data-mm-id=”_qu2y52rgh”>People want their lives back. The financial and social impacts of locking down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have already been harrowing, which is deeply frightening considering most experts believe we are still in the early stages of learning to live with the virus. Hope springs eternal, though. History and science suggest there is another side with slightly greener pastures that won't in any way resemble the sun-baked field we were enjoying before the dark clouds rolled in. Discussions about how and when to bring sports back into lives are not easy. No one has a crystal ball and the logistical nightmares further unravel if you tug even slightly at a thread. There have been a parade of positive and negative indicators for the future that have either buoyed or crushed hope that there will be a return to athletics. The most depressing and alarming may have become public today, and it comes from an unlikely source. The New York Times reports:As President Trump presses for states to reopen their economies, his administration is privately projecting a steady rise in the number of cases and deaths from the coronavirus over the next several weeks, reaching about 3,000 daily deaths on June 1, according to an internal document obtained by The New York Times, nearly double from the current level of about 1,750.The projections, based on government modeling pulled together in chart form by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, forecast about 200,000 new cases each day by the end of the month, up from about 25,000 cases now.The numbers underscore a sobering reality: While the United States has been hunkered down for the past seven weeks, not much has changed. And the reopening to the economy will make matters worse.Again, this is a model from the same administration that's been employing a full-court press in the effort to get people back to work and to put the pandemic behind them. To say nothing of the politics, this is an entity with an invested interest in trying to underestimate the actual impact. Perhaps you noticed how quickly those rosy predictions of only 60,000 fatalities gave way to reintroducing the 100K figure back into play last week. Let's say these are spot-on projections and the country is seeing 3,000 people dying every single day, 200,000 more contracting the virus, and no assurance that this is even the peak. Are discussions to bring the NBA and Major League Baseball back going to actually be far down the road? Are fans still going to be hellbent in insisting the college football and NFL seasons are going to go on as scheduled?If the answer is yes, then the subtext will be that we've given up, dropped any pretext, and are headed into the monumental sacrifice that will be trying to reach a level of herd immunity. A project, it should be pointed out, that will result in untold tragedy and may not be as successful as predicted, considering all we don't know about COVID-19's life cycle and the dangers of contracting it a second round.This is not to say the balls won't be tipped or kicked off on schedule. Making predictions about what should happen is a lot different than what will happen. Another month will dull the senses even more. Rising numbers will become the norm and the abject absurdity of playing games with people's lives won't be as absurd as before. Perhaps the responsible thing is to gird ourselves against what could just be an inevitability at this point. Sports will be back and they'll be rushed back against a backdrop where the most vulnerable are seen as an acceptable sacrifice. They'll be a distraction from the horror show of real life and will reflect either resiliency or a sardonic and twisted worldview, depending on where one sits. Right now it seems as though there are three doors. Door One is no sports amid a national nightmare. Door Two is sports amid a national nightmare. Behind Door Three is the empty hope of having sports and our normal lives come back to us soon. There are big decisions to be made and the ramifications will be deep. Not sure any broad announcement that games will be played should be met with anything more than a sober nod, considering the math coming from The White House.
Related Posts
Stranded on Los Blancos pedestal, Ronaldo took aim at the remaining supporting cast after February s defeat to Atletico Madrid left Real with no realistic chance of winning the title.
He said: I don t want to disrespect anyone, but when the best players aren t available it s harder to win. I like to play with Karim, with Bale, with Marcelo.
I m not saying the others like Lucas [Vazquez], Jese and [Mateo] Kovacic are not good players they are very good players but it s not the same.
Ronaldo later claimed his intention had only been to point out the misfortune of having Benzema and Bale unavailable.
The Portugal captain s point may have been a valid one. Madrid average a whopping 3.7 goals per game when the BBC are together, which crashes to 2.4 per game …
Wolfsburg s sporting director Klaus Allofs says the club had no option but to ban Nicklas Bendtner from the training pitch, claiming the Denmark international had become a menace to the dressing room atmosphere with his disruptive behaviour.
The 28-year-old has been told he is no longer welcome at first-team practice sessions following a number of incidents, including oversleeping and being late to training, with his future at the club now looking bleak.
Fellow attacker Max Kruse had previously escaped such a punishment, instead handed a hefty fine for some late-night misdemeanours.
But Allofs has claimed the situations are different, as the issues involving the Germany attacker did not have any negative influence on the rest of the squad.
I do not want…
Manchester City welcome West Ham to the Etihad Stadium needing a point to secure their second Premier League crown in three years.
A two-point cushion and an advantage of 13 on goal difference means only a defeat would realistically result in Liverpool claiming the title with a victory over Newcastle United at Anfield
Manuel Pellegrini s men endured a tense opening hour on Wednesday before hammering Aston Villa 4-0 hitting 100 league goals for the season in the process with Yaya Toure s sensational closing solo effort.
It was City s 16 win in 18 league matches on home turf this year, making West Ham s trip north a daunting one. But memories of a dramatic final day in 2012 loom large and mean nothing will be taken for granted.
City entered stoppage time 2-1 down t…
Eden Hazard has denied claims that he is in line to leave Chelsea and join Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain during the off-season.
The Belgium international, who is set to captain his country at Euro 2016 in the absence of Vincent Kompany, struggled for form and fitness with Chelsea during 2015-16.
His troubles were indicative of a wider problem at Stamford Bridge, as the club failed miserably to defend their Premier League title.
Hazard s struggles led some to suggest he could depart Chelsea, with PSG reportedly interested, but the attacker ruled out that possibility.
PSG are not part of my plans, he told TeleFoot. I have a contract until 2020, I feel good here and I don t want to finish on a season like that.
I left Lille as a boss, and…
Al Jazira coach Caio Junior claimed tiredness cost his team a place in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League.
Al Jazira lost 4-2 on penalties to Al Ahli on Tuesday night to end their continental adventure in the Round of 16.
The 2010-11 UAE champions and Saudi King s Cup winners had been locked at 3-3 after 120 minutes, before the dreaded shootout where ACL top-scorer Ricardo Oliveira and veteran defender Lucas Neill missed spot-kicks, before Victor Simoes converted the decisive strike.
Al Jazira s Brazilian boss apologised after his side conceded in the 118th minute in extra-time but said fatigue and the weather had affected his players after a long season.
We are very sorry to concede the goal two minutes before the end, he said.
Ma…
Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has slammed a report suggesting he is considering a move to Real Madrid.
Fabregas was a key member of the Spain squad that won Euro 2008 and according to a report last weekend in Spanish sports newspaper Marca he was quoted as saying he might move to the Bernabeu, especially if Arsenal did not win a trophy this season.
But in a statement the 21-year-old told Arsenal s official website here Monday: I have not spoken to any media so it s frustrating to read quotes that I have supposedly said about my future
I have spent the summer relaxing with my family, friends and girlfriend and I return to training with Arsenal tomorrow (Tuesday).
I think that some people are just trying to make mischief but my intentions are very c…
Is Pep Guardiola losing his touch?
Saturday s 2-1 loss at home to bitter rivals Manchester United left the Manchester City manager with his lowest points tally after 16 games of a season.
The defeat at the Etihad Stadium leaves City 14 points off the searing pace set by runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool, who won at Bournemouth earlier in the day.
City, champions in each of the past two seasons, now seem unlikely to make it three in a row and ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Guardiola has never collected a lower points tally at this stage of a campaign.
His side have lost four times in 16 league games, leaving them with 32 points on the board.
32 This is Pep Guardiola’s worst points return after the first 16 matches of a top-flight se…
Pep Guardiola has questioned whether his Manchester City side are able to compete with the likes of Liverpool, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The reigning Premier League champions fell 14 points behind leaders Liverpool on Saturday after suffering a 2-1 home defeat to rivals Manchester United.
City s defence was torn to shreds in the opening 30 minutes by United s attack, with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial putting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s side 2-0 up.
Nicolas Otamendi set up a grandstand finish with a late header, but City were unable to salvage anything from the game.
Despite dominating English football for the past two seasons and boasting an exceptional, expensive squad, Guardiola has suggested his side might be unable to go toe-to-toe with Europe s b…
Zenit are considering a summer bid for Fiorentina forward Adem Ljajic, the player’s agent has revealed.
Russian newspaper that Zenit boss Luciano Spalletti has been keeping tabs on the Serbian international since 2011.
According to the same source, he even met with the player ahead of Russia vs Serbia friendly played in August 2011.
The Italian coach appears ready to step up his interest in the forward in the summer transfer window, and Ljajic’s representative confirms he is aware of the reported interest in his client.
“We know that the club from St Petersburg want to see Ljajic in their team,” agent Nikola Popovic explained to Izvestia.
“When season ends it will then make sense to talk about a transfer. I need to point out that Adem …
Terek Grozny midfielder Jonathan Legear is hoping to move to the English Premier League, .
The 25-year-old midfielder has a lucrative contract at the Russian Premier League outfit, but he is, nonetheless, looking for a new challenge.
Russian newspaper Izvestia claims that Legear is followed by a number of Belgian clubs, but he would rather go to England, where a number of Premier League sides are showing interest in his services.
Belgian players have largely impressed in England of late, with Kompany, Fellaini, Mirallas, Lukaku and Vertonghen all becoming key players at their respective clubs.
Jonathan Legear began his professional career at Anderlecht, where he made 77 league appearances and scored 15 goals in the process.
He surprisingly opted …