B1G is likely Back

[BlueDogs]

Big Ten members are confident the presidents and chancellors will approve a plan to play football in 2020

A plan to for Big Ten play is expected to feature an Oct. 17 starting date. That would allow the league to compete for the College Football Playoff.

www.google.com

 

[buddy]

It must be pretty difficult for them not to play when they see other conferences playing, so I suspect that they will vote okay and follow a procedure like the the Big 12 put in place. Too much pressure now for them not to play.

 

[UCTitleTown]

The NCAA is so dysfunctional. What a cluster.

 

[Palatine]

The NCAA is so dysfunctional. What a cluster.

The B10 looks worse than the NCAA.

 

[phillionaire]

It’s such a bad look for the Big 10 to come back and guarantee all these tests on football players, while the grad student union and RAs are all on strike at Michigan because of a lack of testing of students and faculty on campus

 

[spsct]

Horrible decision if they change. Not even considering the Covid argument because I think anyone playing at this point is an idiot, I think changing course sets a bad precedent.

I hate the precedent that is getting set in the sports world where if your conference / league / governing body makes a decision you don't like you threaten or take legal action. Man City and FFP, this case, teams or players getting penalties reduced on appeal.. It's everywhere.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

B1G is such a phony organization.

 

[gioff2323]

Why the hate? We’ve all seen the stats - none of the kids are getting sick. Yes there are tens of thousands positive results around college campuses but none have risen to level of hospitalization, death, etc.

If they feel as if they can do this in a relatively safe manner, good for them. If any players/staff get sick (not just test positive), they’ll shut it down.

 

[Palatine]

Horrible decision if they change. Not even considering the Covid argument because I think anyone playing at this point is an idiot, I think changing course sets a bad precedent.

I hate the precedent that is getting set in the sports world where if your conference / league / governing body makes a decision you don't like you threaten or take legal action. Man City and FFP, this case, teams or players getting penalties reduced on appeal.. It's everywhere.

You think their big donors want to watch other confreences play while their teams sit home? Eveyone is playing, SEC, ACC, AAC, B12, Not to mention -NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, PGA, all the European soceer leagues, the Diamond League.

Have any of these teams had a single hospitalization?

 

[HuskyV]

Never too late to do the right thing.

I doubt we will get a clear explanation of the original determination & what has changed in the past 30 days.

Without clear explanation it will appear to be entirely political &/or greedy?

 

[phillionaire]

Michigan State is having ALL of their students quarantine because they’re having a major outbreak on campus right now. I don’t see why these university presidents are focused on football right now.

 

[cohenzone]

Michigan State is having ALL of their students quarantine because they’re having a major outbreak on campus right now. I don’t see why these university presidents are focused on football right now.

Cuz they like having to cancel games on one day notice. I guess the MSU jocks aren't part of the quarantine. How about the players they go against from other conference schools? This virus is really playing mind games with sports fans. And people wonder why we are having trouble controlling the spread.

 

[phillionaire]

Cuz they like having to cancel games on one day notice. I guess the MSU jocks aren't part of the quarantine. How about the players they go against from other conference schools? This virus is really playing mind games with sports fans. And people wonder why we are having trouble controlling the spread.

Don’t get me wrong, it felt weird this last weekend with no Michigan football to watch because it was supposed to be the home opener but U of M is doing such a piss poor job with their Covid response that the faculty are about to give a vote of no confidence of the president. It’s such a bad look to tell the students/their instructors that they have to quarantine in housing with roaches (not made up, this is actually happening) if they test positive, but then turn around and test athletes multiple times a week.

 

[cohenzone]

Don’t get me wrong, it felt weird this last weekend with no Michigan football to watch because it was supposed to be the home opener but U of M is doing such a piss poor job with their Covid response that the faculty are about to give a vote of no confidence of the president. It’s such a bad look to tell the students/their instructors that they have to quarantine in housing with roaches (not made up, this is actually happening) if they test positive, but then turn around and test athletes multiple times a week.

My son is a UM grad. I think it’s harder for him that his kids can’t play organized sports that he coaches although his town is moving toward allowing youth soccer. As I wrote elsewhere, at UConn the marching band was cancelled before football and nobody is whining about it. Their marching band membership is more than their football, both hoops teams, both hockey teams, both soccer teams and their excellent field hockey team plus coaching staffs combined. Nobody notices but it’s sucks for those kids and their families too. Life gets in the way sometimes.

 

[Palatine]

Michigan State is having ALL of their students quarantine because they’re having a major outbreak on campus right now. I don’t see why these university presidents are focused on football right now.

They are not focusing on football. It's one of many things. This is what they are seeing. No one is getting sick. Huge outbreaks of cases with no sickness or hospitalizations aren't huge crisis.

 

[freescooter]

They are not focusing on football. It's one of many things. This is what they are seeing. No one is getting sick. Huge outbreaks of cases with no sickness or hospitalizations aren't huge crisis.

You still don’t get it do you? Or at least you pretend not to. This puts faculty , staff, janitors, cafeteria workers parents, friends, just regular folks all at risk. This is NOT just the flu. NOT a minor inconvienience. It has already killed more Americans than died in World War I, Korea and Vietnam Nam combined. In 6 months. We could build a memorial and it would be 3 times as big as the Virt Nam memorial to fit all the names. Gawd some people are thick.

 

[spsct]

You think their big donors want to watch other confreences play while their teams sit home? Eveyone is playing, SEC, ACC, AAC, B12, Not to mention -NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, PGA, all the European soceer leagues, the Diamond League.

Have any of these teams had a single hospitalization?

Of course not. My point wasn't so much Covid related as the increasing instances of sports getting government and courts involved when they don't like decisions made by their governing bodies. That's what I'm annoyed by more than the pandemic related issues. There are enough opinions flying around about that. I shouldn't have mentioned Covid at all.

 

[kingdobbs]

The NCAA is so dysfunctional. What a cluster.

The NCAA has only marginal control over FBS football in the first place, a state of affairs created by our own Supreme Court in the 1980s.

Expecting them to have done more is misunderstanding how much actual power they have, and possibly misunderstanding even how much nominal power they have.

 

[FroginCT]

You still don’t get it do you? Or at least you pretend not to. This puts faculty , staff, janitors, cafeteria workers parents, friends, just regular folks all at risk. This is NOT just the flu. NOT a minor inconvienience. It has already killed more Americans than died in World War I, Korea and Vietnam Nam combined. In 6 months. We could build a memorial and it would be 3 times as big as the Virt Nam memorial to fit all the names. Gawd some people are thick.

Many of the B1G schools are putting the players in a bubble. Isolating them in one building. Not perfect and boys will be boys. But if it's agreed that the players themselves have a statistically insignificant risk, then isolating them addresses your concern.

 

[Palatine]

You still don’t get it do you? Or at least you pretend not to. This puts faculty , staff, janitors, cafeteria workers parents, friends, just regular folks all at risk. This is NOT just the flu. NOT a minor inconvienience. It has already killed more Americans than died in World War I, Korea and Vietnam Nam combined. In 6 months. We could build a memorial and it would be 3 times as big as the Virt Nam memorial to fit all the names. Gawd some people are thick.

Hysteria is not the answer. Yes, the pandemic is terrible and deadly. But there is another way to look at the numbers. In 2019 about 8,000 people died every day (56,000 a week) in the USA. At it's highest, Covid took 2,500 a day for a handful of days. Currently in the USA, it is averaging about 800 a day. This week we had less than 56,000 deaths total, all deaths. It was a week where Covid produced zero excess death compared to normal.

The world is not and will never be a safe environment. It's a question of managing risk. The numbers would dictate that, with certain restrictions, we can move toward a more normal society.

I would assume that university facility and staff are taking appropriate precautions. Janitors don't need to interact with students. Cafeteria workers can be protected with glass or plastic. Most importantly, people with pre-existing conditions should not be brought into the environment. The death rate for Covid only infected (no pre-existing condition) is 6% of total fatalities. Even less, of course, for college aged people.

Finally, looking around the world, athletics seem to be doing fine in the Covid world. There have been only a few problems resuming everything from golf to tennis, basketball, baseball, football, hockey, soccer, track and field, auto racing, mixed martial arts, rugby, the Tour de France, and more. There haven't been deaths associated with any of them. And many have fans in the stands in a limited capacity.

So, actually, yeah, I think I get it.

 

[dogged1]

Hey, once all the old folks, diabetics, cancer patients and Aids people die off we're in the clear, nothing to worry.
Unless, someone you care about is in one of those groups.

 

[Drumguy]

Why the hate? We’ve all seen the stats - none of the kids are getting sick. Yes there are tens of thousands positive results around college campuses but none have risen to level of hospitalization, death, etc.

If they feel as if they can do this in a relatively safe manner, good for them. If any players/staff get sick (not just test positive), they’ll shut it down.

What evidence is there that no one is getting sick? Around 200,000 in the US have DIED from covid and many of them are young people. Also many have long term issues with lungs and brain damage. This is sacrificing the many (player/students) for a few kids that will make money off the sport and the Schools getting their dollars. This is not about the students. Very irresponsible.

 

[cttxus]

Yes, this post is relevant to the thread, at least I think it is. And, I'm pretty sure some on this board, probably the ones with medical backgrounds, will find things wrong with the following, but here goes.

Draw your own inferences re: the COVID risk to players, but following are some relevant facts from the CDC as of 9/12/20 as found on their website today . . . assuming you can trust the CDC's numbers.

-182,095 total COVID-19 related deaths in the US in 2020 (this includes comorbidities such as obesity, pneumonia, influenza, cardiovascular disease, hypertension)
*equals 2.97% deaths out of 6.14M confirmed positive cases

-207 total COVID-19 related deaths for 15-24 yr old males (the only relevant CDC reporting segment)
*equals 0.21% of 98,383 total US male deaths
*equals 0.11% of 182,095 total US deaths

And just to add some interesting context:
-15,398 deaths from all causes for 15-24 yr old males YTD 2020
*15-24 yr old males are, therefore, 73 times more likely to die from something other than COVID-19

You could argue that wearing masks, social distancing, etc, have helped keep the COVID related numbers lower than they would be for the active players, but there's a fair amount of conflicting evidence on the effectiveness of those as well.

On a lighter note, playing the games would be one small way to increase herd immunity. Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[HeGotGame]

What evidence is there that no one is getting sick? Around 200,000 in the US have DIED from covid and many of them are young people. Also many have long term issues with lungs and brain damage. This is sacrificing the many (player/students) for a few kids that will make money off the sport and the Schools getting their dollars. This is not about the students. Very irresponsible.

This post is irresponsible.

 

[Palatine]

As of September 16th, there are 42,970,800 Americans between 15 and 25.

333 have died of Covid. To put it another way, 0.00077% of that demographic have died of Covid. And college kids 18-22 are only half of that demo. Know your risk. Take the advised precautions. Nothing is certain. But I think these colleges and universities have looked at the numbers and made a reasoned choice.

That information is available here. COVID-19 Provisional Counts - Weekly Updates by Select Demographic and Geographic Characteristics