Kickstarting Pro Sports May Require Extraordinary Measures

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Or, as they say in pro sports, desperate times call for divisional realignment.

With  the Covid-19 pandemic having applied the brakes to (virtually) everything sporting since early March fans are going stir crazy . So, with the hints that U.S. president Donald Trump might do a limited re-opening of economic activity in May, the leagues are trying to decide how to finish or start seasons cryogenically frozen five weeks ago.

The most expeditious solution, of course, would be a vaccination against Covid-19 that could protect the athletes, support staff and, perhaps, fans. But with the regulatory officials in the U.S.’s FDA and Health Canada still preceding in second gear on new treatments nothing is imminent.

That means a little creativity. There have been suggestions for playing in empty stadia or in TV studios to slake the thirst for games again. But that, too, faces roadblocks.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle to starting (re-starting) the seasons left hanging is the stated policy in many parts of the continent with pro sports teams that no licenses will be allowed till the end of June or later. Toronto is a no-go zone till July.  Public officials in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas also have made the same noises. The same for New York City, which has been ravaged by Corona virus.

But these bans are not likely to be universal. States such as Texas, Arizona and Florida have indicated they want to be open for business with less draconian restraints. In response, the leagues are investigating neutral sites. In the case of MLB a plan is afoot to take all the teams back to their spring training facilities in Florida and Arizona to play televised games before empty stands. That means realignment for the 2020 season, however much it’s played.

For the Blue Jays, who play in the Gulf Coast of Florida, they’d be packaged with the Phillies, Tigers, Yankees and Pirates in a grouping. In another divisional case, the Mets, Marlins, Cardinals, Astros and World Series champion Nationals— who are all with a 45-minute drive of each other near West Palm Beach, Florida— would form a division. In all there would be six divisions playing a 140-game schedule starting mid-May.

Or not. Writer Tim Kurkjian reported that a source told him that MLB could play this season in Japan. Japanese teams would play at night, Major League teams would play in the day. Okay…

The NHL, meanwhile, is wrestling with the same issues, but in their case it is how to finish a season without playing into August or, heaven forbid, a season without a Stanley Cup (or one not cancelled by Gary Bettman). All the NHL Canadian cities face delays into summer imposed by cities and provinces intent on tightening the screws of their self-isolation orders. 

So the NHL has looked at a similar plan to MLB on perhaps centralizing the teams in one region to play a tournament-like schedule to end the regular season and then continue with the playoffs. Barring a miraculous about-face from governments or a vaccine it may be the only way to finish the season. Or, perhaps, rescue the draft.

Ditto, the NBA finishing the schedule they abandoned in March. NBA commissioner Rob Silver still holds out hope for the season and the NBA Draft, traditionally held in late June. Some have suggested as tournament format played in Las Vegas, the Bahamas or in the midwest states where Covid-19 has had a minimal footprint.  One wit suggested the China-loving NBA finish its schedule playing in Chinese cities. 

As for football, the NFL still has enough lead time to start in its traditional early- September window. It’s going ahead with its Draft next week in a virtual-studio production. The CFL, however, has already pushed its schedule back to the start of July, which could mean a shorter 12-game schedule to get in the Grey Cup before winter descends.

If health officials get their way there’s unlikely to be sports played before the fall. But it says here that pressure from the average sports fan will force a compromise before then. 

Bruce Dowbiggin @dowbboy is the editor of Not The Public Broadcaster (http://www.notthepublicbroadcaster.com). He’s also a regular contributor to Sirius XM Canada Talks Ch. 167. A two-time winner of the Gemini Award as Canada's top television sports broadcaster, he is also the best-selling author of Cap In Hand which is available on BruceDowbigginBooks.ca