By Agence France-Presse

Imagine a  Masters with fall foliage instead of spring flowers, an NBA Finals just weeks before the usual pre-season training camps and a neutral-site World Series in a warm vacation getaway.

Those are just some of the options being eyed by American sports event organizers planning for a return after the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic eases.

Barren months are on the horizon just two weeks after the NBA launched a shutdown spree by every major US league when Utah’s Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 just before a scheduled March 11 game.

The NBA was quickly followed by Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the National Hockey League.

There will be no Olympic trials in athletics, swimming and gymnastics in June with the Tokyo Games delayed to 2021. The Boston Marathon has been postponed to September. So has the Kentucky Derby horse racing classic.

The Masters and PGA Championship have been indefinitely postponed and preparations have been halted for June’s US Open at Winged Foot.

Augusta National opens in October through the winter so an autumn date isn’t impossible, although it’s usually warmer and wetter than in April. Bright vivid flowers will be replaced by abundant pine needles under the course’s towering trees.

“A Masters in the fall, October time, I think it would be pretty cool,” world number one Rory McIlroy told PGA Tour Radio. “It would be a very different look than what you usually see at Augusta.”

MLB’s originally scheduled openers on Thursday, when all 30 clubs were set to start the campaign in a rite of spring for America’s pastime, were postponed at least eight weeks.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended no mass gatherings until at least May 10 and ultimately how quickly the virus is conquered will decide when or if sport resumes in 2020.

MLB clubs and owners have privately agreed they could play regular-season games into October and stage the playoffs in November at neutral warm weather or domed venues, ESPN reported Wednesday.

Thanksgiving & baseball?

Baseball fans might be celebrating American Thanksgiving on November 26 with the World Series plus the usual NFL offerings.

The NBA is expected to re-evaluate its hiatus in two weeks, with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban hoping for a mid-May return.

“Hopefully by the middle of May, we’re starting to get back to normal and the NBA is playing games,” Cuban told Dallas television station WFAA in an interview posted Tuesday.

“Maybe not with fans, but we’re playing it because sports plays such an important role… people want something to be excited about.

“Sports is what we need right now. I think the NBA is ready to play that role.”

If the NBA, still reeling from the shock death of retired star Kobe Bryant in a January helicopter crash, could resume by June, it could finish the season and have two months of playoffs end in August before the US television landscape is dominated by the NFL’s scheduled September return.

“No one has perfect information right now, and so all decisions are tough, but if I had to guess — based off the people I’ve talked to at the CDC and other places — I would say that the over/under would be June 1, and I’m taking the under,” Cuban said.

“I’m proud of the NBA and the way we’ve reacted. I think we’ve led the way, and hopefully will lead the way out of this.”

MLS president Don Garber says his league, shut down two weeks into the 2020 campaign, hopes to complete a full season with a final delayed to mid-December.

“Once we’re comfortable we can get the players with three to four weeks of training and we have the guidance that we can get crowds back into our stadiums, then we will then begin the relaunch of our season,” Garber said.

The NHL plans an update in late April on its plans while most major boxing cards are off indefinitely and the next PGA Tour event still scheduled is May 21-24 at Colonial, four weeks before the US Open.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

World heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua has placed himself in self-isolation following a meeting with coronavirus (COVID-19) victim Prince Charles.

Charles, the eldest son and heir to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, is showing mild symptoms of coronavirus and is self-isolating in Scotland, officials said on Wednesday.

It remains unclear when Charles caught the illness but on March 9, he spent the day with the Queen, prime minister Boris Johnson and stars of sport and entertainment — including Joshua — at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.

A spokesman for Joshua told the Daily Mail: “AJ is at home following government guidelines, he is fit and well. He wishes everyone affected a speedy recovery and a huge thank you to all the front line key workers.”

Joshua is due to defend his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles against mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20.

But the coronavirus could delay that bout and push back a hugely anticipated all-British fight with WBC champion Tyson Fury until next year at the earliest.

In a series of Twitter posts on Tuesday, Joshua thanked all those involved in trying to combat the coronavirus by saying: “It’s humbling to see people giving their everything right now to keep us safe. Shout to everyone on the front-line.

“We see you, we appreciate you, we thank you and we’re in awe of you!”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

UFC star Conor McGregor has spent one million euros on protective equipment for hospital staff treating patients with the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ireland.

McGregor sent a message to the Republic of Ireland’s Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and revealed the contents on his Twitter page.

Donohoe had written to McGregor asking him to tell his 7.9 million Twitter followers to practise social distancing.

“Today I am purchasing myself, one million euro worth of personal protective equipment to be deployed to all the fighting hospitals in the Leinster region. Our most affected region, to this date,” McGregor said.

“St James’s, Mater, Tallaght, Beaumont, Vincent’s (hospitals). Where we would be without these brave men and women, I do not know. May God bless over them and keep them safe!”

McGregor called on the Irish government to go further in their efforts to fight the virus and implement more stringent lock-down measures.

“I feel like we are moving in the right way, it just feels to me like it is not all the way,” he said.

“I urge all the way! ‘All in’ is the term we must use here. Bit by bit will cost us lives.

“To see what is happening here in Ireland and all across the globe is heartbreaking to me. I pray.

“God speed Minister and thank you for the message, and your service to our nation.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said Wednesday that the postponed Tokyo Games would require “sacrifices and compromises” from all sides to make them work.

“These postponed Olympic Games will need sacrifices, will need compromises by all of the stakeholders,” Bach told reporters in a conference call the day after the IOC decided to delay the 2020 Games because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The IOC’s role, Bach said, was “to make the Olympic dreams of athletes come true”.

He admitted that cancelling the Tokyo Games was “discussed and considered”, but said: “It was very clear from the beginning that cancellation was not something the IOC would in any way favor.”

It is the first Olympic Games in peacetime to be postponed.

Bach said the rescheduling of the Games in 2021 remained a “very challenging question”.

A taskforce, named ‘Here We Go’, had been created to examine the issue, Bach added, saying the first port of call would be with the 33 international federations, likely starting with a conference call on Thursday.

“The first step, we have to see with them, to see what the options are. We also have to take into account the sports calendar around the Olympic Games,” the German said.

The rescheduling, he added, “is not restricted just to the summer months. All the options are on the table, before and including the summer of 2021”.

Both World Athletics and the International Swimming Federation say they are prepared to move their 2021 world championships to accommodate the rescheduled Games.

The Athletics world championships are due to be held in Eugene, Oregon on August 6-15 next year, with the swimming worlds at Fukuoka in Japan between July 16 and August 1.

– Beating heart of Athletes’ Village –
One of the many logistical headaches caused by the historic postponement of the Tokyo Olympics has been the uncertainty around the Athletes’ Village overlooking Tokyo Bay.

Touted by developers as a “flagship neighbourhood for urban lifestyles”, the buildings housing the 11,000 competitors were to be hastily repurposed into more than 4,000 condos with stunning city views, some carrying a price tag of 170 million yen ($1.5 million).

When asked about how a postponement might affect the Village and its conversion, Bach said: “I cannot tell you what the situation is.

“It’s one of the many thousand of questions the taskforce has to address.

“It’s the Olympic Village (where) the heart of the Games is usually beating.”

Bach, who was part of West Germany’s gold medal-winning foil fencing team at the 1976 Olympics, added: “Of course, I’d be very, very delighted if we could have the Olympic Village in the traditional form.

“Everybody who has once lived in an Olympic Village knows that this is the real Olympic experience, that this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“Living under one roof with the whole world, sharing your meals together, celebrating together, discussing together, and forming this unique Olympic unity.”

Bach concluded by saying: “We are at an unprecedented situation and have an unprecedented challenge.

“We have to find the best possible situation under the circumstances that we are living in.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Waylon Galvez

Members of the original Gilas Pilipinas looked back at their stint in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, China — a city that eventually became known throughout the world as the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Sino ang mag-aakala na dun sa Wuhan mag-uumpisa ang ganitong kalaking problema ng mundo,” said Ranidel de Ocampo, one of four PBA players who reinforced the national team in the continental tournament.

De Ocampo couldn’t help but ponder if the pandemic happened during the time of the competition that served as a qualifier to the 2012 London Olympics.

“Naiisip ko nga… paano kung noong 2011 nangyari itong nangyayari, tapos naglalaro nandoon kami naglalaro biglang pumutok ang mapaminsala na virus tapos hindi kami makauwi,” said De Ocampo, who at that time was playing for Talk ’N Text.

“Hindi lang naman Pilipinas ang naglalaro… madaming teams at iba pang tao maaapektuhan. Mas nakakatakot kung iisipin kasi andun ka sa lugar e, andun ka mismo kung saan nagumpisa,” he added.

The first version of Gilas had a mixture of top amateur players who had been with the program of Serbian coach Rajko Toroman since 2009 coupled with De Ocampo, Asi Taulava, Jimmy Alapag, Kelly Williams with naturalized player Marcus Douthit.

Gllas advanced to the semifinal round by beating Taiwan in the quarterfinals, only to lose to a Jordan team handled by current PH team program director Tab Baldwin.

The national team failed to salvage a podium finish when it lost to South Korea in the battle for bronze.

“I enjoyed our experience in Wuhan,” said Alapag. “I thought the crowd support from the city was really good for the most part. I remember Wuhan itself being a quiet city.

“This virus is something I didn’t expect to see in our lifetime. It’s something that has affected the entire world. But it’s encouraging to see the world come together to try to fight this. We all just have to do our part to help, and have faith that something great will come from this.”

One of the amateur players on that squad was Chris Tiu, who remembered Wuhan as a busy industrial city as well as big sports stadiums like the one where they played, the 13,000-seater Wuhan Gymnasium.

“I remember it was an industrial town with a world class gymnasium where we competed. We hardly went out because of our tight schedule. I remember the battles we went through,” said Tiu, who played seven years for Rain or Shine in the PBA before retiring in 2018.

Tiu said that the fight against the deadly COVID-19 is something he didn’t expect, although this is something that the Filipinos, and the rest of the world should face together.

“I thought this would only happen in the movies and never in our lifetime,” Tiu said.

“But after praying a lot, I realized that God probably is calling out to us, reminding us to slow down with our busy lives and to come back to Him. God is reminding us to realty appreciate the simple joys and blessings around us,” added Tiu.

Mark Barroca, another amateur player at that time but now plays for Magnolia, remembers Wuhan as a beautiful city, and his experience there as a member of the national team is unforgettable.

With the health crisis now, he said Filipinos should learn from how they battled during that 10-day tournament.

“Nakakalungkot lang na ganito ang nangyari, kasama ang buong mundo. Lahat naman tayo ay apektado sa nangyayari,” said Barroca. “Ang magagawa natin sa ngayon e magtulung-tulong hanggang sa mawala ito. Ito ang tamang oras para magkaisa tayong lahat.”

With the pandemic now affecting the Philippines as evident with the government’s implementation of an “enhanced community quarantine,” De Ocampo said Filipinos should make the sacrifice in order to stop the spread of the virus.

“Tayong mga Pilipino ay makinig, sumunod makiisa at magtulungan. Huwag na maging mas marunong pa sa gobyerno. Kapag matigas ang ulo ng mga kababayan natin ay babagsak ang mahal nating bayang Pilipinas. Sakripisyo ang kailangan para mabilis tayo makabangon,” said De Ocampo.

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Waylon Galvez

While there’s a feeling of sadness as the Tokyo Olympics has been moved to next year, Rio Games silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz said that it was the right thing to do.

“I’m sad pero ayoko maging selfish,” Diaz said in a message to Manila Bulletin after reports came out on the agreement between Japanese organizers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to stage the Tokyo Olympics next year.

No less than Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and IOC chief Thomas Bach discussed and agreed on the postponement.

Diaz, who is in Kuala Lumpur with her “Team HD” of Chinese coach Kaiwen Gao, strength and conditioning mentor Julius Naranjo and massage therapist Belen Bañas, said that it’s all about the health security of everyone involved in the Olympics that is the primary concern.

“Ang pinag-usapan na kasi dito is safety na naming mga athletes and spectators,” Diaz said. “Kung magkita-kita sa Olympics tapos ma-infect pa, mas lalong magiging malala.

“Puwede naman maghintay and magre-strategize na lang kami ulit.”

The 28-year-old Diaz said that a year of waiting for the Olympics is a bit long but being an athlete who is used to sacrifice, this is just a small price to pay to help in the efforts to stop the spread of the disease.

“Medyo matagal-tagal na paghihintay at sakripisyo pero nandito na ko, malapit na. Kailangan lang ng pasensya,” said Diaz.

“With the virus, I don’t know what to say. Siguro kapag may solution na ang problema at may vaccine na baka maging kampante na ako or tayo. Nag-create siya ng fear at trauma sating lahat. I’m praying na matatapos din ito at marami tayong matutunan sa virus na ito.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

The Adamson softball team has joined the cause of helping people in need during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The Lady Falcons recently spent their time during Enhanced Community Quarantine at their dormitories by packing relief goods from parishioners of San Vincent de Paul Church that will be distributed in various parts of Manila.

The move is the team’s way of supporting the Vincentian priests’ “Charity Over Virus Indifference and Despair” and “Facemasks: Cover Your Face, Not Your Hearts” programs.

Adamson coach Ana Santiago said every small help counts and they are grateful to be part of this endeavor.

The Lady Falcons are gunning for a 10^th straight UAAP softball title last February until tournament was suspended due to the pandemic.

Santiago said some of her athletes were not able to go home to their provinces prior to the quarantine, but made use of their time to lend a helping hand.

 AMI

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Nick Giongco

Nonong Araneta, chief of mission to the Tokyo Olympics that will now have to be played next year, reminded national sports associations to reset their training program.

The decision by the International Olympic Committee and Japanese organizers to push the Olympics “not later than the summer of 2021” didn’t come as a surprise.

“A lot of things were happening and the health of everyone is the primary concern,” said Araneta Wednesday.

As to when exactly in 2021 the Tokyo Olympics will happen is up in the air and Araneta feels a decision might come in about a month as the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In the meantime, Araneta is urging all NSA leaders to adjust their athletes’ preparations.

“For those that have qualified, it’s best for the NSAs to recalibrate their training. We have to get new official date of the Olympics. For those that are trying to qualify, they have to get new schedule of qualifiers from their IF (international federation). Meantime, we pray that they stay healthy and safe,” added Araneta.

The Philippines has so far qualified four to the Tokyo Olympics that was supposed to take place from July 24-Aug. 9.

The first to make the grade was Italy-based pole vaulter EJ Obiena. World champion gymnast Carlos Yulo followed shortly and boxers Eumir Felix Marcial and Irish Magno are the latest additions following their campaign during the Asia-Oceania qualifiers in Amman, Jordan, a little over two weeks ago.

The Jordan slugfest was the last event that was completed among all Olympic-related tournaments.

The European qualifiers in London were already under way when organizers decided to stop it early last week owing to the rise in cases of coronavirus patients in England.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Olympic Committee lauded the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone Tokyo 2020.

“It’s the right decision — for athletes, officials, organizers and spectators.

For our safety,” said POC president and Tagaytay congressman Bambol Tolentino in a statement released on Wednesday.

The delay will allow the four Filipino qualifiers and those aspiring to make it to boost their chances.

“May chance pa rin tayo sa medals (gold/s) for those who qualified because they can train more and chance to qualify more.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena remains optimistic in the wake of every athlete’s situation during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, particularly after organizers announced the 2020 Tokyo Olympics’ postponement late Tuesday.

Obiena, who became the first qualifier to the Games after reaching the standard in a European tournament last September, said the recent developments will not stop him from training.

“I need to continue to grow as an athlete,” said the 24-year-old national record holder.

“I’m waiting for a lot of changing variables, but at the moment, I’m staying here.”

Obiena has been training in Formia, Italy for the past year for his debut appearance at the Games. But that would have to wait as the International Olympic Committee and the Prime Minister of Japan agreed to reschedule the Games in light of the global health crisis.

Obiena has not complaints, believing that “things (COVID-19) are currently bigger than sports.”

With Italy currently on lockdown after registering one of the largest number of infected cases and deaths, Obiena is still grateful of his situation. He can still access the training facilities and can still go out to buy essentials.

The training center has already implemented stricter measures as access were limited to only athletes. Obiena said they are being tested every day like checking their temperatures.

“It’s not too bad. Not really the best, but definitely still better than the others. I have a form from the training center that I can go to the supermarket. I do this maybe every 14 days,” he said.

“Just a state of mind, I think.”

Obiena is just one of the athletes across the globe affected by the pandemic as major international tournaments have been put on hold, cancelled and postponed.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

The Olympic Games has suffered political boycotts (Moscow 1980) and terrorism (Munich 1972), but has only ever been canceled due to outbreaks of war.

With the announcement that the 2020 Games will be postponed over the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, here is a look back at Berlin 1916, Tokyo 1940 and London 1944 — when global conflicts forced the Games to be scrapped.

Berlin 1916

At the IOC meeting in Stockholm in July 4, 1912, the sixth Olympic Games were awarded to Berlin, with the German capital beating out competition from Alexandria, Amsterdam, Brussels, Budapest and the US city of Cleveland.

Germany pulled out all the stops, opening a stadium with a capacity of around 33,000 in western Berlin’s leafy Grunewald district in 1913 to celebrate 25 years of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s reign as head of the German Reich.

The stadium took only 200 days to build, according to the German Olympic Committee (DOSB) and featured a 100-meter-long swimming pool on its northern side.

The sporting program was to feature athletics, wrestling, fencing, shooting, modern pentathlon, cycling, gymnastics, swimming, rowing, hockey and golf.

For the first time, women were invited to participate in swimming, diving, tennis and netball, the DOSB said in its history of the 1916 Games.

A two-day test event was held on June 27 and 28, 1914 in the Berlin stadium. On the second day, Archduke Frank Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, starting a chain of events that would led to the outbreak of World War I.

It is not clear when the Games fell victim to the war but the founder of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin, decreed that the Berlin 1916 Games still be counted as the sixth Olympiad, even though they never took place.

The next Games — the seventh Olympiad — were awarded to Antwerp in recognition of the horrors suffered by Belgium in World War I.

A flag with the famous Olympic rings symbol was raised for the first time and doves were released at the opening ceremony as a sign of peace. Germany was excluded.

Tokyo 1940

In the same way Tokyo 2020 officials have framed the Games as the “Recovery Olympics” after the devastating 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown, Tokyo cast a bid for 1940 as a chance to show it had recovered from a catastrophic earthquake in 1923.

Spearheaded by legendary Japanese figure Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo and the country’s first IOC member, Tokyo was awarded the 1940 Games after ferocious lobbying, including persuading Italian dictator Benito Mussolini to pull out of the race.

The Games were supposed to celebrate the 2,600 years since the enthronement of Japan’s mythical first emperor Jimmu, but they became untenable because of the country’s military aggression in China.

With Japan at war with China from 1937, diplomatic pressure grew for Japan to give up the Games and the military began to question why resources should be diverted from the war effort to fund Olympic construction.

The Japanese Olympic Committee eventually bowed to the inevitable and in 1938 told the IOC it would not be hosting the Games, euphemistically citing the “trouble with China” as the reason.

They also abandoned the winter Games, planned in the northern city of Sapporo.

The IOC awarded the summer Games to Helsinki instead and the winter Games to St. Moritz in Switzerland, but these too fell victim to World War II.

Tokyo eventually became the first Asian city to host the Olympics in 1964.

London 1944

Despite what British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the “gathering storm” over Europe due to Nazi Germany, the IOC met in London in July 1939 to decide which city would host the 1944 Olympics.

They plumped for London, which beat bids by Rome, Detroit, Lausanne and Athens.

But only three months later, Britain had declared war on Germany and the 1944 Games was a non-starter.

The winter Games were due to be held in Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy but these were also scrapped. The city hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics and is due to co-host the 2026 Winter Games with Milan.

Just three years after the war ended, and with the world began gradually getting back onto its feet, London hosted what became known as the “Austerity Games” in 1948. Neither Germany nor Japan were invited to participate.

Source: Manila Bulletin