On typical Fridays of yesteryear, casual sports fans would be dissecting their brackets for water cooler banter after 16 wonderful games of the NCAA tournament. There'd be 16 more games on tap to hit that March Madness overdrive.
Alas, here we are on Day 9 without sports — only to reminisce the bracket-busting upsets of the past. We're officially entering our second sports-deprived weekend and it's about as exciting as a Bill Belichick press conference ? — but hey, Tom Brady to Tampa. To help us survive the weekend, CBS announced its agenda for the airing of *classic* NCAA tournament games on Saturday and Sunday.
The list Saturday includes (all times ET):
- Noon: 1982 National Championship: North Carolina vs. Georgetown
- 2 p.m.: 1983 National Championship: North Carolina State vs. Houston
- 4 p.m.: 1992 East Regional Final: Duke vs. Kentucky
The list Sunday includes:
- Noon: 2008 National Championship: Kansas vs. Memphis
- 2 p.m.: 2019 National Championship: Virginia vs. Texas Tech
- 4 p.m.: 2016 National Championship: Villanova vs. North Carolina
SPORTS SHUTDOWN: Latest news on sports’ coronavirus shutdown delivered to you. Sign up here.
The biggest sports news has been tied to a growing amount of athletes who have tested positive for the coronavirus. The first confirmed case of coronavirus hit the NFL on Thursday when Sean Payton came public saying he tested positive for COVID-19. The NBA has been hit the hardest by the virus, with two unidentified Los Angeles Lakers players testing positive, three Philadelphia 76ers players testing positive, and Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart also testing positive.
The sports video of the day
Last year on the Friday of the NCAA tourney's first round, the UC-Irvine Anteaters (!) gave us this epic upset over Kansas State.
Are you not entertained?
Story time! Here’s our best:
- OLYMPICS: Japanese Committee official calls for postponement of Tokyo Games
- SO MANY TESTS: NBA draws ire as players tested for coronavirus amid national shortage
- COULD THAT BACKFIRE?: NBA teams getting tested could backfire on league
- NFL MOCK DRAFT: Patriots land Tom Brady's replacement
- CRUEL WORLD: Todd Gurley's release a painful reminder of NFL's reality
- TOM BRADY FACTOR: QB's arrival will force Bruce Arians to change Buccaneers
Sports you could be watching
Australia's Aussie Rules season has kicked off in front of 100,000 empty seats on Thursday. Despite major competitions scrapped around the world to counter the threat of coronavirus, the Australian Football League (AFL) opted to press on without crowds after the government banned outdoor public gatherings of more than 500 people. Richmond and Carlton opened the season to thunderous no applause. There were just 27 essential staff in the stands of one of the world's biggest stadiums.
If you can dodge a wrench…
As sports fans are looking for anything to survive the outage, ESPN is coming up clutch by giving sports fans the gift of ESPN8 in replace of ESPN2. "The Ocho" began as a satire from the 2004 movie "Dodgeball" that the network has adopted since 2017 to spice up its summer programming each Aug. 8 (8/8). But without any live sports for the foreseeable future, there is a clear space for pro arm-wrestling, hamburger eating and marble runs.
The games we’re missing
Diving deeper into the sadness that is missing March Madness isn't worth it. Here's USA TODAY Sports' anticipated bracket, though.
NBA
- Golden State Warriors at Detroit Pistons
- Miami Heat at Indiana Pacers
- Washington Wizards at Atlanta Hawks
- Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors
- Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder
- Chicago Bulls at San Antonio Spurs
- Minnesota Timberwolves at Utah Jazz
- Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Clippers
NHL
- Calgary Flames at Anaheim Ducks
- Washington Capitals at Chicago Blackhawks
- Montreal Canadiens at Minnesota Wild
- Vancouver Canucks at New York Rangers
- Edmonton Oilers at Winnipeg Jets
SportsPulse: Sports plays a vital role in our day-to-day lives as a means to escape. Mental health expert Eric Kussin says it's OK to feel depressed over the loss of sports in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and provides steps you can take to address these emotions.
USA TODAY
Source: Read Full Article