Here is the latest information we have to date regarding sports and COVID-19
MLB
Sources Say Return-To-Play Plan Expected Within A Week
Major League Baseball is expected to offer a proposal to the MLBPA within the next week that will allow players to return-to-play according to ESPN’s sources. This news comes after teams reportedly told players to prepare for training that could begin as early as Mid-June and a regular-season that could start in July.
ESPN was told that GMs and Managers from at least a dozen teams suggested players start “ramping up their baseball activities.” Former Major League Baseballer Trevor Plouffe has suggested that training could start on June 10th, and the regular-season could begin as early as July 1st. The start of the 2020 MLB Season was delayed due to the Coronavirus Pandemic back on March 12th.
NFL
Teams Receive Memo About Reopening Facilities.
On Wednesday, Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to all 32 teams. According to the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the memo outlined the protocols for how franchises should go about reopening team facilities so players can train and prepare for the upcoming season.
The league originally closed all team facilities back on March 26th due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. However, state and federal governments have been easing Coronavirus restrictions. Now, ESPN is reporting that these new health and safety guidelines have allowed the league to target May 15th as the date to begin the NFL’s first phase of the new practice protocols.
In the memo, Goodell said that the league will let teams know when they will be able to re-open their facilities. NFL owners will have more talks about reopening facilities during the NFL’s virtual league meeting, which is scheduled to take place on May 19th.
NBA
Practice Facilities Slowly Reopening For Individual Workouts
Yesterday, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the league is slowly but surely trying to re-open team practice facilities in order for players to participate in individual workouts. Sources also told Woj that teams have been instructed to not test asymptomatic players for COVID-19 at this time.
The layout for these practices will reportedly be different than years before. According to Woj’s sources, teams will be able to designate six assistant coaches or player development specialists to watch over the workouts. On top of that, Woj’s sources are also saying that Head Coaches will not be allowed to participate in or observe these workouts.
NHL
KHL Will Not Crown A Champion This Year
The Kontinental Hockey League, or KHL, announced early this morning that it will not crown a champion after the season was stopped due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. The league stopped all play on March 25th.
The KHL is an international hockey league consisting of teams from Russia, China, Belarus, Latvia, Finland, and Kazakhstan. The 2019-20 KHL season was stopped midway through the playoffs. The league is saying that it is still trying to figure out the final positions in the standings of the eight teams that qualified for the playoffs this season.
