Tag: COVID-19

Daily Noontime

Daily Noontime: Monday, January 25, 2021

By NoontimeSports.com

The Daily Noontime is officially back – yay!

Yes, we’re back – we missed you, but we’re excited to kickstart your mornings (and sometimes early afternoons, too) with some news and links from the sports and tech world.

As usual, we hope this post finds everyone doing well, staying safe, and holding the line – we’re almost there, we promise!

Alright, let’s get after it with today’s Daily Noontime – have a great day, everyone!

Enjoy a brand new Noontime Sports Podcast featuring Seth Cantor and Kevin Tuve. Seth and Kevin, who work for the New York Boulders baseball team in the Frontier League, share some early thoughts on how both the team (and players, coaches, and front office staff) are preparing for a return to play later this spring and summer.

Listen to our Monday show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify – you can also find other outlets that carry our show on Anchor.

Monday’s Headlines (Jan. 25 2021)

In case you missed it (ICYMI): Did you miss our Noontime’s Sunday Thoughts column from Sunday, January 24? If so, hop here – you will want to read Matt Noonan‘s thoughts from the weekend!

High School Sports, New England Basketball

Where Things Stand With High School Sports
According to a recent NFHS study, some states are playing basketball while others are expected to start their respective seasons this month. (PHOTO COURTESY: VisualHunt.com)

By Matt Noonan

In normal times, the high school winter sports season, both here in New England and around the country, would be well underway. But these are not normal times.

Due to the coronavirus, some states, including Massachusetts, are playing some sports this winter – of course, they don’t look like they usually do with mask-wearing to social distancing – while others like Alaska, Connecticut, and Virginia have yet to play a single regular season basketball contest as of this morning. Those states are set to begin competition later this month, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), which recently unveiled its ‘Winter Sports Season Guide‘ on Friday, January 15.

The NFHS guide provides high school sports fans with a closer look – well, more a breakdown, to be exact – of who is playing and who is not to what states, including California, Hawaii, and Nevada that have yet to play a single sport this school year (2020-21).

When it comes to wearing masks during competition, 11 states, including Arizona, Kansas, and Kentucky, have mandated that everyone wears them except when competing while 19 states, including Massachusetts and New Hampshire, require all participants to cover their face, both on the bench and on the ice or hardwood.

While basketball was certainly the focus of this particular update, there were some interesting notes worth sharing (below) on the state of high school hockey:

  • Nine states are currently playing hockey – in fact, Ohio and Wisconsin started their respective seasons last November.
  • Six states have not dropped the puck this winter, including Connecticut, Michigan, and New York. Here in New England, Rhode Island has yet to announce when its schools will be able to play games, but practices are permitted. Vermont is currently not allowing its various programs to compete or practice.
  • Five states will conclude their respective seasons without a state championship while five others have yet to announce plans for postseason competition. Five states, including Alaska, Michigan, and North Dakota, have announced dates for their respective state finals.

While it is nice to see some states (and areas of the country) playing basketball and hockey, we certainly know these games should look a bit different – shall we say normal? – hopefully next fall and winter. But for now, make sure to wear your mask, social distance, and wash those hands.

College Sports News

Ivy League Cancels Winter Sports
The Ivy League has canceled its 2020-21 winter sports season. (PHOTO COURTESY: IvyLeague.com)

By NoontimeSports.com

There will be no Ivy League athletic events taking place this winter.

The Ancient Eight called off winter sports this evening due to an uptick in cases of COVID-19, both locally and around the country, while announcing fall sports, including football, would not occur during the spring semester. As for spring sports, they have been paused until “at least the end of February 2021,” per this evening’s release, which can be found on the Ivy League’s website.

Similar to the Ivy League’s announcement about fall sports in July, health and safety for both the student-athletes and coaches, along with each campus and community was a major reason why the Council of Presidents unanimously decided to cancel winter sports. However, the league did confirm that student-athletes that will not be competing this winter, as well as those that did not play games this fall, will not lose a season of Ivy League or NCAA eligibility, whether they are currently or not enrolled.

Despite competition for the winter season being canceled, the Ivy League will permit each institution to offer training opportunities and practices for its student-athletes that are enrolled on campus, but each program must adhere to the guidance issued by their respective institution as well as state and local regulations.

Adult, Amateur & Youth Sports, Health & Fitness

The B.A.A. Postpones The 2021 Boston Marathon
Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) logo.

By Matt Noonan

The 2021 Boston Marathon has been postponed. But according to Katie McInerney and Nathaniel Weitzer of the Boston Globe, the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) is hoping to run its 26.2 mile race possibly next fall.

The B.A.A. announced earlier today that the 125th running of the Boston Marathon would not occur next April after canceling this year’s race for the first time 124 years in May.

According to today’s announcement from the B.A.A., the organization has been meeting regularly with the COVID-19 Medical and Event Operations Advisory Group with hopes of learning when the 125th running of Boston Marathon will be allowed to occur. Road races, including the Marathon, is not allowed to occur until the fourth phase of the state’s reopening.

“By shifting our focus to a fall date, we can continue to work with stakeholders to adjust the in-person experience for runners and supporters alike,” Tom Grilk, who is the C.E.O. of the B.A.A., said in a statement. “Prioritizing the safety of participants, volunteers, spectators, and community members, we continue to assess all elements of the race including a potential reduced field size or weekend date.”

The B.A.A. hope to provide a new date for next year’s race at the end of the year, along with additional information on other events, including their 5K and 10K races, too.

Daily Noontime

Daily Noontime (Tuesday, October 13, 2020)

By NoontimeSports.com

Welcome to a very rainy Tuesday, everyone! 

It’s going to be a VERY rainy day here in Massachusetts so it is probably best for everyone to stay inside and watch Netflix, right? 

Let’s kick-start your day with a brand new ‘Daily Noontime,’ beginning with some news about Cam Newton and our hometown New England Patriots. 

As of now, it seems possible that Patriots fans could see Cam Newton on the field next Sunday when the Patriots host the Denver Broncos, but as the team’s head coach Bill Belichick noted during his weekly radio appearance with WEEI‘s “Ordway, Merloni & Fauria,“ the veteran signal-caller “would have to go through medical clearance” before being allowed to rejoin his teammates on the practice field.   

Newton is one of four Patriots to have tested positive for the coronavirus, but according to a few reports this morning, including PatriotsWire, it seems likely that the 2015 National Football League (NFL) quarterback will be back in the huddle at some point this week, which should be considered good news for the Patriots. Additionally, fans should expect Stephon Gilmore back on the field, too – we certainly need his help on defense! 

Sticking with the football theme, the NFL will be testing players and coaches on game days, along with “some other employees of each team,” as noted in Kevin Seifert‘s piece on ESPN.com, which was posted late last night. Seifert also noted a few more tweaks to the league’s update Covid-19 protocols, which include everyone wearing masks during walk-through practices to coaches having to wear either masks or double-layered gaiters during games. 

Let’s switch gears to the Boston Red Sox, who will have the fourth pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft. The last time the Red Sox picked fourth in a draft was in 1967. 

Boston concluded its 60-game season with a 24-36 mark, which was good for a fifth-place finish in the American League East. The Baltimore Orioles, who have previously occupied the last spot in the division in previous seasons, finished fourth this year with an overall record of 25-35. 

Did you know that two of six teams in the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) were independently owned? And did you know one of those two independently owned teams happens to play in hour home state? 

Yep, the Boston Pride, which recorded the best record last year and also secured a spot in the Isobel Cup, is one of the two teams that independently owned – it appears their setup will be the model for the league’s six teams going forward, according to a recent report (and yes, story, too!) from the New York Times. 

And finally, make sure to read the latest Boston Cannons legend spotlight on Sean Morris, who played locally at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) before becoming a star of the local Major League Lacrosse (MLL) franchise. It’s a great read!