Ranking Every Pro Sport’s Contingency Plan
In case you haven’t realized, there are no sports going on right now. But all sports leagues are working diligently to come up with contingency plans, many of which we’ve heard of by now. I decided to go ahead and rank the contingency plans from worst to best, based on the plan or the actions already taken by the league.
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6. Golf
Golf essentially hit us with the most golf contingency plan possible. It’s conservative, safe, and boring. They essentially just rescheduled everything for later in the year. As in much later in the year.
Get ready to trade in your pimento cheese sandwiches at Augusta for some pumpkin spice sandwiches.
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5. NFL
The NFL unveiled that they’re going to be doing a virtual draft.
Someone is going to screw this up. And by someone I mean the Browns. And frankly, I can’t wait to see how.
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4. MLB
There’s been an idea floating around baseball about playing the entire sport in Arizona. Probably because they’re used to not playing in front of fans down there. Jeff Passan of ESPN layed out a number of things MLB is willing to try with this plan:
- Implementing an electronic strike zone to allow the plate umpire to maintain sufficient distance from the catcher and batter
- this feels like Rob Manfred’s in to implement technology into baseball, while using “social distancing” as a
- No mound visits from the catcher or pitching coach
- I’m actually ok with this. STAY ON THE BENCH PITCHING COACH!
- Seven-inning doubleheaders, which with an earlier-than-expected start date could allow baseball to come closer to a full 162-game season
- in full high school baseball fashion, they have should have select players miss games for SAT prep courses
- Regular use of on-field microphones by players, as an added bonus for TV viewers
- this has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with COVID, but I’m completely on board with the idea
- Players sitting in the empty stands 6 feet apart — the recommended social-distancing space — instead of in a dugout
- this would just be comical. Players chilling in the stands. If a pitcher has a perfect game going, they should put him in the expensive padded seats behind home plate
Also, this nugget today from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale was interesting. This is another idea MLB is considering.
The plan would have all 30 teams returning to their spring-training sites in Florida and Arizona, playing regular-season games only in those two states and without fans in an effort to reduce travel and minimize risks in the midst of the COVD-19 pandemic.
The divisions would be realigned based on the geography of their spring-training homes.
Then again, since this is reported by Bobby Nightens, it will probably prove to be wrong.
The report also included this tidbit:
The DH would likely be universally implemented as well.
I get it. With NL and AL teams mixed up by spring training sites, this would just be easier. But this also feels like MLB trying to try out some of their new rules now while they can in this already screwed up season. I see through your mind games, Manfred!
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Click the right arrow to see 3 thru 1…
