Winter Sports Owners, Commissioners Should Just Give Up
May 27, 2020 at 2:04 a.m.
Winter Sports Owners, Commissioners Should Just Give Up
By Roger Grossman-
I think we can all agree that summer couldn’t have come soon enough.
Swimming pools are opening, golf courses are buzzing again, and people are outside doing … “outside things.”
And thus the topic of conversation today.
Basketball and hockey are narrowing down plans and timelines to restart their seasons — their 2019-2020 seasons.
What’s the point?
Granted, basketball and hockey, normally end their seasons in June — which is summer. But by the time they restart, play a few games, run through modified playoffs and crown their champion — we’re looking at August before the suspended season ends.
Oh, and they will be doing this without fans in the stands.
The NBA and NHL has to follow the lead of the high schools and colleges, and just write the 2019-20 season off as a lost cause and let the season fade away into history.
This is not a moral argument. This isn’t “the country shouldn’t have sports at a time like this” or “there are more important things to worry about than sports” debates. I am a sports guy … I get that.
But, Adam Silver and Gary Bettman have to see the big picture here. To play their sports through the summer and into the early fall will do long-term damage to their leagues and brands.
To extend their seasons into August would mean very little time for the 2020 draft, free agency, contract negotiations, training camp before the start of next season.
Some teams will play a handful of meaningless games and then their seasons will end. Others will play more games and be eliminated in the playoffs. One will be crowned the champ.
Teams that keep playing will be at a huge disadvantage for 2020-21. They will have less time — no, they will have no time to prepare for their offseason. The normal method of operation already gives aid to the teams that are bad. They end their seasons in April and are able to do extra scouting on potential draft picks, do the math on who they can add to their roster within the boundaries of the salary cap and the like.
For players, I am sure they have been working out on their own and staying in shape. But for the next 12 months they are going to play over 100 games, and for the good ones on the best teams, they will be playing over 120.
That leaves them more vulnerable to injury.
When a league loses its stars, it loses its brand.
No brand, no fans.
No fans, no league.
Oh, and I haven’t even brought up the possibility of COVID-19 coming back for a “round two.” Wouldn’t it be more prudent to let a few more months pass before bringing teams together and sequester them from the outside world?
For the good of everyone, it’s time to give up on the winter sports and do summer-like things.
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I think we can all agree that summer couldn’t have come soon enough.
Swimming pools are opening, golf courses are buzzing again, and people are outside doing … “outside things.”
And thus the topic of conversation today.
Basketball and hockey are narrowing down plans and timelines to restart their seasons — their 2019-2020 seasons.
What’s the point?
Granted, basketball and hockey, normally end their seasons in June — which is summer. But by the time they restart, play a few games, run through modified playoffs and crown their champion — we’re looking at August before the suspended season ends.
Oh, and they will be doing this without fans in the stands.
The NBA and NHL has to follow the lead of the high schools and colleges, and just write the 2019-20 season off as a lost cause and let the season fade away into history.
This is not a moral argument. This isn’t “the country shouldn’t have sports at a time like this” or “there are more important things to worry about than sports” debates. I am a sports guy … I get that.
But, Adam Silver and Gary Bettman have to see the big picture here. To play their sports through the summer and into the early fall will do long-term damage to their leagues and brands.
To extend their seasons into August would mean very little time for the 2020 draft, free agency, contract negotiations, training camp before the start of next season.
Some teams will play a handful of meaningless games and then their seasons will end. Others will play more games and be eliminated in the playoffs. One will be crowned the champ.
Teams that keep playing will be at a huge disadvantage for 2020-21. They will have less time — no, they will have no time to prepare for their offseason. The normal method of operation already gives aid to the teams that are bad. They end their seasons in April and are able to do extra scouting on potential draft picks, do the math on who they can add to their roster within the boundaries of the salary cap and the like.
For players, I am sure they have been working out on their own and staying in shape. But for the next 12 months they are going to play over 100 games, and for the good ones on the best teams, they will be playing over 120.
That leaves them more vulnerable to injury.
When a league loses its stars, it loses its brand.
No brand, no fans.
No fans, no league.
Oh, and I haven’t even brought up the possibility of COVID-19 coming back for a “round two.” Wouldn’t it be more prudent to let a few more months pass before bringing teams together and sequester them from the outside world?
For the good of everyone, it’s time to give up on the winter sports and do summer-like things.
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