NESN Diary: Arizona (Almost) Is Open For Business (And Other Random Thoughts)

Two months down, not sure how much longer to go.

We’ve hit the two-month mark without the three major sports that were supposed to be taking place right now. And there’s still no telling when they will return.

Major League Baseball has yet to begin its 2020 season, while the NHL and NBA were weeks away from the postseason when operations were halted. It’s crazy to think that we’d be in the midst of the series to decide who was going to fight for the Stanley Cup.

But is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Arizona governor Doug Ducey on Tuesday announced that MLB, the NBA, NHL and NFL all can be played in the state without fans beginning Saturday. Now that doesn’t mean the leagues automatically will begin Saturday. There’s still a lot to figure out, but Arizona took a first step in becoming the state for sports.

Some things to consider are how the players will be isolated/where will they go once in Arizona? Will there families be allowed to travel with them? How will high-risk staff, managers and coaches be kept safe? What if someone tests positive for COVID-19?

The safety and health of everyone involved, without question, is the top priority. And teams would need a few weeks to get back into game shape, so it’s not like we’d be watching a baseball or hockey game Saturday regardless.

But still. As much as I want sports to come back, is Arizona rushing to open its state? Especially considering its neighbor California all but likely will extend its stay-at-home order for another three months.

And maybe that’s an aggressive move, too. I don’t live there, nor in Arizona. So I can’t pretend like I know just how bad the coronavirus pandemic is like I know how it is here in Boston.

Plenty of precautions will have to be taken to keep everyone safe. And a lot still needs to be worked out. The NFL doesn’t start until September, so it has time on its side for a little while longer.

But for the 2019-20 NBA and NHL seasons, time is running out on how to salvage what’s left of this year. So maybe having Arizona as an option will help get things going. And as long as it’s done safely, and under terms both owners and players can agree on, then sign me up.

Here are some other tidbits from Tuesday:

— For the first time since March 11, we have a timeline on when one of the four major sports could (or could not) return.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Tuesday reported that NBA commissioner Adam Silver is aiming to make a decision on the suspended season in the next two-to-four weeks.

Of course, this could mean the season gets cancelled, but this is the light at the end of the tunnel we’ve been hoping for regardless of the outcome.

I recently wrote about hating the unknown. And while I hate not knowing if we’ll get this decision in two weeks or four, or what it even will be, I’m happy we have a timeline on something. It’s a start.

— MLB and the MLB Players’ Association met Tuesday after owners approved a proposal Monday.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported “health and safety” were talked about a lot. And the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reported an economic proposal was not made by the league — something that the players reportedly did not want to sign off on.

— Could the NBA be moving toward a return?

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that attendees on the Board of Governors call Tuesday felt “positive about momentum toward an NBA return to play this season.”

But just because there’s some optimism surrounding a return, does not mean it’ll happen, considering there’s still no update on how Tuesday’s call between the NBA and NBAPA went.

— Tom Brady took to Twitter to thank the folks of Barstool Sports who protested his four-game suspension five years ago.

As you probably remember, the then-New England Patriots quarterback was suspended for probably (but not definitely) knowing about the air pressure in footballs. It was a ridiculous suspension that came with an over-the-top punishment, but when commissioner Roger Goodell has a personal vendetta against the Patriots, it explains a lot.

Anyway, the QB quote tweeted a tweet with a picture of the protesters getting arrested, thanking them for their service that day. He deleted it rather quickly, though. But screenshots are forever.

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