Nothing says, "money grab" like choosing certain events over others for reasons that obviously don't involve concerns about spreading this virus. . My guess is there might be fewer parties, rallies and other irresponsible socializing going on the week before a game v. The Sisters of The Poor than would be expected with a game v. a hated conference rival, or even a standard conference game.
Did anyone catch "First Take" following the NYCFC-Philadelphia game on ESPN Thursday? Max Kellerman said he thought there was "zero percent chance" that college football would be played this fall. The other panelists for that segment agreed with him. A few days ago, Dennis Dodd reported on CBSSports.com that there were 3 and possibly 4 Big 10 schools that did not think it a good idea to play football this fall, but none of the schools were stating so publicly, because they didn't want to be the first one to make the announcement. All joking aside about their football prowess, or lack thereof, but I could see Rutgers being one of those schools. New Jersey has been hit particularly hard by COVID 19, and even though the state has a better handle on things now, I think state and school officials would be hesitant to risk raising the infection rate.
We 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 lost a game in 2020. Thus, we are crowning ourselves as the International League CHAMPS. 🏆Get your shirt today to commemorate our historic season ➡️ https://t.co/rdbo5a5Kvp pic.twitter.com/4AnqjwAvvT— Toledo Mud Hens (@MudHens) July 1, 2020
An interesting part to this is the huge payouts to those non-conference opponents. Bowling Green was supposed to play both Ohio State and Illinois. Not playing those games, and not getting the $2.2M payday, is going to decimate their athletic budget.
College football is pretty much by definition "a money grab", so requiring players to sign waivers and play a game against anybody strikes me as reprehensible.
I'd still be surprised to see any college football this fall. Morehouse College (Division 2) has already scrapped its football season. Three or four Division 3 schools are doing the same too. The CIAA, a Division 2 conference comprised of HBCU's, has also followed the Ivy League's lead and scuttled its football season. Hawaii and Brigham Young have each lost the first 4 games on their respective schedules due to the Pac-12 and Big 10 decisions.
Profitable programs are the exception, not the rule. The game here is simply a big part of the culture, like soccer is in lots of places everywhere else. I admit that if you spend much time checking out sites that address American sports, you will get that idea. But the bulk of cfb programs are from small schools you'll never see on television or even hear about unless they're playing a big-name team. You're talking about maybe 30, 40 programs when you talk about profit. I'm not going to look for a link, but I think I'm being generous. Plus, not all states are football states. Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina are basketball states. Many other states you can't even associate with a sport at all- they just exist. Considering that each big program has 85 players whose education (scholarship money) is being/could be held hostage, it's reprehensible regardless. It won't surprise me if some schools that offer only online courses this fall still go ahead with football.
Thinking back I would have loved to see a show with CPO Sharkey and Sgt Bilco together. It would have given a truer picture of the acronym SNAFU.
The Blue Jays have been denied permission to play their home games in Toronto. The Canadian gov't won't give them / MLB an exemption to the 14 day quarantine rules, and are concerned about the Jays playing a bunch of games in Florida then flying home. Jay's management respects the decision and will announce where their "home" will be this year - either Buffalo or Dunedin apparently. .... I'm not a b-ball fan so have no problem with this whatsoever. From what I can tell from local media, nobody in Toronto is gonna complain much, if at all, including Jays fans.
I think Canada can handle the NHL playoffs in Toronto and Edmonton as hub cities. Every other US based league is going to be an asterisky shitshow of a season/tournament and shouldn't start until the pandemic is under control.