Wow.
What a week.
Remember that moment when the Utah Jazz and and Oklahoma City Thunder players left the court right before tipoff and we all wondered what the heck was going on?
That was a week ago last night.
A. Week. Ago. Last. Night.
This time last week we were coming off the stunning news that the NBA season had been suspended due to Rudy Gobert testing positive for the coronavirus.
This time last week the NCAA Tournament, which was supposed to start today, was still on – just with no fans allowed in the arenas.
This time last week the Big East (and other conferences) was still conducting its postseason tournament at Madison Square Garden, before calling things off at halftime of the Creighton-St. John’s quarterfinal game.
This time last week the PGA Tour was still going on with business as usual with the first round of The Players Championship being played at TPC Sawgrass.
This time last week NASCAR was still going forward with last Saturday’s race in Atlanta, which was eventually called off.
This time last week things were happening quickly and we could sense that the sports world was about to be put on hold for a bit.
Now it has been on hold for what seems like a long bit, one that is only going to get even longer as our new normal continues to be one of quarantining and worrying about what’s next.
It’s been crazy, right? And scary, too. Definitely scary. The news has become something you need to watch but don’t really want to watch because of the anxiety that can come along with it.
Parents everywhere have become full-time teachers on top of all their other duties, which has to be exhausting.
We’re all working from home wondering when things will get better… and when we’ll be able to buy some toilet paper again.
Thankfully some NFL news has happened this week because it gave us a sense of the old normal, unless you’re a Patriots fans and had to say goodbye to Tom Brady, on St. Patrick’s Day, no less.
But now the sports news is likely going to slow down a little bit, which is depressing. Sports are always there for us during down times, serving as the perfect escape from serious matters.
Not now, though. Sports are gone.
This weekend was supposed to be spent circling winners and crossing out losers on your NCAA brackets and getting bummed when one of your Final Four teams got knocked out.
Instead, we’ll continue to battle through this new normal, cook some more pasta, wash our hands 1,000 times, all while trying to ignore the stock market and the sense of dread that can come on if you think too much about all these changes that are going.
What. A. Week.
But here’s one thing we should all be doing this week/weekend and beyond – when you’re at a grocery store take a second to say thank you to the cashier and other workers who are busting their butts for all of us while spending time away from their families. A lot of these people are working tons of extra hours during a very stressful and frightening time. Thank them. A lot.
Wednesday’s biggest winner: Dale Jr. and Amy Earnhardt.
The NASCAR legend and his wife announced on Wednesday that they are going to be having a second child. They had their daughter, Isla, help them make the announcement in what was a great video on Amy’s Instagram page. This is the type of nice news that we need right now.
Quick hits: NFL teams getting creative… Drake’s tribute to Kobe… Gisele’s classy goodbye to Boston… And more.
– NFL teams are getting creative and using a loophole in the league policy to announce offseason moves.
– Drake has a basketball court in his house and he paid a nice tribute to Kobe Bryant in it.
– Gisele Bündchen shared a heartfelt goodbye to Boston after Tom Brady’s decision to leave the Patriots.
– Trae Young has the internet, and our Mike Sykes, shooting jumpers into trash cans with the #InHouseChallenge.
– NFL fans had so many jokes about the Bears trading for Nick Foles.