Baseball Games…July
Football practices…Late June…Sept Season opening
Basketball Maybe?….Dec Season opening
Ice Hockey practices…Late June
NASCAR racing has already started…
So has some Horse racing….
Most states have approved Golfing….
On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo encouraged professional sports to return to New York — so long as no fans are watching the matches.
“Hockey, basketball, baseball, football, whoever can reopen, we’re a ready, willing and able partner,” Cuomo told reporters during his daily coronavirus press briefing.
His blessing is good news for the big leagues.
Last week, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told CNN the plan is to start playing games in empty stadiums during the first half of July — with “spring” training to begin in mid-June.
The NFL released a schedule on May 7 and plans for the season to begin on time, Thursday, Sept. 10, with the Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs. On Sept. 13, the Jets are scheduled to play their first game against the Bills in Buffalo, while the Giants will be on screens the next day against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But, officials have conceded, it could change.
“Our planning, our expectation, is fully directed at playing a full season starting on schedule and having a full regular season and full set of playoffs,” said NFL lead counsel Jeff Pash during a recent conference call.
“Am I certain? I’m not certain that I’ll be here tomorrow, but I’m planning on it, and same thing, we are planning on having a full season.”
The NBA is considering a three-week training camp that would begin in mid- to late June with a resumption of the season starting early to mid-July — without fans, sources told The Post.
It is expected to make a decision by mid-June, sources said.
But don’t necessarily expect Knicks home games anytime soon.
If the NBA does decide to resume, it may only be at two stadiums, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said during a recent conference call with players — the Eastern Conference might play at Orlando’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and the Western Conference at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center at the University of Nevada.
It’s also still up in the air how the season will resume — some insiders say all teams should be brought back, some want just the 16 playoff-qualifying teams to return, while others think a selection of teams should come back and then compete against each other to get into the playoffs.
And the whole thing could still be scrapped altogether, sources said.
Either way, the next full season is expected to begin Dec. 25.
Meanwhile, the NHL has been quiet about resuming its season, but hopes to get players back on the ice — whether for training camp or informal small group practices — by June….
While the re-opening of the country remains something of a patchwork affair, there is the beginning of a consensus about one thing: the resumption of professional sports.
Yesterday California Governor Gavin Newsom said that if the current rates of progress in fighting COVID-19 continue, pro sports could return in the “first week or so of June without spectators and modifications and very prescriptive conditions.”
Meanwhile, in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said yesterday that he has asked major league sports teams to start planning to play their seasons without fans as well. What’s more, he said “New York state will help those major sport franchises to do just that,” saying, “whoever can reopen we’re a ready, willing and able partner.” This despite the fact that New York City has not yet approached the benchmarks the state has set with respect to the state’s phased reopening program.
Finally, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an order allowing professional golf, auto racing, baseball, softball, tennis, and football to resume as of May 31 if they wish….