41% of U.S. adults think the NBA, NHL and other leagues should play a shortened schedule when their seasons resume, according to the latest survey from CivicScience.
By the numbers: 25% of U.S. adults are in favor of canceling the seasons altogether, while 19% would support playing out the full slate of games — something that feels less likely by the day and would be virtually impossible for outdoor sports like baseball.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has reached an agreement with the Madison Square Garden Company to buy The Forum in Inglewood, California, for $400 million in cash.
Why it matters: The purchase removes the biggest hurdle in Ballmer's plan to build a privately financed 18,000-seat arena near The Forum, which will continue to function as a music venue.
Mets flamethrower Noah Syndergaard (aka "Thor") has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow and will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow, effectively shelving him for the next 12–15 months.
Why it matters: Tommy John surgery is hardly a death sentence, but it's no walk in the park, either. Recovery generally lasts more than a year, and the first season back typically comes with pitch- and innings-limits.
Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns revealed in an emotional video late last night that his mother, Jacqueline Cruz, is in a medically induced coma from what his family believes is COVID-19.
The big picture: Towns, who was born and raised in New Jersey, learned last week that both his parents weren't feeling well. After a trip to the hospital, his father was released and told to self-quarantine, but his mother started "deteriorating."
What they're saying: "Cancelled is actually the easier scenario than postponed because it's a definitive yes or no kind of thing," says Jon Swallen, CRO of the media division at Kantar, an advertising analytics company.
The International Olympic Committee announced Tuesday that the Tokyo Summer Olympics were postponed until 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Why it matters: The Olympics entail a massive amount of travel, congregating and physical contact — all things that are being discouraged in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Multiple athletes and teams had already called for the committee to postpone the Games, which were scheduled to begin July 24.
With sports shut down almost universally, the two best baseball leagues outside MLB — Japan's NPB and South Korea's KBO — are still soldiering on, with numerous restrictions and safety measures in place, of course.
The state of play: NPB teams are playing preseason games in empty stadiums, and the league just set April 24 as the target date for its regular season to begin (likely without fans). KBO teams are playing intrasquad scrimmages while the league's preseason is suspended, but like MLB, its regular season start date remains a mystery.
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the sports and entertainment group that owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, has notified full-time employees making $50,000 or more that they will be subject to pay cuts starting as soon as next month due to the coronavirus fallout.
The response: Not great, as you might expect. Ownership considers this a "temporary measure aimed at avoiding layoffs," per NYT's Marc Stein, but fans aren't buying it.
