Trump Stumps for Fall Sports. Reality and Doctors Argue Otherwise.

The call -- on the same day March Madness’ Final Four would have played out from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta -- came ahead of what could be the apex week of the Coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.  The teleconference roster was comprised of sports commissioners and top executives from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, Major League Soccer, WNBA, WWE, the PGA Tour, LPGA, UFC, NASCAR, IndyCar and the Breeders' Cup.

"I want fans back in the arenas," Trump said later during a White House press briefing that day.  "I think it's whenever we're ready.  As soon as we can, obviously.  And the fans want to be back, too.  They want to see basketball and baseball and football and hockey.  They want to see their sports.  They want to go out onto the golf courses and breathe nice, clean, beautiful fresh air."

Well, yeah.

But like his belief the country would reopen for business on April 13, the day after Easter, Trump’s tout of an August/September return also may fall into the category of wishful thinking.

Over the weekend, New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, during his now daily press conference from Albany, echoed the view of Trump and many from around the nation.  “I would love to see sports back, [to] help with cabin fever,” he said.  “But this is not about hopes and dreams and aspirations and what you would like to see.”

Rather, he took a more analytical approach to a return game plan.  “Follow the data,” Cuomo said. “Follow the science.  Let the health-care professionals tell you when it’s safe to re-open, and that’s when you re-open.”

California Gov. Gavin Newson, whose state is home to the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Chargers and San Francisco 49ers, expressed similar skepticism about the start of the football season.

During his press briefing, Trump confirmed that he encouraged the leagues to lobby for tax credits that once existed for entertainment expenses.  That includes giving people the ability to deduct concessions and tickets from taxes.

“We’re going to have a hard time otherwise opening, in my opinion," he said.  “That is something that will really bring life back to the [economy].”

That may be the case, but whether such write-offs will occur for the 2020 tax season is debatable.

Perhaps Trump’s Saturday handicapping was informed from reading about NFL General Counsel Jeff Pash’s proclamation to reporters on a March 31 conference call that the league’s expectation is to begin the regular season as slated in September.

But Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, on April 2 placed myriad conditions on that occurring. Sills noted that decisions for the NFL to begin practices this summer and the games to begin on time will be based in part on the availability of point-of-care Coronavirus tests, yielding quick results, which can be done off-site from hospitals, not to mention the removal of gathering restrictions, owing to the pandemic.

"I think what was implied there [by Pash] was to say we are not at a point where we are saying that is absolutely not going to happen so we should continue our planning and preparations as if we're going to be able to do that," Sills told NFL.com.  "But obviously we're going to have to evaluate that along the way and follow what the recommendations are from public health officials and from our infectious-disease experts and others."

In the college ranks, Dabo Sweeney, the head coach of college football powerhouse Clemson, has “no doubt” there will be a fall kickoff.  Earlier, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly vilified Kirk Herbstreit, after ESPN’s Emmy-winning analyst told The Paul Finebaum Show that he would be “shocked” if there were any college or pro football this fall.  Football, for all the huge ratings points it delivers for rights-holders and advertisers with its high-scoring contests, centers on offensive and defensive linemen butting helmets about six inches to six feet from one another across the scrimmage line in the trenches. Moreover, blocking and tackling are not exactly examples of safe social distancing and with practice sessions required months before the season, player preparedness for a fall season is unlikely at best.

On the surface, football is an unlikely sport to skirt a Coronavirus shutdown.  Then again, the WWE held Wrestlemania 36 on April 4-5, albeit sans fans.

Meanwhile, the WNBA, whose training camps were supposed to open on April 26 ahead of its 24th regular tipping on May 15, has put its proceedings on pandemic-hold.

The 12-team league on April 17, though, will hold its three-round draft virtually with Commissioner  Cathy Engelbert announcing the picks from New York.  Top prospects including Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu, the likely No. 1 choice by the New York Liberty, will chime in remotely.

The women’s basketball circuit should provide a window into what the NFL Draft may look like from April 23-25.  Talk about a logistical challenge for ESPN, ABC, ESPN Deportes and NFL Network across seven rounds and more than 250 players!  Guess we’ll get to see what the family home of Joe Burrow, the former LSU quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner and presumptive No. 1 selection by the Cincinnati Bengals, looks like.

Although a few top free agents remain available, the virtual draft could be the last significant piece of gridiron news we get for some time, even if President Trump and many of us are ready for some football whether on Monday, Sunday, Thursday or Saturdays.

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