As coronavirus continues to plague the world, the different sporting leagues across the country are in the midst of trying to figure out how to safely work sports back in. If it were up to me, stadiums would be full and all sports would be back to normal this very minute, but obviously that is not what is happening. Below I will give updates on where each league stands on their return.
MLS:
The MLS was the first league to announce their plans, unveiling the MLS is Back Tournament which will start July 8 in Orlando, Florida. The tournament will have 54 matches in total, 39 group stage games and 15 knockout games. The 26 teams are split into six different groups of four and one group of six. The MLS teams must play the other three teams in their group once, and the top two teams in the standing of each group automatically move on. The top four third place finishers will also move on. The teams who advance will play in the knockout stage until only one team is left.
The tournament’s final game is on August 11, and the MLS plans to continue the regular season after. During the tournament, teams can earn points that will go towards their regular season standings. Once the regular season is complete, the MLS plans to have teams play in the MLS Cup Playoffs and crown a champion.
NBA:
On June 4, the NBA also announced that they would be finishing the season. On June 26, the NBA and players association finalized the plan that would allow the NBA season to resume with 22 teams in Orlando. The NBA is set to start at the very end of July and end by middle of October. There will be 22 teams, the 16 teams that were in the playoff position when the season was halted and the six teams that are eight or fewer games behind the eight place team. Each team will play eight “regular season” games to determine who will make the playoffs and the seedings. Once the playoff teams are decided, the NBA playoffs will go off like normal until a champion is crowned.
When the regular season was paused, the Lakers and Bucks had both won enough games to secure their spots at the top of the eastern and western conferences. I think that Giannis and Lebron will both lead their teams to a spot in the NBA finals. Each team has been so dominant this season, it would be surprising to see them lose before the finals.
MLB:
Many, myself included, thought that we would not be seeing any MLB games this season, as up until this week, the players and owners could not agree on anything. But on June 23 an agreement was reached to begin the season. The season will begin on July 23 or 24 and each team will play 60 regular season games. They will play 40 divisional games and 20 against non-divisional opponents. Once those games are complete, the playoffs will go on in the same format they usually do. Clubs are allowed to begin practicing on July 1 in their home stadiums. There is still no word on where the games will be played, and if fans will be there.
This shortened season could have a big impact on the way the game is played. It will be interesting to see how coaches treat the bullpen with such a short schedule. There will also be some new rule changes implemented. To limit the number of extra innings, each team will start the extra innings with a runner on second base. This rule was already implemented in the minor leagues.
College Athletics:
As of now, the stance of college athletics for the fall is up in the air. The NCAA allowed colleges to have athletes come back for practice, but there was an outbreak of cases on campuses across the country. The NCAA has not released any plans for how sports will look in the fall, if they are even played. At this point it seems that a regular season will not occur, as each sport will have to make lots of adjustments to their seasons. I believe there will be a huge push for football to still occur because football funds a lot of college’s budgets.
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