The Globe and Mail - 13.03.2020

FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2020| THEGLOBEANDMAILO CORONAVIRUS B11

The novel coronavirus has
brought professional sports in
North America to its knees.
On Thursday, the NHL said it
would suspend play because of
dangers associated with CO-
VID-19, the disease caused by the
flu-like illness that has become a
pandemic.
“The NHL has been attempting
to follow the mandates of health
experts and local authorities,
while preparing for any possible
developments without taking
premature or unnecessary mea-
sures,” NHL commissioner Gary
Bettman said in a statement after
a conference call with the board
of governors on Thursday after-
noon. “However, following last
night’s news that an NBA player
has tested positive for coronavi-
rus – and given that our leagues
share so many facilities and lock-
er rooms and it now seems likely
that some member of the NHL
community would test positive at
some point – it is no longer ap-
propriate to try to continue to
play games at this time.”
The Maple Leafs’ matchup
against the Nashville Predators at
Scotiabank Arena was among 10
Thursday night games scrapped.
In other games involving Cana-
dian teams, the New York Islan-
ders were scheduled to play at
Calgary, the Buffalo Sabres were
to play in Montreal and the Van-
couver Canucks were to play at
Arizona.
By midafternoon, Major
LeagueBaseballalsosaiditwould
suspend all spring-training
games and delay the start of the
regular by at least two weeks. Ma-
jor League Soccer and the Profes-
sional Lacrosse League also stop-
ped playing on Thursday. The
NBA said Wednesday it would
suspend its season after Utah Jazz
centre Rudy Gobert tested posi-
tive. His teammate Donovan
Mitchell also tested positive.
“We will continue to monitor
all the appropriate medical ad-
vice, and we will encourage our
playersandothermembersofthe
NHL community to take all rea-
sonable precautions – including
by self-quarantine, where appro-
priate,”Bettman’sstatementcon-
tinued. “Our goal is to resume
play as soon as it is appropriate
and prudent, so that we will be
able to complete the season and
award the Stanley Cup. Until
then, we thank NHL fans for your
patience and hope you stay
healthy.”
No timeline was announced
for when games could resume. If
theseasoniscancelledbecauseof
theglobalcoronaviruspandemic,
it would be only the second time
the Stanley Cup has not been
awarded since 1919. That year, the
final series between the Montreal
Canadiens and the Seattle Metro-
politans was cancelled after five
games because of an outbreak of
the Spanish flu. There was also no
Stanley Cup in 2004-05 when play
was halted because of a labour
lockout.
Earlier Thursday, the league

asked teams to look into arena

availability through the end of

August, pointing to a pause and

possible resumption in play.

“The health and safety of our

fans, players, staff and media re-

mains at the forefront of our deci-

sion-making, and the Toronto

Maple Leafs are in full support of

the decision reached today by the

NHL, its member clubs and play-

ers,” Maple Leafs president and

alternategovernorBrendan Sha-

nahan said in a statement. “Like

you, we have many questions

about what’s to come. Our thanks

to our fans for their support and

understanding as we continue to

navigate this very fluid situation.”

Toronto was third in the NHL’s

Atlantic Division and in a playoff

position when play was stopped.

TheStanleyCupwasscheduledto

begin a few days after the regular-

season was completed on April 4.

The Maple Leafs had 12 games

left, six on home ice.

Practices, morning skates and

team meetings were cancelled

Thursdayacrosstheleague.InTo-

ronto, players who had already

shown up at the arena were sent

home. Maple Leafs defenceman

Jake Muzzin, who is recovering

from a hand injury, was pulled off

the ice.

Referees and linesmen as-

signed to officiate games were al-

so sent home.

“Public health and safety are a

priority at a time like this,” Ed-

monton Oilers captain Connor

McDavid said in a statement re-

leased by the team. “As players,

we support the decision to sus-

pend the season for the safety of

the teams and their fans.

“We look forward to the day we

can get back playing the game we

love in front of full arenas.”

On Wednesday night, the Oil-

ers lost 4-2 at home to the Winni-

peg Jets.

“You understand that this is a

world health crisis, but we have

never gone through anything like

this and nothing that has affected

the game like this,” Edmonton

coach Dave Tippett said after-

ward. “You understand when you

are going through lockouts and

things like that, that there is a

business part of the game.

“But this is a health part of the

game, a life part of the game. It af-

fects everybody, not just hockey

or sports. It’s a turbulent time in

the world and we will just have to

deal with it as it comes.”

In Calgary, the Flames issued a

news release saying the organiza-

tion was in full support of the

league decision.

“We are currently working on

answers to frequently asked

questionsfromourvariousstake-

holders and it is our intention to

communicate on a regular basis

as this situation is fluid,” the

statement said. “As with the NHL,

we are hopeful to resume the sea-

son and playoffs when appropri-

ate and prudent.”

The Columbus Blue Jackets

werescheduledtoplayhosttothe

Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday

at Nationwide Arena in the first

NHL game without fans. The San

Jose Sharks said Wednesday they

would play their final three home

games without fans at SAP Cen-

ter.

Now everything is on hold.

“The decision to temporarily

suspendplayduetotheCOVID-19

pandemic is an appropriate

course of action at this time,” the

NHL Players’ Association said in a

statement. “The NHLPA will con-

tinue to closely monitor this dy-

namic situation and remain in

daily discussions with the league,

our medical consultants, and our

players regarding all aspects of

this matter. The players are look-

ing forward to the opportunity to

resume play in front of hockey

fans everywhere.”

Morethan127,000peoplehave

been diagnosed with coronavirus

since the outbreak began in Chi-

na in December. The disease has

killedmorethan4,700people,in-

cluding one in Canada.

Symptoms include fever,

cough and difficulty breathing –

very similar to a cold or flu. Some

peoplecandevelopamoresevere

illness. Those most at risk of this

include older adults and those

with severe chronic medical con-

ditions such as heart, lung or kid-

ney disease.

In baseball, operations were

shut down after five afternoon

spring-training games in Florida

concluded. The Blue Jays, who

played the Pittsburgh Pirates in

Bradenton, were to meet the Bos-

ton Red Sox at Rogers Centre on

Opening Day on March 26.

In a statement posted on the

Blue Jays website, MLB called the

situation an emergency. It said

agreement was reached after a

call between commissioner Rob

Manfred and all 30 clubs, and af-

ter consultation with the MLB

Players Association.

“This action is being taken in

the interests of the safety and

well-being of our players, clubs

and our millions of loyal fans,”

the statement read. “MLB will

continue to evaluate events lead-

ing up to the start of the season.

Guidance related to daily oper-

ations and workouts will be re-

layed to clubs in coming days.”

MLS, which has teams in To-

ronto, Montreal and Vancouver,

said it would suspend play for 30

days as the circuit assesses the

impact of COVID-19 with its med-

ical staff and public-health offi-

cials.

“The safety of our players, staff

and fans is our primary concern,”

Toronto FC president Bill Man-

ning said. “We completely sup-

port the league’s decision.”

In addition, the NCAA’s wildly

popular basketball men’s and

women’s basketball tournaments

were cancelled. The PGA’s Tour-

nament Players Championship in

Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., will con-

tinue on Friday and the weekend

without fans. Spectators were al-

lowed to attend the opening

round on Thursday.

NHLsuspendsoperationsamidvirusfears

Ifseasonendsupbeing

cancelled,itwouldbe

justthesecondtime

theStanleyCuphasnot

beenawardedsince 1919

MARTY KLINKENBERGTORONTO

Red Wings equipment manager Paul Boyer packs a bag on Thursday after the game against the Capitals was postponed.PATRICKSMITH/GETTYIMAGES

Major League Baseball became
the latest professional sports
league to respond to the threat of
the novel coronavirus on Thurs-
day, postponing the start of its
regular season by at least two
weeks.
The league also announced
that all spring-training games
would be cancelled, effective im-
mediately.
“Following a call with the 30
clubs, and after consultation
with the Major League Baseball
Players Association, Commis-
sioner Rob Manfred today an-
nounced that ML has decided to
suspend spring training games
and to delay the start of the 2020
regular season by at least two
weeks due to the national emer-
gency created by the coronavirus
pandemic,” MLB said in a state-
ment.
Baseball acted only after the
NBA, the NHL and MLS – the
three active major American pro-
fessional leagues – had all made
announcements suspending
their seasons. Baseball’s regular-
season schedule was set to begin

on March 26, giving MLB the ad-

vantage of time, but preseason

exhibitions continued as sched-

uled Thursday morning – with, as

always, thousands of fans and

stadium workers mingling at the

games.

Even before the announce-

ment, individual teams had tak-

en steps to protect club employ-

ees. The New York Yankees were

among several teams that have

called all professional scouts and

national cross-checkers off the

road, though scouts will still be

allowed to evaluate players in

their home areas.

“We will take our lead from

people that are immersed with

expertise more so than any

sports entities,” said Brian Cash-

man, the Yankees’ general man-

ager. “We are trying to imple-

ment best practices as we go

along. Every day there is a new

adjustment to it.”

Baseball has suspended its

season before, postponing a

week of games after the Sept. 11

terrorist attacks in 2001. Those

games were made up at the end

of the regular season, pushing

back the postseason by a week.

The 1989 World Series was also

suspended for more than a week

after an earthquake struck

Northern California just before

the scheduled start of Game 3 in

San Francisco.

Several seasons have also been

shortened by work stoppages

without making up missed

games, including 1972, ’81, ’94 and

’95. But baseball has played a full,

162-game schedule every year

since, with only a handful of

games missed because of weath-

er.

In Japan, which has more than

1,300 confirmed cases of the cor-

onavirus, the professional base-

ball league on Monday post-

poned the start of its season,

which had been set to begin on

March 20.

Chris Iannetta, a veteran

catcher for the Yankees who has

been active in the players’ associ-

ation, said MLB was different

from the NBA because of the ven-

ues, and expressed hope that

baseball games could continue.

“We are an outdoor sport,” he

said. “You know, our TV dollars

are pretty big, and this is a busi-

ness.

“People are going to be home,

not doing a lot and they are going

to need some entertainment. We

are entertainment. This is the

Show. In essence, we are a Broad-

way show, just a different type of

Broadway show. We are out here

to entertain the fans and we love

to do it. If we can provide some

distraction for some people go-

ing through some hard times,

then that’s awesome.”

Of course, the same could be

said for other sports, which also

generate TV revenue and provide

entertainment. And MLS games,

like most baseball games, are

played outdoors. Shortly after

Iannetta spoke, MLB fell in line

with the other sports in adjusting

to the rapidly changing reality of

managing the unknown.

NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

MLBdelaysstartofseasonandcancelsspring-traininggames

TYLER KEPNER

Jays catcher Reese McGuire waits on the throw as the Pirates’ Bryan

Reynolds begins his slide in Bradenton, Fla., on Thursday. MLB is

suspending operations.CARLOSOSORIO/THEASSOCIATEDPRESS

TORONTOAll three major

junior hockey leagues in Cana-

da and the American Hockey

League have suspended play

because of the COVID-19 out-

break.

The Canadian Hockey League

announced Thursday that play

has been halted in the Quebec

Major Junior Hockey League,

the Ontario Hockey League and

the Western Hockey League.

The 31-team AHL, the top

minor league for the NHL, also

has suspended play. The league

includes four Canadian teams –

the Toronto Marlies, the Manito-

ba Moose, the Laval Rocket

and the Belleville Senators.

The CHL, the umbrella orga-

nization for the regional

leagues, followed many pro

leagues in suspending oper-

ations. The NBA, NHL, Major

League Soccer and Major

League Baseball announced

schedule suspensions earlier

Thursday.

The Memorial Cup, the na-

tional championship tourna-

ment for the CHL, is scheduled

for May 22-31 in Kelowna, B.C.

The CHL features 60 com-

bined teams in Canada and the

U.S.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

CANADIAN HOCKEY LEAGUE, AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE SUSPEND SCHEDULES