, and Zach Berry and I will have recruiting coverage throughout the week. Also, I’ll continue to work on the only story that really matters right now — When is college football coming back? Until then, here are some links of interest to me — and hopefully, to you — for your reading pleasure:
In Race for a Coronavirus Vaccine, an Oxford Group Leaps Ahead - The New York Times
Which college football programs will be hit hardest by coronavirus pandemic? (0:43)
Meet Liam Shanahan, LSU’s new O-lineman with a World Series ring, Harvard degree – The Athletic
NFL weighing Saturday games if college football doesn’t resume in fall
Rosenthal: An inside look at the possibilities, and risks, of an MLB restart
How much will stars like Zion, Trevor Lawrence make?
Markazi: 'Last Dance': Magic talks about G.O.A.T.s Jordan, Bryant - Los Angeles Times
Only half of NBA teams can get back in the gym and these are the rules – The Athletic
Failing as a Brewers pitcher hasn’t prevented Eric Arnett from being successful – The Athletic
‘No way I was losing this kid’: The story behind Sean Payton’s latest trick play – The Athletic
How Oregon’s uniforms went from fledgling concept to creative college football force – The Athletic
Basketball Recruiting - Rivals Roundtable: Wake Forest hire; NCAA's NIL stance; 2020 ranks
College Baseball's Volunteer Assistants Face Steep Challenges During Shutdown
Coronavirus: No case of a child passing to an adult exists, evidence review shows
Harvard Kept Ties With Jeffrey Epstein After ’08 Conviction, Report Shows - The New York Times
I witnessed a man’s coronavirus funeral when his family could not. This is his story. - nj.com
U.S. Marriage Rate Plunges to Lowest Level on Record
Insiders Question Whether There Will Be A Post-Pandemic On-Premise Alcohol Market
