More Banjo: Coronavirus And Sports

[pbmax]

MLS suspending season.

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I heard they were changing the name of the virus to the Cleveland Browns Virus so it could be more easily defeated.

Lol

Now that was a good one

[pbmax]

A teammate of Rudy Gobert has been diagnosed with coronavirus.

Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn

Jazz star Donovan Mitchell has tested positive for the coronavirus, league sources tell ESPN. Jazz players privately say that Rudy Gobert had been careless in the locker room touching other players and their belongings. Now a Jazz teammate has tested positive.

[pbmax]

Towson Athletics @TowsonTigers
Out of an abundance of caution due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, Towson University has suspended the remainder of the athletics varsity spring season, effective immediately.

This reasoning is misplaced. Its not an abundance of caution in the face of some unknown. You are not having events to stop possible transmission at those events. Its a specific step with a specific purpose.

Courtney Cronin @CourtneyRCronin
The Minnesota Vikings are suspending travel for coaches and scouts until further notice, following suit of other NFL franchises amid concerns of COVID-19.

[mraynrand]

Eugene Wei@eugenewei

May be time to revisit our views of this brave man in his N95 mask who ordered a quarantine of Manhattan over the objections of the public and whose primary foe was a man infected by a bat

[George Cumby]

Lol

[run pMc]

Folks, I know some of you think this is not real, but you literally would have to be dumb as a box of rocks to think that way. Its not the flu, its not a bad cold, its a 'novel' virus, i.e. never seen before. And for some of you saying it is dumb to cancel events, I have seen graphs of daily infected of countries who are not locking down vs countries who are locking down, and its not even close. And be careful on mortality rates, I'm pretty sure the denominator is not those with symptoms, it is those who have been officially diagnosed. And in the good old USA, who does not have enough test kits yet, I am concerned we are WAY behind the curve. You can love or hate the current administration, but they also are way behind the curve, they should have been preparing when China first started having outbreaks.

Agree. For those nonsmokers in good health under 50, it's easy to be cavalier about this. I'm not going to panic and go full tilt prepper, but I sure don't want a respiratory virus or lesions on my lungs. If cancelling events can prevent the spread of this, as a practical matter it's a reasonable idea, and within the rights of the governing bodies to decide.

Risking public health for a sporting event is a weird debate to have.

And I also agree that the US is behind the curve on this. The White House has made statements that clearly contradict the government's own medical experts, and it has caused fear, confusion, and doubt. I hope they can get on the same page and make up ground on combating the severity of this virus.

[Cheesehead Craig]

With all the conferences cancelling tourneys and now every sport stopping their seasons, I don't see how March Madness can be played.

[Joemailman]

With all the conferences cancelling tourneys and now every sport stopping their seasons, I don't see how March Madness can be played.

It's just a matter of time. I think it will be cancelled today.

[texaspackerbacker]

"dumb as a box of rocks" is what the panicky fools are that are making a big deal out of this respiratory thing. It is strictly respiratory - a little cough and sniffles, and it apparently lasts two weeks. That sounds strangely like a common cold - for which there also is no cure, and which worst case, could turn into pneumonia and kill somebody who is already sick or fragile.

And for that, they're ruining the enjoyment of basically everybody who likes sports - a colossal overreaction.

This reminds me of the weekend after the Kennedy assassination in 1963. I didn't give a shit about Kennedy, but I absolutely hated that there was no sports that weekend.

[call_me_ishmael]

It's just a matter of time. I think it will be cancelled today.

Do you think they'll move it, or just completely cancel it? That would really stink to outright cancel such a huge event in the player's livees, but I 100% get it. I hope the compromise is to reschedule to a date TBD when things are more settled.

[Joemailman]

ESPN

The NCAA has called off its men's and women's basketball tournaments as part of a complete cancellation of all remaining spring and winter championships.

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Here's what the NCAA said in a statement:

"Today, NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships. This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities."
The announcement also means sports like golf, lacrosse, tennis and the College World Series would also be canceled.

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wow

[Joemailman]

"NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell notified the clubs today that after careful consideration and consultation with medical experts, the NFL's annual meeting scheduled for March 29-April 1 has been canceled.

"There will be full consideration and votes on any open football issues, including playing rules, bylaws, and resolutions, as well as other business matters that were on the agenda for the Annual Meeting, at the Spring Meeting scheduled for May 19-20. Most of the first day will be dedicated to football-related issues. Head coaches and general managers will participate in the meeting.

"This decision was made consistent with the league's primary concern to protect the health of club and league employees and the public while enabling the league to continue with its essential business operations.

"We will continue to closely monitor developments, consults with leading experts, and be prepared to make any changes necessary as circumstances warrant."

.

[run pMc]

It is strictly respiratory - a little cough and sniffles, and it apparently lasts two weeks. That sounds strangely like a common cold - for which there also is no cure, and which worst case, could turn into pneumonia and kill somebody who is already sick or fragile.

Read about what a cytokine storm is -- they can be pretty nasty. I'm a very healthy person and I don't want to be exposed to this. I'm not gonna hoard toilet paper either -- that's crazy -- so I somewhat understand where you're coming from.

The spanish flu of 1918 had a mortality rate of between 1 and 6% depending on the death estimates; Stanford estimates it at 2.5%. That flu killed more people in 24 weeks than HIV/AIDS killed in 24 years, maybe wearing a body condom will help you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu

https://virus.stanford.edu/uda/

My point is that this was declared a pandemic, which is a pretty serious thing as history has shown.
I agree the 24 hour news cycle and social media often amplify and panic - whether it's CNN, Fox News, or Facebook - but I don't think at this point you can simply say this is much ado about nothing. Countries are closing their borders and quarantining cruise ships; should a sporting arena be different?