The NFL carries on despite COVID's latest surge


As COVID-19 cases surge in Massachusetts and across the country, the NFL continues to push ahead as if 2020 were just another season. As a result of the NFL's tunnel vision, the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers played an  afternoon game originally scheduled for Thanksgiving night on Wednesday (Dec. 2), because of more than 20 COVID positive tests on the Ravens.
On Sunday, the Denver Broncos lost 31-3 because they were forced to play with a wide receiver off the practice squad at quarterback. Earlier in the season, the Patriots had to fly to Kansas City on a Monday to play that night after quarterback Cam Newton had tested positive two days earlier, and in the days following the game, cornerback Stephon Gilmore and other players on the Patriots tested positive.
The NFL has always exhibited a dangerous combination of hubris and arrogance, thanks in part to its tone-deaf commissioner, Roger Goodell, but the NFL’s  approach to this uniquely challenging season has helped create the current situation.
Unlike Major League Baseball, which changed its schedule to cut down on travel – MLB separated the teams by their geographic boundaries, with the result that the Red Sox, in the American League East, only played their other AL East rivals as well as their National League East rivals. Although MLB had some early COVID outbreaks, the approach wound up being successful as it significantly cut down on travel.
In sharp contrast, the NFL never considered such a common-sense change to its schedule, and insisted on having teams traveling coast to coast, with the result that the Patriots’ next two games are in Los Angeles, forcing the Pats to stay out on the coast because they'll be playing twice within five days: Sunday, Dec. 6 (vs. the Los Angeles Chargers) and Thursday Dec. 10 (vs. the Los Angeles Rams).
That’s crazy, and didn’t have to happen. The NFL could have played it smart and deviated from its normal scheduling rotation and had the Patriots, for example, play their usual two games against their other three AFC East foes for 6 games, and another four games by playing the NFC East. They could have added four or six more games by playing Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Carolina (14). Or, if the league insisted on playing 16 games, they could have added Atlanta and Tamp Bay, for instance. 
But that’s not the way the NFL – which thinks it’s immune to everything -- operates.
And the league's stubbornness regarding its scheduling is a good deal of the reason why the NFL is in such a mess vis-à-vis COVID as it is now.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Prayers for a somber Passover

  Passover began Monday night (April 22, 2024), and with war raging in the Middle East, it hasn’t been a typical Passover. There is much trouble accompanying this holiday, and antisemitism is at an all-time high. In this column, published in the April 20-21 Weekend edition of The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA, I shared my prayers for this Passover season. The link to the column, as it appears on the newspaper’s website is:    https://www.thesunchronicle.com/opinion/columns/larry-kessler-a-passover-like-no-other/article_f002c65f-a5fc-5711-b6ac-a7ca5c623fb3.html ****** Passover, the eight-day Jewish Festival of Freedom, will arrive later than usual --- the holiday will begin the evening of Monday, April 22 with the first of two ceremonial meals called Seders --- because the current Hebrew calendar year of 5784 is a leap year. It's no secret that the holiday hasn’t been normal since 2019. First came the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, followed by an improved, but cautious, year
Read more

Renewing my love affair with baseball --- and the PawSox

Image
"Walpole Joe" Morgan shouts "Play Ball!" at PawSox Heritage Day. WooSox employees with longtime PawSox connections are honored at PawSox Heritage Day. Larry Kessler's ticket to the final PawSox game on Sept. 7, 2020 that never was. CUTLINES: 1.  "Walpole Joe" Morgan, a former PawSox and Red Sox manager, shouts "Play Ball!" at PawSox Heritage Day at Polar Park in Worcester on Saturday, July 9.  (Worcester Red Sox photo) 2.  Worcester Red Sox employees with long tenures at the Pawtucket Red Sox who were honored in a pregame ceremony during PawSox Heritage Day at Polar Park on Saturday, July 9 are, from left: WooSox Vice Chairman Mike Tamburro of Seekonk, WooSox Senior Vice President of Communications Bill Wanless of North Attleboro and Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships Michael Gwynn.  (Worcester Red Sox photo) 3.  The author's ticket to what would have been the final game in PawSox history on Monday, Sept. 7, 2020. That game,
Read more

An ode to a lovable cat named Cooper

Image
  Cooper: A gentle cat I wrote this column, which was published in the February, 2024 edition of Jewish Rhode Island of Providence, RI, in memory of our beloved cat Cooper, whom we lost in January at the tender (by cat years) of 10 ½. The link to the story on the newspaper’s Website is: https://www.jewishrhody.com/stories/cooper-will-live-forever-in-our-hearts,57217? ******** We lost a beloved member of our immediate family early last month, our friendly, cuddly male cat Cooper. While some people may question calling a pet a member of their family, they clearly are. We feed them, take care of them, groom them and take them to veterinarian appointments on a regular basis. In addition, just as we did for our kids while they were growing up, we made sure Cooper and our dog Buddy both got their necessary checkups and shots. With our children adults and living on their own, my wife Lynne and I would look forward to having our pets sit next to us on the couch while watching our favorite s
Read more