NBL pushes season tipoff back to March

Fans hoping to catch a Windsor Express basketball game next month are out of luck.

The National Basketball League of Canada became the latest sports league to push back the start of its season. In a release on Friday, the league announced it has pushed back the start of its schedule from December to March 12, which would be a full year after the sports world stopped abruptly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There's no question that we're eager to return to the court and play again, but we won't take any risks and will only do so in a safe environment to ensure that our players, fans and teams remain protected,” NBL of Canada deputy commissioner Audley Stephenson said in a release.

“We also want to make sure that all provincial and federal guidelines regarding health and safety are met. We look forward to getting back on the court and having an amazing year.”

The release said details regarding the season structure, number of games to be played, and playoff format would be made available when the 2020-21 regular-season schedule was released, but no timeline of when that might be was given.

AGOSTA OUT

Ruthven's Meghan Agosta and her partner Andrew Poje saw their run at Battle of the Blades come to an end on Thursday.

A four-time Olympic medallist, the 33-year-old Agosta and Poje, who is a three-time world ice dance medallist, were eliminated from the competition along with Agosta's national women's hockey teammate Jennifer Botterill and partner Eric Radford.

The two pairs were eliminated after a three-team skate off that also featured former Windsor Spitfires forward Akim Aliu and partner Vanessa James.

Aliu and James remain among five teams left in the competition that also features former Spitfires forward Bryan Bickell and partner Kaitlyn Weaver.

Despite failing to secure the $100,000 top prize for her charity of choice, Agosta's efforts did secure $25,000 for the British Columbia Children's Hospital.

MOVING FORWARD

For now, the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, which features the Lasalle Vipers and Leamington Flyers, still plans to begin the season on Dec. 2.

The league held a meeting on Thursday about the season and nothing has changed at this point, but local health officials and provincial agencies still have to iron out final details.

Another meeting is scheduled for next week.