The sports world is
still in a state of purgatory after the Coronavirus caused all major sports
leagues to pause in early March. After over a month of pause, there are hopes
for seasons to resume.
Here are a few
headlines around the major sports leagues to keep you up to date during this time.
NHL
The National Hockey
League is exploring all options in an attempt to resume their season as soon as
possible.
The NHL was only a
month away from the playoffs when the Coronavirus caused the season to pause,
which leaves the question of whether or not the rest of the regular season will
be played.
The league is looking
at multiple options, including rolling back the standings to 68 games to put
all teams on an even playing field and seeding the playoffs from there. They
are also weighing how important it is to conclude the regular season.
Neutral site games
are an option, with Newark being listed as one of the potential host cities.
The NHL is also still
open to having the draft as scheduled in June, even if the season doesn’t
resume before then.
NBA
Like the NHL, the NBA
was also nearing the postseason when the Coronavirus caused a suspension of the
season.
These leagues are
tied together in a way because many teams share stadiums. The New York Rangers
and Knicks both play at Madison Square Garden, and there are several other
cities that have multipurpose arenas for the NBA and NHL. So do not
expect to see much movement from the NBA or NHL until they get close to the
same page.
MLB
Major League Baseball
is the sport with the most to gain – and lose – due to the Coronavirus
pandemic. They were scheduled to begin their season at the end of March, but
that has been put on hold.
MLB is also
considering neutral site games in Arizona, Florida, and possibly Texas, as
there have been reports that the virus may do less damage in hotter climates.
Still, this would mean that 30 teams have at least 26 players, their entire coaching staffs, and other essential personnel all
tested to avoid spreading the virus.
There are hopes that
MLB could start the season in July and shorten to a 100-game season.
NFL
The NFL was the one
league in full offseason mode when the Coronavirus hit in March. Free agency
went on as usual, and the NFL Draft is about to as well. Well, not exactly as
usual as all teams will be drafting virtually. Otherwise, for
the NFL, no news is good news.
