Here is the latest information we have to date regarding sports and COVID-19
NBA
Sources: Board Of Governors Expected To Approve Commissioner’s Restart Plan
According to ESPN’s sources, the NBA’s Board of Governors is expected to approve Commissioner Adam Silver’s season restart plan this week. The Board of Governors will be voting on the plan this Thursday. The proposal needs three-fourths majority approval to be passed.
Under the plan, the NBA would bring 22 teams to Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida to play games during the summer. Sources are saying that this plan would likely include regular-season and play-in games to determine the finalized seeding for the playoffs in both the Eastern and Western conferences.
Sources say the NBA has not yet endorsed a restart plan. Sources are also saying that one plan, which included allowing all 30 teams to resume play, is no longer possible.
MLB
Sources: MLBPA Delivers Return-To-Play Counterproposal To League
According to ESPN, the Major League Baseball Players’ Association presented a return-to-play plan to the league on Sunday. Sources say the plan includes a 114-game season, deferred salaries in case the season is canceled, and an opt-out option for all players concerned about the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The proposal says that the 114-game season would run from June 30th to October 31st. However, Major League Baseball originally suggested the season only be 82-games long.
ESPN says the players’ association expects the league to reject this offer. However, the union is hopeful that this proposal will bridge the gap between these two sides and allow them to come to an agreement to return-to-play later this week.
NHL
League Expecting To Test Players Daily If Play Resumes
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said that the league will test players for COVID-19 daily if play resumes. He said, “we will have a rigorous daily testing protocol where players are tested every evening and those results are obtained before they would leave their hotel rooms the next morning, so we’ll know if we have a positive test and whether the player has to self-quarantine himself as a result of that positive test… It’s expensive, but we think it’s really a foundational element of what we’re trying to accomplish.”
The league says that each Coronavirus test costs approximately $125. Commissioner Gary Bettman estimates that the league will need between 25,000 to 35,000 tests to get through the end of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Commissioner believes that testing will cost the league millions.
NFL
DeSean Jackson: Players Should Be Miked Up If There Are No Fans
Philadelphia Eagles’ Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson has admitted that it will be a “culture shock” if there are no fans in NFL stadiums this season. However, DJax has said that if that ends up being the case, players should be miked up for games so that fans can get a behind-the-scenes look at the NFL. Jackson appeared on teammate Lane Johnson’s podcast, Outside The Lane, where he explained how great of an opportunity it could be.
“I think they should [mike up players]. They should give fans the [insight] to see what really goes on between the white lines… It gets crazy, bro. I know in the trenches it gets crazy. And I know on the outside it gets crazy, too, the conversations we go back and forth on.”
DeSean Jackson on the Outside The Lane Podcast
The NFL is still preparing contingency plans for the 2020 season. Last week, Dolphins’ Owner Stephen Ross did say on CNBC, “we’re planning to have fans in the stadium.”
Continue checking oddsusa.com for more updates on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
