Sports

The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #310: Baseball Is Back! (But Is It Really?)

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

The virus doesn't care how much you want to watch a game. Plus: Other Sports Are Also Back Pending Death; Pandemic Baseball Sucks; Hub Bubs; Hall Of Fame Hossa; The Mystery Of Mitch's Motivation; Choking On Chalk; and It Was Unmistakably A Noose.

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SHOW NOTES

* 310.

1:30: The Red Stars Are Back!

* "The NWSL will be the first U.S. team-based league to return to play on Saturday with its Challenge Cup. (The Orlando Pride pulled out after several players tested positive.)"

* FiveThirtyEight: Megan Rapinoe And Tobin Heath Have Opted Out. But There's Still Lots To Root For In The NWSL.

4:46: Sports Are Back!

July 5: Formula One restarts

July 8: MLS is Back Tournament starts

July 10: NHL training camps open

July 23-24: MLB Opening Day

July 24: WNBA projected to start regular season

July 25: PLL begins its Championship Series tournament

July 30: NBA projected to restart

7:00 Sports Are Maybe Back, Pending Various State Lockdown Rules And An Athlete Dying.

* Coffman: "We are so far into unchartered territory now it's hard to know where to begin."

* Coffman: "College football is essentially morally bereft."

* Safely Reopening High School Sports Is Going To Be A Lot Harder Than College And The Pros.

* MDT: Mountain Daylight Time.

* You first.

Cubs president Crane Kenney envisions fans in stands, on rooftops https://t.co/27CrRFY7Kz

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) June 25, 2020

vs.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says Chicago is "not there yet" on fans in stands at ballparks.

"Obviously there's no bigger sports fan than me. But we've got to do it at a time when we know that that's appropriate under the public health guidance."https://t.co/fsNSrQTYXa

— Chicago Tribune Sports (@ChicagoSports) June 26, 2020

* Tell us about it . . .

So it looks like the NBA picked the worst possible location for the bubble https://t.co/RdQg404a2V

— Joe Ostrowski (@JoeO670) June 26, 2020

+

There is growing concern within a lot of corners of baseball about executing an effective health and safety protocol in the timeline prescribed by the PA/MLB agreement. As you might expect: So many complications, some foreseen and some not.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 26, 2020

33:15: Pandemic Baseball Sucks.

* FanGraphs: Team Entropy Could Be the Real Winner In A 60-Game Season.

* FanGraphs: Billy Hamilton, On Second, With No Outs.

* FanGraphs: So Just How Much Less Baseball Will The New Extra Innings Rule Give Us?

* The asterisk on the season:

40:20: Hub Bubs.

Report: the NHL could announce its two hub cities for the 24-team playoff format as early as today. Chicago is among the five finalists. #Blackhawks https://t.co/qzueHfFm1p

— Scott King (@ScottKingMedia) June 26, 2020

43:34: Hall Of Fame Hossa.

* (And Doug Wilson.)

#Blackhawks' Marian Hossa, Doug Wilson inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame - Chicago Sun-Times https://t.co/RMTiyhCaRm

— Kristen Zambo (@KristenZambo) June 25, 2020

44:58: The NFL Might Also Be Back! (Maybe).

Should the NFL create separate rosters of game-ready players who can serve as replacements in the event of an outbreak? https://t.co/ufosDx0GWC

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 25, 2020

47:30: The Mystery Of Mitch's Motivation.

* Rutter: "Trubisky requires what the equally unsolvable predecessor Jay Cutler also could have used - a rewired network of mental operational connections."

* In the arena:

The "Man in the Arena'' also has had it up to here with Mitch Trubisky's play. My column: #Bears https://t.co/Tv1kc67wWy pic.twitter.com/Tzrq4muUZK

— Rick Morrissey (@MorrisseyCST) June 19, 2020

53:25: Choking On Chalk.

* Chambers: "The operating BS of the majority is that if one horse wins all three of the races this year, it will be a Triple Crown. No. And. NO!"

In other words . . .

56:50: It Was Unmistakably A Noose.

This a noose. Point blank. Not a hoax or a liberal conspiracy but an instrument of death, terrorism and genocide for black people. Period. That is what Bubba Wallace's team and NASCAR saw.https://t.co/U0bx1QpnZc

— Coleman Young Jr (@colemanyoung) June 26, 2020

* Coffman: Ride, Sherman, Ride!

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STOPPAGE: 4:39

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