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

When current Covid-19 numbers start to show the virus’ grip loosening— with warmer weather lessening its spread— it will be difficult to hold back the public demand to play ball. And Trump will oblige.

Apparently we have reached halftime in the battle against Covid-19, and the media savants are doing a highlight pack of the big plays and terrible mistakes so far. It’s not pretty. It would be nice if we could use the sports system of replays to go back and correct a few things from a month or two back.

Canada has not been a trailblazer in much of the response to Covid-19. The Trudeau government has been a day late and a quarantine short on some crucial issues. But in becoming the first major Western nation to completely withdraw Canada from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Canada has made a bold step.

The NFL has always thought it doesn't play by the same rules as everyone else, so it shouldn’t be a total shock that— in the midst of a global pandemic— the league announced its new collective bargaining agreement with players that will take it through 2030.

One of these things is not like the other. The stock market is tumbling, a pandemic is at the door, and citizens are hoarding toilet paper. The outlier, of course, is the pandemic.

Panic is brewing over H1N1. The media have crossed a new Rubicon in how such stories are covered. Bigger is better. And badder is best.

For fans of Canada’s seven embattled NHL teams, the Man From Zamboni is a suitable talisman of their frustration.

Tremblay stresses that this will not be a preamble to the Rays moving lock stock and two smoking bat barrels to Montreal. He says that they really, really want to create a template for two-city baseball with fans shuttling between the cities.

The world of sports has been largely immune from raider capitalism so far. But the barbarians are at the gate in several high-profile instances as big-money investors look to strip out the superstars from the chaff. And the future of franchise-based leagues and pro sports tours may hang in the balance. 

Canada will need to adjust its attitude on in-house/ in-game wagering if it wants its NHL, NBA and MLB pro sports teams to not be wiped out by their American partners.

The first question to ask the Houston Astros signal corps is: Why did you think any of this would stay a secret?

It remains to be seen whether this version of the XFL lasts longer than its predecessor. But one thing: if it does it well may be because good things come in smaller packages.

Forget the holiday season just past, we are now in the heart of the football malpractice season. Across the frozen tundras NFL coaches are being overwhelmed by the pressure of making key calls during the postseason. 

The problem Megan Rapinoe and her colleagues have— one that they share with women in many, but not all sports— is that they can’t even make the sale to their fellow women.

If there were a handicapping contest on who has the best handle on the future between the major sports leagues in North America there is little doubt that the title would go to the NBA under its dynamic commissioner Adam Silver. When it comes to innovation, it’s Hi-Ho Silver away.

Lamar Jackson has crushed another opponent. But that’s not the most interesting thing about the dynamic Baltimore Ravens quarterback. Immediately after the 42-21 win over the New York Jets, a lineup of players he’d just pulverized lined up to get an autograph from the third-year star. In a league of stars, the first-year starter is the one the players now idolize. Think about that.

The sports year 2019— and the decade itself— is coming to a conclusion in a few weeks. But there’s little doubt that when the votes are counted one Canadian sports story will dominate 2019 honours. It might also qualify as one of the Top 3 news stories ion 2019. Hell, it’s probably one of the sports stories of the 2010s.

Little did anyone know that Mike Babcock’s firing in Toronto was going to uncover a much bigger story in the NHL. With the news that Babcock was out in his fifth year, we also learned that the future HHOF coach was something less than subtle in his dealings with players. 

The death knell for Babcock came not on the ice but in the office of new GM Kyle Dubas, a callow phenom who won a power struggle over Mark Hunter to be the GM. It fell to Dubas to negotiate the second contracts of his young stars, Matthews, Marner and Nylander.