Still crazy after all these years

Baseball being played during 1918 pandemic Photo: Getty images … does anyone care that this may be the chance for owners to destroy the union? As many Americans struggle to put food on the table and pay their mortgages, the news out this week featured a battle between despicable billionaires — baseball owners — and overpaid athletes.  Major League Baseball wants to put together an 82-game season that would start in early July, hopefully on the birthday of the nation’s freedom. However, their proposal to their players this week went over like a thud.  Does America, which has been leaving baseball in the dust for quite a few years — attendance has dropped by seven percent in five years — even care if no baseball exists this year?  The optics are horrible, but neither side in this battle seems to care. Everyone will be angry The owners proposed that the wealthiest players take an 80 percent salary cut for this season when they play about ...

Clemson football photo against Miami in 2019 Photo: Clemson … Clemson and SEC would fit, could care less about basketball The only definite aspect of college athletics right now is that nothing is definite. However, what athletics administrators and coaches know is that without the money made from college football, many conferences and schools could not continue to exist.  With that in mind, the reality of whether or not college football will take place is focused on whether or not the universities and colleges will open their campuses to students in the fall, and that is the tricky aspect of this. It is being driven by the health of the students, not by whether or not football should take place.  The difficult part of this for most of the colleges and universities is that they must retain students — without students, the schools will fail to exist.  That is difficult for football fans to accept, but it is reality.  Which brings me to the ...

Four Super Bowl wins in six years, an all-time record Image: Pinterest

"The Big House": Will it be empty this fall? ... Dr. Mark Schlissel in an M.D., an immunologist As college athletes begin to start working out again in preparation for the 2020 football season, some schools have stated flatly that if students are not on campus, no football will be played.  That includes the determination that the large stadiums would be filled with fans, all because of the coronavirus.  The Big Ten schools are preparing to return for workouts, but administrators say that the return of the season is more problematic.  Michigan president is clear Over the weekend, University of Michigan President Dr. Mark Schlissel said that the football season could be in jeopardy. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Schlissel was clear about the problems facing universities and colleges regarding the upcoming football season, Dr. Mark Schlissel's thoughts on the possibility of a college football season have not changed. If...

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Penn State's Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pa.  Photo: Penn State University … Nittany Lion fans fear a season without their iconic “White-Out” “We have played a little bit with the social-distancing concept. And we know that will take us down south of 30,000 fans in the stands, actually closer to 20 to 22[K].” Ohio State A.D. Gene Smith quoted in the Patriot-News, May 24, 2020 Penn State football fans are like those of many in the Big Ten and across the country: They cannot wait for the 2020 football season to begin.  However, a column in today’s Harrisburg Patriot-News on the PennLive.com website by beat reporter/columnist Dave Jones threw some water on those dreams as he noted that some schools, notably Ohio State, have considered having their stadiums one-third full for games this fall to allow for social distancing.  Jones also indicated that games may have to be played in front of no fans at all, which would be heart-breaking, bu...

Will high school football return? The Covid-19 pandemic has kept high school athletes at home for months, but that can change this summer based on local circumstances and guidelines, according to information released this week by the national and state governing bodies.  The National Federal of State High School Associations [NFHS] issued their release on the suggested guidelines for high school state associations to use in reopening the schools for practices.  The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association [PIAA] followed up on those at its meeting on Wednesday, allowing those areas of the state that have seen their numbers of cases fall within acceptable guidelines for reopening. Technically, most school districts’ calendar does not end until June 30, but the PIAA said that athletes could perhaps start working out in the schools even earlier. PIAA reopening guidelines According to the Patriot-News website PennLive.com, the PIAA has set some s...