thependulumswings

Follow the science.  That’s been an often-used narrative since mid-March in the year of COVID-19.  It’s been the “go-to” when you are told to not go to bars for example.  It’s also been the barometer to gauge success in reopening America to the degree that it has in the regions that have.

It’s taken the place of ” we don’t have enough ventilators.”  Or, ” we don’t have enough ICU beds.”  Or, “we don’t have enough tests.”

Which brings us to the restart of the sports world.  In general MLB and the NBA have restarted with few problems save a rogue Miami Marlin who broke from protocol and infected a dozen or so Marlin teammates.

The NFL teams are in week two-plus of a delayed fall camp.  As of this AM, the NFL has administered 58,397 COVID-19 tests to 8,573 players between August 12 and August 20.  How many tests were positive?  Zero.

Remember, follow the science.  And, it seems if you do you will find that humans who test negative will continue to test negative while in close proximity.  And,  if they follow mask, social distance, and good hygiene practices when they are elsewhere they will continue to test negative.  The NBA even eliminated the “elsewhere” except for Lou Williams who went elsewhere for a brief gentlemen’s club social (not distance) gathering, but we digress.

So, “following the science” of the above seems to bellow “play ball.”  Except the BIG 10 and PAC 12 pouted, took the ball, and went home at least until Spring.

No one in the PAC 12 has been heard from and it seems that few care.  But, in the BIG 10, they care.  And, they’re mad.  Actually this long ESPN expose’ on how the BIG 10 came to an abrupt U-turn on the road back to football and all fall sports states that players, coaches, parents, some presidents, and administrators aren’t just mad, they’re furious.

So what brought them to this cancellation?  The new commissioner, Kevin Warren, has been nearly silent since the announcement but admitted that he should have been more communicative.  Supposedly the school presidents voted to shut down.  Those same presidents have been quite reluctant to speak on the record about the vote, if one actually took place, and how they individually voted if there was a vote.

The league went from an Aug 5 schedule announcement to an Aug 11 cancellation.  Pancakes don’t flip that fast.

As one Big 10 coach told ESPN, “We’re just left in the dark. Why wouldn’t you communicate? Why wouldn’t you respond? I don’t get it. Something’s just off.”  So much for transparency.

“Been in this league for 20-plus years,” a league source told ESPN. “This has been embarrassing.”

More directly from the article- “Warren on Wednesday sent an open letter providing more details about what the league considered, including troubling trends of COVID-19 spread, contact tracing difficulties and concerns about having reliable rapid tests.”

He went on to reiterate that the decision to postpone “will not be revisited.”   You’ll get no football and you will like it.

The father of one player called the open letter “just a bunch of regurgitation and smoke-blowing.”

All of this makes the state of Iowa the state of confusion.   BIG 10 member Iowa isn’t playing.  Big 12 member Iowa St is.  Make sense?

In a week or two, or in a month or two, the SEC, ACC, and the BIG 12 might regret their attempts to put on the proverbial shoulder pads.  Ask them now and they will tell you that they are following the science.

Does the “follow the science” argument in the passionate BIG 10 and in the dispassionate PAC 12 seem like, well, just a bunch of regurgitation and smoke blowing?

A short time will tell.