Gary Bettman did a media appearance on Friday, and as expected, he has no real answers to all the questions we can think up about this NHL season and what happens next.
Chris Johnston tweeted the highlights:
Gary Bettman tells @Sportsnet‘s Hockey Central that the NHL is doing “all sorts of modelling” about what the rest of the season might look like depending on when they’re able to resume. Mentions a range of possibilities under consideration.
I think it’s useful to look at the NBA’s letter to fans from Adam Silver now too:
Text of the first paragraph:
As you know, we have temporarily suspended our season in response to the coronavirus pandemic. We made this decision to safeguard the health and well-being of fans, players, everyone connected to our game and the general public. This hiatus will last at least 30 days and we intend to resume the season, if and when it becomes safe for all concerned.
At about the same time Bettman was on Sportsnet, Bob McKenzie was on Leafs Lunch, and he’s always worth listening to:
What McKenzie emphasizes and what Silver came out and said is that this is not a situation that will return to normal in two weeks. The one month from the NBA is likely wildly optimistic. But a season, in some form, can be fit into the summer months if that becomes possible. The Cup can be hoisted this year.
There are two times in the 20th and 21st century, the modern era of the Stanley Cup’s history, where it was not awarded. In 1919, because of the influenza pandemic that affected hundreds of millions of people worldwide, the playoffs were cancelled when too many players fell ill. The second time there was no cup was in the 2004-2005 lockout season. It’s too soon to say if this is the third time or not.
In the interim, players are not sure what they should be doing:
As the NHL/NHLPA work through the guidelines for this period where the league is paused, the focus is on a multi-stepped approach: What needs to happen for players to go from now (self quarantine) to informal workouts/skates to organized team activity before play can resume.
Following “self quarantine” period, the NHL is hopeful to be in a position to transition – first to re-open team facilities for players to work on conditioning, then a “training camp period” where practices are scheduled and game preparation can resume.
It is a foregone conclusion that all remaining international hockey events run by the IIHF will be cancelled, including the Men’s World Championships scheduled for May. We will get the formal announcement on that next week likely. That leaves the KHL and related leagues as still operating semi-normally in their playoffs.
Now there will be nothing to do but wait.
The NHL Scouting Combine is scheduled to be held in Buffalo at the end of May/early June. It usually falls right after the Memorial Cup, but the CHL is in suspended animation like the NHL. If leagues resume play, then a whole new schedule has to be invented. It’s impossible to guess right now when the NHL draft might be held, and what pre-draft scouting opportunities anyone will have.
If leagues do resume, they will all be inventing new regular season and/or playoff formats to fit into the time allotted, and the NHL might need to extend the season end date from June 30 to some time in the future to keep players under contract. The cap situation for this year will be thornier than next, in terms of real revenues likely falling short.
Of course, NHL players will almost certainly face significant escrow withholdings above the current rate of 14% once the business gets up and running again.
But that’s yet another problem to be solved when and if the season resumes.
Even if Adam Silver’s optimistic sounding timeline comes to pass, there won’t be hockey in March, and there won’t be hockey for most of April. Maybe May? Maybe that should be our motto for now. Maybe May.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
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