No Dodging the Draft
In a memo to the league on Thursday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that the 2020 NFL Draft will go on as scheduled, April 23-25.
The Draft, which was originally going to take place in Las Vegas, will not have public events and will be done differently. The Commish told teams that preparations should be made to lead their respective drafts outside team facilities and with a smaller group than normal. Draft prospects and their families will not be at the draft in person, as is custom.
The memo also came with a warning not to air public grievances with the decision, saying that it “serves no useful purpose and is grounds for disciplinary action.”
The Cincinnati Bengals are on the clock.
A League of Their Own
With the start of the season up in the air and the 2020 MLB season in doubt, the league and the Major League Baseball Players Association have a plan.
Per ESPN, both sides agree the season will not start until bans on mass gatherings and travel restrictions throughout the US and Canada are lifted and medical experts decide there would not be health risks. All parties are also open to the regular season going into October and potentially playing playoff games on neutral ground in November (baseball in snow is not ideal).
Here’s hoping they get to play ball sooner rather than later. It would mean things are moving in a positive direction for all of us.
Jersey Swap
Major League Baseball has teamed up with Fanatics to use jersey fabric to make masks and hospital gowns for emergency personnel in Pennsylvania and neighboring states.
Fanatics has temporarily ceased production of MLB jerseys, while their manufacturing plant in Easton, PA is being used to produce the much-needed gear in the fight against COVID-19.
Doris Burke Tests Positive for COVID-19
ESPN NBA analyst Doris Burke has tested positive for COVID-19.
Burke, who was tested March 17 and given her diagnosis on Wednesday, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on The Woj Pod that she is now without any symptoms.
“Thankful to be feeling well” now, Burke told Wojnarowski extreme exhaustion was the initial symptom that led her to believe she should be tested. She first felt it March 11 when working the Mavericks-Nuggets game in Dallas.
“That really was my primary symptom throughout this was this extraordinary fatigue,” Burke said.
The Summer Olympics Have Been Postponed
After much discussion and speculation, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that 2020 Tokyo Olympics would be postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19.
These Olympics will still be called the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the Olympic flame will stay in Fukushima.
The Opening Ceremonies were supposed to take place on July 24. Before the official decision was made, both Canada and Australia had pulled out of the games.
