Civil SocietyStatewide NewsSports in Texas and Across the World are on Hold, Here’s a List of Where They Stand

For many Texans who’ve hermitized, the inability to turn on a game — any game — to weather the storm sweeping the world is wholly disappointing.

Sports will come back. The first pitch at the Rangers’ new Globe Life Field will be thrown. Greg Popovich will patrol the San Antonio Spurs’ sideline once again. “The Eyes of Texas” will again reverberate from Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium with even more fervor than before.

Just when sports will return remains a massive question in the minds of many, but return they will.

Here are the latest updates for sports fans in the meantime.

Baseball

• Major League Baseball (MLB) officially suspended the start of its season for two weeks, but that will likely be extended further.
  • About three weeks of Spring Training games had been played.
  • The Texas Rangers were set to have their home opener — the inaugural for their new stadium — on March 31 against the Los Angeles Angels.
  • The Houston Astros were to open the post-sign stealing scandal season at home on March 26 against the Angels.
  • MLB is considering the logistics of a shortened season. One option being on the table, according to The Athletic, is to quarantine the teams at their Spring Training parks to play fanless games there.
  • MLB increased the pay for their minor league players after the season’s delay who often are not paid until the season officially starts.
  • For those fans longing for baseball content, check out Joe Posnanski’s Top 100 player countdown on The Athletic.
• The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) canceled all spring athletic seasons, of which college baseball was included after less than a month of play.
  • Texas Tech finished the season ranked number four in the country with a 16-1 record.
  • The University of Texas finished at 14-3; Texas A&M at 15-3; TCU at 11-4.
  • The NCAA approved an extra year of eligibility for all spring athletes whose seasons were cut short, but their scholarships might take a hit.

Basketball

• On March 11, the NBA became the first major league sport in America to suspend its season.
  • The Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks are neck and neck in the standings, in sixth and seventh places, respectively. Both are currently in the playoffs.
  • The San Antonio Spurs are having a down year and are currently in twelfth place, four games back from the final playoff spot.
  • Discussions of resuming the season in the summer are ongoing, but if that is done then next season would be pushed back to compensate.
• The NCAA canceled its spring seasons while college basketball was in the midst of its conference tournaments.
  • Playing the conference and national tournament with empty stands was briefly considered, but the events were ultimately canceled altogether.
  • Baylor finished its season ranked number five in the country with a 26-4 record.
  • The NCAA approved an extra year of eligibility for all spring athletes whose seasons were cut short, but their scholarships might take a hit.

Football

• The National Football League (NFL) is planning to start its season as scheduled. Training camp is slotted to start in mid-late July.
  • The 2020 season will be the Dallas Cowboys’ first with new head coach Mike McCarthy.
  • The Houston Texans set the league’s offseason ablaze after trading star wide-receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals for running-back David Johnson.
• With the halt of all NCAA activities, college football’s spring camps have all been canceled.
  •  As of now, the season remains on as scheduled, but contingency plans are being considered.
  • If the football season is delayed or canceled altogether, many schools may have to cut other sports due to a lack of funding and revenue provided by the football programs.

Golf

• Last month, the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) tour was suspended until further notice.
  • The Masters was scheduled to be played next weekend but is now postponed.
  • Former Texas Longhorn, Jordan Spieth, is ranked 56th in the world.
  • Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy is currently ranked as the world’s top golfer.
  • Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods are planning to renew their rivalry with a televised round of 18 in May, except with a new twist.
  •  Future Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will pair up with the two golf legends.
  • The match will be televised on TNT but still must be approved by the PGA.
• An April 6 PGA Tour update now states:
  • British Open is canceled;
  • The Tour will begin in mid-June with fans barred;
  • PGA Championship moved to August 6;
  • U.S. Open moved to September 17;
  • Ryder Cup moved to September 25;
  • Masters moved to November 9.

Hockey

• Right after the NBA suspended its season, the National Hockey League (NHL) followed suit.
• The Dallas Stars are currently in third place in their division, in the playoffs if that were held today.

Olympics

• The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo have been postponed until the summer of 2021.

Soccer

• Every premier soccer league in the world has been placed on pause.
  • The English Premier League is currently in a dispute with its players over wage cuts in light of the suspended season.
  • The Union of European Football Associations’ (UEFA) president set August 3 as the latest possible date to hold the Champions League final — the competition was halted during its round of 16 set of games.
  • UEFA officials are urging their teams to prepare to resume the season in July or August, but some teams — such as the Italian club Brescia — want the season to be abandoned.
  • On April 6, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) officials “suspended indefinitely” global soccer’s 2019-2020 season.
• Major League Soccer’s (MLS) season is suspended until May 10 at the earliest, but a global suspension would supersede the league’s decision.
  • The MLS suspended its season on March 19. The league wasn’t even three games into the season.
  • In that time, FC Dallas won one game and tied another while the Houston Dynamo had lost one game.
  • Austin FC, part-owned by Matthew McConaughey, is set to join the MLS next season as an expansion team. However, its stadium construction has been paused after the joint shelter order issued by the city and county and could delay the goal of it being ready to host matches next April.

Tennis

• The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) season is on hold until further notice.
• Though not scheduled until late June, Wimbledon has been canceled for the first time since World War II.

With so many indefinite postponements levied and the timeline for next steps unknown, just when these sports will return is unknown.