Imagine. It's 2040. It's been 20 years since the pandemic. At the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, an official memorial is dedicated to the 66 players who died from it.
There were 131 players selected to the Pro Bowl at the end of last season. At that rate, 5 Pro Bowlers will have died from it. It could be 3 players who might make the Hall of Fame anyway.
Because the NFL remains as tone-deaf as ever, the unveiling of the memorial is done by the Commissioner, Jared Kushner, who bribed the team owners into selecting him.
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This past Wednesday, the NFL mandated that all fans coming into games wear masks. The Giants and Jets went a step further: In line with Governor Phil Murphy keeping restrictions on large gatherings in New Jersey, they won't let any fans into their respective home games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
Somebody once told me that, with the TV rights and the merchandising, the NFL could play all 16 games a week behind closed doors, and still make a profit for that week.
It may come to that.
None of the major sports played in North America has as much physical contact as football. No sport is sweatier. No sport gives the Coronavirus a greater chance of being spread.
The NFL is considering special helmets, with faceguards, as shown in the sample Baltimore Ravens helmet shown above, to better protect against the virus.
Will it work? I don't know. Several people in sports have caught it. Nearly all have recovered. But all it takes is one death to make us wonder what else we could have done, short of canceling the season.
Given how much damage football does to the human body, even without COVID-19, maybe canceling one season wouldn't be the worst of ideas.
Exhibition games may end up being canceled outright. For now, the regular season starts on Thursday night, September 10, with the defending champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, hosting the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium. That gives the current Commissioner, Roger Goodell, 47 days -- a little under 7 weeks -- to make the big decision.
We shall see.
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Each of the following is tentative, and we don't yet know which of them will actually have anyone in attendance:
Days until Arsenal play again: 1. They play tomorrow, at 11:00 AM my time, home to Hertfordshire team Watford. Arsenal can finish as high as 8th in the Premier League if they win, as low as 10th if they lose. Either way, it will be the worst finish for the team in 25 years. And all the "real fans who actually go to the games," and "care," told us that anybody could do a better job managing the team than Arsène Wenger. They were wrong. Unai Emery couldn't. Mikel Arteta is trying, and he's gotten Arsenal into the FA Cup Final on the following Saturday, at 12:30 PM my time, at the new Wembley Stadium in London, against Chelsea. As for Watford, they need to win to avoid relegation, so they will be ready for us.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 20, on Friday, August 14, at Yankee Stadium II.
Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 21, on Saturday night, August 15, home to the Chicago Fire. They crashed out of the MLS is Back Tournament, which is being held entirely behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which is part of the Walt Disney World Resort, in the Orlando suburb of Bay Lake, Florida.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 29, on Sunday night, August 22, home to New York City FC.
Days until the next North London Derby: Unknown. The 2020-21 Premier League season is now scheduled to begin on Saturday, September 12. That's 49 days, or 7 weeks. But the fixture list can't be set until the League knows who's getting promoted and who's getting relegated, and it will take another couple of weeks to get all the answers. But it's incredibly unlikely that Arsenal will open the season against Tottenham.
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 63, on Saturday, September 26, at noon.Just 9 weeks. The Big Ten's non-conference schedule has been canceled. So it's only league games this season, presuming they don't cancel it all outright. The 1st game is away to Ohio State. Pray for the Scarlet Knights. And Greg Schiano is back as head coach, but he is no god.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, and if they play at all this season, we don't know if fans will be let in. I have heard that it will be on Friday night, October 2, which would be 69 days, almost 10 weeks, but I can't be sure.
Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge football game: See the previous answer.
Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 101, on November 3, 2020. A little over 3 months.
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 126, on Saturday, November 28, at home.
Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: Unknown, since the 2020-21 NHL schedule has not yet been released. We do know that the regular season won't start until at least December 1, which is 129 days away, and it is unlikely that the Devils will open the season against a nearby rival.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: See the previous answer.
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: Unknown.
Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene: 162, on January 3, 2021. A little over 5 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 179, at noon on January 20, 2021. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy. But it is now under 6 months. You've made it this far. Stay with us.
Days until the Yankees' 2021 Opening Day: 250, on Thursday afternoon, April 1, 2021, home to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Days until Euro 2020 begins, a tournament being held all over Europe instead of in a single host nation: 321, on Friday, June 11, 2021. Under 11 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 363, on July 23, 2021. Under 1 year, or under 12 months.
Days until Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz become eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame: 535, on January 11, 2022. Under a year and a half, or under 18 months. We will then find out if it's okay for a Red Sox steroid cheat to be in the Hall, but not for a Yankee steroid cheat.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 559, on February 4, 2022. Under 2 years, or under 19 months.
Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off in Qatar: 849, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 3 years, or under 28 months.
Days until the next Women's World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,080, on July 10, 2023. A little under 3 years, or a little under 36 months. Australia and New Zealand will be joint hosts.
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