COVID and college basketball travel are very strange bedfellows
Grappling with the contradictions and confusion of this college basketball season, ESPN’s Jay Bilas nailed it when he said players tested daily for COVID-19 are being treated as “essential workers.” And while players won’t be allowed to go home for Christmas because of the coronavirus, they aren’t prohibited from playing on the road.
“We’re being advised by our government not to travel over the holidays,” Bilas said, “and yet these players are traveling.” Doesn’t make much sense, does it?
LOL: LSU, with its sparkling 3-5 record, self-imposing a bowl ban due to alleged NCAA violations is the comic relief we need this week.
Resourceful: Bill Belichick still has more than a few tricks up his hoodie’s raggedy sleeves. In the Patriots’ last two wins, starting quarterback Cam Newton threw for a mere 84 and 69 yards. More proof, as if any were needed, that nobody knows his way around a game plan quite like Bill.
Never mind: After I promoted Titans battering ram Derrick Henry as a leading MVP candidate, he was held to 60 yards rushing in the loss to the Browns. So it’s a quarterback’s award again, with Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers the likely winner.
Not so fast: Seems like just a few minutes ago that football’s wise mavens were engraving Russell Wilson’s name on the MVP trophy. But since Week 7, he’s committed a league-high 12 turnovers and fallen out of the race. For future reference, here’s a thought: Let the season play out.
TV timeout: Put on the spot at the end of the Ravens’ game Tuesday to explain all that’s wrong with the Cowboys, Fox’s Troy Aikman was sacked for a loss of words.
Schedule relief: Football fans can thank NBC for flexing out the Cowboys-49ers game from its Dec. 20 Sunday night slot and replacing it with Giants versus the Browns. And in doing so, likely saving Dallas further national embarrassment.
Squeaking: With Mahomes at the controls of their supercharged offense, we expect the Chiefs to roll over opponents. Yet in their last four games, they’ve won by two, four, three and six points. Keep that in mind come the playoffs.
Future watch: The Giants and Washington Football Team each reached 5-7 with their first wins over teams with winning records. For this, an excitable NFL media are abuzz. With four games to go, the schedule favors the WFT, which faces only one team (Seattle) with a winning record, while the Giants meet only one foot wipe (Dallas).
Decision time: Alex Smith is the best fit for now, but long-term, he’s not what the WFT needs. And by long-term, I mean next season.
Idle thought: Football would be a lot simpler to officiate and watch if the ground could cause a fumble. Still don’t know why it can’t.
Tough spot: Spare a thought for Eagles rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts, who in his first NFL start faces a Saints defense that’s given up an average of 8.8 points over its last five games.
Bottom line: At 6-1, Indiana is a feel-good football story. But that doesn’t pay the bills. Getting Ohio State to the playoffs will. The Big Ten dumped on the Hoosiers — changing its rule about a six-game minimum requirement to play in the league championship game — rather than pass up the $6 million Ohio State would bring in by reaching the CFP. Most agree it was the right thing to do. For the Big Ten. And for Ohio State, which can’t be faulted for cancellations by other schools on its schedule. Even so, if ever a season deserved asterisks.
The set-up: In this make-it-up -as-you-go scenario, the ACC’s decision to cancel the final regular-season games for Notre Dame and Clemson so both can be fully ready for the league championship game was met mostly with shrugs. That’s what the season largely deserves — shrugs.
Picked-up piece: There’s a dramatic disparity in how much recovery time NBA players are getting. In other years, the average gap between the end of a season and opening night has been 141 days. This time, it’s 71 days. What’s more, some teams haven’t played an organized game in 10 months, while for others it’s been about three months.
New thing: Introducing breakdancing to the 2024 Paris Olympics is a transparent — some might say pathetic — attempt to attract a youthful audience. No harm, I suppose. But don’t ever call it a sport.