The unique perspective and provocative opinions of Joe O’Neill
Sports Shorts
5 overtimes! That’s how long the Lightning’s Game 1 win over Columbus took. That has to change–sudden-death, NHL playoff tradition notwithstanding. That’s about 25 innings in baseball—only hockey is a physical, contact sport. The common opponent is injury-enabling fatigue.
“Unlike professional sports, college sports cannot operate in a bubble. Our athletic programs are part of broader campuses, in communities where in many cases the prevalence of COVID-19 is significant.”—Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, after the Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences announced there will be no fall football.
When the Big Ten pulled the seasonal plug on football, the economic implications were serious. To wit: According to the U.S. Department of Education, Ohio State University football brought in $115 million in the 2018-19 fiscal year.