(01-20-2021 07:04 PM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  I am starting to feel I wasted money on that ESPN+ account.

(01-20-2021 07:15 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  These COVID induced postponements are making our season of Hades go from the first plane to the seventh.

(01-20-2021 07:04 PM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  I am starting to feel I wasted money on that ESPN+ account.

(01-20-2021 07:53 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(01-20-2021 07:04 PM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  I am starting to feel I wasted money on that ESPN+ account.

Shoulda just done the Hulu/ESPN+/Disney+ thing...at least then you can watch The Mighty Ducks or somerhing to make you feel better

Quote:There is an issue looming over college athletics that might be even more pressing than the conundrum over conference tournaments that CBS Sports also reported on Thursday. Multiple conference commissioners and athletic directors told CBS Sports in the past week-plus that there is a growing sense of nervousness over the stability of the college basketball season -- and all winter collegiate sports -- for the next few weeks.

The reasons for this are two-fold, both of course based around the ominous nature of the coronavirus. The first has to do with the new President of the United States. With Joe Biden now holding office, high-ranking NCAA officials are in wait-and-see mode about monitoring case counts across the country and bracing for the possibility of federal shutdowns that could impact dozens if not hundreds of schools -- prompting a midseason pause in the process.

"My answer is yes, yes and yes," A-10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade said when asked if she held these concerns. "I think the anxiety level is high for myself and a lot of my colleagues and a lot of coaches. It's a constant -- everyone is just holding their breath."

The NCAA releasing its dates for the men's basketball tournament this week is not making matters easier. While that new release projects confidence, it also poses a rigid scheduling problem if college basketball were induced into a February freeze.

"Obviously the vaccines aren't getting injected as quickly as they can, the virus levels are still spiking all over the country, it's one of those concerns that's out there," Big West commissioner Dan Butterly told me. "England just went into a lockdown to help with the vaccination process. New Zealand and Australia did it, and it seemed to help kill the virus there. Biden hasn't come out with his plan yet -- he's talking about masking for 100 days, but he hasn't come out with a full plan yet -- and there's an unease in college sports about what's going to happen as we get to February."

With vaccinations still not happening at a satisfactory pace and with coronavirus cases still at unsettlingly high rates nationally, the issue is compounded by a second facet, which coaches and commissioners said could be just as threatening: everyday students across the country have returned to college campuses. This has administrators gripping.

"There has been concern, there is concern and will be concern going forward," Big Sky commissioner Tom Wistrcill said. "The virus has been really unpredictable. It's been hard for us to manage as a country, it's hard for our level, both from getting students back to classes and getting into school, and for basketball teams to travel around and get games in. Everything I've tried to guess and plan out about the virus hasn't worked. It's really hard to sit here today on the 19th of January and say, 'I've got a really good feeling about this, this and this going forward.'"

From Nov. 25 until this past week, college basketball operated without the general student body on campuses nationwide. Despite this luxury, the sport still was seeing approximately 20% of its games postponed or canceled on a weekly basis. Is that number destined to balloon? At the top of the sport more than 10 games involving ranked teams have been nixed this week. McGlade, who in addition to being a commissioner is also on the men's basketball selection committee, has been communicating perspective in the past month-plus, as these concerns have swirled around the NCAA's membership.

"We all have to be really mindful of the really big picture," she said. "I think there's a possibility -- I hope a remote possibility -- that there could be decisions made that are well out of the control of higher education, intercollegiate athletics and the NCAA that could put a pause on what we're doing in sports right now. I do hope it's a remote possibility. If there's, like we've seen in other countries, if there's an immediate shutdown for an extended period of time, there are far greater ramifications than the basketball season, whether it's the economy, whether it's healthcare, whether it's the ability for people literally, for families to survive and sustain themselves economically. I think those would be far greater, gosh, devastating results of a national so-to-speak shutdown. I don't think it's completely out of the realm."

Wistrcill said February is going to be so critical to his league and others because the time is just about up to push back games without real consequence. It's no longer postponement season; it's now cancellations. Big decisions will have to be made, and depending on the severity of the coronavirus situation at the end of February, how many leagues will feel comfortable bringing their teams together for league tournaments?

"We've thrown 'fair' out the window this year. There is no such thing because I can't define it," Wistrcill said. "We're very fortunate to be playing basketball at all in the middle of a pandemic."

It's still considered more likely than not that the season continues apace, but no one really knows. In speaking with commissioners and athletic directors, I do get the sense that if an in-season halt did occur and it were substantial enough, the NCAA is prepared to push back the NCAA Tournament into April or May if possible. It can't afford to lose it, and would look to play it in any way and at any time in the spring before not playing it at all. Not having an NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year would be ruinous for college athletics as we know it.

(01-21-2021 09:10 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  Brace yourselves...

Quote:There is an issue looming over college athletics that might be even more pressing than the conundrum over conference tournaments that CBS Sports also reported on Thursday. Multiple conference commissioners and athletic directors told CBS Sports in the past week-plus that there is a growing sense of nervousness over the stability of the college basketball season -- and all winter collegiate sports -- for the next few weeks.

The reasons for this are two-fold, both of course based around the ominous nature of the coronavirus. The first has to do with the new President of the United States. With Joe Biden now holding office, high-ranking NCAA officials are in wait-and-see mode about monitoring case counts across the country and bracing for the possibility of federal shutdowns that could impact dozens if not hundreds of schools -- prompting a midseason pause in the process.

"My answer is yes, yes and yes," A-10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade said when asked if she held these concerns. "I think the anxiety level is high for myself and a lot of my colleagues and a lot of coaches. It's a constant -- everyone is just holding their breath."

The NCAA releasing its dates for the men's basketball tournament this week is not making matters easier. While that new release projects confidence, it also poses a rigid scheduling problem if college basketball were induced into a February freeze.

"Obviously the vaccines aren't getting injected as quickly as they can, the virus levels are still spiking all over the country, it's one of those concerns that's out there," Big West commissioner Dan Butterly told me. "England just went into a lockdown to help with the vaccination process. New Zealand and Australia did it, and it seemed to help kill the virus there. Biden hasn't come out with his plan yet -- he's talking about masking for 100 days, but he hasn't come out with a full plan yet -- and there's an unease in college sports about what's going to happen as we get to February."

With vaccinations still not happening at a satisfactory pace and with coronavirus cases still at unsettlingly high rates nationally, the issue is compounded by a second facet, which coaches and commissioners said could be just as threatening: everyday students across the country have returned to college campuses. This has administrators gripping.

"There has been concern, there is concern and will be concern going forward," Big Sky commissioner Tom Wistrcill said. "The virus has been really unpredictable. It's been hard for us to manage as a country, it's hard for our level, both from getting students back to classes and getting into school, and for basketball teams to travel around and get games in. Everything I've tried to guess and plan out about the virus hasn't worked. It's really hard to sit here today on the 19th of January and say, 'I've got a really good feeling about this, this and this going forward.'"

From Nov. 25 until this past week, college basketball operated without the general student body on campuses nationwide. Despite this luxury, the sport still was seeing approximately 20% of its games postponed or canceled on a weekly basis. Is that number destined to balloon? At the top of the sport more than 10 games involving ranked teams have been nixed this week. McGlade, who in addition to being a commissioner is also on the men's basketball selection committee, has been communicating perspective in the past month-plus, as these concerns have swirled around the NCAA's membership.

"We all have to be really mindful of the really big picture," she said. "I think there's a possibility -- I hope a remote possibility -- that there could be decisions made that are well out of the control of higher education, intercollegiate athletics and the NCAA that could put a pause on what we're doing in sports right now. I do hope it's a remote possibility. If there's, like we've seen in other countries, if there's an immediate shutdown for an extended period of time, there are far greater ramifications than the basketball season, whether it's the economy, whether it's healthcare, whether it's the ability for people literally, for families to survive and sustain themselves economically. I think those would be far greater, gosh, devastating results of a national so-to-speak shutdown. I don't think it's completely out of the realm."

Wistrcill said February is going to be so critical to his league and others because the time is just about up to push back games without real consequence. It's no longer postponement season; it's now cancellations. Big decisions will have to be made, and depending on the severity of the coronavirus situation at the end of February, how many leagues will feel comfortable bringing their teams together for league tournaments?

"We've thrown 'fair' out the window this year. There is no such thing because I can't define it," Wistrcill said. "We're very fortunate to be playing basketball at all in the middle of a pandemic."

It's still considered more likely than not that the season continues apace, but no one really knows. In speaking with commissioners and athletic directors, I do get the sense that if an in-season halt did occur and it were substantial enough, the NCAA is prepared to push back the NCAA Tournament into April or May if possible. It can't afford to lose it, and would look to play it in any way and at any time in the spring before not playing it at all. Not having an NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year would be ruinous for college athletics as we know it.

Webeefukked

(01-21-2021 10:18 PM)BrooklynRocket Wrote:  COVID-19 is the best thing to happen to John Brannen at UC.

The premature end to last season created the illusion that we were an NCAA tournament caliber team when we weren't and every less game played this season will be one more excuse for Brannen to fall back on as he tries to justify the crap product that has been on the court for most of the season.

(01-22-2021 09:15 AM)blackcattitude Wrote:  long story short: the NCAA likely folds if there's no basketball tournament. they're gonna hold one no matter what

(01-21-2021 11:31 PM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  Just saw the number of new cases has dropped in 43 of the 50 states.

(01-22-2021 06:49 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  ECU PPD
@Temple PPD
@Houston PPD
Wichita St 1/27
@USF PPD
Temple 2/4

We last played basketball on January 10th. Assuming the Wichita St home game will not be postponed, it will be nearly 3 weeks between games.

(01-22-2021 07:14 PM)Billy_Bearcat Wrote:  They haven’t even been able to practice so they’re going to be really rusty....oh wait.

(01-22-2021 07:14 PM)Billy_Bearcat Wrote:  They haven’t even been able to practice so they’re going to be really rusty....oh wait.