The sports world has come to an abrupt halt as concern about the coronavirus grows across both the United States and the world at large. Just about everything has been cancelled domestically, including the NBA, NHL, MLS, MLB, several collegiate spring sports, and every major conference’s basketball tournament.
So….what the hell is left?
Here’s the small list, which is subject to change at any moment. (Updated to reflect the XFL’s suspension of operations.)
- The XFL appears to still be all systems go for the weekend, though Sunday’s LA-Seattle game will have no crowd. (UPDATE: Nope, the XFL is suspending operations.)
- The PGA Tour is also going forward without spectators, with the first round of the Players Championship on Thursday starting as scheduled. (UPDATE: And that one is cancelled too)
- NASCAR also announced plans to continue as scheduled, though with no fans in attendance at Atlanta and Homestead. (UPDATE: You can scratch Atlanta off the list)
- IndyCar’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will continue as scheduled without fans in attendance. (UPDATE: Long Beach mayor Robert Garcia has canceled the Grand Prix of Long Beach. Also, St. Petersburg is done)
- WWE has also not canceled any events, but has shifted Friday’s SmackDown to Orlando and the WWE Performance Center, and is “putting contingency plans in place“. The future of WrestleMania, set for next month in the Tampa Bay area, is also up in the air.
- The UFC has also not canceled any events, though its Thursday media day before Saturday’s show in Brasilia was canceled.
- Across the pond, the Premier League season has yet to be suspended, and several Europa League matches are being played, despite the national leagues in both Italy and Spain shutting down. (UPDATE: the Premier League season has been suspended)
- The German Bundesliga has also not shut down, but has gone behind closed doors. (UPDATE: the Bundesliga season has also been suspended)
Earlier on Thursday, the NCAA Tournament and all other winter and spring championships were cancelled.
With their schedule of live sports dramatically cut down, ESPN is also changing their on-air schedule.
ESPN Programming plans:
ESPN: SportsCenter all day and night
ESPNEWS: video simulcasts of radio shows (First Take, Your Take Radio and The Will Cain Show) and taped programming
ESPN2: simulcast a combination of ESPN and ESPNEWS.— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) March 12, 2020
And….that’s about all, folks. The sports that haven’t been completely canceled at this time are the exceptions. It would not surprise me if this list is drastically cut down in the coming hours and weeks, but all we can do is wait and see.
