What is going to happen to college football this fall? The Pac 12 and the Big Ten have decided not to play, at least this calendar year. The ACC, SEC and the Big 12 are still scheduled to play. If these three major conferences do play, are we still going to have a national championship playoff? Are we going to have bowl games? What if they played out their schedule, crown a national champion and then the Big Ten and Pac 12 decide to play in the spring?
I think it is crazy that the three conferences are still trying to play given the situation of the pandemic right now. There is no sign that we are turning the corner. With flu season coming, the health system may be completely overburdened in the fall. While there has been success with professional sports playing while in a bubble, this is not possible with college football. Most of the teams in the three conferences are in the south and southwest where the pandemic is hitting the worst at this time. How many Florida and Texas teams are going to be able to play out the season without players getting sick and/or passing the disease to other people? Oklahoma went back to practice and immediately have 9 cases already.
With most schools opting for at least partial virtue learning, I don't see how it can be justified that student athletes are going to play a game where there is contact on every play. Even the huddles are a good place to spread germs. The Big Ten and the Pac 12 are doing the right thing while the other three are jeopardizing the lives of young men just for money.
Kind of shows the thinking in the south. I think people think differently there than the rest of the country. It can explain why football has done so well too. It's part of the lifestyle there and of course, we know that they have a hard time of letting things change down south. We are seeing some of this mentality at schools like Ohio State, Iowa and Nebraska.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine that they'll get through a full season if they even start. There has already been outbreaks at Oklahoma and even at North Carolina. I'm surprised that the NCAA hasn't declared that no championships or bowl games will be held just so that an unfair champion won't be crowned.
I heard that the they think they can bubble college basketball players and have them take online classes, so maybe we will see basketball this year. Seems a bit unfair for regular students but we all know that if they can figure out a way to play this year and be safe and for it to be economically feasible, then they'll do it.
So I heard that Trump's brother died. I heard a rumor that he died of Covid, but I have yet to see a credible source, unless I missed it.
I might try to catch some of the convention this week, just to see how they do this virtual setup. I'm assuming Biden will do a speech in Delaware. Will Harris join him?
-LBOAYM
I think basketball may be doable, especially if the pandemic calms down by the spring. With fewer players, it is possible to place the them in a bubble. They can fly charter with plenty of room to spread out. Say they play road games on Thursday and Saturday, they would fly Thursday morning, play in the evening, move to another city, play Saturday morning and return to bubble by Saturday night. It is a lot easier to keep track of 12 men than 100.
ReplyDeleteI have not heard of what Robert Trump died of. I am sure if it is COVID, it cannot be hidden.
One thing that helps the Democrats is that you won't see protests inside a convention hall nor boos from the Sanders supporters like last time. There will be a lot of speeches and here are some of the interesting ones: Sanders on opening night. But John Kasich who was GOP governor of Ohio but now a Trump hater will also speak tonight (no boos from the left). Michelle Obama is also on tonight. Obama will speak on Wednesday night himself with Kamala Harris giving her acceptance speech. Biden, of course, closes out Thursday with his acceptance speech. Both Harris and Biden will be speaking from Delaware. So event though they speak on different nights, I am sure they will be on a stage together after Biden's speech. Interestingly, Yang and Duckworth, two Asians, are scheduled for Thursday as well.
So you're saying it's not possible to hide that younger Trump died of Covid? Did you see the video of Barron Trump getting off the helecopter? The kid grew a lot over the summer. It's almost as if they replaced him with another kid!
ReplyDeleteI heard that they didn't invite Julian Castro to speak. I wonder if that's still the case. They have to get their Latino vote out. This is kind of a head scratcher for me. You know Rubio will probably speak at the GOP convention. I await your observations of the convention!
-LBOAYM
When I don't see any of my nephews when they were/are teenagers for a year, they grew 6 inches and look different. So I am not surprised that Trump's kid grew a lot and looks different. While medical information are supposed to be private, illnesses of famous people tend to get out. In case of COVID, anyone who got admitted into a hospital with the virus would be in isolation. So while the details may not come out, it wouldn't be difficult for the press to find out if he was in isolation or ICU before he died.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't understand why Castro did not speak. Maybe he is scheduled to talk later in the week. I don't think Warren appeared yesterday either. If they give Yang a solo spot on Thursday, I can't imagine they don't give Warren a solo spot. And to not give the only Latino candidate during the primary a solo spot would be head scratching.
For the first night, I think things went well. I never like the people screaming, applauding or booing loudly in a typical convention anyway. Some people may find speech after speech boring and tune out. But it was ok with me, although I skip some speeches while watching baseball and basketball. I liked Michelle's speech. I think it will get under Trump's skin. I also like Cuomo's speech but I didn't like the Michigan governor's speech. Thank goodness Biden did not pick her. The four former GOP people who denounced Trump was good but I doubt it makes much difference for Trump supporters. The best line was from the woman who lost her father who said that her father's only preexisting condition was believing Trump. Look for that to be spoken by others during the campaign trail.
Day two of the Democratic virtue convention. I did not watch as much as the first night so I missed some of the speeches such as the short one by AOC. I did like Jill Biden's speech about her husband. I did not care for Bill Clinton and John Kerrey. Bill did not seem very energetic. They are the old guards and if you are giving AOC one minute only, how do you justify so much more time for the old folks? The part about McCain and Biden being good friends was great. I like the virtue roll calls from different parts of the country better than the old ones with everyone shouting while wearing weir hats!
ReplyDeleteMore colleges are suspending classes already. Lots of schools are also closing. It seems clear that we are not ready for widespread opening of schools and colleges. It is also clear that large gatherings are disastrous. As good as South Korea has been, the one big outbreak now is associated with a non mask wearing pastor and his church. Remember the original outbreak in South Korea is also from a church. I don't know how people can ignore such obvious evidence.
I got to watch most of the convention Tuesday, but being on east coast time, they run them too late for me. To me, there were some awkward moments and I'd rather they just record things instead of going live. I am interested to see how the GOP convention goes, though I don't know how much I'll see it. The rumored list of speakers is quite odd.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason that AOC was given so little time is because she was a Bernie supporter. I think she would have been a finalist for VP if Sanders was the candidate. It's hard to not put Clinton in there but I am sure there are some in the party who just don't want him and Hillary around. I thought the best part was McCain and Jill Biden's biography. I didn't care for her speech as much.
Still seeing a lot of parents who want their kids to go back to school. Some are looking into private school since it looks like they're open. I don't get why people are so mad that colleges are going online. I do think there's an argument for offering some kind of discount, refund or credit for students who don't get to go to class in person.
I'm still surprised that people go to church. Maybe they think God will protect them and if they get sick or die, it's God's will.
-LBOAYM
Didn't see much of the convention last night. The highlights showed that Obama gave an excellent speech. Given he is the Democrats' best speaker, that is not a surprise. He is breaking the usual protocol of not attacking his successor. But it is about time he speaks the truth given the disaster that is Trump's presidency. Hopefully he did not overshadow Harris, who also gave a very good speech.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Trump was in attacking mode, trying to take away the shine of the Democrats. But during his press conference, he was asked what he thinks of QAnon giving him credit for stopping the Democrats and Hollywood from Satanic rituals of killing children and draining their blood etc. Trump claimed that he had not read about this but if people are saying those things, it must be a good thing! Of course he is lying about not knowing this crazy group and that they claim Trump is the savior of children. So the follow up question would be "how is he saving the children?" I would like to see what crazy answer he gives. It is not a coincidence that QAnon and white supremacist groups are supporters of Trump. This tells all you need to know about Trump.
I missed most of the beginning of the convention last night. So I missed Yang's speech. I did catch Duckworth's speech. She sounded very tough. If she was the vp choice, Trump would have been scared! Again I was surprised that Castro had no role, not even the round table of all presidential candidates. How can he not be even in that? Bloomberg shouldn't have a solo spot unless it was for money raising purpose. I liked the stuttering kid's speech. As a person with a stuttering problem, although nowhere like his, I can certainly relate and admire his courage.
ReplyDeleteI thought Biden did a great job. It was the best speech I have ever heard him deliver. All this attack from Trump about "Sleepy Joe" and challenging his mental capacity just makes him look so much better. Will see how he handles Trump in the debates. His performance last night makes me feel better about this.
I think the convention went about as well as it could have. I don't think many people watched gavel to gavel, so I don't think it changed many minds. The Democrats will get a slight bump in enthusiasm and money raising after this. But I think the same will happen for the GOP next week. Speaking of which, if I can't watch most of the Democrats convention, I certainly not going to be glued to the tv next week for the GOP. I will try to write about that convention after watching highlights each night. That is the advantage of being in the west coast. When it is over for the night, it is still only 8 pm and I can tune in for the highlights!