by John Casarez | staff writer
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the sports lockdown also continues.
There is one thing almost all of America wants to do right now. We all just want to go outside and throw the ball or shoot some hoops, you’re not alone. We miss sports too.
If you were at home on March 11, you might have had the chance to catch the Hawks-Knicks game on TV. At the time, no one knew that that would end up being the last game we’d be able to see live for a while.
The NBA has endured multiple player cases of the virus and the league’s commissioner decided to postpone the rest of the season.
“Commissioner Adam Silver has told people in the NBA that there will be no way for the league to make a decision about when it can return until May 1 at the earliest,” ESPN reports.
The NCAA, rather than postponing the remainder of the season, decided to cancel it in full.
“The NCAA called off its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments as part of a complete cancellation of all remaining spring and winter championships,” ESPN reports.
But what about the seniors who were in their final season, making their last impressions to scouts so that they could go pro? Luckily for these individuals, they have been offered the opportunity to stay one more year to get the notice they need.
“The NCAA Division I Council has voted to grant an extra year of eligibility to all student-athletes in spring sports whose seasons were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic,” ESPN reports.
Every other major sports league has followed along in the same way, putting things on hold as they plan to start and pick up on seasons when the pandemic passes over.
With no sports being played, the question everyone had in mind was what is going to be on ESPN? Well if you tune in to ESPN you’re highly likely to catch a “hardwood classic” or some other sports event in the past that had something special about it. The NBA is also arranging a televised HORSE tournament with ESPN that will feature WNBA/ NBA players and legends.
“The pairings for this Sunday’s first-ever NBA HORSE Challenge on ESPN have been revealed.Trae Young vs. Chauncey Billups, Tamika Catchings vs. Mike Conley Jr., Zach LaVine vs. Paul Pierce, and Chris Paul vs. Allie Quigley,” ESPN tweeted.
Sports are such a big part of a lot of people’s lives and it’s tough without them, but no one is alone. We all are in this together and when this is all over we’ll walk back out onto that field or court together with our heads up.
“Don’t know what to compare this situation to…just gotta buckle up and take care of yourself and those around you. Basketball will be back at some point but right,” NBA player Stephen Curry tweeted.
Sophomore Diego Castillo is one of many who wishes that professional sports weren’t put to pause.
“I miss being able to turn the TV on everyday and find one of my teams playing. To me if I had sports to watch the isolation thing would be a whole lot easier to get through,” Castillo said.
Castillo hopes the situation will end soon, so he can get back to watching James Harden lead the league in scoring for the third straight season.
“I miss the Rockets so much, Castillo said. “This sort of felt like the year that we would win the chip. I can’t wait for them to pick right back up so James Harden can keep handing out those 40 balls that he’s so good at.”
