Sports takes a holiday

Yesterday, we reported that the 1st & 2nd round NCAA tournament games scheduled for Times Union Center on March 19 & 21 would be played in "empty arenas".

Since then, the NCAA has changed course, and cancelled the tournament outright. No national champion will be crowned this season in either men's or women's basketball. The MAAC & America East tournaments, which had already started, were aborted Thursday. MAAC regular season men's champion Siena would have gone on to the NCAA had the tournament not been cancelled. Conference tournaments across the country have been cancelled, including the ACC, Big 10, SEC, and Atlantic 10, with the latter scheduled for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The NCAA has also pulled the plug on spring sports, and has cancelled the College World Series, scheduled for June in Omaha, Nebraska. That means the season has come to an abrupt end for teams we've been tracking, such as Pittsburgh and VCU, due to players with local ties. Pittsburgh, at least, has updated their schedule page on their website. VCU has not as of press time.

Closer to home, the ECAC hockey tournament has been cancelled, so Houston Field House will be dark this weekend, and RPI's season is over. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYPHSAA) has postponed the hockey final four, set for tomorrow in Buffalo, and regional basketball games set for tonight and tomorrow. No makeup dates have been set.

The concerns worldwide over COVID-19, or, coronavirus, have forced a paradigm shift in sports across the globe in an effort to stem the tide of the pandemic.

It is unclear whether the NYPHSAA will allow the start of spring sports, such as baseball and lacrosse, next month. The annual Coaches vs. Cancer Friday Night Lights series at Bruno Stadium is in jeopardy, with no announcement as of press time as to whether or not that will take place as planned this year.

For now, all we can do is wait & pray.