Tag: outbreak

Seahawks looking to take advantage of delayed game against Rams

Coach Pete Carroll and the rest of the Seattle Seahawks are looking to take advantage of the extra time to prepare to face the Rams in LA.

The Seattle Seahawks were all set to face the Rams in Los Angeles this Sunday until a major spike in COVID-19 cases forced the league to push the game back until Tuesday evening.

While the Seahawks have just two players on the reserve/COVID 19 list – running back Alex Collins and wide receiver Tyler Lockett – the Rams had at least 25 at last count.

Coach Pete Carroll is just trying to make the best out of a challenging situation.

“We’re going to shift gears a little bit and take advantage of the time,” he told reporters on Friday. “Try to max it out and be as ready as possible. We’ve had really good work the three solid days we just put in. We’re in good shape. We are adjusting the schedule some. Of course, we’ll be traveling on Monday and playing on Tuesday, it will be the same formula for us.

“We’re going to make the most of these next couple of days.”

Unfortunately for Seattle, playing on a Tuesday next week will make for a quick turnaround for the team, who remains scheduled to host the Bears on Sunday, Dec. 26.

“Attitude is everything throughout all of these challenges, so I projected how we should look at it,” Carroll explained. “We should take full advantage of it. We’re going to get more rest. We’re going to get more study time. We’re going to be better prepared because of it, and we’re going to utilize that time to kind of welcome the change. That’s what it is. Let’s make the most of it, and then we’ll deal with next week, next week.”

So for now, Carroll and the Seahawks will just have to roll with the punches and hope no one else gets sick in the meantime.

Kickoff in Los Angeles is set for 4:00 p.m. PT on Tuesday and will be televised on FOX.

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The impact of COVID-19 on college football was foreseeable

Hubris got the best of Florida and the SEC three weeks into its schedule, with cancelations of two games due to positive coronavirus tests.

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The worst fears of every program around the country this season were realized at the University of Florida this week.

After 21 football players tested positive for COVID-19, the school paused all football operations and postponed the team’s game against LSU, previously scheduled to take place this Saturday.

Now, Florida’s game against Missouri next weekend is in serious doubt, as well. And we’re left wondering, who could possibly have seen this coming?

I don’t mean to be smug. It isn’t productive to pull an “I-told-you-so” in the middle of a global pandemic that has cost over 200,000 lives in the United States alone.

But when the strategy from the get-go was to have players, many of whom are living on campus and frequently interacting with other students, travel weekly across state lines to play a contact sport against nearly 100 other players who have been doing the exact same thing, it’s not hard to imagine where that will lead.

In my column on June 12 about the NCAA’s return-to-play plan, I posed a hypothetical scenario.

What if there are mid-season outbreaks?

Allow me to paint a hypothetical picture for you. It’s Oct. 24, 2020. The Florida Gators are enjoying their bye week before a matchup against Georgia to decide the SEC East when disaster strikes. A significant portion of players on the team — say, more than a third — come in contact with an infected person(s) and are now testing positive.

What does Florida do in that situation? Surely, its players (even ones who are testing negative) can no longer travel, right? Certainly, they can no longer play a contact sport against those who haven’t been exposed while tangentially exposing hundreds, or even thousands, of other people in the process, no?

Now, this hypothetical is reality (albeit, about a week off). And Florida’s not the only one.

Vanderbilt canceled its game this weekend against Missouri, as well, citing an increase in positive cases on the team.

In his announcement of the postponement of the LSU game, UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said that the league set up its schedule with these situations in mind.

Every school has an open date on Dec. 12, the weekend before the SEC Championship Game, that can be used for rescheduling games due to COVID-19. The LSU game has been tentatively scheduled for this date.

But if the Gators also had to make up their game against Missouri, that process would be much murkier. Assuming there is no change to the date of the SEC Championship, that game could potentially be rescheduled to the middle of the week, depending on its significance in the SEC East division race.

Florida isn’t exactly dead in the water. Perhaps it’s able to resume play in a decently timely manner. But it’s entirely possible at this point that its season could be in jeopardy.

For a while, it seemed the team was doing relatively well at managing the spread of the virus. But as so many of us predicted, a single road trip was enough to change that. Now, it’s all up in the air.

And this was the risk that college football administrators knew they’d be taking by playing football this fall. If they took these events into account in their risk/reward calculus, then so be it.

But don’t let any of them tell you they didn’t know this would happen.

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Gators News: October 15, 2020

The Gators football team has a coronavirus outbreak plus Nick Saban and his athletic director test positive as COVID-19 haunts the SEC.

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The week already began on a low note as the Gator Nation crawled out of the weekend bruised and battered after a disappointing loss to the Texas A&M Aggies, but things have just gotten progressively worse as the week wears on. Due to an outbreak of the novel coronavirus on the University of Florida’s football team, this weekend’s game with the LSU Tigers has been postponed until Dec. 12.

Our top story is tangential to the bad news, as head coach Dan Mullen refuses to admit he was wrong about his comments about “pack(ing) The Swamp” against LSU. What Mullen either doesn’t understand or can’t bring himself to admit publicly is that the problem isn’t who he offended, since that would actually be nobody.

Also in the Southeastern Conference, Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban and athletic director Greg Byrne both tested positive for COVID-19. Saban, 68, is not experiencing any symptoms of the coronavirus, he said in a statement.

Finally, Nick Saban, the Florida Gators and the rest of the SEC have one opponent they cannot beat: COVID-19. The travesty of the 2020 college football season is now on full display.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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No. 9 Florida halts team activities ahead of LSU game after reported COVID-19 cases

A coronavirus outbreak was reported on Florida’s football team Tuesday which could have significant implications on the game this Saturday.

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Editor’s note: This article was originally published by the Gainesville Sun and has been republished in its entirety below. 

Florida’s scheduled football game against LSU Saturday in Gainesville appears in serious jeopardy after the Gators halted all team activities Tuesday afternoon due to an uptick in positive tests for COVID-19.

Over the past week, the Gators have had five tests come back positive, raising the total to six for October, according to figures released by the school Tuesday.

 A few hours after the school posted those numbers, all football activities were shut down.

The Alligator, Florida’s student newspaper, later reported that 19 players tested positive. Florida reported its findings earlier Tuesday, but those results stemmed from last week’s tests. The Gators test student-athletes three times a week, with football players getting tested Sunday at noon as well as Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

The team got Sunday’s test results back before practice Monday, so it’s possible that Tuesday’s uptick is related to symptomatic issues and contact tracing.

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“The University of Florida football team has experienced an increase in positive COVID tests among players this week. Out of an abundance of caution, team activities are paused as of Tuesday afternoon,” UF athletic director Scott Stricklin wrote in a news release.

“Head coach Dan Mullen has been in communication with football players and their parents, and I have had conversations with the Southeastern Conference office, last week’s opponent Texas A&M, and this week’s opponent LSU.

“These circumstances will be re-evaluated by UF Health and the athletic department’s sports medicine staff Wednesday.”

Texas A&M Director of Athletics Ross Bjork said the Aggies have not been impacted as of Tuesday.

“We have been in touch with officials at the University of Florida and have also reviewed the available data from Kinexon contact tracing system deployed by the SEC. At this point, there has been no impact within our football program, but we will continue our regular testing regiment this week and stay diligent with all of our safety protocols.”

The Gators are scheduled to play LSU at 4 p.m. Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Stricklin later said he wanted to calm the situation by stopping football activities.

Since the players returned to campus on May 26, there have been 37 positive tests on the football team. Overall, student-athletes at UF have had 118 positives on campus since May 26.

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UF does not reveal which players have tested positive, citing federal patient and student privacy laws. On each game day, the school does release a list of players who are not available for that day’s game for unspecified reasons.

The school listed 15 players who were unavailable for the Texas A&M game last Saturday, including defensive end Khris Bogle, starting defensive tackle Kyree Campbell and No. 2 quarterback Emory Jones.

No other UF athletes had positive COVID-19 test results out of an additional 437 tests, according to the school.

The virus has prompted schools and conferences to postpone more than two dozen college football games and forced many teams to compete without key players.

Vanderbilt’s football game at Missouri on Saturday has been postponed because COVID-19 issues have left the Commodores without enough available players. The Southeastern Conference announced Monday the game has been tentatively rescheduled for Dec. 12. It is the first SEC game rescheduled due to COVID-19-related problems and the 28th FBS game overall to be postponed or canceled since Aug. 26.

Vanderbilt (0-3) played with only 56 scholarship players last week in a loss to South Carolina. The Commodores had six players opt out of the season, including four offensive linemen.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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BREAKING: Florida Gators football put on hold due to COVID-19 outbreak

Florida is facing a moratorium on football activities after a slew of positive COVID-19 tests, according to sources close to the team.

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There appears to be a coronavirus outbreak on the University of Florida’s football team, according to several sources on Tuesday afternoon. UF’s athletic director Scott Stricklin issued a press release earlier in the afternoon after reports began leaking of positive test results for the school’s players.

Initially, the Florida Gators’ official Twitter account posted a statement regarding team activities with Stricklin’s statement.

Out of an abundance of caution, @GatorsFB team activities are paused as of Tuesday afternoon.

Stricklin’s full statement is published below.

The University of Florida football team has experienced an increase in positive COVID tests among players this week. Out of an abundance of caution, team activities are paused as of Tuesday afternoon.

Head coach Dan Mullen has been in communication with football players and their parents, and I have had conversations with the Southeastern Conference office, last week’s opponent Texas A&M, and this week’s opponent LSU.

These circumstances will be re-evaluated by UF Health and the athletic department’s sports medicine staff Wednesday.

This official statement was followed up by Payton Titus, The Independent Florida Alligator’s online editor, who reported the number of positive tests confirmed.

According to sources close to the team, 19 football players have tested positive for COVID-19.

At this point, it is unclear what the ramifications of these results will be for this weekend’s game against the LSU Tigers, but things are looking grimmer and grimmer by the hour.

UPDATE:

I have received conflicting reports from sources close to the athletic department that that number is too high

We will continue to keep you updated as events warrant.

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BREAKING: Florida Gators football put on hold due to COVID-19 outbreak

Florida is facing a moratorium on football activities after a slew of positive COVID-19 tests, according to sources close to the team.

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There appears to be a coronavirus outbreak on the University of Florida’s football team, according to several sources on Tuesday afternoon. UF’s athletic director Scott Stricklin issued a press release earlier in the afternoon after reports began leaking of positive test results for the school’s players.

Initially, the Florida Gators’ official Twitter account posted a statement regarding team activities with Stricklin’s statement.

Out of an abundance of caution, @GatorsFB team activities are paused as of Tuesday afternoon.

Stricklin’s full statement is published below.

The University of Florida football team has experienced an increase in positive COVID tests among players this week. Out of an abundance of caution, team activities are paused as of Tuesday afternoon.

Head coach Dan Mullen has been in communication with football players and their parents, and I have had conversations with the Southeastern Conference office, last week’s opponent Texas A&M, and this week’s opponent LSU.

These circumstances will be re-evaluated by UF Health and the athletic department’s sports medicine staff Wednesday.

This official statement was followed up by Payton Titus, The Independent Florida Alligator’s online editor, who reported the number of positive tests confirmed.

According to sources close to the team, 19 football players have tested positive for COVID-19.

At this point, it is unclear what the ramifications of these results will be for this weekend’s game against the LSU Tigers, but things are looking grimmer and grimmer by the hour.

UPDATE:

I have received conflicting reports from sources close to the athletic department that that number is too high

We will continue to keep you updated as events warrant.

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Gators News: July 27, 2020

Welcome to another week at Gators Wire and this one has already gotten off to a wild start with the latest news from MLB’s summer season. 

Welcome to another week at Gators Wire and this one has already gotten off to a wild start with the latest news from Major League Baseball’s coronavirus-shortened season.

COVID-19 has made its first major impact on the restarted MLB schedule, with 14 members of the Miami Marlins testing positive for the virus after a weekend series with the Philadelphia Phillies, resulting in the postponement of two games tonight and possibly more moving forward.

Nonetheless, MLB appears to be hell-bent on pushing forward with its pandemic-truncated season despite what appears to be a significant chink in its coronavirus armor despite expert opinion to the contrary.

Enjoy the boys of summer while you can folks because this blimp is going down in flames. Hopefully, they put a stop to this madness before anyone gets seriously ill… or worse.

Here is the news from around the Gator Nation from his past weekend.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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72 NFL players have tested positive for COVID-19 as of last Friday

According to the NFL Players’ Association’s website, 72 NFL players have tested positive for COVID-19 as of last Friday.

The NFLPA’s number one priority for starting the 2020 NFL season is the health of the players it represents. The players union has been keeping a detailed website, tracking all relative coronavirus information, which is also available to the general public.

As of last Friday, 72 players around the league have tested positive for COVID-19, which is roughly 2.5% of the workforce.

The NFLPA website shows the areas where clubs are located across the country relative to the level of the outbreak in that region. The Dolphins, Cardinals, and Jaguars are dead center in three of the hot spots as of now.

With some rookies and select players set to report to training camps as soon as this Saturday, the NFLPA and the NFL are quickly running out of time to finalize all the protocols to ensure a safe reopening for the start of the season.

You can check the NFLPA’s coronavirus updates here.

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Expect the SEC and other collegiate conferences to follow the Big 10’s lead

Any reasonable person has known for some time that if college football happens this fall it will look drastically different than ever before

Any reasonable person has known for some time now that should a college football season occur this fall, it will look drastically different than any other season we’ve ever seen. The only question was, how so?

The first domino in answering that question fell Thursday afternoon, as the Big 10 announced that it would be scrapping all scheduled nonconference games and moving to a conference-only football schedule.

Not only does this alter the schedules of Big 10 teams, but also every team that was scheduled to play a Big 10 team in non-conference play. As a result, it’s just a matter of time until the rest of the FBS makes the same call.

The PAC 12 has been reportedly considering doing the same for months now, and according to Stadium’s Brett McMurphy, the ACC is likely to move to a conference-only schedule, as well.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said that the league will wait as long as possible to make final decisions but that it will also discuss the possibility of eliminating nonconference games.

These are important first steps from the Power Five, which until now hasn’t taken nearly as proactive a course as, for instance, the NBA has. But this also feels like an abrupt turn in strategy.

Just weeks ago, Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith suggested that they could put 40-50,000 fans in the stadium. On Thursday, his tone changed drastically.

“I am very concerned,” Smith said, when asked about playing fall sports in general. “I used to be cautiously optimistic, but I’m not even there now. When you look at our trajectory with the virus, we are either the worst country or one of the worst. We wanted September available to use to provide flexibility and control to handle disruptions.”

The Big 10’s announcement was less of a proactive step than it was a scramble. College football waited too long to take concrete steps to ensure the season could be conducted safely, and now the entire season is jeopardized.

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Most, if not all, Power Five leagues will do the same thing the Big 10 did. Most Group of Five leagues will, as well. But it’s not going to save the season.

Moving to a conference-only schedule is the last gasp from college sports administrators realizing the error of their ways. Because, though clearly a step in the right direction, nixing nonconference games isn’t the answer.

Sure, it keeps programs’ travel generally region-locked, but at this point, with over 3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States, spreading the disease to new places isn’t really the concern. The concern is keeping the thousands of players, coaches and personnel safe while somehow limiting collateral in the travel process. A conference-only schedule doesn’t begin to solve all of these problems.

There’s only one answer: delaying the season.

Right now, college football is setting itself up for a disaster. Administrators are either too stubborn or too invested to see the writing on the wall, and they’re going to create a massive headache for themselves.

Barring something unforeseen changing in the next month and a half, outbreaks will be an inevitability this fall. When that happens, the season will be stopped and either canceled or postponed.

Assuming this is the case, college football has two options: Delay the start of the season with the hope that a more normal season is possible later on, or devise a complicated plan for a fall start that will more likely than not fail, resulting in a delayed season anyway but with the added hurdle of dealing with a restart instead of just a delayed start.

The former option is, in my opinion, clearly superior. But it seems that those in power are more interested in the latter. When that comes to pass, the months wasted arguing about precisely how many fans can safely be shoved into metal bleachers will be all the more damning.

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Pete Carroll tweets out message of support amid coronavirus outbreak

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll tweeted out a message of support for residents of the Emerald City amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted sports leagues around the world, but Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll took to Twitter and urged everyone to hold steadfast in these trying times with a simple tweet.

In addition, the Seahawks organization released a statement calling for collective action by Pacific Northwest residents and staying strong in the face of the coronavirus outbreak.

“This is an uncertain and sometimes unnerving time for our city, our region and our world. As a community of Pacific Northwesters and 12s everywhere, it’s time to rally together and help. Together, we’re at our best. Together, there is hope, encouragement and support. Together, we got this.”

The organization also specified methods in which people could help deal with the issues at hand. The 2020 NFL free agency period will still be conducted as planned, but it is evident that the outbreak must be contained for next season to go smoothly.

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