Ho! Ho! Ho! is what I had planned to write in this space — after raiding the basket of red and green M&Ms in the front hall — but given the ongoing attack of the COVID omicron variant, I decided on BAH, HUMBUG! instead.
COVID news worsens by the hour. Close to home, Georgetown has forfeited its men’s basketball game at Providence College Wednesday night because of a COVID outbreak in the program. Forfeited? Wow!
The Big East policy is that if a team cannot play on the scheduled date because of an insufficient number of players, the result is a forfeit, an L in the record book. And a W for the opponent. That’s harsh, for sure, but it’s the policy the league adopted.
So, Providence improves to 12-1 overall, 2-0 in the Big East. Georgetown is 6-6, 0-1.
This development robs Friar fans of a chance to celebrate their team’s 57-53 victory at No. 20 UConn last Saturday and their No. 22 ranking in the AP poll this week. Everybody will have to wait until Dec. 29, when No. 15 Seton Hall comes to town.
Georgetown at Providence is the third Wednesday game to be cancelled. Eastern Kentucky won’t be coming to Bryant, and Brown will not be taking the bus to URI. Bryant, which had its game at Cornell on Sunday cancelled, has had multiple players and staff test positive for COVID.
Brown and URI could not find another date this season. URI also had to cancel its game against the College of Charleston last Sunday at Washington, D.C., because of positive tests. The Rams hope to recover in time for their Atlantic-10 opener Dec. 30 against Dayton in the Ryan Center.
Brown will visit Maryland Dec. 30 for its final non-league game. The Bears will open the Ivy League season Jan. 2 at Penn.
Just up the road in Chestnut Hill, the Boston College Eagles have come down with COVID and will forfeit their Wednesday game at Wake Forest. The ACC forfeit policy is similar to the Big East’s.
BAH, HUMBUG!
Are you still on the Patriots bandwagon to the Super Bowl? Or did you jump off after that 27-17 debacle at Indianapolis last Saturday?
The Pats had a week to prepare for the Colts, but for the first 30 minutes the locals were terrible. They did not score in the first half for the first time in 100 games, according to reports. Ugly. They did rally in the fourth quarter but failed to get the job done.
Next up is Buffalo on Sunday, the day after Christmas. A must-win contest, to say the least. You can bet your last candy cane that Santa Belichick will have his elves ready for this one.
I am still on the bandwagon but have edged closer to the EXIT sign.
BAH, HUMBUG!
The NHL has shut down through Christmas and is opting not to send its players to the Winter Olympics in Beijing because of COVID. The NBA vows to carry on without a league-wide stoppage. Testing policy is all over the map. Mask mandates are returning for large indoor gatherings. Will capacity at TD Garden in Boston and The Dunk in Providence be reduced this winter? We shall see.
BAH, HUMBUG!
This has nothing to do with COVID, but Major League Baseball locked out its players earlier this month thanks to stalled negotiations with the players union on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. After spending $1.4 billion on 27 free-agent signings on Dec. 1 alone, MLB and its players can’t agree on money? Are you kidding? Pitcher Max Scherzer signed a three-year, $130-million contract with the New York Mets. At $43.3 million per year, he will be the highest-paid player in history. Five other players signed for $100 million or more.
How much would Babe Ruth have commanded in his prime? His highest salary was $80,000 in 1930 and 1931. Informed that he made more than President Herbert Hoover, Ruth quipped, “I had a better year.” As columnist John Rekenthaler wrote in Morningstar in July, the average factory worker at the time earned $950.
A lockout is just what baseball needs as it struggles to attract younger fans, right?
BAH, HUMBUG!
