Pro Sports Seeing Some Positive Signs
If you are a sports fan, you have likely been wondering when the heck you might see your favorite teams take the field again. Well, there have been some positive signs and movement in that direction. The Major League Baseball season is obviously going to start extremely late with a shortened schedule, but to make up for the lost time fans will get to see a lot of double-headers.
Other sports seem to be making plans and even making some moves toward getting underway.
The NFL has set protocols for reopening team facilities and has told the 32 teams to have them in place by May 15th. Commissioner Roger Goodell mapped out several phases of protocols. The first phase would involve a limited number of non-player personnel, around 50% of the non-player employees and up to a total of 75 on any single day being approved to be at the facility. It is possible however that state or local regulations could require a lower number.
NBA officials are saying that some players can voluntarily return to their team practice facilities beginning on Friday amid some specific conditions. Players however would only be allowed to congregate in places where local and state governments have signed off on such openings. It is not clear how many players will be back on the floor when the league ban gets lifted.
Four MLS teams have allowed players to use team training fields for individual workouts Wednesday. Sporting Kansas City, Atlanta United, Orlando City and Inter Miami let players in for vigorously controlled voluntary workouts on the first day they were permitted by the league.
German soccer players can plan their return to the pitch after Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that the return of the top two leagues could be included in the loosening of lock-down measures, but fans will be barred from stadiums for some time to come.
Locally, however, there is not any good news. All the high school sports seasons have been cancelled with the closing down of the schools in the county and across the state. As for baseball… neither the Pittsfield Suns of the Futures League or the North Adams SteepleCats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League will be taking the field anytime soon. The Futures League is still holding out hope for a late start, while the NECBL has cancelled its season outright.
(Some of the information in this article was obtained from the Associated Press)